Thousandstar (#4 of the Cluster series) (32 page)

Suddenly his whole body was shaken. The Erb was starting her drill. Heem braced himself despite the cruel grip of her roots in his flesh. There was a terrible wrench that half tore him from the floor. 'Hang on, Heem! She's drilling the grate!'

He knew that. Heem hung on. The wrenching seemed intolerable. Vegetable fibers were really tough, to absorb this kind of punishment. Then, abruptly, it eased. The grate was free!

Windflower cast the grate away. She extricated her roots from Heem. This, too, was painful. But he had survived the worst, and his skin had not really been damaged.

They proceeded up the passage until they emerged in air. They were through the sewer system. Windflower still dragged the cable after her. Now she anchored herself in the dirt of the new passage, but was unable to draw in the cable. Her upper tendrils were adept at holding, but not at hauling.

'We can handle that,' Jessica said. 'Put the line on the floor, and roll along it, drawing up the cord in a pulley action—know what I mean?'

"No." Heem had not used such a cord before.

She formed a picture, and suddenly it was clear. Heem positioned himself atop a slack section of cord, then rolled it along until it entered the water. Here there was a loop where the weight was off it. He inserted his body into that loop, formed a crease the length of his topside, and let the loose cord fall into that groove.

'Like a yo-yo,' Jessica said, flashing another image. 'Now curve around, hanging on to that string, until you can draw it away from the water.'

Following her image-instructions, Heem did. He was able to turn, carrying the cord along with him in the groove. When he rolled away from the water, the slack was taken up. Now as he pushed forward, the taut line had to loop over his body getting pushed down to the floor, where his weight held it in place. He was, indeed, like the pulley she visualized, drawing on the cord without ever truly grasping it. Or like the tread on a tractor, passing around the forward wheel. This was hard work, abrasive on his skin, but he knew it was necessary. He heaved, and heaved again, and again.

Finally the Squam emerged from the water beside the Erb. One set of pincers were clamped on the end of the rope; another grasped her translator. Her front and rear extremities dragged behind. "My appreciation to you both," the unit sprayed and flashed, none the worse for its dunking. "I could not have navigated that water alone. My sonic orientation is completely unreliable in fluid."

'Which is one reason your accurate needles can mess up a Squam,' Jessica remarked. 'Squams depend heavily on hearing, and water in the wrong place shorts them out.'

The Erb withdrew her roots from the floor and stretched her limber stem, relaxing. She had been detectably nervous the whole time she had been alone with Heem; now the presence of the Squam gave her relief. The two of them, Erb and HydrO, had worked well together, but without the translation unit and personal reassurance of the Squam, the Erb never would have done it.

'Compliment her,' Jessica advised. 'Make her like you. All females like to be complimented. It will make her easier to get along with.'

Heem decided to accept the advice of the local expert on female nature. "Windflower was primarily responsible," he sprayed. "She tore out two grates and anchored the line, despite hardships."

The Erb did not comment. 'She's paying attention, though,' Jessica assured him. 'She knows you did a lot of work, and gave the credit to her.'

Sickh rewound the cord about her body, and they moved forward. The tunnel now tended upward. Were they near the end?

"I hear something," Sickh said. "There is a living presence in this passage."

'Oh-oh,' Jessica said.

Heem concentrated. Yes, the drift of air carried a sinister flavor. "Animal, not plant," he agreed. "Yet I had understood there were no dangerous animals on Eccentric."

"Oddities occur in the depths," the Squam remarked. "Small creatures, feeding off fungus, could exist here, their eggs protected somewhat in winter."

The proof was not long in arriving. A swarm of furry-bodied little things came down the tunnel. Heem tasted the hairs of their torsos and the calluses of their feet, spreading out before them.

"They emit light," the Erb flashed. "They are vision oriented, but unlike my own kind these produce their own beams, though these are faint. There are many of the creatures, perambulating on three appendages with a root behind that assists in balance. They appear to be an eating species."

'Bad news,' Jessica said ominously. 'Those eating species are in bad repute in this neck of the Galaxy.' Heem had no doubt the other transferees were remarking to their hosts similarly.

"Perhaps they merely pass through, on their way to water," the Squam said.

Forlorn hope! In a moment the horde was upon them. "They have weapon-orifices," Windflower reported. "Cutting edges formed of horn or bone."

'Teeth!' Jessica said. 'I believe these most resemble what we call rats. We're in trouble!'

There was a flash that translated into the taste of pure horror. Heem could not perceive the Erb's reflections directly, but Jessica's image made it seem real. "They feed on me!" the Erb screamed.

Sudden pain struck Heem. "And on me!" he sprayed. A rat had used its crude toothed orifice to puncture Heem's flesh.

'Don't just sit there hurting; needle it!' Jessica cried.

Heem needled it. The creature made a vibration and drew back, wounded. Its companions pounced on it and tore it apart with their own teeth. Heem tasted the tearing of flesh, the spilling of juices. "This is worse than what Squams do!" he sprayed, forgetting the undiplomatic nature of the remark.

"They are consuming undigested flesh!" Windflower flashed.

"Appalling," Sickh said. "Digestion should always take place outside the body so that the waste products can be eliminated."

Two more rats came at Heem. He needled both, destroying them. Meanwhile, the Squam slithered to join the Erb, who seemed to be largely helpless before this attack. Sickh's pincers clicked; Heem felt the vibration, tasted the squirting rat-juices, and knew that the Squam was protecting the Erb's tender roots.

But there were more rats charging down the hall. They were small, but there was something peculiarly horrible about that footed travel. 'The commotion has attracted the whole neighborhood of monsters,' Jessica said. 'They'll never stop coming. We've got to get out of here before they overwhelm us.'

"They don't like water," Heem announced to the others. "They shy away from even my glancing jets. We must retreat to the sewer."

They retreated. Heem got nipped several more times; the creatures darted in so swiftly it was hard to needle each one in time. He was sure the Erb was having a similar problem. Only the Squam was immune—which was fortunate, because the Squam could not remain long in the protective water.

They reached the water and immersed themselves. The rats lined up at the edge, flashing their little beams, balked.

"It seems we are secure for the moment," Sickh flashed. "But how are we to progress to our objective?"

"You can progress," Heem jetted from that part of him that remained above the water. "They cannot penetrate your armor."

"I may not progress alone; this was our covenant. We must free all of us—or none of us."

'She means it,' Jessica said. 'There's nothing holding her here but honor.'

"Honor in a Squam!" he sprayed, marveling.

'It was not so funny in the lava-dome! You're still trying to judge a whole species by a single individual.'

"We can retreat the way we came," the Erb flashed.

"And yield our chance in the competition," Heem jetted.

"These vermin are discouraged by water," Sickh said. "Our friend the HydrO fathomed that, most astutely. Perhaps we can make further use of this."

"The monster is seeking to compliment me," Heem sprayed internally to Jessica. "Exactly as you had me do to the Erb."

'And you like being on the receiving end, don't you—even from a Squam?'

Heem made a taste-wash sigh. "Yes. I am an easy wash for female folk."

'As I have known for some time.' But her spirit was momentarily light. 'Underneath all that gruff jetting, you're a pretty nice guy, Heem.'

"Now
you're
doing it!"

'Well, Squams of a feather...'

"Feather?"

"Never mind.'

"Would it be possible to flood the passage?" Windflower inquired. "This might eliminate the vermin."

"Excellent notion!" the Squam agreed. "Yet it could be difficult to do what the eons have not done."

"We might employ the grates we removed, buttressed by other materials, to block the main drain, forcing the water level to rise," the Erb continued. "It would be difficult, perhaps hazardous. But for me, too-long-continued confinement in darkness is also hazardous and most unpleasant."

'I know exactly how she feels!' Jessica said.

"There will also be a problem making the water barrier tight," the Squam agreed. "Yet the alternative—"

"I can make it tight," Heem sprayed. "With my body, spread over a mesh."

"With your body!" Sickh exclaimed. "We would not require such sacrifice!"

"I intend no sacrifice," Heem needled at the translator. "The HydrO body is constructed to withstand slow pressure, and to adapt shape to need. Were a suitable framework in place, such as one of those grates, I could spread across it, sealing it, cutting off the flow of water until such time as it were advisable to release the flow."

"How would you escape, when that time came? The pressure would hold you firm."

"No, the HydrO body can also pass through a mesh, slowly. I have but to allow holes to open—"

"Then you could have proceeded without us," the Erb flashed. "You did not need to have the grates removed."

"Not so," Heem sprayed, embarrassed. "Our covenant—"

'Yes indeed,' Jessica said smugly.

"What I cannot do," Heem jetted, "is set the framework in place."

"I can do that," the Squam said. "But I could not remain to anchor it as the water rose. I must have access to air."

Strange, Heem thought, how he, who lived entirely on gas, could immerse himself indefinitely in water; while the Squam, who was only partially dependent on gas, had to have it regularly. This was worth noting, should he find himself in conflict with a Squam near water. Even a brief immersion might seriously handicap the creature.

"I can anchor it," the Erb volunteered.

"Then I believe we have a feasible course of action," Sickh concluded. "If we can flood this passage high enough to drive the vermin completely out, we may be able to traverse it before they return. If we then cannot win through to the surface near the site, we shall have to retreat to the tractor and await assistance by the Competition Authority, for we will be out of the race."

Heem moved down inside the main conduit, exploring by touch and taste. They were in luck; the tube narrowed shortly below their crossing. There seemed to be a huge old valve, half buried by sediment, whose operation was beyond their power, but whose constriction provided a certain lodging site for their grates. He rolled back and reported.

"Two grates are sufficient?" the Squam inquired.

"One grate will cover it," Heem assured her. "But there are holes in the grates Windflower removed, where her drill lodged. Better to use both grates, overlapping, to cancel out the holes and make it more secure. They will have to be held in place until pressure builds behind them."

"And when that occurs, pressure will diminish in front of them," Sickh said. "There will be air there, perhaps."

"There is a pocket of air at the valve now," Heem jetted, remembering. "Trapped where the conduit bulges and narrows. It is usable; I tasted it."

They worked out the details quickly and went to work. Windflower lifted and carried the grates slowly to the valve and leaned them beside it. Then she hauled Sickh down on the cable—actually, the Erb anchored it, and the current brought the Squam along. Sickh helped move the two grates into precise place, then fastened her pincers on them and held her air intake high so as to reach the pocket of air. Windflower set her roots firmly in the sediment below and twined her smaller upper tendrils into the grates, anchoring the metal upright. And Heem spread himself flat, forming a wide but shallow disk across the face of the grates-network, preventing the water from passing through.

Immediately the pressure rose. There had been a fair current here, signifying a considerable flow of water. Now this water was backing up, rising in the side passages. Because the slant of those passages was slight, a small rise should advance the water considerably along those tunnels. But how far would it have to go to remove all the vermin? If it flooded in the direction of the large central hall instead, they would never get their smaller passage cleared. They had to hope that the small passage ahead was at a lower level than the one behind them. Heem thought it was.

"It seems we must wait a time," the Squam said. "Shall we distract ourselves by conversing? If you, Heem, are able to spray from your dry side, and if you, Windflower, can angle a vane through here—"

They managed it. The Erb poked a vane through a space between grate and curved wall, while Heem sealed over the rest. They were in physical contact with each other, but were accustomed to this now.

"I am curious, Heem, how your kind developed space technology," Sickh remarked in what Heem presumed was a standard interspecies conversational gambit. "We had assumed, until experience with the sapients of other Stars showed otherwise, that it was necessary to possess an accurate vibration or radiation perception, and to possess well-coordinated manipulative extremities. Yet HydrOs have neither. I realize you are quite competent with spaceships, tractors, and other tools—but how were you able to construct these in the beginning?"

"This is not obvious?" Heem sprayed, surprised.

'Of course it's not obvious, dope!' Jessica said from within. 'We Solarians always made similar assumptions. How can you grow, hunt, gather or prepare food, for example, if you don't have—oops.'