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"So naturally you want to spend this free time in a war zone?"
"Don't be sarcastic, dear," she chided. "And don't argue, either. You know as well as I do it's the only way. You have to get back to Oaccanv and get ready for your mission. And there's no one else we can trust with this."
Thrr-gilag made a face at her, but in his eyes she could see he knew she was right. That was one of the things she liked most about him: the fact that he judged other people's ideas against exactly the same standards and criteria as he did his own. "It is a war zone, though," he reminded her. "How would you get them to let you in?"
"There are a couple of ways," she said. "Best chance would be—"
She broke off as Prr't-casst-a reappeared. " 'The sooner the better. Things are begi
"Right," Thrr-gilag murmured. "Farewell, my brother." He took a deep breath, nodded to Prr't-casst-a. "Deliver that message, then release the pathway. Then get me that travel communicator."
"I will," Prr't-casst-a said, and disappeared.
Kl
"I don't know," he said slowly, his face troubled. "Just the way he said that, about things begi
"You want to get the pathway back and ask him?"
Thrr-gilag's tongue flicked in a negative. "No. If he could talk about it, he would have." He waved a hand, as if trying to brush the thoughts and worries away. "Never mind that. He's a warrior; he knows what he's doing. You were telling me how you were going to get to Dorcas."
"I was saying the best way might be for me to collect some personal messages or items for Thrr-mezaz's second commander, Kl
"I didn't think you knew him very well."
"I don't," Kl
"Even in a war zone?"
"Even in a war zone. So. I can get regular passage from here to the Dhaa'rr routing center on Shamanv, and from there I should be able to get a ride on a supply ship headed out to Dorcas."
Thrr-gilag pondered that. "That should get you to orbit, anyway. But what if they won't let you land?"
"I'll just have to count on Thrr-mezaz to get me past that one."
They'd reached the railcar stop. "I don't like it," Thrr-gilag said, opening the door of the first car in line on the siding and ushering her inside. "But right now I can't see any better way to do it. All right. As soon as Prr't-casst-a finds us a travel communicator, we'll check on flights to Shamanv."
"Good," Kl
It was a good idea, she knew, her going off to Dorcas like this. The best delivery plan either of them had. Probably the best plan either of them were going to have.
But that didn't mean she had to like it. She'd faced the crossbows of a Chig war party and had had enough good luck to escape without being raised prematurely to Eldership. Whether that good luck would hold her against the far deadlier weapons of Human-Conqueror warriors wasn't a question she particularly wanted to test.
"You don't have to do this," Thrr-gilag said quietly from beside her. "We can find some other way."
"No," Kl
Gently, he leaned over and touched her face with his tongue. "That's one of the things I really love about you, Kl
20
Thrr-mezaz frowned at the image. A small Human-Conqueror aircraft, framed against the mountains it was coming in from. "Must be going pretty slow."
"Slow and high both," Kl
"Rather implies they want us to see them."
"That would be my guess, too," Kl
"That's the question, all right," Thrr-mezaz agreed, throwing a quick look around the room at the other monitors. A half-dozen Zhirrzh aircraft were in the air ready to intercept, all ground defenses were activated and standing ready, all warriors were on full alert.
And across the landing field in their converted storehouse, oblivious to all the activity going on around them, the two Mrachanis were resting quietly....
"It's the Mrachanis," Thrr-mezaz said. "They saw the spacecraft land, and this is their response."
"Pretty fast reaction," Kl
Thrr-mezaz gazed at the image on the monitor, trying to put himself in the Human-Conquerors' commander's place. All right. He knew a Mrachani spacecraft had landed on Dorcas; one of his aircraft had observed the aliens' landing from a respectful distance. He'd had nearly five tentharcs now to mull over that fact, and to come up with this response. Whatever it was.
And the tone of the response might well indicate whether he considered the Mrachanis to be captive allies to be rescued or dangerous enemies to be destroyed.
Thrr-mezaz stepped over to the Stingbird monitor. "How many Stingbirds do we have in the air?" he asked.
"Four," the warrior at the monitor said. "The rest are standing ready and awaiting orders."
"Put them all up," Thrr-mezaz ordered. "Have them form a defense perimeter twenty thoustrides outside the village. They're to be alert for any Human-Conqueror activity."
"I obey, Commander," the warrior answered, setting to work.
"That goes for the Elders, too," Thrr-mezaz added, looking up at the Elders hovering overhead. "They're to keep close watch on all ground approaches."
"I obey," one of the Elders said, and vanished.
Thrr-mezaz stepped back to Kl
"You think it's a feint, then?" Kl
"Actually, no, I don't," Thrr-mezaz told him. "I don't think they're going to be scared off, either. My guess is that that aircraft is on its way here to rescue our Mrachani guests. Or else to try to kill them."
"Really," Kl
"We're certainly going to try to stop them," Thrr-mezaz assured him. "On the other hand, whichever attempt they make should tell us something about their relationship with the Mrachanis."
Kl
"True," Thrr-mezaz said. "On the other hand, the Overclan Seating is about to send an expedition out to the Mrachani homeworld anyway. Plenty of Mrachanis there for them to talk to." He gestured to the slowly approaching aircraft. "Besides, the Human-Conquerors don't have any idea where our guests are. They're going to have to land first and find some clever way to ask for directions."
"What if they just swoop overhead, drop some really high explosives, and obliterate the whole village?"
"If they had that capability, I think they'd probably have used it long before now," Thrr-mezaz said dryly. "No, we're taking some risk with this, but not as much as it looks."