Farfetch

Cyrus glanced at the Dushau woman doubtfully, then went with Storm. Krinata asked her, "You're an Oliat Officer?"

Darllanyu settled weakly on the edge of the sleeping bag. "I was Outreach to Avelor's, but we lost three, and now Avelor, so we're just a triad." Imp came and curled up on her knees. She cuddled him. "You're a warm creature."

"I'll get us some clothes," said Krinata.

She found Terab soothing the children, and two Lehiroh helping Irnils with the medical supplies. Viradel, Adina, and Fenwick were breaking out rations. As she scrounged an outfit for Darllanyu, she heard Cyrus asking Storm, "You mean you brought all this across that desert with only a duad?"

"Jindigar's the best," bragged Storm. "And Frey, his protégé, was brilliant."

"Must have been," agreed Cyrus, taking the medication for Darllanyu. Krinata gave him the outfit for her, saying, "Go ahead, I'll bring some food."

He nodded. "The natives fed us, but their diet—" He shook his head, added a smile of gratitude, and left.

With-increasing anxiety as day advanced, they dressed and ate, expecting the Squadron to return for their dead any moment now. Then they reassembled the caravan, Cy pitching right in. The Lehiroh—who never mixed with any of the others—accepted him instantly. He worked without a spoken direction, tossing and catching things like a member of their team. He even helped dig Prey's grave.

Krinata's tears flowed freely. Frey had never let her get close, but he'd have made a good friend. Did I kill him? His death had probably trapped Jindigar. Frey never did anything to deserve this! And neither did Jindigar!

She didn't remember everything and didn't understand much of what she thought had happened. On the way bad to the sleds after the scant moments of the burial, she told Darllanyu, "This may have been my fault," and recited Jindigar's warnings about Prey's condition.'

"I'm sure Jindigar wouldn't allow you to accept all the responsibility. You responded as anyone might have." Dark Dushau eyes came to focus on Krinata. "I've felt the hive's attack too. I couldn't have done better than you did." They parted, but Krinata found Darllanyu directing a puzzled stare at her at odd moments as they formed up to march.

The Lehiroh set the course along the line Jindigar had held, but Darllanyu came to the lead sled and corrected the heading. "Our settlement is that way, ten days' march-maybe fifteen or twenty with this caravan."

"There're more people on mis world?" asked Storm.

"Friends and associates of Raichmat's zunre," answered Cy. "Didn't Jindigar—"

"He never said others were already here!"

Krinata suddenly knew what had given Jindigar hope but left him doubting his own senses. "He must have contacted Avelor's Oliat from back in the desert!" Frey had thought he was trapped in the Archive, babbling about the dawn.

Darllanyu added, "Yes, we saw him—that's why we came out here, looking for you."

Storm said, "We'll be trailed by the Squadron. We can't lead them to the settlement!"

"Everyone there is waiting for us," argued Darllanyu "Cy and I must bring Jindigar there, even if you choose another course."

Terab had arrived to hear part of the discussion. "We can't stand here arguing," she decreed. "For now, we head for this settlement. What's between here and there?"

"A river gorge and a grassland. Large herbivores," said Cy, "and predators to match. Dozens of kinds of hives, some scavengers." He ran a hand through his hair. "It's going to be fun getting the sleds across the gorge."

"Storm's a good rigger," said Ruff. "You any good?"

"The best. You got semis and half-blocks?"

"Yes," said Storm. "Maybe Jindigar will be able to help by then." They had him secured atop the sled that carried the children and piols, for none of the medications had done any good. Darllanyu had concocted a syrupy mixture from ration bars, which they'd managed to get him to swallow a spoonful at a time. It'd keep him alive—maybe.

Darllanyu answered, "Jindigar can't help himself. But there's a Historian at the settlement who might retrieve him—and save the Archive—if we get there quickly enough/'

Krinata went back to her sled, which had the extra sled tied on behind, determined not to be the one to slow them up. If there was help for Jindigar anywhere, she'd get him there if she had to carry him on her back. But no sooner had Storm called, "for'd" than someone in the rear yelled, "No! Halt!"

One of the sleds had risen to travel height with one corner dragging. The Lehiroh adjusted it so the corner came clear of the ground and awarded it to Cy, in the position next to Krinata's tandem rig. Though he limped, Cy didn't complain about the hard pace the Lehiroh set. They were racing from the Squadron as well as to save Jindigar.

As the sun arced up into a cloud-studded sky, Krinata caught Cy's barely repressed grimace of pain and said, 'Talking takes my mind off my aching feet." And she told him her theory of why Jindigar hadn't mentioned contacting them. "I'm sure he didn't expect anyone to come out after us."

"We've done it before. Avelor's knew there was a group here, but from that distance they couldn't figure who or how many. And they didn't know about the Squadron when they decided to send us out. Why are they chasing you?"

She confessed she'd fired the shot that had destroyed the Imperial yacht and Emperor Zinzik too.

After he got over that he commented, as if she'd confessed to petty larceny, "I guess the Squadron's not going to give up, then."

"Are you still sure you want to bring us to your camp?"

"You're not going to survive on this world without an Oliat—" He broke off. "Which we don't have anymore, but a tetrad will have to do—that is, if they can save Jindigar and he can mesh in with them."

She didn't dare think about that now. "How did the others die'?"

"Ambush. We had a detachment from the Oliat—the Outreach, Emulator, Protector, Formulator, and five Outriders. Should have been enough, but native warriors, the furry ones, found us by the river gorge. Our Emulator had found a contact method Darllanyu was trying, but more of their warriors arrived, and they took us prisoner."

"I don't think you can communicate with the furry warriors. Jindigar called the white-skin we found a 'herald,' and I think they're the only ones who talk outside the hive," said Krinata, and then had to relate that story.

"You're probably right. But we didn't know that, and when the warriors got rough with our Emulator and Formulator, of course my crew moved in to do our job. They took it wrong and speared one of my women and—well, to be fan-, I don't think they realized the Dushau were noncombatants, and they killed the Emulator, which paralyzed the others, so we couldn't get away. They had us trussed up and carried off before we knew what was happening. Two of my guards were killed at the river. They were the lucky ones.

"When they got us to their hive, before the Dushau could recover from Dissolution shock, the little shelled ones stung us. Powerful drug. I don't remember much but—I think my men killed each other. I never saw the Formulator or the Protector again. At least Darllanyu survived." He glanced at her sideways, his feeling for Darllanyu clear. "I guess I can't refer to her as Outreach anymore." He shook his head. "I've never lost a charge before."

The pain of that confession brought silence between them. At the first rest stop he joined the Lehiroh in their incessant checking of the equipment.

They were out of sight of the hive now, but they'd left a trail through the grass. Terab called them together for a conference, introducing Darllanyu as part of a triad.

The Dushau said, "Sometime tonight—tomorrow morning at the latest—there'll be a strong storm crossing through here. It should obliterate our trail from orbital reco