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We’ll fall, McGee thought, imagined First Tower in collapse, them dying in a cascade of earth at the same time as every other human on the Cloud, the Base under attack, Styx going under yet again.
The big brown’s collar crest went down. He turned himself, his long tail sweeping their circle wider, but that was a settling at Elai’s side, half up on his forelegs. The crest went up again.
“Dear God,” McGee breathed, when she remembered to breathe, but they were half the hall deep in calibans now, and there was hissing and snapping as the calibans defined territory, as Dain’s brown moved in clearing rivals, and Maeri’s showed up, and young Din scrambled for cover in McGee’s arms, the young brown Twostone hissing and lashing its tail in front of them, holding its ground against larger ones.
There was order made. Elai put out a hand and appropriated the big brown. His crest flicked, in something like pleasure.
McGee caught another breath. Her chest hurt. She clenched Din in her arms and the boy struggled. She let him go, remembering he was Cloudsider, and at most times independent. No one moved beyond that for a very long time, until calibans had stopped milling and crests were down.
A gray came to the middle of the floor and spat up a fish. The big brown leaned forward and ate it. The gray got out of the way in haste.
“Paeia will be disappointed,” Elai said, and looking at McGee: “So, MaGee?”
McGee ignored her limbs which still felt dissolved and the sweat that was ru
Elai just stared at her, her hand resting on the big brown’s shoulder. Jaw set, eyes hard. The First of First Tower was not prone to displays.
“His name’s Sun,” she said.
Message: Base Director to E. McGee
Repeat: urgent you respond. We have a shuttle landing. We have a Dr. Ebhardt, Unionside, with aides, coming in. This is an official instruction: this office is taking the position that some damage to the com must have occurred and therefore no reprimand will be lodged. I add to this an earnest personal plea: I am concerned with your welfare and urge you to consider your professional and personal interests and to respond to this message by whatever means may be accessible to you. Dr. Ma
lxiv
Message: E. McGee to Base Director
transmitted from Cloud River
This is not a time or place for interference. I regret the misfortune of the Styx River mission. Keep your observers at a distance. Calibans are very uneasy just now. Report follows.
lxv
205 CR, day 298
Cloudside
The thing grew on the riverside, taking shape out of the reeds they had floated down. Calibans had nudged it this way and that, still prowled round it of nights to see what new thing it was becoming, with their tying and their braiding, not an easy matter; but MaGee had unbent enough to give some advice, being less pure a starman than she had been. The sun came up on a new thing every morning; and Elai watched this business of boatbuilding from the crest of First Tower with a certain forlorn distress.
Dain would try this thing. MaGee persuaded her the First of First Tower was too important to be laughed at if it was a little cranky at the start; and when it was proved, then she would try it.
She looked out over all the land, toward the horizon this morning; and saw a thing before any sentry saw it.
Metal flashed in the sun, in the sky. It was a ship from the Base, but not going up. Coming their way. It had gone crazy, was going to fall. She could hear the sound of it now, a sound like distant thunder.
Work stopped on the shore. Folk looked up, everywhere.
It was coming their way. Elai’s heart turned over in her, but she stood her ground (the First of First would not run, would not show fear) with her fists clenched on the rim of the tower, her eyes fixed on this visitor.
It was coming down, carefully, not falling. Elai became sure of that. She turned, whistled to Sun, passed her distressed offspring who had dropped their game of tag with the calibans.
“ MaGee!” she shouted in anger, on her way down. “ MaGee–”
They kept to their side of the river, these intruders. Elai had a closer view of the ship as Sun carried her up and out of the river, the water rolling off her leathers, off his hide. Out of the tail of her eye she saw MaGee with Dain and a dozen others of her riders. They were all armed. She was. The spear she had in hand seemed futile, but she carried it all the same, to make these strange starmen figure where was their limit.
She tapped Sun, making him understand that she meant to stop. Sun took his time about it. The other riders drew even with her. And one of the starmen came out from the shadow of that shining ship–not much larger than her boat, this ship. It had flattened the grass in a circle about it. It was quiet now. The thunder had stopped. And they wanted to talk: that was clear too.
“MaGee,” she said, “see what they want.” And: “MaGee,” she added, making MaGee stop after she had slid down from behind Dain: “You don’t go with them.”
“No,” MaGee agreed, and walked out to that man, looking like a rider herself, lean and leather‑clad, her graying hair, her fringes blowing in the wind that whipped at them, that made the fine blue cloth the starman wore do strange small flutters, showing how soft it was. They were rich, the starmen. They had everything. They brought their ship to show what they could do, overshadowing the boat there on the shore. To impress. They could have come afoot. They had done that before. Or in their crawlers, that they used sometimes, that made noise and disturbed the ariels for days.
It was all show, theirs against hers.
She waited, spear held crosswise. Paeia was one who had come out, with her heir, grim and disapproving, waiting for mistakes. And MaGee went out to this starman and talked a while, just talked; after a time MaGee folded her arms and shifted her weight and seemed not to fear attack, but she looked down much and seldom at the starmen, saying things with the way she stood that seemed uneasy.
Then she came back, and looked up at her on Sun. “First,” she said, “they want to talk to you. To tell you they’re wanting to talk trade.”
Elai frowned.
“It’s this new lot,” MaGee said carefully, “they want some things changed. Trade would mean medicines. Maybe metal. You need that.”
“What do they want back?”
“You,” MaGee said. Elai’s eyes met hers and locked, honest and urgent. “I’ll tell you what: they want to make sure you grow the right way, starman‑like. To be sure you’re something they can deal with someday. When you’re like them.” Her eyes slid aside, back again. “That dark one–that’s Dr. Myers; from the Base; the light one’s Ebhardt–from Union. From Cyteen.”
“Is thata Unioner?” Elai had heard of these strangers, these folk of the ship that never came. Her books had them in them. She looked with narrowed eyes on these visitors. “Hssst– Sun.”
Sun moved forward, a sudden long stride. The starmen fell back in disorder and recovered themselves. “You,” Elai said, “you’re from Cyteen, are you? From outside?”
“Maybe McGee’s told you,” Ebhardt began.