“Wow,” said Jim. “Real long-distance comm. Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Well, ah… you see, they were transmitting the raising of the ship in a kind of blow-by-blow sort of way…”
“Anything else? What about our report of the Grik prisoners?” Matt asked. Jim looked down and chuckled.
“Yeah, it’s got a postscript. ‘Bradford excited.’ ”
“Ha!”
“I do wish we could speak to them,” Safir mused.
“We can,” Alden said. “They just can’t talk to us. Maybe when we ship ’em home, Lawrence can talk to ’em.”
“I doubt it,” said Matt.
“Why not? Most of the ’Cats understand each other okay, except maybe a few of the ones from southern Australia.”
“Yeah, but they’ve been in contact with one another. Look, we now know there’s Grik all over the place, or something like Grik. They seem to fill the niche humans did where we came from. There’s the Grik we fight, from Africa and Madagascar originally, but there’s Grik-like lizards just about everywhere. Lawrence says his people are ‘Tagranesi’ or something. We’ve managed to squeeze enough out of Rasik to know the dead aborigines we found here were snatched from Java and the neighboring islands as slave labor and, well, food. I’m sure they don’t call themselves Grik.”
“I did not even know they were here,” Rolak admitted.
“Maybe they haven’t been for long, or at least not in any numbers. Our first and only meeting with them on Bali proved to us they were pretty smart. They didn’t carry weapons, but then they didn’t really need them, did they? They may have been leaking over here from Bali or other islands for a long time and just staying to themselves. As primitive as they were, compared to our enemies, they actually displayed even better tactical sense. Courtney’s long believed that Grik behavior has more to do with societal conditioning than anything else.”
“That might explain why the prisoners act so different,” Ellis speculated. “After we licked them here, they wandered on their own for a while. Maybe they had time to think things over a little.”
There was silence for a moment while everyone contemplated the significance of that.
“All the more reason we must not give the enemy more time to think things over,” Safir said.
“If I were a member of this Alliance, I would tend to agree with the Queen Protector,” Harvey Jenks said with a touch of irony. It was the first time he’d spoken, beyond civilities, since he’d come aboard. Something had changed in his demeanor ever since he went ashore and saw the aftermath of the Grik occupation for himself. Aryaal and B’mbaado were unusual cities, perhaps unique among Lemurians. Even before the Grik came, they’d been built of stone with stout walls to protect the inhabitants. The devastated architecture was more similar to Imperial construction than any other he’d seen so far, or than he cared to admit. It was as though he’d experienced a premonition of what would happen if the Grik ever threatened his home.
The rabidly gruesome nature of the enemy the Allies faced had been driven in to the hilt as well, and he felt he understood them and their motives much better now. The heads had been taken down and sent to the sky in the fires and much of the debris had been cleared, but the mental image remained. The thaw in his attitude toward the Allies, and Matt in particular, had continued at an accelerated pace. Still, he’d clearly been surprised to be included in this strategy session. He hadn’t given any assurances that he was at their disposal or that he’d help them in any way. He had begun to consider himself on their side just a little, however.
“Jenks is right,” agreed Rolak. “We cannot linger here. Has that vile creature”-he referred to Rasik- Alcas-“spilled any more beans?”
Matt shook his head. “He’s told us all he knows about what happened here, and a little more about his activities while in exile, but he knows we’ve already measured him for a noose. No matter how fair we make it, the outcome of any trial is a foregone conclusion. He’s guilty as hell and he knows everybody knows it. When he’s not off in the land of Oz, he’s sharp enough to be scary. The guy’s a real psycho.”
“No clues about what he found?” asked Ellis.
Matt shook his head. “The crummy thing is, I think there is something. Everything we thought we knew about the Squall that brought us here is changing all the time. First, we thought it was just us and Mahan. Then the PBY. Then we learned about Amagi. Why wasn’t it there when the Squall passed? Okada said they came out of it in the dark, probably sometime during the night after we did. Unlike us, they were moving with it, not through it. Is it possible that by staying in it longer, they experienced its effects longer too?” He shook his head. “I doubt even Courtney has an answer for that. Anyway, we now know the sub came through as well. It was pretty far away, judging by the log we brought back, but close enough to hear our fight on the surface. How close was the PBY?” He shrugged. “Up till now, we’ve assumed we were it, but what if we weren’t? That was a big squall and the track it took might have sucked up anything. Why some things and not others? No clue. Maybe the energy or local intensity had something to do with that. Anyway, we need to start thinking about the possibility that other stuff did come through, and if it did, we damn sure want to find it before the Japs and Grik do.” He snorted. “His Nasty Highness did confirm that they watched a bunch of Japs get off Esshk’s ship when it stopped here, roam around unattended, then get back on, so I guess they didn’t eat the bastards after all.”
“Pity,” Ellis said.
“Yeah. The thing is, though, Rasik thinks if he tells us what he found, we’ll just kill him anyway. He insists on showing us.”
“We promised him clemency; what more does he expect?” spat Safir. It was the first time she’d agreed to the “deal” that had been proposed. She hated the very idea of letting Rasik live. Chack, who’d remained uncharacteristically silent, put a hand on her shoulder and stroked it.
“It does not matter,” Rolak grumbled. “He still expects to be killed. He views all things in terms of what he would do in our place.”
“I’ll get it out of him,” Alden promised.
Matt laughed. “Pete, I bet you and Boats could get him to confess he painted the moon, but that wouldn’t do us much good.” He thought for a moment, staring at the bleak shoreline. There was a lot of activity: building a new dock, erecting tents, and preparing materials for structures that would serve as forward supply depots. Few would remain at first, when the Allies moved on. They had more pressing business. Aryaalans and B’mbaadans would return, however, and begin the work of rebuilding.
“Here’s the deal,” he said at last. “We have to move. The scout we sent to Singapore reports the Grik are pulling out there too. We need to get there before they leave it like this.” He gestured shoreward. “We also have to know if Rasik’s pulling our chain. He says the things he found are accessible by sea, near Tjilatjap-Chill-chaap.” He looked at Jim. “Not at Chill-chaap, but near it, so your guys would have missed it when they went ashore there.”
Jim winced slightly. They hadn’t exactly been his guys at that point.
“Here’s what we’ll do,” Matt continued. “You take Dowden and a company of Marines and see what Rasik has to show you. If you can do it without puking, try to buddy up to him. He doesn’t really know you, after all. Maybe he’ll let something slip.”
“May I command the Marine company, Captain Reddy?” Chack asked.
Matt hesitated. “I’d rather have you with me, but I guess so. Just don’t remind the silly bastard you’re the one who trapped him with fire and left him to be eaten by the Grik!”
“He cannot know that,” Chack said.
“Right. Say, talk to Koratin. Maybe he can convince him he’s on his side. Might get something out of him. Anyway, while you’re doing that I’ll take the rest of the fleet and all the troops we can transfer out of Dowden and head for Singapore. You meet us there if you can. Stay in wireless contact. If something breaks down you can’t fix, come back here.”
“Aye-aye, Skipper. We’ll meet you at Singapore,” Jim promised. “If there’s a fight, I don’t want to miss it.”
Chack looked at Safir and caressed her furry cheek. They’d made no announcement at Aryaal after all. They hadn’t had the heart. No one felt much like celebrating the reconquest of Aryaal and B’mbaado. “Do not fear, my love. I shall see you at Sing-aapore.”
Matt looked at Jenks. “Commodore, if you’d care to dine with me, I’d appreciate it. Juan?” he called,
