The possibility that a group of Keidi Undesirables was in possession of nuclear armaments, or even a single.device, had driven all thought of the patient from Mar-; tin’s mind. But before he could reply, the argument which had been raging in the ward died away to be replaced by a single authoritative voice.
The First had reached a decision.
“Degrading and abhorrent as it is to all of us,” he began, “I am heavily obligated to these Galactics, and I see no other course than to try to discharge this obligation as quickly as possible.” He swung his horn to point at the doctor. “Can a meeting be arranged?”
“Ask them,” said the doctor, looking up briefly from his patient. “They seemed quite happy for me to discharge my obligation by supplying information. Now get out of here.”
“A meeting with the First,” Martin said grimly, “can most certainly be arranged.”
Chapter 22
THE First’s invitation was not transmitted until more than an hour later-plainly they were dealing with a very cautious Keidi-and within a few minutes there was a convoy of three open vehicles moving toward the lander. The one in the middle contained only the First and his driver while the other two were crowded, presumably with guards. But Beth’s attention was concentrated solely on the hypership’s sensor data which was being relayed to her screen.
“Look at this,” she said excitedly. “Just there, on the inner slope and floor of that inactive volcano.”
She enlarged the area to show the piles of recently dug rock and soil which glittered as if they had been seeded with diamonds, large numbers of tents, three tall log buildings which looked like wooden lighthouses, and a high, uneven stockade enclosing everything. The crater walls and floor were overgrown but not wooded, so the timber for those structures must have been brought in from many miles away.
“The records show that to have been the original site of a large underground missile storage facility,” she went on, “later encased in a thick shell of fused earth to render it impervious to the limited technology of the natives. But that was before volcanic activity smashed the protective shell and opened the original artificial cavern to the surface. Now the Keidi could dig down to it with their bare hands, but they’ve brought in some old earth- moving machinery and are…”
“They’re moving soil, not earth,” Martin said. He felt suddenly afraid of what he was about to hear, and was trying vainly to change the subject. “Remember, this isn’t Earth.”
“Don’t be so pedantic, dammit!” she said angrily. “They’ve uncovered three long-range missiles, and it looks as though they’ve salvaged enough of the ancillary equipment and solid fuel boosters to reconstruct a surface launching facility inside those wooden towers. From what I can see, the missiles are ready to launch. It looks as if we’ve arrived in time to stop a small nuclear war. We’ll have to do something about this. Shall I instruct the hypership to knock it out?”
This was what he had not wanted to hear, Martin thought as he stared silently at the screen. Beth was able to abstract more information from sensor displays than he could, but she had not yet noticed or did not remember the significance of the area of cleared ground in die shadow of the stockade, and the matrix of tiny, evenly spaced white dots covering it.
They were graves, each marked in Keidi fashion with a single white stone, and almost certainly radiation casualties of the salvage operations. There must have been hundreds of them.
“Naturally,” she went on when Martin did not respond, “a prior warning would be sent to evacuate the area. But these people are stupid I There are so few of diem left, this is their only temperate and fertile land mass, so why do they want to start a nuclear war?”
“We won’t do anything,”‘ Martin said firmly, “until after the meeting when we’ll know a lot more about the situation here. Officially we know nothing about that place, and knocking it out would not endear us to the First or…”
“It would endear us to the people he intends using those missiles against,” Beth said dryly. “But how were they able to do it? The big universities and nuclear laboratories have gone. Surely the building of a launching facility requires specialist knowledge.”
Martin sighed and said, “The knowledge was available, from maintenance manuals, test records, drawings. It was the hardware which was withdrawn, not the literature. Probably the First and some of his Undesirable friends helped run the original facility and, with that kind of special knowledge heading the project, it could be done.”
He leaned forward and with his index finger traced the outline of the Keidi burial ground, then added quietly, “The First knows enough to direct operations from a distance. They were probably first and second generation and had no previous experience with radiation, and learned the hard way.”
It was Beth’s turn to be silent. The external mike was picking up the sounds of approaching vehicles and heavy rain.
“This is nasty,” Martin went on, “but right now we need information more than anything else. Instruct the hypership to make a planet-wide radiation scan, to check that none of the other storage facilities have been breached, by earthquakes or anything else. I’ll take a foodpack in case… Quickly, they’re here.”
The First had left his vehicle and was already walking toward the lander as Martin opened the entry port. He was a smaller and thinner version of the doctor, and the speaking horn which he directed at Martin was discolored and heavily wrinkled with what could have been advanced age or disease.
There was a moment’s silence, then the First said, “Plainly your species has physical requirements which differ from ours, so that the hospitality I am offering you will be nonmaterial, and consist only of the satisfaction of our curiosity about each other. The meeting may be a lengthy one, so I thought that you should bring a supply of your food and liquid with you.”
“It was a thought shared,” Martin said, pointing at his foodpack. Not wanting to sound too eager, he went on, “We thank you for the invitation to exchange information, but we feel that for personal and family reasons this may be a bad time for you. Our vessel is small, with limited endurance, and a visit to the mother ship to replenish our power cells is overdue. We can return at a more convenient time, early tomorrow if you wish it.”
The Keidi looked from Martin to Beth, who had just entered the lock, and said, “You show consideration, off-worlders. But now would be the best time, while the memory of our obligation to you is still fresh. And rest assured, your lives, which would not be threatened by any Keidi, will be under the personal protection of the First Father of the Estate.”
“Thank you,” Martin said. “It is nevertheless reassuring to have such a powerful friend.”
“I am deeply obligated to you,” the First said, his focusing muscles twitching. “I am not your friend.”
A few minutes later they were sharing the hard, rear seat of the First’s vehicle, with little to see but rain- soaked pavement and the backs of two Keidi heads.
“I had time to deploy the meteorite shield,” she said, holding up her wrist to show that the translator was switched off. “Anyone going too close to the lander will get a bruised speaking horn. There are tracers on our…”
“Better switch on,” Martin said dryly, “or they’ll think we’re talking about them behind their backs.”
Beth gave a dutiful laugh and did so, then leaned forward to say, “As a female, I am naturally concerned about the condition of the First’s granddaughter. Is there any news?”
The First turned around to face them. “There is indeed news, of a new addition to the family and Estate. A male child, well formed and healthy. The doctor is still working on the patient, but says that the prognosis for both mother and child is good.”
“Our congratulations…” Beth began,
“Would you like to accompany me to the Camp hospital,” the First continued, “so that you will be able to see the newborn, and judge the extent of my obligation to you and, of course, the quantity of information which must be provided to discharge it?
“Among the females of my species,” he went on before they could reply, “a particular pleasure is derived from the close appraisal of a newborn. There are males who do not share this pleasure, and consider a newborn Keidi to be a small, squalling creature of great ugliness, but they are expected to keep such thoughts to themselves and join in the genera] admiration.”
