details and deal with a few unresolved points.
“Langston Nez is dehydrated and suffering from malnutrition,” Scott MacDallan said as he, Fisher, Irina, and Karl joined those already in the Harringtons’ large living room. “However, we were able to siphon out the garbage in his lungs. The level of immunization before his arrival kept pneumonia from setting in. If he wishes, he should be able to do deskwork in about a week. I’d say he could be cleared for light field work within two.”
Stephanie sighed in relief. Somehow a lot of the shine of their rescue of Dr. Whittaker and his associates would have diminished if Dr. Nez hadn’t made it-and, if there had been a fatality, it would have been nearly impossible for Dr. Whittaker to retain his role as Crown consultant.
She looked over at Dr. Hobbard, who had brought out Dr. Emberly, Dacey Emberly, and, best of all, Anders. The other members of the expedition had also been invited, but Kesia and Virgil were both making up time with their spouses, and Dr. Whittaker…
“Dr. Hobbard,” Stephanie said, “what’s going to happen with Dr. Whittaker? Do you know?”
Dr. Hobbard looked thoughtful. “Right before coming out here, I had a quick meeting with Chief Ranger Shelton. We’re all in a tough position.”
She looked apologetically at the Emberlys and Anders. “May I speak frankly?”
“Do,” Anders said before the two adults could. “You can’t possibly say anything worse about my dad than I’m already thinking.”
Anders had been widely praised by almost every member of the expedition for how he had kept a clear head when almost everyone else was flustered. Kesia Guyen had gone as far as to say that without him and Dr. Nez, they likely wouldn’t have made it.
For someone who was being lauded as a hero, Anders didn’t look very happy. In fact, he looked so miserable that Stephanie had to fight back an impulse to go over and wrap her arms around him.
She fought back a blush. Anders might get the wrong idea-or, worse, the right one. And what would she do if he pushed her away?
Lionheart, however, had no such qualms. He leapt lightly up next to the young man and patted him reassuringly on the arm. Stephanie knew Lionheart had turned on his best soothing rumble. Anders visibly relaxed.
At this latest display of treecat/human interaction, Dr. Hobbard looked as if she wanted to stop and take notes, but she continued speaking with only the slightest pause.
“Our first impulse was to ask Dr. Whittaker to leave. However, he and his team arrived with enough fanfare that we couldn’t do that without publicizing a reason. If the truth came out, both the reputations of the Forestry Service and of Landing University would suffer. We could try and hold back the full story, but enough people were involved that it’s likely the truth would leak out.”
“I believe,” Dr. Emberly said, “you could count on the members of the expedition to keep quiet. I know that Kesia has spoken to John and he’s agreed to drop the lawsuit he was contemplating. Peony Rose and Virgil have too much resting on their association with Dr. Whittaker to want to make trouble. Mother and I…Well, we came through intact, and I’ve been credited with the discovery of a new species. It’s already beginning to seem like a wonderful adventure.”
She smiled with satisfaction. The informal name “Sphinxian swamp siren” was already in use among the few informed parties. Remembering how good she had felt when her term “treecat” had been accepted, Stephanie understood the smile.
“It’s good to know the newsies won’t get much from you,” Dr. Hobbard said. “As to Dr. Whittaker…His behavior was not the best. However, he didn’t do anything that harmed any Sphinxian native. There was some discussion of asking him to leave, of putting Dr. Nez in charge, but Dr. Nez lacks Dr. Whittaker’s academic reputation. So a compromise has been suggested. Dr. Whittaker will be permitted to remain, but only if he and possibly the members of his expedition agree to carry tracking beacons with them whenever they leave their residence.”
“I think I could agree to that,” Dr. Emberly said, glancing at her mother.
Dacey nodded. “As long as I’m not tracked when I’m at home, I’m fine. Actually, after what we’ve been through, I’d be happy to know I could be found.”
Anders nodded agreement. “I don’t think I ever realized just how big a planet could be until after we went down and I started thinking about how hard it would be for even an intensive search to find us.”
Dr. Hobbard nodded. “That’s good. Hopefully, the rest of your associates will feel the same way. Meanwhile, when we have time, we’re going to come up with a variation on events that will be close enough to reality to work. Stephanie, just how many of your friends know how Dr. Whittaker’s group ended up in the wrong place?”
“Just me and Karl,” Stephanie said. “Anders told us later.”
“Good. Right now the planned cover story is something like this. Dr. Whittaker and his group were heading out for their assigned locations but decided to divert to take some pictures of the site for comparison. They landed in the bog and the rest is history.”
“That should work,” Dr. Emberly agreed. “It’s close enough to the truth. The only thing it leaves out is that Dr. Whittaker intended to do a bit more than take a few pictures. If you leak out the fact that he was enough of a rube to land on a bog, that we didn’t even have the right uni-link programs, well, we’ll come across as laughable, but not willfully arrogant.”
“Which Dad was,” Anders said. He turned to face Dr. Hobbard. “I mean, how do you deal with that?”
“We deal with it,” Dr. Hobbard said, “by adding a few members to your team. The Forestry Service is still stretched thin with fire watch, but I think a couple of probationary rangers would be happy to help with the first couple of shifts.”
Stephanie felt herself flushing with excitement. Spend days with Anders? Watch anthropologists and how they studied cultures. Do a lot of camping?
“I’d love it!” she said.
“Me, too,” Karl agreed. “I’ll need to talk with my folks, though.”
Stephanie glanced at her parents. “Uh, me too.”
But, judging from their expressions, Dr. Hobbard had already spoken with the Harringtons and they were open to the idea.
“Calida, I want to ask you about that swamp siren,” Dr. Hobbard said. “Why do you think the treecats would choose to live near something so horrible? It’s evident they knew it was there.”
“Well,” Dr. Emberly said, “I’d guess they didn’t have much choice, not if they wanted to take advantage of the bog. There’s plenty of advantage to such a location: rich soil that grows a wide variety of edible plants, fishing, good hunting. So, I figure they simply avoided the deeper areas where the swamp siren lived.”
“Still,” Marjorie Harrington said, “it does seem dangerous. I’m guessing that many people would argue this is a point against the treecats being sentient.”
“Not as much as you’d think,” Dr. Emberly said. “The treecats obviously knew how to drive the swamp siren off. Remember, humans have chosen much more dangerous environments in which to settle. For example, on Old Terra there were enormous carnivorous fish called sharks. Tours would spread offal on the water to attract the sharks, then send divers down in light metal cages to take pictures.”
“I see your point,” Marjorie agreed. “Even here in enlightened modern times we have people who insist on going hunting with bows-just for the thrill.”
Stephanie had to add, “Think about the risks the colonists here take with fire. Even with the SFS constantly issuing warnings, still, too many fires are caused by human carelessness.”
“What is the situation with the fire?” asked Scott MacDallan.
Karl was opening his mouth to answer when a knock at the door interrupted him. Jessica and her mom came in, accompanied by a much recovered Valiant. The bond between treecat and human had been another element that had diverted criticism from Stephanie and her friends when their choice to go in and help the treecats had come to the attention of the Forestry Service. It was evident that the treecats, at least, wholly approved.
Moreover, Dr. Emberly and Dr. Whittaker’s holo-images of the treecats coming to the rescue of the stranded humans, of how they had confronted the swamp siren, had shown that treecats as a community-not merely those who had been dismissed as isolated eccentrics, like Fisher and Lionheart-were willing to assist humans. This news was already having a marked effect on human opinions about treecats. Diehards might not be willing to admit that treecats were “people” any more than tales that dolphins had saved drowning sailors had automatically stopped
