Chapter I_Fearful Symmetry: A Terran Empire novel

Produced by Al Haines

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FEARFUL SYMMETRY

A Terran Empire Novel

Chapter I

Deep Space, 2568 CE

For the first time in his century-long career, Fleet-Captain Arjen of

Clan D'gameh disapproved of a mission he had been given. That his

orders came straight from the Supreme made no difference to his

feelings, nor did the First Speaker's assurance that the Circle of

Lords deemed it vital to the survival of the Traiti race.

It wasn't the goal of the mission that disturbed him, as much as the

means. In the war between the Traiti and the Terran Empire, two things

were, if not exactly sacred, proprieties that both sides respected.

One was hospital ships, and the other was the return of bodies to their

kin. By extension, ships delivering wounded or picking up dead were

also immune, a principle that neither side had violated . . . yet.

Arjen and his reinforced fleet were about to violate that unwritten

taboo. The Fleet-Captain looked around his flagship's control central,

conscious that nobody else aboard the Hermnaen knew of the planned

deceit. He traced the honor-scars on his upper body through the cloth

of his shirt, wishing he were elsewhere and free of the orders that

seemed so dishonorable--then he told himself sternly to get on with it.

His mission was to deliver one of the Terran Empire's elite, one of the

green-uniformed Rangers, safely to the Supreme and First Speaker on

Homeworld. Although that sounded simple enough, it would take both

firepower and trickery. Arjen's fleet, now with sixty ships instead

of forty, had firepower enough to overwhelm even a Sovereign-class

Terran battle cruiser, the type of ship a Ranger normally used.

Fifty-nine of the Traiti warcraft were in positions that englobed a

point in space a quarter-million n'liu from a blue-and-white oxygen

planet--over forty diameters out, nearly in the orbit of the planet's

moon.

The Hermnaen was still at the center of the twenty-n'liu-diameter

sphere of ships, its Ship-Captain and crew waiting for Arjen's orders.

Still reluctant to begin the trickery that was part of this operation,

Arjen spoke anyway. "Release signal transmitter."

"Aye, Fleet-Captain." Battle discipline was strict, if fair; not even

an action as apparently senseless as releasing a beacon in the center

of a combat-ready fleet was questioned.

Then the Hermnaen took its own position in the sphere and Arjen ordered

the beacon activated. The moment the distinctive paired triple-pings,

used only for body-return containers, sounded on the ship's receivers,

Arjen found himself the focus of fourteen pairs of eyes, from the

ship's operators in their U of consoles facing him and the Master-Pilot

and Ship-Captain Exvani, whose consoles flanked Arjen's at the opening

of the U--but not even those senior officers spoke their questions

aloud.

It wasn't necessary; Arjen knew they shared the shock and dismay he'd

felt when he was given this mission, and he was sure similar feelings

were spread throughout the Fleet. He sighed and displayed resignation

by extending the claws on one hand. "Give me Fleet Communications."

"Aye, Fleet-Captain." The Communications operator's attention returned

to his console, and within minutes Arjen was in communication with all

his Ship-Captains.

Without preamble and without expression, Arjen briefed them on the

mission and detailed his plans for its execution. "The Intelligence

Service reports intercepting communications involving a Ranger named

Esteban Tarlac, which indicate that he is in this sector. Given what

we know of Rangers, he will have his own ship respond, and given the

skill of those who pilot Rangers' vessels, it will out-transition from

hyperspace within ten n'liu of the beacon."

"Ten n'liu!" a newly-assigned Ship-Captain exclaimed.

"They are quite competent," Arjen said drily, "and they will take time

to be accurate. I think that estimate, if anything, is conservative.

You have seen little action against the Terrans?"

"None, Fleet-Captain." The officer sounded reluctant to admit that,

but went on. "My ship and I are normally on colony patrol. This will

be our first battle."

Arjen hid his brief amusement at the young Ship-Captain's obvious

anticipation; he had felt that way himself, early in the war. "Not if

things go well. In this engagement, it is most desirable that Ranger

Tarlac come willingly--or as willingly as possible under the

circumstances. To simplify the decision for him, we are insuring that

his ship will out-transition in the center of a battle-ready fleet.

All ships will therefore go onto secondary alert status immediately,

and will maintain that status until the Terrans appear. It will

probably be two or three tenth-days before that happens. When they do,

you will go to primary alert status without waiting for my orders. I

want all weapons ready to fire, but no one is to do so without my

express orders. Are there any questions?"

There were none, so Arjen dismissed the captains and went to his cabin,

regretting, not for the first time, that senior commanders had to have

private quarters--but too-close personal contact with his subordinates

would be bad for discipline.

Still, he thought as he unrolled his sleeping mat and settled down in

an attempt to relax, at least he would get some personal benefit from

this mission; whether it succeeded or failed, he was to deliver his

report to the Supreme himself. That meant a short leave, which he

could and would spend at D'gameh clanhome. Arjen closed his eyes with

a smile, anticipating the reunion with his clanmates, especially his

two sons. Lazno, the elder, was due a leave, and Reja said Mahas was

starting to talk. It would be good to see them all again, and

Homeworld's still-peaceful countryside. There was the bed of star-shaped

hermnaen flowers that gave his ship its name, in the clanhome's

garden...

Arjen rested, satisfied for the moment with his life.

Ranger Esteban Tarlac was on the bridge of the Imperial Battle Cruiser

Empress Lindner when the ultrawave body-retrieval signal came in. He

looked up, abandoning his study of the Damage Control board, and went

to stand beside Captain Jean Willis. In the few seconds that took him,

Navigation Officer Mueller had reported to his Captain.

"Not too far off our course," Willis commented. "What about it,

Ranger? Should we make the pickup?"

"Why not?" Tarlac agreed. "A few hours' delay won't matter, and as I

recall, we're the closest ship."

"Right, sir." Willis turned her attention to her officers.

"Lieutenant Matthews, inform the Palace and Fleet HQ about the change

in flight plan. Ask Fleet to have a morgue detail waiting when we get

back to Luna Base. Ensign Olorun, bring us out of hyperspace for the

course change."

Communications and Helm officers answered as one: "Yes, sir."

Transitioning out of hyperspace was simple, even in the middle of a

programmed course; Ensign Olorun flipped a switch on his Helm console,

puncturing the hyperfield and bringing them to rest relative to what

little matter was present in interstellar normspace.

The Navigator didn't need orders; he began plotting a course to the

signal source as soon as the Lindner made her out-transition. With the

ship-comp's aid, the calculations took less than a minute.

"Coordinates ready, Captain," he reported.

Ensign Olorun was as efficient as his crewmate; as soon as Mueller gave

him the final coordinates, he entered them into his own console and

programmed the course. "All green, sir," he said.

Willis smiled. She, like the others aboard, had had to earn the

privilege of serving on a Sovereign-class cruiser, and having a Ranger

aboard brought the crew to its maximum efficiency. "Execute

transition."

"Aye, sir."

At Olorun's words, everyone aboard felt the oddly pleasant twisting

sensation as the hyperfield built up. The stars flared, then the

screens went blank as the ship transitioned into hyperspace.

Tarlac still found it moderately amusing that hyperspace transition,

once generally imagined to be at least uncomfortable and very possibly

disabling, had proven to be anything but--to be the exact opposite, in

fact. As a boy, he'd enjoyed daydreaming that he himself might make a

discovery as unsettling as that particular one of Nannstein's, but so

far he hadn't, and it didn't seem at all likely he would. On the other

hand, it was just the unlikeliness of such a discovery--one that

completely reversed a commonly-held idea--that made it so unsettling.

He grinned fleetingly to himself at the thought of how unlikely

hyperflight, or even the Empire itself, must have seemed to an ordinary

Terran back when Armstrong and Aldrin had made the first landing on

Luna, but then he dismissed those unproductive if interesting

ramblings. He had work to finish before the ship got back to Luna Base

and he went on to Terra.

Five hours later, Tarlac was back on the bridge. He had no real reason

to be there, but he enjoyed watching the choreographic precision of a

Naval bridge crew, especially this one. He called on the Lindner every

time he needed something with the power of a battle cruiser, and he

praised her highly in the mock-serious arguments Rangers had with each

other about the merits of their chosen ships--even over the performance

of such a simple maneuver as the retrieval of body-return containers.

Tarlac had often wondered about the puzzle those containers presented.

The Traiti had initiated the body exchanges, and nobody could even

guess at the reason. There had been no communication, nothing except

the sudden signal that led to cautious recovery of the first container.

It had been examined even more cautiously, but had proven as harmless

as had all of the later pickups. There weren't many; space battles

left few recognizable bodies. Even ground battles left few, since

hand-held blasters at full power or molecular disruptors literally

vaporized unarmored targets, and if enough of them overloaded an armored

target's screen generator, the resulting explosion had the same practical

effect. Most of the recovered bodies were victims of accident or of

the rare hand-to-hand combat.

The Ranger brought his attention back to the bridge as Olorun reported

ten seconds until out-transition. "Five credits says we're within

fifteen klicks," the young Helmsman added with a grin.

"You're on," Tarlac laughed. "Optimist!"

"We'll see, sir. Out-transitioning . . . now."

There was a moment of silence as the ship re-entered normspace and

stars appeared on the viewscreen, followed by murmurs of dismay.

Captain Willis slapped the General Quarters alarm, swearing briefly but

bitterly. "Damn! It was a trap!" The Traiti violation of something

which had been sacrosanct was almost as shocking as the overwhelming

number of the angular yet graceful Traiti ships.

"When they set up an ambush," Tarlac observed quietly, "it's a good

one. There's enough firepower out there to vaporize us three times

over."

"Yeah," Willis agreed, equally quiet. "Well, let's see how many of

them we can take out with us." She raised her voice, addressing her

Weapons Officer. "Lieutenant Dawes, concentrated primary fire on their

flagship--"

"Hold it," Tarlac interrupted. "There's something peculiar here. If

they'd wanted us dead, they could've opened fire as soon as we

out-transitioned. Since they didn't, let's see if we can find out just

what they do want."

"Yes, sir," Willis said. "Hold your fire, Lieutenant, but be ready."

"Aye, Captain." Dawes was poised, tense, his fingers hovering almost

in contact with his firing studs.

"What the--!" came an exclamation from the Communications Officer.

"Sir, I'm getting a signal from them!"

"Put it on the screen," Willis ordered, inwardly amused. The idea of a

Traiti who wanted to talk instead of fight ought to be astonishing--but

not much could astonish an IBC's crew. They were too used to the

out-of-the-ordinary events a Ranger seemed to attract to be astonished by

much less than a divine manifestation. Even a Traiti appearing on a

communicator screen didn't justify much more than Matthews'

startlement.

While few humans could honestly claim to have seen a live Traiti in the

nearly ten years the Terran Empire had been at war with them, everyone

knew what they looked like. They were big, the males at least

averaging about 250 kilos, two meters tall--heavy, but not fat because

of greater-than-human tissue density. They also had skin like soft but

armor-tough gray leather, an ovoid head with bulges at top and sides

set more horizontally on the short neck than a human's, with small

eyes, slit nostrils, lipless shark-toothed mouth, and no external

ears--but except for those and semi-retractile claws on their hands, the

biologists insisted that Traiti were so much like humans it ought to

indicate a common ancestor somewhere.

What did surprise the people on the Lindner's bridge was that the

Traiti on the screen was smiling, exposing those shark-like teeth in an

expression that might or might not mean pleasure but that certainly

looked menacing.

When Arjen spoke, his voice provided another surprise. It was deep,

not unexpectedly, but it was also soft, carrying an almost lilting

intonation that made his Imperial English oddly attractive. "We no

harm mean, Ship-Captain. I must to your superior speak."

He turned his attention to the green-clad Ranger, crossing his arms

over his chest and inclining his head briefly in courtesy. "Ranger

Esteban Tarlac. I you greetings bring, from the Supreme and First

Speaker. I Fleet-Captain Arjen am."

Tarlac was surprised, but Rangers were adaptable; he returned the

Traiti's salutation with a crossed-arm bow of his own and a quiet,

"Fleet-Captain." Then he waited for Arjen's next move.

Arjen felt unwilling respect for the human who remained so calm and

left the initiative to him. "The Supreme and First Speaker ask, that

you them on Homeworld join. I their invitation extend, and

transportation offer."

Tarlac appreciated the sharp irony of the so-courteous invitation,

backed up by the outsized fleet. "They don't leave me much choice, do

they?"

"They truly none you leave, Ranger," Arjen said regretfully. "I do not

these tactics like, but I must my orders follow."

"Mmm. You have orders to destroy this ship if I refuse, don't you?"

Willis swung to face him. "Ranger, no! You can't, you're too--"

"Stop, you," Arjen interrupted. "This must his decision be. And he

right is. If he does not with us come, my fleet will your ship

destroy."

"Why do you want me badly enough to violate that signal?" Tarlac

asked.

Even to the humans, unaccustomed to Traiti expressions, Arjen looked

uncomfortable. "That had I hoped not to say, Ranger. The First

Speaker says it necessary is, a Ranger to Homeworld bring. If I more

say, it may your crew distress." He hesitated, then went on. "The

Supreme's word you have, such a thing will never again done be."

"Damned if I know why," Tarlac said slowly, "but I think you mean that.

All of it. Okay, I won't ask. You'll release the ship if I

surrender?"

"We ask not that," Arjen replied, offended. "As our guest come, and

your ship may freely go."

Willis interrupted their dialogue. "Fleet-Captain."

Arjen turned to her, inclining his head, and despite the discomfort

that had led him to omit it before, addressed her with the formal

honorific proper to an out-clan female. "I you hear, ka'naya

Ship-Captain."

"Ranger Tarlac believes you, so I'm forced to. But I'll also have to

report to the Emperor. Why do you want him?"

Arjen sighed deeply. Females in the human military disturbed him

considerably, though he'd accustomed himself to the fact that they were

included there--even in active combat--with no objection from the males

who should be protecting them. And this one sounded like his Clan

Mother. "Ka'naya Ship-Captain, please. Ask this of me not. It will

you only hurt cause."

"Don't worry about that," Willis snapped. "You have your duty, I have

mine. Tell me."

"As you wish, ka'naya." Arjen sighed again, this time to himself. She

did sound much like Ka'ruchaya Noriy . . . He opened his shirt,

exposing his massive chest. "See you these?" he asked, tracing the

scars that ran from the base of his throat to just above his belt.

"I see them," Willis said grimly. Similar scars, found on maybe ten

percent of recovered Traiti bodies, had Imperial experts puzzled. They

had to be significant, and deliberately inflicted--they were far too

regular to be accidental--but no one had been able to venture a

reasonable guess at what they meant.

"I them in my Ordeal of Honor earned. Too much we have of Rangers

heard; the truth we must know. That can best through the Ordeal

learned be. When we on Homeworld are, and a clan have found that will

him adopt, the Supreme will ask that he it try. If Rangers truly as

prisoners claim are, he will agree."

"That's not a condition of releasing the ship, then," Tarlac said.

"No, Ranger. The Ordeal must freely chosen be. Those who it try

unwilling, die. We ask not certain death of you, but if you the Ordeal

survive, the First Speaker says you will this war with honor end."

That possibility, Jean Willis knew, was something no Ranger could

ignore. Unable to let him go without some objection, she spoke quietly

enough that the comm pickups wouldn't transmit her words. "Anything

that would leave scars like that on one of them . . . Steve, it's

suicide, even if he says it isn't--or a trick so they can take you

alive for interrogation, then blow the Lindner out of space. You don't

have any reason to trust them."

"Trust doesn't have anything to do with it," Tarlac replied, just as

quietly. "It's a case of trying to minimize the Empire's losses. I

don't think it's suicide, but if it is, so what? I won't be any deader

than if I refuse and his fleet destroys the Lindner. If he's being

honest, you can get word back to Terra. If he's not, and they do try

interrogation, well," Tarlac smiled slightly and shrugged, "I'll make

sure I'm no use to them except as a warm body."

"Yeah." Willis knew what he meant, and her voice was bitter. Senior

Imperials, or those in sensitive positions, could be given protection

against questioning; she had it herself. If the Ranger chose, a code

phrase in his own voice would turn him into a mental blank. It would

do nothing to him physically, but it would wipe out, completely and

permanently, every memory he had. He would never remember so much as

his name unless he was returned to Terra to have the tapes of his

latest mindscan reimprinted.

"So it's not that much of a risk," Tarlac said. He raised his voice.

"Very well, Fleet-Captain. I accept your invitation, and your Ordeal.

When and how do you want me to transfer to your ship?"

"No reason for delay there is. Now come. A spacesuit use, your ship

to leave. When you far enough from it are, you will onto this ship

brought be. You need nothing extra bring; we will all your requirements

supply."

"It'll take me about twenty minutes to get to an airlock and suit up."

"Understood, Ranger. I your arrival await."

With that, Arjen's image disappeared from the Lindner's viewscreen,

replaced by a view of his fleet. Willis stared angrily at the

englobing Traiti ships, running fingers through her short blonde hair

in a gesture of frustration. "I still don't like this, Steve. I don't

like it one little bit. Letting them get their hands on a Ranger . . ."

"I'm not too fond of it myself," Tarlac admitted, "but I can't see any

way out. This was a beautiful trap. They've made sure the Empire

loses a Ranger, one way or another, but if Arjen's being honest, at

least it keeps a cruiser and crew. And you know as well as I do that

if there's any chance of ending this slaughter, I have to take it." He

grinned fleetingly. "I guess this is one way to find out what they're

really like. While I'm suiting up, squirt-transmit a copy of the log

to Terra, would you? The socio specs may be able to dig something

useful out of what he said."

"Yes, sir." Willis stood, bleakly aware that the loss of an IBC would

be minor next to the loss of a Ranger. If she could have saved him by

sacrificing the Lindner, she wouldn't have hesitated. But, as usual,

the Ranger was right; in combat there were bound to be heavy losses

occasionally, and in such cases the best that could be done was to save

what little was possible. "Ah . . . will you be going armed?"

Tarlac grinned, almost grimly. "It probably won't mean much, but yes.

He called me a guest, and I'm going to act as if I believe him. That

means full uniform, including gun." He took a last slow look around

the bridge, then extended a hand to Willis. "Good luck, Jean. See you

after the war."

"You too, Steve. It's been an honor captaining your ship." Willis'

grip was tighter than usual, echoing the tension on the bridge, and it

gave the Ranger the distinct impression she didn't expect to see him

again. Honesty compelled him to admit to himself that he was less

optimistic than he tried to appear.

"It won't be suicide, you know," he said, speaking now to the entire

bridge crew. "As I said earlier, if they just wanted me dead, they'd

have vaporized the Lindner as soon as we out-transitioned." He

hesitated, remembering something. "Oh, yeah. Mister Olorun, how much

did we miss their phony beacon by?"

"Twelve point nine kilometers, sir," the young officer replied,

subdued.

Tarlac whistled softly in honest admiration, then dug into a beltpouch

and flipped the Helmsman a five-credit piece. "Empress Lindner?"

"Yes, Ranger?" The ship's voice was feminine, slightly metallic.

"Log my commendation for Ensign Olorun's piloting, and have a shuttle

ready to take me to Personnel Lock Three."

There was a barely-noticeable pause, then the ship-comp said, "Done,

Ranger," as one of the three bridge doors slid open. Tarlac left the

silent control room and entered the intraship shuttle that was waiting

for him.

With the ship at General Quarters, the Ranger found the personnel lock

deserted. That was fine with him. Suiting up was easier with help,

but he didn't care for company just then; he began the ten-minute

process of donning and checking his suit alone.

That the Traiti spoke Imperial English, even ungrammatically and with

an accent, didn't surprise him. It was fairly common knowledge that

the so-called Sharks took prisoners--although those were even less

common than bodies--and nobody had doubted that the Traiti were smart

enough to realize the value of learning their enemy's language.

That was an intelligence coup the Empire had been unable to match.

Traiti too badly wounded to fight, or those hit by stun-beams and taken

prisoner, never lived for long. Once they decided escape was

impossible, those who were able to committed suicide, usually by

clawing out their throats. Those who for one reason or another

couldn't actively kill themselves simply lost the will to act and then

to live, dying usually within a week of capture. The Empire had

learned that they called themselves Traiti, little more.

Once he had his suit on, the Ranger fortunately didn't have to walk

far. A standard spacesuit was considerably less massive than a Marine's

power armor, but it wasn't light, and it was clumsy in anything

approaching a full standard gee. Clumping over to the lock, Tarlac

cycled through.

He stood for a moment on the Lindner's hull. He enjoyed being EVA,

especially near a planet, and the blue-white world off to his right was

achingly reminiscent of Terra. Then he spotted a blinking white light

"above" and to his left, on a Traiti ship. He released his boots'

mag-field and pushed off toward the light, waiting until he was perhaps

five meters off the hull before activating his thrustpac.

When he'd gone roughly a kilometer--a diameter out from the Lindner--a

soft Traiti voice told him to cut power. He did, and the pressure at

the small of his back died.

"You have control." He kept his voice impassive, as though he were

giving the most routine of responses.

With that, he felt the pull of a tractor beam. At least, he thought,

he'd aimed for the right ship; he was being drawn toward and into an

open airlock. It was bigger than the lock he'd used on the Lindner, and

different in detail, but it served the same function and had been

tractor beam released him and the lock's outer door closed, radiant

heaters came on.

His suit indicators showed rapidly-increasing air pressure. He

removed his helmet when it reached Terra-normal, but it didn't stop

until the indicators showed air pressure, like the gravity, about ten

percent greater than Terra's, with a fraction over a quarter oxygen.

Like recycled air anywhere, it smelled flat.

Finally the inner door cycled open and Tarlac stepped through, to

confront what he thought of as a commando squad. There were seven of

them, with insignia indicating what Intelligence evaluations said

should be six troopers and a junior officer. They were unarmored but

otherwise in full battle gear, all standing in what the Ranger guessed

might be the Traiti version of attention: relaxed yet alert, holding

grounded blast rifles, right hands resting on dagger hilts. He had

time to notice disruptors and shortswords on the commandos' belts in

addition to the daggers, before the officer snapped him a salute that

would have done credit to an Imperial Marine.

He was motionless for an instant in surprise, then he returned the

salute as crisply as his spacesuit would allow. "Ranger Esteban Tarlac

of the Terran Empire."

"Team-Leader Hovan of Clan Ch'kara. Need you help, that suit to

remove?"

The squad remained alert, but gave no more hint of threat than before.

Tarlac shrugged mentally. "I'd appreciate it, yes."

Hovan handed his blast-rifle to one of his squad members and approached

Tarlac. He looked as massive as the Ranger expected, and was typically

thickset, but he was even heavier and stronger than he looked. The

strength became evident as Hovan helped Tarlac out of the spacesuit,

for with Traiti assistance, the Ranger discovered, the cumbersome suit

was almost easy to handle.

While he helped the human remove his spacesuit, Hovan did some studying

of his own, wondering what made a Ranger so formidable. This Tarlac

was even less impressive physically than the Terran combat troops he'd

faced. He was no more than shoulder-high to Hovan, and so slender he

seemed almost frail. There was black hair on the man's head, and

obvious facial differences, but the thin light-brown skin and total

lack of claws or effective teeth were not impressive. What made this

human so powerful?

There had to be something, he knew, some reason for the prisoners to

hold Rangers in such high regard. Part of it had to be courage; he'd

been told, while the man was en route, that he had already consented to

the Ordeal, a decision nobody had expected him to make so quickly.

There had even been some betting that he would refuse.

The plain, forest-green uniform revealed when the man's spacesuit was

off was functional, Hovan noticed with approval, its only decoration

the platinum star-in-circle badge on the man's left breast, the symbol

of his rank. Best, though, was the fact that Tarlac was armed, showing

he regarded them as true fighters.

That eased Hovan's mind. Ka'ruchaya Yarra had told him to judge the

Terran he would meet, and if he found the man worthy, to offer adoption

into Ch'kara. It would be an unprecedented honor for Hovan, as well as

the Terran, if that happened; adoption was a Clan Mother's privilege,

delegated sometimes to another female, never in Hovan's knowledge to a

male.

He had told no one about his mission from Yarra. He still had trouble

believing that he might bring a new member into the clan . . .

He'd had no difficulty being assigned as the Ranger's escort and

teacher. Since humans were considered poor fighters, at least

individually--and with a few outstanding exceptions--the job carried no

status, and when he had indicated willingness to do it, the task became

his. He'd been teased about it, not seriously; he'd proven himself

often enough that nobody grudged him what they thought would be easy

duty.

Tarlac watched the Traiti stow the suit before turning to the commando

squad with a claw-extending gesture, to say something in a tonal

language that told the Ranger where the lilting Traiti version of

Imperial English came from. If these people were singers, he thought,

they'd be good. Singing didn't seem to fit in with what the Empire

knew of the Traiti as ruthless, bloodthirsty killers, and language was

hardly a reliable indicator of such things, of course--but still, it

seemed incongruous. Tarlac hadn't thought about it much, but he

supposed he would have expected their language to be as sharp as their

teeth and claws.

The commandos fell in around the Ranger, and at another extended-claw

gesture from Hovan, the whole group moved toward the Hermnaen's control

central. Tarlac rather wished the Team-Leader would leave his claws

retracted. He'd seen Traiti claws in action once, and didn't enjoy

being reminded of the incident.

That had been on Ra after a ferocious ground battle, when the search

team he was with found a seriously wounded Traiti. He'd looked so

badly hurt that he couldn't move, so the team's medics didn't bother

stunning him before beginning first aid. When the Ranger heard screams

it was already too late; both medics were dead, one's throat torn out,

the other's belly opened, and three Marines were down. By that time

the Traiti was going for Tarlac, claws raking air toward the man's

face.

Trained reflexes had taken over then. Rangers might not be experts in

one-on-one combat, but they could make a creditable showing; Tarlac had

done a tuck-and-roll, bringing his blaster out to save his own life by

a fraction of a second as he fired pointblank, killing the Traiti.

Now here he was, aboard a Traiti warship, surrounded by a squad of the

fearsome warriors and going voluntarily, if with no great enthusiasm,

to an Ordeal that he suspected, despite Fleet-Captain Arjen's

assurances, would cost him his life. Brooding on it would do no good,

though, so Tarlac turned his attention to his surroundings.

The ship was surprisingly unwarlike, by Terran standards. Sky blue, as

far as Tarlac was concerned, wasn't exactly a military color. And not

even Sovereign-class cruisers, used during peacetime for such things as

long-distance exploration and disaster aid, had passageways that

doubled as art galleries. At the Traiti squad's pace, he didn't have

time to examine the pictures, but he observed that all of them seemed

well-done and the subject matter was varied: landscapes, battle and

space scenes, figures. The Ranger couldn't help thinking of the

commonest subjects as Madonnas, although they didn't seem religious.

The ones with naked infants or nursing children made him uncomfortable;

on Terra and even in most of the older colonies, such things weren't

shown in public.

Despite his unease, Tarlac studied the pictures as well as he could

during the walk. Unlikely as it seemed, he might somehow return to the

Empire, and if that happened, any information he could bring back would

be valuable to the socio and anthro specialists. That included

information on Traiti art. He didn't have a specialist's training

himself, but Ranger Linda Ellman, who'd taught him to appreciate art,

had given him some understanding of how revealing artistic conventions

could be. He knew enough to wonder at the prevalence of Madonnas--and

at the total lack of abstract, impressionist, and other

non-representational art forms.

By the time he got that far, they were at the bridge. So many control

consoles grouped around what had to be a control central couldn't be

anything else. Yet even here, the surroundings were totally unwarlike--by

Terran standards, Tarlac reminded himself. The sunny yellow color

scheme was more noticeable now than it had been when he'd talked to

them from the Lindner. It made the Traiti uniforms, both the ship

crew's dark gray and the commandos' gray-green, seem even drabber by

comparison.

Tarlac and Hovan were the only two to enter the bridge itself; the rest

of the commandos, their guard duty done, left. Had it been an honor

guard? Tarlac wondered. There had been nothing to indicate the

contrary.

Arjen rose as the Ranger approached, inclining his head but not

repeating the full formal salute. Then he gestured toward the large

repeater screen, which showed Jean Willis, still wearing her grimmest

face. Tarlac had a good idea of what she was thinking. The Traiti had

the Ranger they wanted, for whatever their real purpose might be. It

didn't make sense for them to keep their word, release a fully-operational

enemy battle cruiser. But he couldn't have passed up even so remote a

chance . . .

Arjen turned, to face Willis' image directly. "The condition met has

been, Ship-Captain. You free to go now are."

Willis didn't look as if she believed it, but she gave orders to have

Terra's coordinates fed into the helm. Then she searched the repeater

screen, still wearing a troubled expression. "Ranger--?"

Tarlac moved to stand beside Arjen, the beginnings of hope allowing him

to smile. "I'm all right, Captain. Your log'll show everything,

including this, but I'll make it an order anyway. Return to Terra."

That didn't seem to make Willis any happier, but she couldn't argue

with a Ranger's direct order. "Yes, sir." She turned to Olorun.

"Execute transition."

Arjen showed no reaction to the Lindner's departure before he gave

Tarlac his full attention. "To this ship welcome be, Ranger. You have

Team-Leader Hovan met; he has said, he will you escort and teach. If

you to him object, I will another assign."

Tarlac glanced up at the apparently impassive commando beside him, then

looked back at Arjen. He could hardly dislike the Team-Leader he'd

barely met. "I don't object. I'd be honored." It wouldn't hurt to be

polite, especially since it was beginning to look as if he were

actually what Arjen had called him, a guest. For no reason he could

name, he inclined his head and touched fingertips to his brow.

Hovan suppressed a gasp of astonishment and heard some around the

bridge that weren't suppressed. How could a Terran know to accept

hospitality in the proper way? Unless the Lords . . . No, such a

thing was far too unimportant for the Lords to concern themselves with.

Arjen's hands covered the Ranger's briefly in response to the gesture,

and the moment was over.

It had to be a fortunate coincidence, not important but a demonstration

of the Terran's willingness to take his part in Traiti life. Hovan

thought about the adoption, and quickly decided that he shouldn't offer

it so soon. Two things, significant as they might be, weren't enough

to prove this human worthy of a clan as old and honored as Ch'kara. He

needed more, especially if the Ranger was to join as a candidate for

the Ordeal of Honor. Hovan had been given a solemn responsibility for

the clan's choice; he had to be certain he was right when he made his

decision. And he had the time for that; Homeworld was more than a

tenday away.

"If you will then me excuse," Arjen said formally, "I still much to do

have. I the freedom of the ship you give."

"Thank you." There was no more doubt in Tarlac's mind that he was a

guest. He still had his gun and was, it seemed, to be allowed to roam

freely. He turned to his escort. "I'm at your disposal, Team-Leader.

What do we do now?"

"It past my normal duty-time is, and I hungry am," was the reply. "I

food need, and sleep. If you something else prefer, one of my men some

English speaks; he can as temporary escort for you act."

Tarlac's internal clock said it was mid-afternoon, but this was as good

a time as any to start changing his diurnal rhythms. "That's not

necessary, Team-Leader."

"Then come," Hovan said, and Traiti and human left the bridge.

Hovan's long strides didn't give Tarlac much time to study art on the

way to the dining area, but he saw more than he had earlier, since he

was no longer surrounded by bodies. The new data didn't change his

initial impression, but he had already started to adapt to the Madonna

pictures that'd disturbed him. That was no real surprise; spacers in

general were more adaptable than ground-pounders--they had to be--and

Rangers excelled at that, as at almost everything. Given the need and

a little time, he could adapt to any humanly-conceivable circumstances

. . . though of course some things took longer than others.

So far, Tarlac was finding nothing too difficult in the Traiti pattern.

He suspected that he might, when he got deeper into their culture.

This business of adoption, for instance--why should he have to join a

clan to take their Ordeal?

And why wait to find out, or anyway to learn whether he could find out?

Hovan was supposed to be his teacher in such matters. As they passed

pictures and corridor intersections and doors labeled in the angular

Traiti script, Tarlac spoke. "The Fleet-Captain says I'll have to be a

member of one of your clans to take the Ordeal. Can you tell me why?"

"Because parts of the Ordeal in-clan matters are, not with out-clan or

clanless discussed. I can no more of that say."

"Okay. I suppose I'll find out when the time comes." That seemed to

describe a lot of today's experiences, Tarlac thought, then he decided

not to worry about it. It was easier to cope with situations as they

arose, in a case like this.

They arrived at a meal hall, and the smell was enough to make Tarlac

hungry. It operated cafeteria-style; Tarlac, unfamiliar with any of

the food, copied Hovan's choices, and ended up with more than he could

possibly eat. The portions, from salad to stew and a beverage that

looked like milk, were sized to fuel a body mass more than three times

his. Still, the food was good, if unfamiliar, and he surprised himself

by finishing almost half.

He leaned back with a sigh of repletion, returning Hovan's quick smile

as the other continued eating. There was little conversation to hear

over the sound of eating utensils, knives and short-tined spoons that

doubled as forks. Clearly, eating was serious business for these

people. At least he didn't have to worry about the food; bio-studies

had shown that Traiti and humans had the same basic nutritional

requirements and limitations. No Traiti food should poison him.

Finally Hovan pushed back his tray, his meal finished. "Ranger Esteban

Tarlac. We will much together be; object you if we not formal are?

Out-clan it not usual is, names to use instead of titles, but I think

it would fitting be."

Tarlac nodded; under the circumstances, it did seem appropriate. "I'm

called Steve, then, Hovan. That's the short form of my given name."

"Steve. A name that much of strength bears, from the sound." Steve of

Clan Ch'kara. Yes, Hovan thought, it did sound fitting, and it was

another good sign that the man allowed him that liberty. There was no

denying a Ranger's status among humans. It might take the Ordeal to

find out whether an individual Ranger was worthy of honor from the

Traiti, but prisoners had made it more than clear that Rangers were

direct representatives of the Terran Sovereign. They went anywhere

they were needed, to tackle crises nobody else was capable of handling.

Sometimes, it was said, the mere threat of a Ranger's intervention made

actual intervention unnecessary. And it was they, when the need arose,

who selected the Sovereigns--so far, always another Ranger. There was

more, stories that made Rangers seem like Lords. Hovan didn't believe

those, for Steve had used a spacesuit to transfer to the Hermnaen; he

hadn't breathed vacuum. But even so, to name-call such a one must be

as great a privilege as the task Yarra had given him. "Do many you so

call?"

"Hmm? Oh. No, not many." Tarlac seldom thought about it, and was

surprised at the brevity of the list. "The captain of my cruiser, the

Emperor, other Rangers, my mother . . . that's about it." He frowned

briefly. "It'd be nice to have more, but the job doesn't allow it. A

Ranger's as much a symbol as a person. It's mostly a damn good

life . . . but sometimes it gets lonely. I think I'm almost looking

forward to being adopted, odd as that may seem at my age." Then he

shrugged. "Sorry, Hovan. I didn't mean to go crying on your shoulder.

Don't know why I did."

Hovan rose, motioning Steve to follow. He had never heard of "crying

on your shoulder," but could guess from context what the man meant, and

thought it best not to go into something so personal, at least while

Steve was out-clan. "Come. I will you our sleep-room show, while it

still early is."

Tarlac went along, surprised at his self-revelation. He'd seldom

mentioned the occasional loneliness before, even to the other Rangers,

who shared it. It didn't fit the image. He grinned sardonically for a

second. Image. Hah. Thanks to the image, not even newsies pushed a

Ranger too hard, and nobody else pushed at all. Nobody with any

brains, at least.

Hovan interrupted his brooding. "What can you of the Empire and

Rangers say? I wish not to intrude or offend, but I curious am."

Tarlac gave that a moment's thought, and found the answer an easy one.

"Quite a bit, as a matter of fact. I'll tell you anything you want to

know, except classified military information. Your High Command must

know as well as I do how this war's gone up to now."

"Telling us even that would little difference make," Hovan said

quietly. "You know not how close you to victory are. In less than

another year, there will no more Traiti be."

The Ranger stopped where he was, deeply shocked. "Hovan, what are you

saying? The Empire isn't out to commit genocide! We don't kill

non-combatants on purpose!"

"No such thing as noncombatants is. When we to Homeworld retreat, we

no other place to go will have. All will fighters be, except the very

youngest. It happened so, in the clan wars nearly four thousand years

ago."

Hovan's calm words meant the Empire was in the process of exterminating

an entire intelligent race, a crime more monstrous than any recorded in

the history of all three Imperial races combined. And the Empire

didn't even know it! The Ranger would have cursed, but not even a

space-scout's inventive vocabulary could express his feelings.

Not really expecting an affirmative answer, Tarlac asked, "Can they--the

women and children, anyway--can any of them surrender?"

"No word for that in Language is," Hovan said. "We the concept from

humans learned. They cannot."

And that was a certain indicator in any language. Lacking the word, it

lacked the concept, and so did the people who spoke it. It was true

that no Traiti had surrendered during the entire course of the war, and

there had been speculation about the reason; the hypothesis that Traiti

were incapable of it had gained some favor over the years.

Tarlac wasn't glad to find it was right. That meant that even more

than the chance of peace rode on his survival of this Ordeal. Damn!

Tarlac thought the word with vehement intensity, but didn't say it

aloud. It wasn't fair! A race's extinction should not depend on one

man, especially one who wasn't at all sure of his own ability to

survive!

Clearly, he could no longer afford such doubts. So, think of

something else for now.

Okay. He'd already begun to see how complex the Traiti were, much

more so than the Empire suspected. The Empire's knowledge was limited

to these people's savage ferocity--or what seemed like savage ferocity.

The war had exploded suddenly and simply: a scoutship exploring about

150 parsecs coreward from Irschcha had fallen silent. A rescue ship

sent to check on the scout had had time to describe its attackers

before it was destroyed as well. The third ship was the Emperor Chang,

a battle cruiser which survived its Traiti attack and brought word

that, like it or not, the Empire was at war with an unreasoning enemy.

Traiti hostility was long proven, but Tarlac could no longer believe it

was unreasoning.

"Hovan--why did your people attack that first scout, ten years ago? I

feel certain it didn't give any deliberate provocation."

"I cannot fully say, since I have not the tapes seen. We knew not that

its intention peaceful was. You should the Supreme ask, when you him

see. But this much all know: an alien ship suddenly over a new-landed

homeship was, a possible danger to females and younglings. It

responded not to challenge, and visual contact obscene horror showed."

Claws flickered briefly on one hand, then Hovan continued. "Our

guard-ship the only way it could reacted. That we since learned a mistake

was, but too late."

"Most of that I understand, I think, but I'll take your advice and ask

to see the tapes." No wonder the Traiti had acted as they had. Their

hyperdrive at the time had been slow to transition; when an Imperial

ship appeared within seconds, it was only natural that they'd interpret

it as a threat. And scoutships were armed--had to be--so that even if

the ship hadn't tried to attack, it was obviously not harmless. The

Traiti had challenged instead of firing instantly at the invader, and

the challenge, not understood, had been ignored. So the colony's

guard-ship acted. "Damn! What a waste! One misunderstanding led

to-- Oh, hell!" Tarlac stared at the deck, scarcely aware of his

surroundings.

When he looked up, Hovan's green eyes were appraising him. "If that

you disturbs, let it not. They would have anyway fired, I think."

Tarlac recalled the unexplained factor. "The obscene horror. What was

that? What could be so bad it'd cause that kind of a reaction?"

"Females on a ship that might have into battle gone. No race insane

enough to that allow . . ." Hovan shook his head. "We have since

learned that you so many females have that it not insane for you is,

but it still unacceptable to most of us is. For us, a female in

unnecessary danger to place, the death penalty earns. One who actual

harm on a female inflicts, unless in self-defense, his clan full

dishonor brings. That one also dies, in public at his Clan Mother's

claws, the clan's honor to restore. Then he buried is, not to the

Lords presented. See you now?"

That was quite a taboo, Tarlac thought, taken aback, but why--? He was

beginning to put things together: paintings of Madonnas, humans having

"so many" females . . . "How much of your race is female?"

"One in four."

Oh. Dear. God.

The Imperial ship had been a threat to Traiti women and children. It

had ignored a challenge, and the seeming invaders had shown a complete

disregard for even their own females' safety. With that gender ratio,

protection of females and young had to be the prime Traiti racial

imperative. The crew of that Imperial scout might or might not have

violated first-contact procedure--he'd find out when he saw the tape

Hovan had mentioned--but it was certain they'd triggered an

instinct-level reaction.

They had come to the sleeproom by the time the Ranger reached that

point in his thoughts. The compartment was wider than it was deep,

with lockers along the bulkheads to either side of the entry door.

There were two other doors on the left, and the right wall held what

looked like oversized square pigeon-holes--but it was the mural on the

long wall opposite the entrance that captured Tarlac's attention.

It was a mountain scene, one that might have been of a remote spot on

Terra except for details of the foreground forest. And it was

beautiful. Tarlac found himself relaxing, and smiled.

"You our Homeworld like?"

"It's . . . like my home, the way it was when I was a boy. We had a

house near a lake like that. It could only be reached by grav-hopper.

We didn't have much company, but I didn't miss it; I had the lake, the

woods, the animals . . ." For the first time since he'd left for the

Academy, Tarlac felt a twinge of homesickness. He wondered why,

briefly, before dismissing it. It had to be the mural; Linda had said

that art could evoke emotion even between cultures.

"You alone grew up? No kin had?" Hovan sounded faintly shocked.

"My parents, of course, and family get-togethers every couple of years.

We weren't really close; the family was too big for that. Uncle Martin

and Aunt Gisele alone had ten kids." Tarlac shook his head, grinning.

"What a mob!"

"Kids?"

It seemed Hovan's vocabulary had a blank spot; Tarlac tried again.

"Children. Younglings."

"Ten . . . younglings?" Hovan's voice was little more than a whisper,

sounding awed. He turned away abruptly, toward the right-side-wall

pigeon-holes. Tarlac followed, accepting the bundle he was handed,

then he followed his guide back to unroll the bundle on the floor. It

proved to be a Traiti-sized bedroll with a pillow and a flocked-foam

blanket.

Then Hovan showed him to a locker, and Tarlac found Arjen's comment

that his needs would be supplied was exactly accurate. The locker

held Terran-style soap, comb, toothbrush, underwear--everything, it

seemed, except uniforms.

"Thanks. You people are thorough."

"We try. I only glad am, that you have honor shown. I would not have

it pleasant found, an unworthy one to guide."

The Ranger didn't know what to say to what sounded like praise, or at

least like approval, from a Traiti. He settled for, "Thanks again. I

try, too." Then he quickly changed the subject. "Uh, Hovan, I don't

want to be offensive, but I think it might be a good idea if you show

me where the sanitary facilities are."

"That next on the tour was," Hovan said, smiling.

After taking care of immediate necessities, the Ranger decided he could

use a bath. He left his gun and equipment belt in the locker, picked

out clean underwear, and started toward the bathing room door in the

left wall.

Hovan, turning from a nearby locker, stopped him. "Why need you

those?"

"To sleep in," Tarlac said, surprised. The Traiti had forgotten one

thing; they hadn't thought to salvage pajamas from the Terran supplies.

"You need them not. The air warm is, and you a blanket have."

Uh-oh, Tarlac thought. That must mean the Traiti slept nude, which was

definitely not a Terran custom. He was by no means certain he could

adjust that far that quickly.

Hovan sensed the man's unease, remembering stories of human prisoners'

behavior. "If you more comfortable that way are, those wear." But he

was disappointed. Until now, Steve had been doing quite well.

Tarlac hesitated, thinking, then returned the small bundle of clothing

to his locker. "I don't think so. Since it seems I'll be living with

you people for quite a while, I might as well get used to it as soon as

I can."

He walked hurriedly through the bathing room door, feeling himself

blush. This wouldn't be quite so easy. He'd never been nude in public;

it was indecent. Then he hesitated, realizing that he wasn't being

completely accurate: it was indecent only by current standards, and

even at that, not everywhere. Although he'd never visited any, he knew

the Empire held worlds where nudity was unremarkable. That was

obviously the case here, and he didn't have any choice, so he'd have to

make the best of it.

He located the cleaner and undressed, putting his uniform and

underclothes in, and turned the unit on. Then he picked one of the

translucent shower stalls, experimented with the unfamiliar controls,

and began soaping himself.

By the time he was clean and, he hoped, no longer blushing, there were

Traiti in the stalls to either side of him, gray bodies seen dimly

through the shower walls and an occasional bit of melodic speech

sounding over the noise of running water. Bracing himself, he left the

scanty concealment of the stall and picked up a towel off the stack

he'd spotted earlier. Drying himself didn't take nearly long enough,

but he forced himself to stop when he was done, and walked into the

sleeproom.

To his relief, no one was there, though another dozen mats unrolled on

the floor were evidence there soon would be. Hovan joined him seconds

later, still damp, and gave Tarlac a quick, searching glance. "Be

easy, Steve," he said. "You will none offend, you so little body hair

have. There nothing wrong with you seems."

Tarlac stared at him in disbeief, then couldn't keep from grinning.

"None offend . . . Body hair!" Embarrassment dissolved into helpless

laughter, subsiding only when the Ranger had collapsed onto his

sleeping mat. "That did it, Hovan," he finally managed to say.

"Nudity's okay, but not body hair--Whew!"

He stood, shaking his head and smiling, no longer disturbed by his own

state of undress or by the equally bare Traiti now moving about the

room. They seemed more impressive this way than when clothed, unlike

most humans--himself, Tarlac admitted wryly, included. He felt pale in

contrast with their rich, even coloring. And while he was in good

shape, he was nowhere near as muscular as the beings around him. They

made him feel out of place in a half-remembered way, almost like . . .

what? Yes, that was it. Like a kid.

Well, that didn't really matter. Rangers weren't picked for their

bodies. The primary criteria were mental: among other things were

intelligence, imagination, an adaptable but stable mind, a generalist's

variety of knowledge, intense loyalty to the Empire . . . and no close

personal ties.

Hovan returned the man's smile, pleased. From what he had heard of

human prisoners, he'd guessed that sidetracking Steve's train of

thought might help; it seemed to have worked. He waved a hand,

indicating the others in the room. "You have part of my team seen.

Now that you relaxed are, may I a favor ask?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"My men have humans fought and killed, but have never any truly met.

If you willing are, they would like to you examine, and then questions

ask. But you out-clan to all of us are; if you wish it not, none will

offended be."

"I don't see why I shouldn't do it, as long as it works both ways. I'd

like to examine a live Traiti as much as they'd like to examine a live

human."

"That reasonable is. I willing am, to your subject be." Hovan called

his men over, conveying Steve's assent, then stood relaxed. "I ready

am."

Tarlac had seen Traiti corpses, and read medical and autopsy reports,

so he was familiar with the sleek, almost hairless bodies. But there

was a tremendous difference between that rather abstract understanding

and the immediacy of a living, vital warrior towering over him. It was

only then that he realized Hovan was one of the scarred ones--his

embarrassment must have kept him from noticing earlier. Not sure

whether it might give offense, he reached hesitantly to touch the

scars. They were darker than the surrounding skin, but the texture was

only a little bit rougher. He was surprised at the supple softness and

warmth of skin he knew to be tough as leather armor. Had he really

been expecting the human-dubbed "Sharks" to be literally cold-blooded?

That private fallacy laid to rest, he stepped back, wondering what to

expect. "Okay, your turn."

Hovan didn't have to translate that; his men got the idea and crowded

around the Ranger. He didn't take part himself because he'd learned

what he needed to know while the man was examining him. Just the

fingertips lightly touching his scars had been more than enough to

confirm his earlier impression. The man's every action, from coming

aboard armed to allowing his alien hosts to satisfy their curiosity,

showed the courage and self-assurance of one whose sense of honor was

so much a part of him that he felt no need to stand on ceremony. The

brief physical touch had even given him the feeling of belonging shared

by n'ruhar--what English inadequately referred to as clanmates.

Steve was worthy of Ch'kara; Hovan was convinced of that. And the

sense of belonging in Steve's touch made it almost certain he would

accept the offer. Hovan told himself ruefully that he shouldn't have

entertained even the small doubts he'd had of Ka'ruchaya Yarra's

wisdom. It had seemed impossible that an alien could truly be a ruhar,

and Steve was undoubtedly an alien, even though he wasn't frightened,

as so many humans seemed to be, by the sheer size of beings so alien to

them. Yet the clan-feeling was definitely there--how had Yarra

guessed?

Hovan dismissed that unseemly question. She was Ka'ruchaya of Ch'kara,

not he; such things were the concern of Clan Mothers and Speakers, not

of fighters. He obeyed in this as they would obey him in his field--

though he prayed the need would never arise for them to defend Ch'kara

as fighters.

But he could still feel wonderment at being empowered to perform the

adoption. Males shared in the creation of life, but it was females who

actually brought it forth into the clan, by birth or adoption. In the

case of adoption, the new ruhar should be brought into the gathering

hall, with as many of the clan as possible attending. Steve wouldn't

have that, or even a close approximation, until Homeworld; there

weren't enough of Ch'kara in the Fleet. But he would have the best

Hovan could manage, next wake-time.

Tarlac was still being examined by curious but carefully gentle

commandos. It wasn't embarrassing; his own laughter had cured that

problem, at least here. Being poked and prodded wasn't as bad as he'd

thought it would be, even as closely as he was being checked out.

Naturally enough, his examiners were paying closest attention to the

points where the two races differed most: head, hands, and skin. He

was willing to swear, for instance, that a dentist couldn't have gone

into more detail over his teeth.

But finally that was over and it was question time. Tarlac seated

himself cross-legged on his sleeping mat, where Hovan promptly joined

him to translate for the others. Then the questioning started,

hesitantly at first, not touching on anything too significant until

Tarlac's quiet manner and responsive answers put the commandos at ease.

When that happened, the questions became more searching.

"Do humans honor have?" one asked.

"I'm not really sure just how you use the term," Tarlac said slowly,

"so I'll have to go by the human ideal. We have a few cultures, mostly

warrior ones like the Sandeman and Tharn, that are honor-directed, but

in the rest of the Empire I'd have to say most people don't. Not the

way warrior races define it, anyway, and I've got a hunch you're more

like them, at least in that way, than you're like the rest of the

Empire. Outside of the warrior cultures, it's the military that thinks

most about honor, though not even all of them care; to a lot of

civilians . . ." The Ranger hesitated, frowning. "Well, honor and

profit just don't seem to mix."

"You different are," another said. "Why?"

Tarlac shrugged. "I don't quite know. Maybe because I've always been

something of an idealist." He grinned. "Though I was called a lot of

other things before I was recruited."

"All Rangers like you are, in that?"

"Idealists? Yes, or they wouldn't be Rangers."

"Is it true there female Rangers are?"

"Sure. Right now, three of them. We can't afford to discriminate, not

for any job. Local affairs aren't an Imperial concern, so some do

things differently, but the Empire itself doesn't judge anything but

what you can do. Especially if the comps and Sovereign agree that

you've got what it takes to be a Ranger."

That got a murmur of some sort, and from the tone Tarlac guessed it was

disapproval. Hovan didn't translate; instead, he said something that

silenced them.

"It's okay, Hovan," Tarlac said, not offended but curious. "What is

it?"

"They say that insane is. Not only that you females in such danger

place, but that you machines use, your best to choose. I them told,

there so many humans are, you no choice have."

Tarlac nodded, surprised. "Right! Well, mostly. The comps don't

exactly choose; they just eliminate the ones who don't measure up to

the specs. Which, I admit, doesn't leave many. Then the Sovereign

checks the comp's choices, and sends a Ranger to invite the ones @

chooses. After that, only about a quarter of those who're asked to

join, refuse." His expression sobered. "I almost did refuse, almost

decided to go into the Navy instead of taking Linda's offer. I'm glad

I didn't. I'd've had more security, but a lot less challenge."

"Or danger?" Hovan was smiling.

"Or danger," Tarlac agreed.

Hovan's translation of that got a discussion going. The Ranger

remained silent, listening to the commandos and enjoying the musical

sounds of their speech. He felt oddly at ease, sitting open and

relaxed in the group of beings whose appearance was so sharklike; he

was well aware that in a similar situation with a human enemy, he would

have been anything but at ease. When Hovan turned back to him and

started to speak, Tarlac held up his hand. "About time for one of my

questions, isn't it?"

"Ask."

"There's something I don't understand. Granted, I'm here as

Fleet-Captain Arjen's guest, and I've agreed to take the Ordeal. But I'm

still your enemy. If one of you had come to us, 'persuaded' the way I

was, at the very least you'd have been disarmed and guarded, instead of

being given the freedom of the ship. For all you know, I could be

planning some kind of sabotage."

Hovan smiled. "That you such a possibility raise, shows you would not

it do."

"That's not always a safe assumption to make," Tarlac said. "In this

case it is, yes, and I'd like to think it always was--but I've already

told you most humans don't have a sense of honor like yours. A lot of

people would bring up that sort of objection just to lull suspicion."

"So much we have from prisoners learned," Hovan agreed. "But we have

also learned, from the tiny ferocious ones who themselves Sandemans

call, that Rangers only devious are when there no other choice is. And

you no reason for deception have."

"More precisely, we'll be misleading when it's in the Empire's

interest--which isn't often. And even then, we keep it to the absolute

minimum; people have to know that when one of us makes a definite

statement, it's binding." Interesting, Tarlac thought, that the beings

humans thought of as merciless killers considered the Sandemans

ferocious. On the other hand, there was no way he'd care to face a

battleprepped Sandeman warrior himself, in anything less than shielded

power armor . . . "Not to mention which, it's both easier and safer

to be direct, especially with warriors. Like them, for instance."

"They much like us are," Hovan said, smiling again. "If you do peace

bring, I think we and they will good friends become."

Tarlac had a sudden mental picture of a Traiti trading war stories and

combat techniques with one of the small dark-skinned blonds--and it

seemed more an inevitable picture than an odd one. "I wouldn't be a

bit surprised if you did," he agreed. "But you still haven't told me

why I'm being so well treated."

"That simple is. You to us armed came, and you have honor shown; we

could no less honor show."

There was no way Tarlac could reply to that. He had already begun to

believe that he could trust these people's honor where he'd be

reluctant to trust a human's obedience to law. Hovan's calm statement

only added to that conviction.

Another Traiti indicated that he had a question. Hovan listened,

gestured sharply, and spoke, then turned to the Ranger. "This more

personal is than the other questions. He asks if you have children

fathered."

"I don't mind; no, I haven't." Of course, Tarlac thought. With that

sex ratio, parenthood could easily be a sensitive subject for males.

"I'm not married, and even if I were, I don't think I'd . . . Well,

anyway, having children when I'm on Terra so little wouldn't be fair to

them. Being a Ranger's child wouldn't make up for having a father--or

mother--who's gone all the time. That's partly why none of us has a

family."

There was a soft murmur, this time sounding sympathetic, and the next

question was on an entirely different subject. "The furred four-footers

with two tongues--what purpose serve they?"

"Cloudcats? You must have captured some, yeah." Ondrian hadn't been

involved in any of the fighting, but cloudcats roamed all through the

Empire. "They don't serve a purpose. Part of their bargain for

certain human rights on their planet, Ondrian, was their right to

travel on Imperial Navy ships any time. I suppose you could call them

observers."

"They intelligent are?"

Tarlac could hear astonishment even in the original questioner's voice.

"Of course. Didn't anyone tell you?" Then he realized they probably

hadn't asked. The first Ondrian colonists had thought the cloudcats

unintelligent predators; why shouldn't the Traiti have assumed the same

thing, or maybe decided they were pets? "Yes, they're intelligent.

They can't talk; they use their tongues for gestural communication, and

to handle things. They're outstanding artists, too." If some of his

speculations were correct, that might mean more to the Traiti than to

many humans.

Hovan translated, then turned to the human. "We some as captives took

and caged. We hurt them not, yet have them as animals treated. We

must that change, or dishonor suffer. Can we with them communicate?"

"Most English understand--" Tarlac broke off. "Oh, hell, I'm starting

to adapt to your speech patterns. I'm not trying to make fun of you.

If I've offended, I'm sorry."

"There no offense is," Hovan said calmly. "Go on."

"Okay. Most of them understand English, and can indicate yes and no.

That's about all you can expect unless one of your human or Irschchan

prisoners is familiar with tongue-talk." Tarlac grinned. "We made

that mistake too. We lost some time by it, but it wasn't a disaster.

They may even have picked up some of your language by now. They're

fast learners."

After a few quick words from Hovan, one of his men rose, dressed, and

left. Tarlac gathered he was going to tell someone with more authority

about the cloudcats immediately, and Hovan confirmed it.

There wasn't much talk after that, the serious questions seeming to

have run out, and in the shuffle that followed of Traiti settling into

their bedrolls for the night, Tarlac spent a moment considering his

surprise at their action. The Traiti hadn't waited a night or even an

hour to correct something which surely was not an urgent mistreatment.

The cloudcats were comfortable, Hovan said, even if they were confined;

the human prisoners were almost certainly confined somehow, too.

Merely treating intelligent beings as nonsapient was a cause for

dishonor, it seemed, which spoke well of Traiti honor. True, the

dishonor might be in underestimating a possible enemy--but that didn't

quite seem to fit, somehow.

When the messenger returned and had taken his place in the sleeping

room, Hovan touched a control on the bulkhead to darken the room. Then

he said a couple of words, and all but Tarlac joined him in what the

Ranger thought could be a prayer, a chant, or a song. Whatever it was,

he liked it; the sounds in the musical Traiti language evoked peace.

When it was over, the room grew quiet.

By Tarlac's inner clock, though, it was still too early to sleep. And

so much had happened that he wasn't sure he could have slept if it were

late for him instead. So he lay there in the dark silence, hands

linked behind his head, and let his thoughts wander.

He had plenty to think about, and not enough solid facts to make any

conclusions reliable. Most of what he'd learned only served to raise

further questions. The Ordeal was the key to the whole thing;

Fleet-Captain Arjen had said as much. And it was dangerous, Arjen

made no secret of that--but how dangerous? Aside from the fact that it

left scars and wasn't universal, he knew little about it. Had they

tested any other humans before deciding to try a Ranger? If so, what had

happened? He had no way of knowing.

Then there was the evident contrast between battle-readiness in men and

ship, and the obvious concern for mental comfort in the ship's

decoration. Being a generalist, not a xenopsych, Tarlac could only

wonder about it. Still, morale was as vital as guns, and he had to

admit that the shipboard art gallery was no more unlikely than the

forested recreation areas on the Sovereign-class cruisers. It was less

space-consuming, as well, though to a ship the size of a battle cruiser

that wasn't really significant. On the other hand, despite their

designation, IBCs weren't purely battle craft, and were often sent on

long-haul non-combat missions. This ship and the others in the Traiti

fleet, from what he'd seen, were warships, pure and simple. If nothing

else, they just didn't have the size to be either multi-purpose or

long-duration.

That made him think. Unless the Traiti were a lot more fragile

psychologically than any human thought, such concern with amenities on

a warship was out of character. They might be more alien than other

evidence indicated--or a lot more aesthetic. He couldn't believe they

were all that fragile psychologically, and his current close contact

was showing less, rather than more, underlying alienness. That left

the last possibility, that these ferocious fighters were also artists.

If there were any parallels at all with Terra, that could be true.

History showed plenty of military men, on any side in any war, who had

expressed themselves through art. Tarlac could think of several

offhand, just from the last World War: Hirohito, poet; Mauldin,

cartoonist; Eisenhower and Churchill, both painters; and Hitler,

architect. It seemed plausible that art was as important here in

everyday surroundings as it seemed; he would use that as a working

hypothesis unless he found evidence to the contrary.

Then there were the few hints he had about family life. It was

important, that was obvious, and he couldn't help speculating, despite

almost total lack of data, on what it was like. There was strong clan

structure, yes, but "clan" covered a lot of territory. With the low

proportion of women and the touchiness about parenthood, the setup

might be like the old Arabian sheikdoms, with women belonging to the

dominant males and kept in a kind of protective custody, used as

breeding machines.

He didn't like that picture, though he knew a lot of human men would

find it an attractive fantasy. Still, under the circumstances, it

seemed like a reasonable assumption.

Then he rolled over, pulling the blanket up over his shoulders, as his

thoughts went back to his earlier misgivings. Dammit, he didn't want

to brood about that! Sure, bringing peace would be worth his life;

plenty of others had paid that price, without the half-promise he had.

He'd have to follow them into final nothingness eventually, and he'd go

without protest if he knew it would mean the end of this ten-year

slaughter--but it wouldn't.

He couldn't die, not if he was to bring peace. He had to live, to

survive an Ordeal that sometimes killed beings as tenacious of life as

the sharks they resembled. It helped, knowing that they wanted him to

succeed--and why shouldn't they? It was their race's survival that was

at stake, not humanity's.

If it was possible, he promised himself, he'd do it. He had a brief

vision of himself at a Grand Audience afterward, approaching the

Emperor accompanied by several shadowy Traiti. He was in full formal

uniform, his dress cloak brushing the carpet--but his shirt was open,

neatly arranged to show the four scars down his chest, and he let

himself smile at the image. Wouldn't the newsies and protocol

perfectionists be upset!

But that was enough of that; he really should try to rest. It had been

a rough day, a strain on even a Ranger's ability to adapt. Stretched

out in the dark, surrounded by the soft rhythms of breathing and the

somehow reassuring smell of clean bodies, Tarlac felt his tension ease.

Only then did he realize just how much the strain had fatigued him, and

it wasn't long before his own breathing joined the comfortable pattern

of his sleeping companions'.