Sheri Tepper - Grass

“Whether there’s another tunnel or not. the equipment I need is at the hospital,” she told Marjorie. “I may be in a position to do more about this plague thing than anyone else, but I have to get to my equipment. I can’t let those Hippae keep me away.”

“Do you have any ideas? Any line of attack?” Marjorie asked. “Nothing. Not yet. I have a few ideas, but I’m not really onto a line of inquiry at this point!” She shook off Jelly’s remonstrances and went, her helpers with her. all of them laden with food and drink and various esoteric supplies they had carried in when the Commercial District had been evacuated.

There was nothing else Marjorie could do. Tony was sleeping in the order station dormitory, ready to leave when the Star-Lily left — a matter of hours. Mainoa and Rillibee were in the forest- Persun and Sebastian were helping Mayor Bee get the evacuees settled and fortify the winter quarters.

There was nothing more that Marjorie could do “Roald’s offered us a room at his place in town,” she told Rigo. “His wife, Kinny, is fixing us some supper. We can walk down…”

He tottered to his feet with an apologetic grimace. “I’m not sure I can walk.”

Persun overheard this and came forward. “I’ve got a little runner outside, sir. Room enough for you and Lady Westriding, if you don’t mind being crowded. I have to go down to town anyhow.”

Rigo smiled his thanks, and they rode in exhausted quiet to the Few summer quarters.

Kinny, with tears in her eyes, led them to a suite of comfortable rooms below. “We only lost one village,” she said, weeping. “Only one out of seven. But everybody in town was related to someone there. Everyone’s mourning Klive—”

Marjorie herself could mourn Klive, mourn the waste of it.

Kinny went on, shaking her head in amazed, pained annoyance. “Those bons, already trying to take over, did you know?”

“No,” said Rigo. “How do you mean, take over?”

“Oh, Ambassador, you wouldn’t believe — Well now, let’s see. It’s Eric, brother to the dead Obermun Jerril bon Haunser, and Jason, Jerril’s son. And it’s Taronce bon Laupmon, nephew to Obermun Lancel that died, and Traven, that’s the dead Obermun bon Bindersen’s brother. The four of them. They’ve decided to take over Commons, for the time being.” She laughed, angry and amused, both at once. “They told Roald they had elected themselves a council of four to run things. Roald and Alverd are tryin’ to explain things to ’em. Not easy. Not with them.”

“Did they think you would all take orders from them?” Rigo asked, amazed.

“They really did. Yes. Well, we always pretended to, when we went out to the estancias. you know. It pleased the bons, and it didn’t do us any harm. But there’s too much at stake here in Commons to let them meddle with it. They’re so ignorant.” She made a face and asked them if they were ready to eat something.

“I think so.” Marjorie said with a sigh. “I can’t remember when the last meal I had was. In the Tree City, I think.”

“Oh, I want to hear about that! You folks take your time washing up, and supper’ll be ready when you come up.”

Kinny served them in the kitchen while she chattered about the Tree City and a dozen other things, interrupting herself to cry occasionally, then interrupting her tears to laugh about something she remembered. It was only when they had eaten and were sitting over cups of tea that she remembered. “Oh, Roald called while you were down below. He told me to tell you. There’s a big ship coming in tomorrow. From Sanctity. Roald says the big high mucky-muck himself is on it. The what-do-you-call-him. The Hierarch.”

“Is he going to let it orbit?” Rigo asked, his stomach clenching as he thought what such an arrival might mean.

Kinny shook her head. “Roald said tell you he doesn’t want to, nor Mayor Bee. Question is, how would you keep it from sittin’ up there if it wants to?”

Marjorie’s imagination had leapt ahead, far ahead. “Rigo, we have to get Dr. Bergrem away from the hospital. It’s right by the port. If that ship comes down. If Sanctity finds out what she’s working on.”

He groaned as he got to his feet. “Let’s go talk to Alverd Bee once more.”

“What is ‘Galaxy class’?” Mayor Bee wanted to know.

“It’s a Sanctity ship,” one of the port controllers said. “Called the Israfel. I’ve never seen one like it.”

They were in the winter quarters of the order station. From the adjacent rooms came the moans of someone wounded and the wail of frightened babies. Someone bustled down the hall and the moans ceased. The babies went on crying.

The man at the tell-me paid no attention. “Warship,” he said, staring at a diagram on the screen. “Sanctity navy. Big son-of-a-hound.”

“It’s a troop carrier,” said Rigo, staring narrow-eyed across the operator’s shoulder at the diagram. “And a battleship. Old. All their vessels are old.”

“No matter how old, it carries a thousand men,” the port controller agreed. “With real combat weapons.”

“Dr. Bergrem has to go,” Marjorie said. “On the Star-Lily. She can’t stay here.”

“Dr. Bergrem doesn’t intend to go anywhere,” said the woman’s voice from behind them. “What is all this?”

The doctor divested herself of her cloak and sat down as though to stay awhile. “I was on my way into town to pick up some book I need, and I hear my name being taken in vain.”

“Sanctity’s new Hierarch is about to arrive,” Marjorie told her. “Cory Strange. You don’t want to be here when he gets here.”

“Why in hell not?” The woman settled herself firmly into her chair.

“Do you have a cure?”

“Not yet, no. But I think I’ve happened on a line of inquiry. If I just knew—”

“Then you must go,” Rigo snapped.

The doctor flushed angrily.

“Shh,” said Marjorie. “Dr. Bergrem, no one is trying to push you around. Read this.” She took a copy of the note to Jhamlees Zoe from her pocket and handed it to the woman.

Lees Bergrem read it, then again. “I don’t believe this!”

Rigo started to retort. Marjorie covered his lips with her fingers. “What don’t you believe?”

“That anyone could — This must be faked…” She looked into their faces, finding nothing there but apprehension. “But why would — Damn!” She handed the note to Alverd Bee.

“You have to go,” Marjorie repeated. “You may be close to finding a cure, or something that will lead to a cure. You said so yourself. If you find the answer here, with that ship in port you’ll never get a chance to tell anyone. A thousand troops can put us all under house arrest. We were going to send our son to Semling with copies of this letter. But you could disseminate it even better. You’re known at the University there “

“You send me off-planet, I can’t do any good at all,” Lees Bergrem said. “I need tissue samples and soil samples. I need things that don’t exist on Semling. Forget it.”

Alverd Bee looked up from the note, his face strained and angry. “If you won’t go off-planet, then we’ll have to hide you somewhere, Lees. That means moving your equipment. Tell us fast what you need. We have about six hours to get you hidden and Star-Lily away. After that, it’ll be too late.”

“The new Hierarch won’t know anything yet,” Rigo said. “Jhamlees Zoe can’t tell him anything until he lands on Grass.”

“Jhamlees Zoe can’t tell him anything, period,” said Persun Pollut as he entered the room. “Sebastian and I’ve been out to the Friary to see if they’d changed their mind about being evacuated. The Hippae have hit the place. We saw the flames all the way from Klive. Half this piece of Grass is burning.