Brian Aldiss - Helliconia Winter

Shokerandit had his gun in his hand. He knew better than to point it at the Ondod—the gesture would have provoked both Uuundaamp and phagors. Nor would any threat to Moub halt Uuundaamp in his present state of mind.

Shokerandit pointed the gun at the dog.

“I kill you dog dead, finish, gumtaa, ishto? You fall down here smart, drop whip. You come here, boy, you Uuundaamp. Else your dog plenty kakool one second quick!”

As he spoke, Shokerandit rose up, pointing the gun with both hands down the throat of the raging dog.

The whip fell to the floor. Uuundaamp jumped down. He smiled. He bowed, touched his forehead.

“My friend, you tumble off sledge in tunnel. No gumtaa. I very worry.”

“You’ll have a dead lead dog if you give me that sherb. Untie Toress Lahl. Are you all right, Toress?”

In a shaky voice, she said, “I have delivered babies before, and here comes another. But I am greatly relieved to see you, Luterin.”

“What was the plan here?”

“The phagors were going to do something for Uuundaamp. I was the exchange gift. I’ve been terrified but I’m unharmed. And you?” Her voice trembled.

The phagors never moved. As he worked at the knots in the cord, Uuundaamp said, “This very nice lady, yaya. Shaggie he much enjoy… give him chance, yaya. No harm.” He laughed.

Shokerandit bit his lip; the creature had to be allowed to save face. Almost penniless, they were forced to rely on him to get them to Kharnabhar.

When she was free, Toress Lahl said to Uuundaamp, “You very kind. When your baby is born, I buy you and Moub pipes of occhara, ishto?”

Shokerandit marvelled at her coolness.

Uuundaamp smiled and whistled through his teeth. “You buy extra pipe for baby too? I smoke three pipe together.”

“Yaya, if you will kick out these shaggy brutes while I perform the delivery.” Her face was white as she confronted him, but her voice no longer shook.

Still Uuundaamp felt that honours had not yet been made equal.

“You give money now. Moub go buy three pipe occhara now. Better leave Noonat before is darkness.”

“Moub’s water broken, give birth directly.”

“Baby no come maybe twenty minutes. She go buy fast. Smoke, give birth.” He clapped his eight- fingered hands and laughed again.

“The baby is almost hanging out of her.”

“That woman lazy bag.” He grasped Moub by the arm. She sat up without protest. Toress Lahl and Shokerandit exchanged glances. When he nodded, she produced some sibs and gave them to the woman. Moub wrapped her entire body in the red and yellow blanket and waddled out of the barn without protest.

“Stay there,” Shokerandit said. Toress Lahl sat on the water-stained bench. The lead dog settled down on its haunches, its red tongue lolling. At a gesture from Uuundaamp, the phagors filed out of the far end of the barn, pushing through a broken door. Outside, by the dog cage, stood Uuundaamp’s sledge, unharmed.

“Where your friend grow tail on face?” Uuundaamp asked innocently.

“I lost him. Your plan did not work well.”

“Ha ha. My plan work fine. You still want go Kharber?”

“Are you going that way? You’ve been paid, Uuundaamp.”

Uuundaamp held his hand wide in a gesture of frankness, exposing his sixteen black-gleaming nails.

“If your friend tell police, no gumtaa. Hard for me. That bad man no understand Ondod like you. He want smrtaa. Better we go fast, ishto, once that bag throw her baby from her bottom-part.”

“Agreed.” No point in quarrelling now. He tucked his gun into his pocket. The apparent friendship of the trail could be resumed.

They remained watching each other, and the asokin waited at the end of its leash. Moub padded back, still swathed in the blanket. She gave two pipes to Uuundaamp and resumed her place on the plank by Toress Lahl, the third pipe in her mouth.

“Baby now come. Gumtaa,” she said. And a small Ondod male was born into the world without further ado. As Toress Lahl lifted it, Uuundaamp nodded and then turned away. He spat into a corner of the barn.

“Boy. Is good. Not like girl. Boy do much work, soon have biwack, maybe one year.”

Moub sat up and laughed. “You no make good biwack, you fool sherb. This boy belong Fashnalgid.”

They both burst into laughter. He went across and hugged her. They kissed each other over and over.

This scene so much took everyone’s attention that thev did not heed whistles of warning from outside. Three police carrying rifles at the ready entered the barn from the road end.

The leader said coolly, “We have offence orders against you all. Uuundaamp, you and that woman have a number of murders to your name. Luterin Shokerandit, we have followed you from Rivenjk. You are an accomplice in blowing up an army lieutenant, and killing a soldier in the course of his duties. Also guilty of deserting from the army. In consequence of which, you, Toress Lahl, slave, are also guilty of escaping. We have a dispensation to execute you at once here in Noonat.”

“Who these humans people?” asked Uuundaamp, pointing indignantly at Shokerandit and Toress Lahl. “I no see them. They just come here one minute, cause plenty kakool.”

Ignoring him, the police leader said to Shokerandit, “I have orders to shoot you if you try to escape. Throw down any arms you have. Where is your recent companion? We want him too.”

“Who do you mean?”

“You know who. Harbin Fashnalgid, another deserter.”

“I’m here,” said an unexpected voice. “Drop your rifles. I can shoot you and you can’t hit me, so don’t try. I’ll count three and then I shall shoot one of you in the stomach. One. Two.”

The rifles dropped. By then they had seen the revolver poking through one of the slit windows.

“Grab the guns, then, Luterin, look alive.”

Shokerandit unfroze and did as he was told. Fashnalgid entered by the rear door, setting all the asokins barking.

“How did you come so providentially?” Toress Lahl asked.

He scowled. “I imagine the same way these dummies did. By following that unmistakable red-and- yellow striped blanket. Otherwise I had no idea where you were. As you see, I’m going in for disguise.”

They had noticed. Fashnalgid had had his immense moustache shaved off and his hair cut short. He kept his revolver levelled at the police in a professional manner as he spoke.

“Rifle get much money,” Uuundaamp suggested. “Cut these man throat first, ishto?”

“Never mind that, you little scab-devourer. If your shaggie was here, I’d drop him. Luckily he is not, because this place is swarming with police and soldiers.”

“We’d better leave fast,” Shokerandit said. “Excellent timing, Harbin. You’ll make an officer yet. Uuundaamp, if we keep these three police quiet, can you and Moub get the dogs harnessed up really quickly?”

The Ondod became very active. He got the two women to drag the sledge into the barn and grease the runners, which he insisted was necessary. The police were made to stand with their trousers round their ankles and their hands up the wall. Everyone stood back as lead dog Uuundaamp was unleashed and he and the other seven asokins were secured to the traces, each in its appropriate place. As he worked, Uuundaamp cursed each of them in different tones of affection.

“Please hurry,” said Toress Lahl once, betraying her nervousness.

The Ondod went and sat down on the plank where his wife had recently given birth.

“Jus” take small rest, ishto?”

They waited it out, no one moving, until his honour was satisfied. Snow came in through the rear door as he methodically checked over the harness.

From the direction of the street they could hear shouts and whistles. The three police had already been missed.