Андрэ Нортон - Beast Master's Circus

The girl agreed with that. Her filly, Destiny, had killed two men thus far. One, a Nitra who'd tried to ride her against her wishes. The other was one of the clan camp raiders who'd run into Destiny in the dark and struck out angrily to drive what he believed to be a loose horse from his path. He hadn't lived long enough to scream.

Tani lingered, talking casually. It felt good to be here in the sunshine. She could feel her shoulders relaxing from the tense hunch they'd been in. The heat soaked through her. The foals' play made her smile. Later, the feel of Destiny's powerful body under her made her sing as they cantered for home. She missed Minou and Ferarre painfully but she'd learned to live with the loss—for the moment. She returned to an atmosphere which was tense but, as she realized in the first minutes, with information, not danger. She looked at Logan.

"What is it?"

"You know the raider ID came from Trastor? And there was a suggestion from Mandy's imitation of them that the raiders could be Baris and Ideena. Brightland thought they might also be on their way to Trastor." He spun it out and Tani squealed in mock rage.

"Tell me!"

"It seems that whatever else may or may not be right, that last bit was. They've been seen and positively ID'd there."

She sucked in her breath. "That's wonderful. It is—isn't it?"

"Not quite," Brad said heavily. "Trastor says that the pair have done nothing against its laws. It won't pick them up, won't hold them, won't do anything but question them politely if we insist on it." He looked at her.

"Now Terra's gone, most planets won't let another world tell them what to do. If they believe we're trying to give them orders they'll dig their toes in and we'll learn nothing. What's more, it would put that pair on their guard and almost everyone in authority against us."

Tani froze, her mind racing. People might well feel that way and she could accept it. But this world owed a debt. Trastor, where her father Bright Sky had died helping the people escape the invading Xik. Where he was buried with a memorial calling the whole planet to acknowledge the debt. She straightened, her face shifting into almost feral lines. The raiders had stolen Minou and Ferarre. They had tried to kill her kin, abducted Storm's team.

"The patrol officer, Versha? She said you could go with her to Trastor. I shall go with you. I'll talk to the government. I'll tell them what they owe my blood. If they forget I'll remind them. Make a fuss, Asizi. Just in the upper levels. Give them no time to spread the news. We're to be told when we're a couple of hours out from port." Her voice was crisp and Brad blinked.

He hadn't known his stepson's wife except as a nice young girl with beast master potential who loved Storm. He'd known her courage but forgotten that with her aunt and uncle she'd landed on many worlds. Often it had been Tani's job to order and check supplies for her kin's huge ship. To make plain to the suppliers that she would not be cheated or ignored because of her youth. He was hearing the voice she saved for such times and it startled him.

Storm gave his stepfather one of his rare smiles. "As Tani says. Tell the government we'd like cooperation." His smile turned into an intent expression signaling danger to any who saw it. "If they can't see their way to that, I may find and speak to this Baris myself."

Brad winced. Baris wasn't likely to survive that experience intact and the Trastor peacekeepers wouldn't approve. He said so, to receive in turn a flat blank look. Right now Storm didn't give a damn. Nor did Tani, or Logan—who was demanding to be permitted passage as well. Brad turned to deal with that.

"You still need to rest."

Logan eyed him. "I can. It's two weeks to Trastor even on a patrol courier ship. I'll spend the weeks taking it easy. By the time I arrive I'll be fit to get about." He caught Tani's attention and looked imploringly at her; he had no wish to remain behind but his father might object. Tani understood his plea, responding by nudging Storm, who nodded.

"Let him come, Asizi. He saw the raiders face-to-face. He can verify that under probe if need be. If he identifies this Baris and Ideena we can put in an arrest warrant with proof to hold them. Versha would back that with patrol status. Once the patrol has them they'll probe. We find what they did with Surra and the others. Logan files charges of theft, assault, breaking and entering, and anything else we can legitimately bring. We may find out then who took the beasts and why. I doubt it was this pair—they seemed more interested in loot. Maybe the third one who was with them was responsible. But these two were only guns for hire, if what their world says is correct."

Brad threw up his hands. "Who runs two ranches while you three go galloping off halfway across the known worlds?"

"You, the same as always," was his younger son's retort. Logan laughed. "I'm no use to you in bed anyhow. Besides which, I ride for the rangers most of the time. Kelson's the one complaining about my being useless right now. By the time I get back I'll have recovered enough to start riding again. As for Tani, did you ever seriously think Storm would go alone when part of her team is out there somewhere as well?"

"Not really. All right. So I don't get any work out of the three of you for several months. You'd better come back in good health. I can't afford to hire new hands." Tani saw beneath the assumed gruffness and flew to him, hugging him hard.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine. I'll look after these two. They'll look after me. Was there any more news or is that it?"

"Not exactly news." He turned to glance at Logan. "This is about that nice child from the circus. I promised I'd see what I could find from the camps about her."

Logan looked up sharply. "You found something?"

"A few minor items. She came from the De Pyall camp on Kowar. She was able to tell me approximately the date she was transported there. I checked incoming traffic for that time frame. She got there on the old Sally Ann, and I managed to connect to the captain. Still the same man and he has records. Not great ones but enough to say that the load she came in with were from the main De Pyall camp on Meril as she'd thought." Brad snorted.

"He copied me everything he had and you've never read such a mess. Barely half on computer, the rest on paper with portions crossed out, written over, then written over again. I've accessed those lists for Meril though. They have her on one. No real information. Still alone. No record of where she came from to Meril. I think she said her mother died at a camp farther back. But they do have the girl listed quite clearly on Meril. Somehow they lost most of the name in the next transit. She's only listed as 'Laris' on Kowar. But for Meril she's Shallaris Trehannan."

"Sounds like an English name," Tani commented. "The Trehannan bit anyhow."

"So I think. But Meril is quite sure that none of those refugees came from Terra. Which may mean either her family had lived elsewhere for a while, or that she'd been transferred in from yet another of the camps. Since she's sure she started out with her mother, there must have been at least one previous move. I think there may have been a number. They seem to have shuttled some of those poor damned refugees all over half the systems during the war." His face went bleak.

"If the circus is there when you arrive, let the child know what we have so far. It must be hard for the girl not to even know her full name. Tell her I plan to keep digging." Unspoken was the thought in all of their minds. It would help Brad to keep his mind occupied while the rest of his family followed another trail.

"I can let her know about the name," Logan offered. "It won't be too exhausting for a poor invalid."