Seas of Ernathe by Jeffrey Carver

Author:Jeffrey Carver [Carver, Jeffrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0373720343
Publisher: Laser Books (Harlequin Enterprises)
Published: 1976-06-30T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

As day after day passed with not so much as a breath to suggest an improvement in the situation, the atmosphere in Mission Headquarters had deteriorated steadily. Even the weather was ugly: unseasonably heavy rains, winds, and electrical activity—all prompting speculation that Lambern was entering a new period of high solar activity. (The fact that satellite monitors gave no such indication only made the idea that much more menacing in the minds of the speculators.) Tempers in all quarters were frayed, and with each petty incident concerning the Nale’nid, differences of opinion among the Mission personnel and the Ernathenes flared more sharply—not always divided along company lines. Confusion and unrelieved frustration generated endless quarrels, and supervisors such as Andol Holme were constantly on edge trying to maintain a semblance of peace and decorum among their respective crews.

By no means were all the Nale’nid incidents petty. The entire plankton production chain had been disrupted by several new intrusions. Production was shut down altogether, and the harvesters remained port-bound. This was a state of affairs which could not long be tolerated. A solid plankton harvest was essential to assure the colony a sufficiency of food and materials; however, peak plankton-bloom would be occurring within two weeks, and the next season would not begin for another one hundred twenty days.

And finally, yesterday there had been a second fatal shooting—two Nale’nid killed by security guards during a disturbance in the wharf area. The weapons used, pulse-guns from the Warmstorm arms lockers, had ostensibly been secured at stun settings; but they had caused far greater damage than a harmless “stun.” Two Nale’nid, a male and a female, had been killed instantly, charred. Recriminations abounded as to who had failed to properly lock the weapons settings, and two Warmstorm technicians had been relieved of sensitive duties.

Still there had not been a capture of a live Nale’nid, and no one had any better idea than before of the reason for the Nale’nid’s strange behavior, or of how that answer could be found.

Adding further to the confusion was the peculiar affair of the missing Racart Bonhof. Twice in the last week, Racart had appeared in the middle of a Lambrose street—“materialized,” according to witnesses—both times in the company, more probably the control, of two male Nale’nid. The first time, few people had been present to notice. A woman who had known Racart from childhood swore that she had clearly seen him step from a puff of sea-mist, a Nale’nid holding each of his arms, and stand in the open for about five seconds before vanishing once again. Though he was obviously conscious, she said, he had neither spoken nor given the slightest sign of recognition—of her, of anyone else, or even of the town. He had vanished as suddenly as he had appeared—into the mist. The woman could not say how he had vanished, nor could any of the corroborating witnesses. But vanished, he had.

News of that event quickly reached Mona Tremont, who was understandably both overjoyed and distressed.

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