began to change. The receiver was leaving the ri ver ; it was being car ri ed onto the shore . It came toward the forest , then stopped . When it stayed in the same place for several minutes, Thorn cautiously
advanced.
Without warn ing , something huge dropped on him from above ,
pinning the h an d that held his small repulsor gun with a viselike, scaly
g ri p. He felt knives stabbing into his left shoulder as he was pelted
with blows. A high - pitched keening
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made him realize he was being attacked by an animal, but he was
helpless to fight back . Involuntarily his left hand yanked on the manual
control , making the sled tu rn upside down, dumping him and the
animal roughly onto the ground. Something stabbed his ri ght hand
painfully , and the repulsor went flying.
Thorn scuttled along on his back, scrabbling to get free, but the creature
just shifted its hold, punctu ri ng him in new places. A shaft of
moonlight splashed across his attacker , and in that hor ri fying
moment Thorn realized that he was about to be killed by an Aquila .
He'd known there had to be some connection between the huge
raptors and the p ri vateers , but now he would never know what it was.
He bucked wildly, desperately t ry ing to free himself before that hooked
bill to re open his throat. He had a sickening memo ry of Peter ' s body , his org an s ri pped out, and in real terror he mo an ed.
The incongruous sound of a young Grus' high-pitched peep rattled Thorn '
s ears, sending tremors down his spine. The Aquila looked up and , to
Thorn ' s dismay, an swe re d the Grus' call. But even more confusing was the appearance of a tall humanoid figure , clad in skins, and the
unmistakable threat of a sharp stone - tipped spear p re ssed none too lightly against Thorn ' s throat . Beside the figure towered a young
Grus, his half-white plumage glistening in the dim moonlight.
The Grus signed something Thorn couldn' t make out, then the Aquila
reluctantly clambe re d off him . Slowly , respecting the spearpoint resting against his Adam ' s apple, Thorn took in a shuddering breath .
It was possible he ' d struck his head; he could have a concussion. I'm probably hallucinating, he thought.
The humanoid pulled the spear back, gestu ri ng at him to get up. Thorn
couldn ' t take his eyes off it . Its legs we re covered in re d and white fur, the same fur as its full-body cloak . Its head was topped by the furred
skull of the skin's former owner , which shadowed the hum an oid's
face so much he couldn't determine sex, race, or planet of o ri gin .
Besides, it was hard to concentrate while the Aquila continued to stare
at him hung ri ly , and the hum an oid appeared eager to run him through.
He glanced, confused, at the Grus . What the hell was he doing here? The re was something familiar about the avian.
"Sailor?" he signed, amazed . The spear point jabbed him 234
cruelly in the chest . He glared at the humanoid an g ri ly. Had the p ri vateers captured Sailor alive ? " Who a re you ?" he demanded . " Show me who you are!"
"Who am I?" the figure signed. Stepping into the light, it pushed back the massive Ripper head.
Thorn' s legs gave out and he sagged to his knees with a gro an as Tesa
' s yellow eyes stared at him in the moonlight. Thorn covered his face.
I'm dead , too. That has to be it.
The spear point touched his arm lightly. He looked up into the face he ' d
thought he'd never see again . How it had changed! She was gaunt ,
her eyes shadowed. The effect only enhanced her prominent nose. It
was the most beautiful face Thorn had ever seen . Struggling to his
feet , he held out his arms. "Tesa, oh, God , Tesa , you' re alive ! I can ' t believe it , baby, come here."
The Aquila was between them before he'd re alized it had moved ; fu ri
ously it sc re amed at him. The human took a hasty step back as Tesa
signed something to it . It pulled in its wings an d closed its beak , but never took its baleful eyes off Thorn. He'd never felt so confused.
" What are you doing here ?" Tesa asked bluntly.
Thorn glanced at his voder and showed her the data on its screen. " Tracing
you , apparently . I thought I was hot on the trail of the pri vateers."
"You'd think they' d make themselves more accessible," she signed
sarcastically . " How'd you find us?"
"I'm telling the truth! You turned on your voder at dusk, an d my tracer
program ale rt ed me. I followed the coordinates, but what I expected to
find was a Simiu ship and a nest of p ri vateers -- not a woman I've been needlessly mou rn ing." He hardly cared about her skepticism . It was just more proof that this was really her , not some ph an tom illusion.
"Sounds like you had pretty urgent business with these people," Tesa
signed.
That' s one way of putting it, Thorn thought. Calmly he related the chain of events that had brought him to this place. His assignment from Eart h , his
successes and failures, an d Peter ' s involvement and death.
But as he re lated these events, especially as he talked of Peter, Tesa's
exp re ssion g re w even g ri mmer , her eyes narrowing nearly to slits .
Even Sailor seemed to be reacting, his
235
SILENT DANCES 235 feathers fluffing out until the avian seemed to be
puffed up with air.
"You've got some damned nerve bringing Peter up," Tesa signed. "The
people of the World have named you his murderer!"
"Wait a minute! Look, I just got the crap beat out of me, and then I had to
cope with facing someone ... important to me ... who I'd thought was dead.
Now you're accusing me of murder?"
Sailor stepped in, relating the information the Travellers had given him
weeks ago in Black Feather's territory.
"Sure, Peter and I were there," Thorn admitted. "And we were upset, but not at each other. That's when he gave me this program . It was the last time I
saw him alive."
"But the Blue Cloud people saw you kill the Collector," Sailor insisted .
"They described your skin and hair and beard."
"Sailor," Thorn signed patiently, "do you know how many humans have skin and hair like mine? Did they say whether or not that human was taller than
Peter or shorter?"
Sailor pulled his head up, with a look that told Thorn that hadn ' t been pa rt of the conversation.
"Don't try to confuse him," Tesa warned.
"I'm not! " Thorn protested . " I'm telling the truth!"
"Besides," Tesa signed , " someone on the Baraboo destroyed trees with a powerful weapon. They killed Thunder's father, and nearly killed her. They
named you as their conspirator." She pulled up her voder and tapped in a
sequence. "Deny this."
Thorn looked at her voder. He noted the date and time of the recording. It
read, "Destroy the camera. I'll get Albaugh to pick it up later." His face grew grim.
"Cute. They wanted to be very sure I was the one who'd find your ...
remains. I admit I knew that camera was there. You knew about' it, too.
But, someone else did , also." He regarded her squarely. "The day after I found Peter's body, Bruce told me there was a damaged camera in the
forest. He caught me flat-footed, since I'd told him months before that none of
those cameras was functional. He practically insisted that I go get it. So I
agreed to go, to see if anything had happened to the Aquila nest. I found
the
camera, and ... your quilt."
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"Sailor pulled me out of the lodge before the limb hit," she explained. " But your sto ry' s a little elaborate . Peter and Scott were Bruce ' s close friends."
"They were my fri ends, too," Thorn reminded her. "Listen, I can prove my story! I've got c re dentials, for c ry ing out loud!"
Tesa lifted an eyebrow. " Going to show us your badge?"
"It's in my collar ," Thorn assured her. "It's a program card with my credentials, my assignment responsibilities, and other classified
information . You can plug it ri ght into your voder ." She still had that disbelieving exp re ssion. "It's facto ry sealed ! Read - only! I couldn ' t have manufactured it here." He fumbled with a seam in his collar, acutely
aware of the sudden tension in the Aquila ' s body. Finally, he held out
the tiny c ar d.
Sailor took it, eyeing it curi ously before handing it to Tesa. "I must say,
Good Eyes , I see no lie in his eyes."
Tesa only plugged the car d into her voder.
"See." Thorn showed her his translator. Both their voders displayed
Thorn ' s credentials as his machine " read" hers. "Peter ' s program tells me what you're doing , but without notifying you. This is one of the best programs he ..." Thorn glanced at both voders , then looked again. A terse message trailed along the bo tt om of the two screens, followed by
an answer . Thorn ' s voder highlighted coordinates above the
dialogue . The sender was at the scientists ' camp . The re ceiver--the p ri vateers ' ship -- was dangerously close.
Tesa was staring at her voder, reading the b ri ef conversation passing
between the p ri vateers ' ship and someone at the camp shelter . She looked at him , her eyes softening.
"Apologize later," he told her. "I' ve got to find that ship, it's ne ar." He moved to leave and the Aquila followed. He froze . " Come on, Tesa , call off your dog. This is se ri ous."
" You're not going without us," she signed flatly.
He was too outraged to respond.
"If you're killed , then no one will have learned anything," she signed coolly ., " We've got to exonerate Ea rt h. We'll stay out of your way, but we ' re coming."
Thorn sighed. How did you argue with someone who'd just come back
from the dead ? "Okay, you can come, but you've got to do as I say . If you give us away, we could all be killed." Tesa responded stiffly . " I know how to be quiet!"
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"Obviously. I never heard you until you stuck that thing in my face. You've got your sled?"
"It's parked over there." She turned to the Aquila_ and signed something.
The predator's body relaxed, but its cold eyes continued to appraise Thorn
as if he were a walking sirloin.
"Is that thing trustworthy?" he asked Tesa nervously. "I mean , how well trained is it?"
For the first time, Tesa gave him a real smile. "She's not trained, Thorn ," she signed casually. "She's intelligent."
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CHAPTER 20
The Privateers
Tesa crouched low in a deep, dry steambed that was bridged by a
crosshatched stack of trees blown over years before. They had crept through
the dry bed to reach this vantage point where they could peer through the
untidy logs at the privateers' vessel. Thorn explained that it was really a
Simiu ship, even though it had been designed to look just like the Baraboo.
Now that Tesa was close to it, she could see it was much larger than the
Singing Crane's shuttle.
It was barely dawn, but the ship's lights made it seem brighter. They'd been
spying for hours, eyeing the well-armed guards who kept watch as the rest of
the ship's crew slept.
At first, Tesa and Thorn had peppered each other with questions about the
past weeks, but as the suns rose, they concentrated on watching the
increased activity around the ship. The crew was up and working; Thorn had
counted eight of them. They departed in shifts, taking large a-grav sleds into
the woods, always along the same path. The sleds were nothing like Tesa's
sleek flyer, but were heavy-duty machines for moving freight. They were
slow, but efficient, with strong shields to protect precious cargo.
238
239
The crew returned with their sleds piled high with spaceproof containers,
which they then loaded onto the ship.
Tesa glanced at Sailor , making himself small, his head up like a periscope
on a stalk, as he peered at the ship. She knew the avian was thoroughly
confused. His people competed for mates , leadership, and territory, but no
one tried to keep more territory than he could defend, or wished to have two
mates. And no one wanted to lead too big a flock, because things would only
get out of hand.
Tesa had explained that some humans felt driven to have so much territory
that even their own planet couldn't contain them. Sailor couldn' t imagine
such a drive, but he'd believed what Tesa had told him.
Thunder, exhausted, was dozing, as though sleeping under trees were the
most natural thing in the World.
Tesa turned back to the ship. A tall man strode around the side of the vessel,
scanning the treetops with binoculars. He was a tall Caucasian--Tesa's
height , at least --with a blond beard and hair. Tesa's eyes widened. "Thorn!
That's Jim Maltese! I recognize him from that holo Meg has ... only he didn't
have a beard then ..."
The biologist smiled grimly. "I guess to the Blue Cloud people, Terrans all
look alike." Then his face darkened as he regarded the most likely suspect
for Peter's murder. "Ve ry interesting . We've kept tabs on the whole crew who originally found Trinity, and according to Jamestown Founders, Mr.
Maltese is currently aboard an exploratory ship in deep space. He's still on
their payroll."
"That means ..." Tesa's eyes widened.
"...that the Founders have to be involved. I doubt if we'll be able to prove it,
we ever get to tell anyone." He peered at Maltese again . "Bruce used to call him `the Falcon.' They were best friends once."
Tesa stared at Thorn. "You think Bruce ...?"
"I've thought it for a long time. A lot of things fit."
That depressed Tesa-but would she feel any better if their betrayer was
anyone else? A slim, elegant black woman approached Maltese. Tesa
recognized the woman Meg had called Deborah, another Founder
employee. When Meg had spoken of her she'd gotten misty-eyed, but Tesa
couldn't believe that Meg was any part of this.
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"Peter said they were stockpiling skins," Thorn signed. "They must have cached them near here."
Tesa shifted, trying to recognize anyone else from Jamestown Founders, but
the rest of the crew were strangers. Suddenly Maltese waved his arms at
the others, and they all turned. He was giving orders by the look of his
gestures. Tesa knew they were too far away for either Thorn or their voders
to be able to hear their conversation.
"Looks like they're getting ready to leave," Thorn decided. His eyes gleamed
excitedly. "I might be able to take out two guards ... I've got to get into that ship, disable it. If they get into metaspace, their next stop will be Sorrow
Sector, and we'll never catch them."
Tesa was suddenly distracted as Thunder began swiveling her head,
staring at the
sky.
"What's the matter with her?" Thorn asked, alarmed. "My people!" the raptor signed, looking into the air. "I can hear them. They're coming!"
Then Tesa could see them, in singles and in pairs, massing like starlings
before migration. Worried that the Aquilas' powerful eyesight might reveal
their location, Tesa ordered Thunder to hunch down. The avian was upset,
but she obeyed. Sailor did not have to be told.
Tesa searched for Thunder's mother, wondering if she could recognize the
avian-or if she was even alive. The big raptors settled in the trees
surrounding the ship. Two Aquila actually landed on the vessel, and walked
its length, wings outspread for balance. All the avians seemed angry, upset.
Thorn's voder began picking up the privateers ' translation program. Tesa
glanced at the ship and saw the crew pulling out small devices , then
donning the familiar earcuffs of Mizari voders. They'd have to have
speakers to project their translated words in the Aquila tongue, Tesa knew:
She was disgusted to think how long it had taken her to design her program
when these murderers had had a better one all along.
Thorn saw the expression on her face. "You okay?"
"Just ... angry. They can communicate with adult Aquila, and my program
can barely translate Thunder's baby talk!"
"Our intelligence thinks a crew was hired from Sorrow Sector to come here
undetected and work up that program. That's all they had to do, and with the
best technology . But I still can't figure out how they got the Aquila to
cooperate ..."
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"Technology!" Tesa signed, disgusted. "They can hear the Aquila language.
That's how they translated it!"
Thorn stared at her. "Is that what you think?" She shrugged, confused and
depressed.
"Do you think that if you could hear, we might not be in this situation?" Thorn asked. She didn't answer. "Have, uh, you changed your mind about having
that surgery?" he guessed.
She shrugged, then reluctantly nodded.
The biologist shook his head, smiling. "Tesa, Tesa ... they can't hear the
Aquila's language, at least not all of it."
She turned to him questioningly.
"A large part of Aquila vocalizations are far out of the range of normal human