Timothy Zahn - Conquerors 2 - Conquerors' Heritage

Conquerors' Heritage

Timothy Zahn

Conquerors' Heritage

Conquerors Saga, book 2

1

"Searcher Thrr-gilag?"

Slowly, Thrr-gilag lifted his gaze from his contemplation of the stained restraint suit resting across

his legs. "Yes, Ship Commander Zbb-rundgi?"

"The Diligent is ready to lift," Ship Commander Zbb-rundgi said. "We're waiting on your arrival."

"Thank you," Thrr-gilag said. "I'll be just a few hunbeats longer."

Zbb-rundgi's eyes flicked around the alien study group's private conversation room. "The

disassembly crew can deal with the rest of the equipment, Searcher," he said. "There's nothing here

you have to supervise."

"I understand," Thrr-gilag said. "As I said, I'll be a few hunbeats longer."

Zbb-rundgi's midlight pupils might have contracted slightly. At his distance Thrr-gilag couldn't tell

for sure. "The Overclan Prime's instructions were quite clear, Searcher," the ship commander said.

"We were to leave as soon as we were ready."

"And we're not yet ready," Thrr-gilag told him. "You may return to the ship and make any final

prelaunch preparations. I'll be there in a few hunbeats."

This time there was no doubt about the pupils. "As you wish, Searcher," Zbb-rundgi said stiffly.

Turning, he stalked out of the room.

"That was foolish," a distant voice said in the silence. "Ship Commander Zbb-rundgi holds great

favor among the leaders of the Cakk'rr clan, as do the Elders of his family. It is not wise for one in

your position to antagonize him."

"My position is that of duly appointed speaker of this mission, Chrr't-ogdano," Thrr-gilag reminded

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him, fingering one of the darklight sensors in the restraint suit, still partially caked with red dirt from

the Human Pheylan Cavanagh's escape attempt. "Until the Overclan Seating revokes that

appointment, I'll do whatever I deem necessary. Whether it irritates Ship Commander Zbb-rundgi or

not."

"Thrr-gilag, you will look at me."

With a sigh Thrr-gilag raised his eyes to the faint shape floating in the air before him. Chrr't-ogdano,

Elder of the Kee'rr clan and chief observer here on Base World 12. And if the look on his mostly

transparent face was any indication, he had even less respect for Thrr-gilag's official standing right

now than Ship Commander Zbb-rundgi did. "Don't play word games with me," the Elder bit out. "By

title you may still be speaker of the mission. The position I refer to is that of the Zhirrzh whose

actions allowed the Human prisoner Pheylan Cavanagh to be rescued by his people."

"The blame for that will fall wherever it may," Thrr-gilag said. "Until that time I don't think a certain

degree of respect is too much to ask."

Chrr't-ogdano's tongue flicked out in scorn. "Authority is something that can be assigned; respect is

something one must earn. If you're too young or too drunk with the taste of power to understand that,

then perhaps you shouldn't have been given the speakership in the first place."

Thrr-gilag pressed his tongue against the top of his mouth, choking off the words that wanted to

come out. "I'm sorry if I've disappointed you," he said instead. "I did the best I could."

Some of the hardness faded from Chrr't-ogdano's face. "What has happened has happened," he said,

his voice heavy with resignation. "Only history now can judge your actions."

Which was not to say, of course, that Chrr't-ogdano hadn't already made up his mind about history's

likely evaluation. Or that Ship Commander Zbb-rundgi and the rest of the mission hadn't, either.

And to be honest, Thrr-gilag couldn't really blame them. True, the scheme he'd improvised to

recapture Pheylan Cavanagh had worked out exactly as he'd anticipated, a point he planned to

emphasize when he presented his case before the Overclan Seating. They'd let the Human into the

alien spacecraft and allowed him to activate it, giving the watching Elders valuable information

about its operation. Then, again as anticipated, a sudden, clear look at one of the Elders had

distracted the Human long enough for Thrr-gilag to slash away his restraints and inject a minuscule

amount of tongue poison into his shoulder. New information, a prisoner recaptured with minimal

trouble, it should have been little more than a sidelight to the day's report.

But none of them had known about the Human fighter warcraft poised overhead to strike. And the

fact remained that if the prisoner had been safely under guard in his cell when the enemy swooped

down a few hunbeats later, the rescue might have been thwarted.

Or maybe the Humans would simply have demolished the encampment, raised every Zhirrzh in the

mission to Eldership, and taken Pheylan Cavanagh back anyway.

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Thrr-gilag shivered, the edge of his tongue scratching lightly against the inside of his mouth at the

memory. Those fighter warcraft had been unbelievable. Incredibly fast, incredibly maneuverable,

incredibly destructive. In coloration and performance they'd matched perfectly the warcraft that had

slashed to a sudden halt the beachhead advance on the Human world of Dorcas, warcraft his brother

Thrr-mezaz had suggested might be the mysterious Copperhead warriors mentioned in the Human

recorder.

Or could they possibly have even been the exact same warcraft?

Thrr-gilag frowned as that ominous thought struck him. If the Copperhead warriors had been able to

slip out past the Dorcas encirclement force... "I want to speak with my brother," he told Chrr't-

ogdano. "Thrr-mezaz; Kee'rr, commander of the Zhirrzh ground warriors on Dorcas."

"Now?" Chrr't-ogdano asked, taken aback. "Wouldn't it be better to speak with him from the

Diligent?"

"To appease Ship Commander Zbb-rundgi, you mean?" Thrr-gilag asked pointedly.

"To appease the dictates of common sense," Chrr't-ogdano shot back. "Or do you wish to still be

here when the Human warcraft return in greater numbers?"

Thrr-gilag sighed. "They won't be returning anytime soon," he said. "As I've already explained to

Ship Commander Zbb-rundgi. It's been nearly six tentharcs since the rescue—if the Humans had had

more warcraft nearby, they would certainly have attacked by now. Any future attack must therefore

be coming from one of their worlds. At least another fullarc away, probably more."

"That's an assumption."

"It's the consideration of a specialist in aliens and alien cultures," Thrr-gilag snapped, suddenly tired

of all these arguments. No one had questioned Svv-selic like this when he'd been in charge. "A

pathway to Thrr-mezaz, if you please."

"I obey," Chrr't-ogdano said, glowering, and vanished.

Across the room the door opened, and one of the technics came in pushing a carrier. "Anything new

on our prisoners?" Thrr-gilag asked her.

"They're still asleep," the technic said as she pushed her carrier over to one of the three remaining

tissue-analysis units. "But their metabolic levels seem to be recovering from the trauma of the

transfer aboard ship. The healers think a few more hunbeats should do it."

"Good," Thrr-gilag said, finding a minor flicker of gratification in the fact that this, at least, seemed

to be working out. It wasn't the taste of power on his tongue that was delaying their departure, as

Chrr't-ogdano and Zbb-rundgi both seemed to think. It was, rather, an overriding concern that their

two new alien prisoners might die from their mysterious injuries before they even made it off the

planet. Transferring them aboard the Diligent had been risky enough, in the healers' opinion, and

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Thrr-gilag wanted the aliens to have as much time as possible to settle in before they were subjected

to the stresses of liftoff.

Ship Commander Zbb-rundgi hadn't been able to grasp that concept. Or was simply too nervous

about anticipated Human attacks to care about healers' warnings. But as long as Thrr-gilag stayed

outside the Diligent, he retained the final word on when the ship lifted. "Have the Elders been able to

learn anything about their injuries?"

"They're still doing studies," the technic said, the last word almost lost in the brief screech of

ceramic against ceramic as the tissue analyzer came up off the floor and onto the carrier. "So far

they're as puzzled as the healers are."

There was a flicker beside Thrr-gilag, and Chrr't-ogdano was back. "I have a pathway to

Commander Thrr-mezaz," he growled. "Begin."

"This is Thrr-gilag," Thrr-gilag said, wondering what had taken Chrr't-ogdano so long. There was

supposed to be a permanent straight-line pathway between here and all three of the Zhirrzh

beachheads. Had something gone wrong? "Base World Twelve was attacked about six tentharcs ago

by Human fighter warcraft of the type described in your last report. Question: are you certain both of

those warcraft are still on Dorcas?"

Chrr't-ogdano nodded and vanished again. Thrr-gilag waited, watching the technic maneuver the

tissue analyzer to the door and counting the time to himself. It would take around fifteen beats, he

estimated, for each repetition of the message, beginning with whichever communicator Chrr't-

ogdano had made contact with on the Zhirrzh homeworld of Oaccanv. From that Elder, then to

another, and possibly another, until the message reached the shrine of someone who was also serving

as communicator with the Dorcas ground force. Then a similar delay as Thrr-mezaz's return message

wended its way back along the same route. The last time he'd talked with someone at the Dorcas

beachhead, the round trip had taken roughly 120 beats. It ought to be something similar this time.

He was up to 190 beats when Chrr't-ogdano reappeared. " 'Both warcraft are still here,' " he delivered

the message. " 'Are you injured, my brother?' "

Thrr-gilag flicked his tongue in a wry smile. That was Thrr-mezaz, all right. He would be the

overprotective worried big brother until both of them were raised to Eldership. Probably even after

that. "I'm fine," he said to Chrr't-ogdano. "You?"

" 'Last I checked, I was still here,' " the reply came back a hunbeat later. At least Thrr-mezaz hadn't

lost his dry sense of humor. " 'How badly was your base damaged?' "

"Hardly at all," Thrr-gilag said. "It was an extremely precise attack."

" 'They were somewhat less so here. How many spacecraft did they use?' "

"We saw only five fighter warcraft," Thrr-gilag said. "Though there might have been others outside

our detection range. Why? Is the number important?"

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" 'It could be,' " the answer came back. " 'If we had some idea of how many warcraft the Humans

had committed to their search, it might give us an idea of the size of their overall force. Unless they

were just checking systems at random and had immensely good luck.' "

"I doubt that was it," Thrr-gilag said. "We know they also looked at Survey World Eighteen. The

Diligent and Operant nearly caught that group, but they got away."

" 'Then they must have covered all the likely systems in the area around the battle site,' " Thrr-mezaz

concluded. " 'That's a huge number of systems.' "

"Much too huge," Thrr-gilag agreed, frowning. "They must have had some way to narrow the

possibilities down."

" 'I concur,' " the answer came back. " 'Unfortunately, that leads to two troubling conclusions. First,

that they were able to get extremely detailed readings of our environmental requirements from the

survey ships; and second, that they have a detailed catalog of all the systems in this region. I can't

see how else they could have limited their search enough to have succeeded so quickly.' "

Thrr-gilag grimaced. "I'm afraid I have to agree with you," he said. "Unless they've found a way to

track ships through the tunnel-line. That would have done it, too."

" 'Don't even joke about such things,' " his brother warned. " 'That's how rumors get started; and the

more impossible the story, the faster it spreads. I presume you're evacuating your base?' "

"Yes," Thrr-gilag said. "We've been ordered back to Oaccanv. Where I'll no doubt be called before

the Overclan Seating."

" 'No doubt. Be careful how you speak to them. The Too'rr clan was not at all happy with you for

taking Svv-selic's place as speaker of the study group.' "

At least that was one thing they couldn't blame on him. "Not my doing," he told his brother. "Our

Elders demanded Svv-selic be demoted after he let the Human get too close to the pyramid."

" 'Be careful anyway.' "

"Of course." Thrr-gilag frowned. "Is anything wrong there? The pathway seems longer than it was

five fullarcs ago."

The delay this time seemed even longer; and Thrr-gilag was just wondering if he should send one of

the other Elders to try to get Chrr't-ogdano back when he reappeared. " 'We've lost the pathway you

and I spoke through back then,' " the Elder repeated Thrr-mezaz's words, his faint voice gone

suddenly grim. " 'One of our communicators disappeared two fullarcs ago. Prr't-zevisti; Dhaa'rr.' "

Thrr-gilag felt his midlight pupils narrow with shock. "How in the eighteen worlds did that happen?"

" 'Human warriors raided one of the pyramids and took his fsss cutting,' " the reply came. " 'We

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tracked him back to their encampment, at which point his reports via his family shrine abruptly

ended.' "

"They killed him?"

" 'Or else somehow managed to capture him. All we know is that in the fullarcs since then he hasn't

been heard from. Not here, nor at his family shrine on Dharanv.' "

"I see," Thrr-gilag murmured. "How did the Humans breach your defense perimeter?"

" 'They didn't have to. As it happens, all four pyramids are outside the encampment.' "

"Outside?" Thrr-gilag echoed. "Whose flat-headed idea was that?"

" 'Mine. It was an experiment to see if the Elders could help supplement the sentry line.' "

Thrr-gilag flicked his tongue. "The Dhaa'rr leaders aren't going to be at all happy about this."

" 'Their unhappiness has already been expressed to me,' " the dry response came. " 'I expect they'll

be expressing it to you, as well, once you're up before the Overclan Seating.' "

"I appreciate the advance warning," Thrr-gilag said, checking the time. The alien prisoners should

have had enough time to recover now. At least as far as they were going to. "I have to go now, my

brother. Keep yourself safe, and I'll speak with you again soon."

" 'I'll be careful,' " Chrr't-ogdano repeated the words. " 'You, too. Farewell.' "

"Farewell." Thrr-gilag nodded to the Elder. "Thank you, Chrr't-ogdano. You may release the rest of

the pathway now. It's time to go."

"Good," Chrr't-ogdano grumbled. He gestured toward the door with his tongue. "What about the

pyramid? Are you still planning to leave it here?"

"We're hardly going to be able to watch the Humans when they return without it," Thrr-gilag pointed

out, frowning at the worried expression on the Elder's face. "Why? Are you afraid?"

"After what happened to Prr't-zevisti?" Chrr't-ogdano countered. "Of course I'm afraid. You would

be too."

Thrr-gilag grimaced, reaching behind his head to touch the small scar at the base of his skull,

arguments and soothing words swirling through his mind and dissolving into silence on his tongue.

Theoretically, of course, nothing the Humans did to an Elder's fsss cutting there should have any

effect on the rest of the finger-sized organ, safely nestled in its shrine niche 250 light-cyclics away.

At the first sign of danger, all Chrr't-ogdano and the other Elders should have to do would be to flick

back to their shrines, and they'd be perfectly safe.

But theory was one thing. A group of nervous Elders worried for their survival was something else

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entirely. And to be fair, as far as Thrr-gilag knew, the theory had never been tested.

"The observers on Study World Eighteen," Chrr't-ogdano said. "Remember the report? They felt the

pain of the Human Elderdeath weapons."

"But they were still anchored at their cuttings watching the Humans," Thrr-gilag reminded him. "But

you have a point. Very well. Inform Ship Commander Zbb-rundgi that I've reversed my decision and

that the pyramid is to be taken back home. And tell him we'll leave as soon as it's aboard."

"I obey," Chrr't-ogdano said, looking more than a little relieved.

He vanished. Alone again, Thrr-gilag stood up, pressing the edge of his tongue hard against the

inside of his mouth as he draped the restraint suit across his shoulders. So here they were again: the

Zhirrzh at war with yet another new alien race. Aliens who, like all the others who had gone before

them, had attacked them on sight. Aliens with powerful explosive missiles and small but vicious

fighter warcraft, who used Elderdeath weapons with a free hand. Aliens who owned twenty-four

worlds, against eighteen worlds of their own, who held at least eight other alien races under their

domination.

Aliens who wielded the terrifying weapon Pheylan Cavanagh had described for him. The awful

killing device called CIRCE.

Taking one last look around the silent conversation room, Thrr-gilag headed for the door and the

ship that lay beyond. And hoped fervently that Warrior Command and the Overclan Seating hadn't

sliced off more than they could eat.

2

It was just over 250 light-cyclics to Oaccanv: nearly thirty-five tentharcs at stardrive speed. Three

and a half long fullarcs for Thrr-gilag to lie in his cabin, studying the records of Pheylan Cavanagh's

imprisonment and sharpening his knowledge of the Human language. And wondering what might be

happening elsewhere as they flew through the darkness between the stars.

Fortunately, he didn't have to wonder in similar darkness. Ship Commander Zbb-rundgi had quietly

instructed everyone aboard—unofficially, of course—to ostracize the young upstart searcher who

had allowed the Human prisoner to escape and, probably more important, had treated the ship

commander's advice with perceived contempt. But neither Nzz-oonaz nor Svv-selic seemed

interested in taking the order seriously, and they kept Thrr-gilag up-to-date on the progress of the

Zhirrzh expeditionary forces currently in Human space.

The Elders' reports were sparse but generally favorable. On all three Human target worlds the

defending warriors appeared to have been taken by surprise, though that hadn't stopped them from

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counterattacking with their explosive missiles and Elderdeath weapons. But they'd been routed,

usually after only a tentharc or two of fighting, fleeing out into wilderness areas. Beachheads had

been established and encirclement forces deployed in orbit, and now it was largely a matter of

securing the territory and waiting to see how the Humans would respond to this returning of the war

to their gatestep.

If this was, in fact, merely a turning of the war back on its creators.

It was a disturbing thought, and one which occupied the corners of Thrr-gilag's mind throughout the

voyage. He trusted the Elders, certainly, and the Elders' report had stated unequivocally that at that

first contact the Humans had been the aggressors. But at the same time, Thrr-gilag found it hard

simply to ignore the words of Pheylan Cavanagh, who seemed to have been equally convinced that it

was the Far Searcher and the other Zhirrzh survey ships which had fired first.

Probably the Human was lying. Almost certainly the Human was lying. But still, a thin edge of

doubt remained. Thrr-gilag could only hope that when he got to Oaccanv, he would be able to erase

that edge.

"All rise and prepare for service," the intoning voice of the chamber hailer boomed out. The words

echoed faintly from the loudspeakers throughout the huge room, an echo quickly drowned out by the

scuffling of a thousand Zhirrzh rising from their couches. "The Overclan Seating of the Zhirrzh

people is now in session," the hailer called over the noise. "All honor the Overclan Prime."

Behind the podium the doors swung open, and the Overclan Prime stepped into view. For a few

beats he stood in the doorway, silently surveying the crowded chamber. Then, holding aloft a kavra

fruit for all to see, he sliced through it twice in the ancient ritual of openness and trust. Placing the

lacerated fruit on the low table beside the door, he wiped his fingers on a cleaning cloth and

continued forward. He walked between the two shrines—the larger, in standard white ceramic, for

the general Overclan family; the smaller, of carved black stone, for the Overclan Primes

themselves—nodding with respect to each as he passed. "I greet the Speakers of the Thousand

Clans," he said, seating himself on his couch and gesturing for the Speakers to do the same. "We are

met to consider the disturbing events of four fullarcs ago that necessitated the evacuation of Base

World Twelve. Searcher Thrr-gilag, Kee'rr; Searcher Svv-selic, Too'rr; Searcher Nzz-oonaz, Flii'rr:

step forward."

His two colleagues beside him, Thrr-gilag walked up to the witness box beside the podium, the

sweet-sour aftertaste of the poison-neutralizing kavra juice mixing with the acid nervousness on his

tongue as he tried to read something—anything—from the Prime's expression. Hoping to get some

idea where the titular leader of the Zhirrzh race stood on all this.

But the Prime's face was a mask. And small wonder. For five hundred cyclics, ever since the

founding of the Overclan Seating, this family-without-a-clan had given its sons and daughters to live

and work in the sprawling complex that served the Overclan, its members allied to no one, beholden

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to no one, favoring no one, opposing no one. No Zhirrzh could have risen through those select ranks

to become Overclan Prime without long ago learning how to bury all personal thoughts and

prejudices deeply within him.

"Searcher Thrr-gilag," the Prime said, those deep eyes boring into him. "As designated speaker of

the alien specialist group on Base World Twelve, you bear the ultimate responsibility for the events

of four fullarcs ago. Events that resulted in the escape of the Human prisoner of war, the evacuation

of an importantly placed Zhirrzh base, and the raising of eight Zhirrzh to Eldership. We have read

your reports, along with the comments and opinions of your communicators and those Elders who

were assisting in your studies. Now we wish to hear your thoughts."

And my excuses? Thrr-gilag wondered. But again the Prime's face gave him no clue as to what the

other might be thinking. "You have heard the facts of the incident," he said, forcing himself to look

out at the rows and rows of clan Speakers gazing back at him. The Speakers, and the hazy cloud of

silent Elders that filled the domed ceiling above the couches. "The Human prisoner was able to block

the sensors of his obedience suit with mud," he continued, "and was able to seize both myself and

one of my technics before we could move away. He held us as shields against the warriors and

demanded entry to the newly arrived alien spacecraft."

"And did you so fear Eldership that you called off the warriors?" a voice growled from the first row

of couches.

Thrr-gilag focused on him. It was a very well-known face: Cvv-panav, Speaker of the powerful

Dhaa'rr clan. "I did not fear Eldership, Speaker," he said. "Indeed, I'd already risked that result by

ordering the warriors to use flashblind weapons against the Human. They proved ineffective."

"Then you should have ordered them to use lasers," Cvv-panav insisted.

"Perhaps," Thrr-gilag said. "I agree, the situation was potentially dangerous. But I also saw in it a

way to gain valuable information."

Cvv-panav sniffed. "We were already gaining valuable information—"

"The Speaker for Dhaa'rr will be silent," the Prime interrupted mildly. "What information do you

refer to, Searcher Thrr-gilag?"

"The alien spacecraft had been damaged during its capture," Thrr-gilag said. "Zhirrzh observers had

watched as its crew brought it to a landing, but that crew had been severely injured, and it was not

known how long they would survive. It occurred to me that if we allowed the Human aboard the

craft, our Elders would be able to see how the flight sequence was initiated. I therefore gave the

order to allow him access to the craft."

"A dangerous risk," one of the other Speakers said. "And for so slight a gain. Our warrior searchers

would surely have been able to learn the craft's secrets."

"Besides, the aliens have survived," Cvv-panav added. "Which means that the risk was for nothing at

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all."

"Perhaps," Thrr-gilag said. "But I didn't know that then. As for the aliens, their survival is still

greatly in doubt."

"What is not in doubt is the fact that your gamble failed," Cvv-panav shot back. "The Human has

returned to his people with knowledge about the Zhirrzh. You should have killed him."

"That may not have done any good," Thrr-gilag said, bracing himself. Here it came; and it was not

going to be well received. "In my opinion it is not impossible that the Humans have Elders of their

own."

He'd expected a roar of outrage from the assembly, or at least a hissing gasp of astonishment. The

deathly silence was more unnerving than either of the other two reactions would have been. "Have

you proof?" the Prime asked.

"Not as yet," Thrr-gilag said, trying to keep his voice and tail steady. "But there are indications. The

Human was quick to notice our fsss scars, asking many questions about them. Furthermore, he also

had a similar scar just so"—he traced the place on his abdomen—"indicating a spot from which a

fsss-sized organ had clearly been removed."

"An interesting location for a fsss organ," the Prime commented. "Was this removal determined by

medical instruments or direct Elder observation?"

"Both," Thrr-gilag said. "I ordered the Elder observation after our discussion about the fsss with the

Human."

"A discussion which I stated at the time should not have occurred," Svv-selic put in. "It provided

information—"

"The searcher will be silent," the Prime said. "Allow me to point out, Searcher Thrr-gilag, that five

other Human bodies were briefly examined after the space battle. None showed any sign of such

scars."

"Yes, I know," Thrr-gilag said. "And if the Humans do indeed have Elders, that might indicate that

they're socially still in an extremely primitive state."

"Impossible," Cvv-panav snorted. "They have a highly advanced technology."

"Technology level and social structure are not necessarily related," Thrr-gilag said. "The Human

Pheylan Cavanagh was apparently equivalent in rank to a Zhirrzh ship commander. If he, and he

alone of all his warriors, had had his fsss removed, it might indicate that the Humans are at a stage

comparable to Zhirrzh society before the First Eldership War."

For a few beats the chamber was silent. "Considering the barbarism of that era, that would be

unpleasant news indeed," the Prime said at last. "Yet it would be consistent with the savagery of

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Timothy Zahn - Conquerors 2 - Conquerors' Heritage

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