Norton, Andre - Solar Queen 02 - Plague Ship

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2024-11-29 0 0 417.05KB 96 页 5.9玖币

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PLAGUE SHIP

by Andre Norton

An Iczelion (scan)-Nadie (proof/layout) coproduction.

Contents

* PERFUMED PLANET

* RIVALS

* CONTACT AT LAST

* GORP HUNT

* THE PERILOUS SEAS

* DUELIST’S CHALLENGE

* BARRING ACCIDENT

* HEADACHES

* PLAGUE!

* E-STAT LANDING

* DESPERATE MEASURES

* STRANGE BEHAVIOR OF A HOOBAT

* OFF THE MAP

* SPECIAL MISSION

* MEDIC HOVAN REPORTS

* THE BATTLE OF THE VIDEO

* IN CUSTODY

* BARGAIN CONCLUDED

Chapter I

PERFUMED PLANET

DANE THORSON, CARGO-MASTER-APPRENTICE of the Solar Queen, Galactic Free Trader spacer,

Terra registry, stood in the middle of the ship’s cramped bather while Rip Shannon, assistant Astrogator

and his senior in the Service of Trade by some four years, applied gobs of highly scented paste to the skin

between Dane’s rather prominent shoulder blades. The small cabin was thickly redolent with spicy odors

and Rip sniffed appreciatively.

“You’re sure going to be about the best smelling Terran who ever set boot on Sargol’s soil,” his soft slur of

speech ended in a rich chuckle.

Dane snorted and tried to estimate progress over one shoulder.

“The things we have to do for Trade!” his comment carried a hint of present embarrassment. “Get it well

in—this stuff’s supposed to hold for hours. It’d better. According to Van those Salariki can talk your ears

right off your head and say nothing worth hearing. And we have to sit and listen until we get a straight

answer out of them. Phew!” He shook his head. In such close quarters the scent, pleasing as it was, was

also overpowering. “We would have to pick a world such as this—”

Rip’s dark fingers halted their circular motion. “Dane,” he warned, “don’t you go talking against this

venture. We got it soft and we’re going to be credit-happy—if it works out—”

But, perversely, Dane held to a gloomier view of the immediate future. “If,” he repeated. “There’s a galaxy

of ‘ifs’ in this Sargol proposition. All very well for you to rest easy on your fins—you don’t have to run

about smelling like a spice works before you can get the time of day from one of the natives!”

Rip put down the jar of cream. “Different worlds, different customs,” he iterated the old tag of the Service.

“Be glad this one is so easy to conform to. There are some I can think of—There,” he ended his message

with a stinging slap, “You’re all evenly greased. Good thing you don’t have Van’s bulk to cover. It takes

him a good hour to get his cream on—even with Frank helping to spread. Your clothes ought to be steamed

up and ready, too, by now—”

He opened a tight wall cabinet, originally intended to sterilize clothing which might be contaminated by

contact with organisms inimical to Terrans. A cloud of steam fragrant with the same spicy scent poured

out.

Dane gingerly tugged loose his Trade uniform, its brown silky fabric damp on his skin as he dressed.

Luckily Sargol was warm. When he stepped out on its ruby tinted soil this morning no lingering taint off

his off-world origin must remain to disgust the sensitive nostrils of the Salariki. He supposed he would get

used to this process. After all this was the first time he had undergone the ritual. But he couldn’t lose the

secret conviction that it was all very silly. Only what Rip had pointed out was the truth—one adjusted to

the customs of aliens or one didn’t trade and there were other things he might have had to do on other

worlds which would have been far more upsetting to that core of private fastidiousness which few would

have suspected existed in his tall, lanky frame.

“Whew—out in the open with you—!” Ali Kamil, apprentice Engineer, screwed his too regular features

into an expression of extreme distaste and waved Dane by him in the corridor.

For the sake of his shipmates’ olfactory nerves, Dane hurried on to the port which gave on the ramp now

tying the Queen to Sargol’s crust. But there he lingered, waiting for Van Rycke, the Cargo-master of the

spacer and his immediate superior. It was early morning and now that he was out of the confinement of the

ship the fresh morning winds cut about him, rippling through the blue-green grass forest beyond, to take

much of his momentary irritation with them. There were no mountains in this section of Sargol—the

highest elevations being rounded hills tightly clothed with the same ten-foot grass which covered the

plains. From the Queen’s observation ports, one could watch the constant ripple of the grass so that the

planet appeared to be largely clothed in a shimmering, flowing carpet. To the west were the seas—stretches

of shallow water so cut up by strings of islands that they more resembled a series of salty lakes. And it was

what was to be found in those seas which had lured the Solar Queen to Sargol.

Though, by rights, the discovery was that of another Trader—Traxt Cam—who had bid for trading rights

to Sargol, hoping to make a comfortable fortune—or at least expenses with a slight profit—in the perfume

trade, exporting from the scented planet some of its most fragrant products. But once on Sargol he had

discovered the Koros stones—gems of a new type—a handful of which offered across the board in one of

the inner planet trading marts had nearly caused a riot among bidding gem merchants. And Cam had been

well on the way to becoming one of the princes of Trade when he had been drawn into the vicious net of

the Limbian pirates and finished off.

Because they, too, had stumbled into the trap which was Limbo, and had had a very definite part in

breaking up that devilish installation, the crew of the Solar Queen had claimed as their reward the trading

rights of Traxt Cam in default of legal heirs. And so here they were on Sargol with the notes left by Cam as

their guide, and as much lore concerning the Salariki as was known crammed into their minds.

Dane sat down on the end of the ramp, his feet on Sargolian soil, thin, red soil with glittering bits of gold

flake in it. He did not doubt that he was under observation from hidden eyes, but he tried to show no sign

that he guessed it. The adult Salariki maintained at all times an attitude of aloof and complete indifference

toward the Traders, but the juvenile population were as curious as their elders were contemptuous. Perhaps

there was a method of approach in that. Dane considered the idea.

Van Rycke and Captain Jellico had handled the first negotiations—and the process had taken most of a

day—the result totaling exactly nothing. In their contacts with the off world men the feline ancestered

Salariki were ceremonious, wary, and completely detached. But Cam had gotten to them somehow—or he

would not have returned from his first trip with that pouch of Koros stones. Only, among his records,

salvaged on Limbo, he had left absolutely no clue as to how he had beaten down native sales resistance. It

was baffling. But patience had to be the middle name of every Trader and Dane had complete faith in Van.

Sooner or later the Cargo-master would find a key to unlock the Salariki.

As if the thought of Dane’s chief had summoned him, Van Rycke, his scented tunic sealed to his bull’s

neck in unaccustomed trimness, his cap on his blond head, strode down the ramp, broadcasting waves of

fragrance as he moved. He sniffed vigorously as he approached his assistant and then nodded in approval.

“So you’re all greased and ready—”

“Is the Captain coming too, sir?”

Van Rycke shook his head. “This is our headache. Patience, my boy, patience—” He led the way through a

thin screen of the grass on the other side of the scorched landing field to a well-packed earth road.

Again Dane felt eyes, knew that they were being watched. But no Salarik stepped out of concealment. At

least they had nothing to fear in the way of attack. Traders were immune, taboo, and the trading stations

were set up under the white diamond shield of peace, a peace guaranteed on blood oath by every clan

chieftain in the district. Even in the midst of interclan feuding deadly enemies met in amity under that

shield and would not turn claw knife against each other within a two mile radius of its protection.

The grass forests rustled betrayingly, but the Terrans displayed no interest in those who spied upon them.

An insect with wings of brilliant green gauze detached itself from the stalk of a grass tree and fluttered

ahead of the Traders as if it were an official herald. From the red soil crushed by their boots arose a

pungent odor which fought with the scent they carried with them. Dane swallowed three or four times and

hoped that his superior officer had not noted that sign of discomfort. Though Van Rycke, in spite of his

general air of sleepy benevolence and careless goodwill, noticed everything, no matter how trivial, which

might have a bearing on the delicate negotiations of Galactic Trade. He had not climbed to his present

status of expert Cargo-master by overlooking anything at all. Now he gave an order:

“Take an equalizer—”

Dane reached for his belt pouch, flushing, fiercely determined inside himself, that no matter how smells

warred about him that day, he was not going to let it bother him. He swallowed the tiny pellet Medic Tau

had prepared for just such trials and tried to occupy his mind with the work to come. If there would be any

work—or would another long day be wasted in futile speeches of mutual esteem which gave formal lip

service to Trade and its manifest benefits?

“Houuuu—” The cry which was half wail, half arrogant warning, sounded along the road behind them.

Van Rycke’s stride did not vary. He did not turn his head, show any sign he had heard that heralding

fanfare for a clan chieftain. And he continued to keep to the exact center of the road, Dane the regulation

one pace to the rear and left as befitted his lower rank.

“Houuu—” that blast from the throat of a Salarik especially chosen for his lung power was accompanied

now by the hollow drum of many feet. The Terrans neither looked around nor withdrew from the center,

nor did their pace quicken.

That, too, was in order, Dane knew. To the rank conscious Salariki clansmen you did not yield precedence

unless you wanted at once to acknowledge your inferiority—and if you did that by some slip of admission

or omission, there was no use in trying to treat face to face with their chieftains again.

“Houuu—!” The blast behind was a scream as the retinue it announced swept around the bend in the road

to catch sight of the two Traders oblivious of it. Dane longed to be able to turn his head, just enough to see

which one of the local lordlings they blocked.

“Houu—” there was a questioning note in the cry now and the heavy thud-thud of feet was slacking. The

clan party had seen them, were hesitant about the wisdom of trying to shove them aside.

Van Rycke marched steadily onward and Dane matched his pace. They might not possess a leather-lunged

herald to clear their road, but they gave every indication of having the right to occupy as much of it as they

wished. And that unruffled poise had its affect upon those behind. The pound of feet slowed to a walk, a

walk which would keep a careful distance behind the two Terrans. It had worked—the Salariki—or these

Salariki—were accepting them at their own valuation—a good omen for the day’s business. Dane’s spirits

rose, but he schooled his features into a mask as wooden as his superior’s. After all this was a very minor

victory and they had ten or twelve hours of polite, and hidden, maneuvering before them.

The Solar Queen had set down as closely as possible to the trading center marked on Traxt Cam’s private

map and the Terrans now had another five minutes march, in the middle of the road, ahead of the chieftain

who must be inwardly boiling at their presence, before they came out in the clearing containing the

roofless, circular erection which served the Salariki of the district as a market place and a common meeting

ground for truce talks and the mending of private clan alliances. Erect on a pole in the middle, towering

well above the nodding fronds of the grass trees, was the pole bearing the trade shield which promised not

only peace to those under it, but a three day sanctuary to any feuder or duelist who managed to win to it

and lay hands upon its weathered standard.

They were not the first to arrive, which was also a good thing. Gathered in small groups about the walls of

the council place were the personal attendants, liege warriors, and younger relatives of at least four or five

clan chieftains. But, Dane noted at once, there was not a single curtained litter or riding orgel to be seen.

None of the feminine part of the Salariki species had arrived. Nor would they until the final trade treaty

was concluded and established by their fathers, husbands, or sons.

With the assurance of one who was master in his own clan, Van Rycke, displaying no interest at all in the

shifting mass of lower rank Salariki, marched straight on to the door of the enclosure. Two or three of the

younger warriors got to their feet, their brilliant cloaks flicking out like spreading wings. But when Van

Rycke did not even lift an eyelid in their direction, they made no move to block his path.

As fighting men, Dane thought, trying to study the specimens before him with a totally impersonal stare,

the Salariki were an impressive lot. Their average height was close to six feet, their distant feline ancestry

apparent only in small vestiges. A Salarik’s nails on both hands and feet were retractile, his skin was gray,

his thick hair, close to the texture of plushy fur, extended down his backbone and along the outside of his

well muscled arms and legs, and was tawny-yellow, blue-gray or white. To Terran eyes the broad faces,

now all turned in their direction, lacked readable expression. The eyes were large and set slightly aslant in

the skull, being startlingly orange-red or a brilliant turquoise green-blue. They wore loin cloths of brightly

dyed fabrics with wide sashes forming corselets about their slender middles, from which gleamed the gem-

set hilts of their claw knives, the possession of which proved their adulthood. Cloaks as flamboyant as their

other garments hung in bat wing folds from their shoulders and each and every one moved in an invisible

cloud of perfume.

Brilliant as the assemblage of liege men without had been, the gathering of clan leaders and their upper

officers within the council place was a riot of color—and odor. The chieftains were installed on the

wooden stools, each with a small table before him on which rested a goblet bearing his own clan sign, a

folded strip of patterned cloth—his “trade shield”—and a gemmed box containing the scented paste he

would use for refreshment during the ordeal of conference.

A breeze fluttered sash ends and tugged at cloaks, otherwise the assembly was motionless and awesomely

quiet. Still making no overtures Van Rycke crossed to a stool and table which stood a little apart and seated

himself. Dane went into the action required of him. Before his superior he set out a plastic pocket flask, its

color as alive in the sunlight as the crudely cut gems which the Salariki sported, a fine silk handkerchief,

and, last of all, a bottle of Terran smelling salts provided by Medic Tau as a necessary restorative after

some hours’ combination of Salariki oratory and Salariki perfumes. Having thus done the duty of liege

man, Dane was at liberty to seat himself, cross-legged on the ground behind his chief, as the other sons,

heirs, and advisors had gathered behind their lords.

The chieftain whose arrival they had in a manner delayed came in after them and Dane saw that it was

Fashdor—another piece of luck—since that clan was a small one and the chieftain had little influence. Had

they so slowed Halfer or Paft it might be a different matter altogether.

Fashdor was established at his seat, his belongings spread out, and Dane, counting unobtrusively, was

certain that the council was now complete. Seven clans Traxt Cam had recorded divided the sea coast

territory and there were seven chieftains here—indicative of the importance of this meeting since some of

these clans, beyond the radius of the shield peace, must be fighting a vicious blood feud at that very

moment. Yes, seven were here. Yet there still remained a single stool, directly across the circle from Van

Rycke. An empty stool—who was the late comer?

That question was answered almost as it flashed into Dane’s mind. But no Salariki lordling came through

the door. Dane’s self-control kept him in his place, even after he caught the meaning of the insignia

emblazoned across the newcomer’s tunic. Trader—and not only a Trader but a Company man! But why—

and how? The Companies only went after big game—this was a planet thrown open to Free Traders, the

independents of the star lanes. By law and right no Company man had any place here. Unless—behind a

face Dane strove to keep as impassive as Van’s his thoughts raced. Traxt Cam as a Free Trader had bid for

the right to exploit Sargol when its sole exportable product was deemed to be perfume—a small,

unimportant trade as far as the Companies were concerned. And then the Koros stones had been found and

the importance of Sargol must have boomed as far as the big boys could see. They probably knew of Traxt

Cam’s death as soon as the Patrol report on Limbo had been sent to Headquarters. The Companies all

maintained their private information and espionage services. And, with Traxt Cam dead without an heir,

they had seen their chance and moved in. Only, Dane’s teeth set firmly, they didn’t have the ghost of a

chance now. Legally there was only one Trader on Sargol and that was the Solar Queen, Captain Jellico

had his records signed by the Patrol to prove that. And all this Inter-Solar man could do now was to bow

out and try poaching elsewhere.

But the I-S man appeared to be in no haste to follow that only possible course. He was seating himself with

arrogant dignity on that unoccupied stool, and a younger man in I-S uniform was putting before him the

same type of equipment Dane had produced for Van Rycke. The Cargo-master of the Solar Queen showed

no surprise, if the Eysies’ appearance had been such to him.

One of the younger warriors in Paft’s train got to his feet and brought his hands together with a clap which

echoed across the silent gathering with the force of an archaic solid projectile shot. A Salarik, wearing the

rich dress of the upper ranks, but also the collar forced upon a captive taken in combat, came into the

enclosure carrying a jug in both hands. Preceded by Paft’s son he made the rounds of the assembly pouring

a purple liquid from his jug into the goblet before each chieftain, a goblet which Paft’s heirs tasted

ceremoniously before it was presented to the visiting clan leader. When they paused before Van Rycke the

Salarik nobleman touched the side of the plasta flask in token. It was recognized that off world men must

be cautious over the sampling of local products and that when they joined in the Taking of the First Cup of

Peace, they did so symbolically.

Paft raised his cup, his gesture copied by everyone around the circle. In the harsh tongue of his race he

repeated a formula so archaic that few of the Salariki could now translate the sing-song words. They drank

and the meeting was formally opened.

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摘要：

PLAGUESHIPbyAndreNortonAnIczelion(scan)-Nadie(proof/layout)coproduction.Contents*PERFUMEDPLANET*RIVALS*CONTACTATLAST*GORPHUNT*THEPERILOUSSEAS*DUELIST’SCHALLENGE*BARRINGACCIDENT*HEADACHES*PLAGUE!*E-STATLANDING*DESPERATEMEASURES*STRANGEBEHAVIOROFAHOOBAT*OFFTHEMAP*SPECIALMISSION*MEDICHOVANREPORTS*THEBA...

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Norton, Andre - Solar Queen 02 - Plague Ship

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