C. J. Cherryh - Foreigner 4 - Precursor

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Cherryh, C J - [Foreigner 04] Precursor

PRECURSOR

Caroline J. Cherryh

the fourth in the Foreigner sequence

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Cherryh, C J - [Foreigner 04] Precursor

EBook Design Group digital back-up edition v1

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click for scan notes and proofing history

valid XHTML 1.0 Strict

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Cherryh, C J - [Foreigner 04] Precursor
Contents
|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|
20|21|22|23|24|25|26|27|28|
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Cherryh, C J - [Foreigner 04] Precursor

Jacket art by Stephen Youll

DAW Books Collectors No. 1137

DAW Books are distributed by Penguin Putnam Inc.

Book designed by Stanley S. Drate/Folio Graphics

All characters and events in this book are fictitious

All resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.

This book is printed on acid-free paper

First Printing, November 1999.

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

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Cherryh, C J - [Foreigner 04] Precursor

To Kira and Kasi

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Cherryh, C J - [Foreigner 04] Precursor

Chapter 1

^ »

The jet that waited these days was passenger-only, carrying no

baggage but that which pertained to the paidhi and whatever

diplomats happened to be traveling under his seal.

More, since a certain infelicitous crossing three years ago, the plane

itself bore the colors, the house seal, and the personal seal of Tabini-

aiji, which served as an advisement to any small craft that, anyone

else’s personal numbers be damned, the paidhi’s jet had absolute

right of way.

Diplomatic status on the island enclave of Mospheira, however, did

not mean a luxurious lounge. It didn’t even mean access in the

public terminal, where the island traffic came and went and

delivered more or less happy families to holiday venues. No,

diplomatic passengers embarked from the freight area. Security

preferred that defensible seclusion. The State Department arranged

a red carpet across the bare concrete, a small concession to

appearances on a tight budget.

Bren preferred the seclusion, carpet or no carpet. A mission from

Mospheira was already aboard, so security informed him, about five

minutes ago… they’d not been waiting long, but they were all the

same waiting, now, safe, their baggage aboard.

He carried his own computer, that was all, a machine with

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Cherryh, C J - [Foreigner 04] Precursor

information certain agencies would kill for, and set it down to say

his good-byes. Seclusion might mean family partings in a dingy,

spartan warehouse, but it also meant he could indulge those partings

in private: maternal tears, brotherly hugs, on a hasty Independence

Day visit that had nothing to do with family obligations, rather four

days occupied with official duties, then an overnight stay with his

mother that ended one day before the official holiday.

On his way out of the human enclave, arriving by private car and

not having to run the gauntlet of news cameras, he’d already

changed his island casual knits for the calf-high boots and many-

buttoned frock coat of atevi court style. He’d braided his hair

unaided into a respectable single, tight plait, precisely—he hoped—

between the shoulder blades, with his best effort at including the

proper white ribbon of the paidhi’s rank. He had lost one cufflink

into the heating duct of his mother’s guest room, or somewhere, this

morning; he was relatively sure it was the heating duct, but he

hadn’t had time to dismount the grate and retrieve it. His mother

had regaled him with an elaborate, home-style mother-cooked

breakfast—her substitute for the holiday—and what could he do but

sit down and spend the little time he could spend with her?

He’d borrowed a straight pin to hold the cuff, which he now tried to

avoid sticking into his brother’s shoulder as they embraced.

It was: “Take care” from his brother. And predictably, from his

mother: “You could stay another day or two.”

“I can’t, Mom.”

“I wish you’d arrange another job.” This, straightening his collar.

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Cherryh, C J - [Foreigner 04] Precursor

He was thirty years old, and probably the collar needed

straightening. “I wish you’d talk to Tabini. At least get a decent

phone line.”

Tabini-aiji was only the leader of the civilized world, the most

powerful leader on the planet and probably above it. A decent

phone line in his mother’s reckoning meant one that would take

calls in Mosphei’ instead of Ragi and let his mother through the

atevi security system at any hour, day or night; that would suffice.

The fact that there were four diplomats and a situation waiting

aboard the plane was not in her diagram of the universe. Next it

would be: Get a haircut.

“You have the pager, Mother.” It had been a birthday gift, last visit.

“I showed you—”

“It’s not the same. What if I had an attack and couldn’t use the

pager? I’m not getting any younger.”

“If you couldn’t use the pager, you couldn’t use the phone. Just talk

to the thing. It’s all automatic, state of the art.”

“State of whose art, I’d like to know.”

“It’s Mospheiran. Bought right here on the island.”

“You don’t know where it goes. You don’t know who’s listening.

And atevi made it. They make everything.”

“I know who’s listening,” he said, and attempted conciliation with a

hug. She was stiff and resisting to his embrace.

“Shots in the night,” she muttered, not without justification. “Paint

on my building.” That was years ago, but he couldn’t blame her for

blaming him.

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Cherryh, C J - [Foreigner 04] Precursor

His brother moved in—a diversionary tactic. Toby put his hand on

their mother’s shoulder, simultaneously offered Bren his right hand

in a handshake, and gave him a clear passage to the red carpet.

“See you,” Toby said. “Go.”

It was smooth. It almost worked.

But a wild cry of: “Bren!” came from beyond the security station,

and a woman in fluttering white came running across the concrete,

in fragile yellow shoes not designed for athletic effort.

Barb—the ex-girlfriend he’d successfully evaded for the last four

days, who’d sent him voicemails he’d deleted.

Barb—whom he’d almost married.

She’d not put in a personal appearance during this visit or the last or

the one before that, though his mother on all his visits had talked of

Barb—Barb did this, Barb did that; Barb did her shopping, ran her

errands.

Barb, married, had all but adopted herself into his mother’s

apartment, and yet didn’t manage to show up while he was there…

not that he’d advertised his visit, or even given his mother advance

notice of last night’s visit. Barb had tried to meet him, he was sure.

He’d “just missed her” twice, this trip. He didn’t know what the

sudden insistence was. He wondered if he should have deleted those

voicemails.

And now she’d gotten into this departure area on her husband’s

high-clearance security card, he’d damned well bet.

“Barbie,” his mother said lovingly.

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Cherryh, C J - [Foreigner 04] Precursor

“Go,” his brother urged him under his breath. Whatever was going

on, Toby knew.

“Security window,” Bren said with a frozen smile. “Have to go.

People waiting on the plane. Mum. Toby. —Barb.” He offered his

hand. “Nice to see you. Glad you’re seeing to Mother. Kind of you

to come.”

“Bren, dammit!” Barb flung herself into a hug. Bren could find no

civil choice but to return it, however distantly. “I know” she

murmured against his shirt, “I know you’re angry with me.”

“Not angry, Barb.” He did the most deliberately hateful thing he

could think of, tipping up her tearful face and kissing her… on the

cheek. “I’m glad for you. Glad you’re happy. Stay that way.”

“I’m not happy!” She seized his lapel, flung a hand behind his neck,

and kissed him fiercely on the lips. Passive resistance didn’t do

enough to resist it… at first: and then he found to his dim distress

that he didn’t respond at all. Barb’s kisses were nothing foreign to

him—longed-for, for years of his life. Her mouth wanted, tried, to

warm his… but nothing happened.

He was disturbed. He turned from anger to feeling sorry for Barb

and a little distressed about himself. For old times’ sake he tried to

heal her embarrassment by returning the kiss, even passionately,

tenderly… as much as he remembered how.

But still nothing happened between them—or, at least, nothing from

his side.

Barb drew back with a stricken, troubled gaze. He gazed at her,

wondering what she knew, or why his human body didn’t respond

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