Thrr-mezaz looked at the monitor and the Mrachani message still displayed there. "I'd recommend, Supreme Commander, that you make sure all these possibilities are passed on to the Overclan before the Mrachani mission leaves Oaccanv."
"I intend to." Dkll-kumvit looked up as the Elder reappeared. "Yes?"
"Message for you, Supreme Commander," the Elder said. " 'Warrior Command to Supreme Ship Commander Dkll-kumvit. Mrachani prisoners are to be held at Dorcas until suitable arrangements can be made for their interrogation. Under no circumstances are they to be brought aboard any of the encirclement warships or sent on to other Zhirrzh worlds.' "
"Understood," Dkll-kumvit said. "How long are these arrangements likely to take?"
The Elder nodded and vanished. "So much for putting a few warriors aboard their spacecraft and sending them on to Oaccanv," Dkll-kumvit commented.
"Yes," Thrr-mezaz agreed. "It sounds as if Warrior Command is having their suspicions, too."
"That's a proper part of their job," Dkll-kumvit pointed out. "The question then arises of what exactly we're supposed to do with the Mrachanis in the meantime."
The Elder reappeared. " 'We anticipate a delay of only a few fullarcs,' " he quoted. " 'We do not wish a repeat of the Base World Twelve incident.' "
"Understandable," Dkll-kumvit said, looking at Thrr-mezaz. "It does, however, leave me in a somewhat awkward position. I concur that we don't want them aboard our warships. But I also don't like the idea of leaving them aboard their own spacecraft, with access to unknown equipment and weaponry."
Thrr-mezaz nodded, suppressing a grimace. It was obvious now why Dkll-kumvit had invited him up here to this meeting. Obvious, too, why the supreme commander had asked him to stay behind for this private chat after sending the other ship commanders off to the war room. "I'm sure that Warrior Command has considered all such possibilities, though," he said. "Shall I volunteer now to take them down to my encampment, or should I wait for an official order?"
Dkll-kumvit smiled wryly. "I suppose you might as well volunteer," he said. "Provided, of course, that you can make sure they're kept away from Zhirrzh technology."
"That won't be a problem," Thrr-mezaz said. "There are several Human-Conqueror buildings we aren't using, one of which in particular would be easy to guard. We'll put them in there."
"Accessible to Elders?"
"Yes," Thrr-mezaz said. "It's a sort of storehouse, with a metal frame and metal in the doors, roof, and window covers. But the rest is all wood. We can also make it comfortable enough to hopefully not offend them in the event they really are ambassadors of goodwill."
"Good point," Dkll-kumvit grunted. "A possibility we're going to have to keep in mind." He hesitated, and in his face Thrr-mezaz could see the stipulations of preestablished policy battling with his basic concern for his warriors. "I won't shred words for you here, Commander," he said. "This whole thing could be very dangerous, both to you and the beachhead in general. If you're right, and the Mrachanis are up to something, it could put your ground force in serious danger. As supreme commander on the scene, I can overrule Warrior Command's instructions on this."
"I appreciate that, Supreme Commander," Thrr-mezaz said. "And I thank you for the offer. But being in danger is part of our job, after all." He flicked his tongue. "Besides, I'm curious to see what the Human-Conqueror reaction will be to a Mrachani spacecraft landing inside our encampment."
"It should be interesting," Dkll-kumvit agreed heavily. "Very well, then." He gestured to the Elder. "Inform Warrior Command that the Mrachani spacecraft will be landing in the Zhirrzh beachhead on Dorcas."
"I obey," the Elder said, and vanished.
"Well, that's it, then," Dkll-kumvit said, getting up from his couch. "Better get back to your encampment, Commander, and prepare to receive visitors. Your transport's standing ready for you."
"I obey," Thrr-mezaz said, standing up with him. "Is there anything else about all this I should know?"
"Nothing that's not obvious," Dkll-kumvit said. "A communicator relay pathway will be set up before the Mrachanis arrive at the encampment, with continuous contact between Dorcas and Warrior Command to be maintained during all interactions with them. You may ask general questions concerning their purpose here, but I'll be the only one authorized to perform a complete and formal interrogation. Unless the Overclan decides to send an official alien-studies team—that part's still being worked out. And, of course, the same policy concerning the Elders is to be observed with these aliens as it was for your brother's Human-Conqueror prisoner: they're not to be given any reason to suspect the Elders' existence or presence."
"I understand," Thrr-mezaz said.
"Good," Dkll-kumvit said. "Then good luck, Commander. And be careful."
It was another tentharc before the alien spacecraft came swooping in from the west, its engines making a strange twittering drone sound as it came into earshot. Ahead of it flew one of the Requisites transports; on either side were a pair of Thrr-mezaz's Stingbirds. All of the beachhead's aircraft were in the sky, watching tensely for the move Thrr-mezaz half expected the Human-Conqueror commander to make.
And at one point an enemy aircraft did indeed appear, drifting almost casually to a point near the edge of the extended air perimeter the Stingbirds' positions had defined. But the aircraft flew back without threat or challenge, disappearing again into the Human-Conqueror stronghold. The Copperhead warriors, thankfully, did not appear at all.
Thrr-mezaz was waiting as the Mrachani spacecraft came down, a translator-link firmly planted in his ear slits, a similarly linked optronic speaker on his shoulder. This spacecraft was much larger than the one the Cakk'rr had tangled with near Cataloged World 592, he saw, and as it rolled toward him, he wondered uneasily what sort of weaponry it carried. If its true mission was to get into the Zhirrzh encampment and try to obliterate it...
But the spacecraft rolled to a stop without incident in the center of the circle of light formed by the spotlights the technics had rigged. A hatchway and ramp appeared in one side; and as Thrr-mezaz stepped to the foot of the ramp, two aliens appeared at the top and started down.
The reports regarding the first Mrachani spacecraft had arrived at the Dorcas encampment the previous fullarc, so Thrr-mezaz had some idea what to expect. Even so, the Mrachanis were something of a shock. Roughly Zhirrzh-sized, they were slender creatures, with heads and necks coated in short fur like some kind of small animal. Their faces were flat, much closer in appearance to Human-Conqueror design and arrangement than to Zhirrzh faces. They looked harmless, even friendly.
Except that one of their kind had already opened fire on a Zhirrzh ship. It wouldn't hurt to keep that thought in mind.
The Mrachanis reached the foot of the ramp and started speaking. Thrr-mezaz waited, catching an occasional word here and there from his brief and hurried studies of the Human-Conqueror language, until the translation began to come through his translator-link. "We bring greetings to the Zhirrzh people. I am Lahettilas, representative of the Mrach people. We are not your enemies. We are your friends. We wish to discuss the possibility of working together against our common enemy, the Mirnacheem-hyeea."
"I see," Thrr-mezaz said. That Mirnacheem-hyeea thing had been in the Overclan Seating report. Conquerors Without Reason, the other Mrachani had translated it: the Human-Conquerors. "I am Thrr-mezaz; Kee'rr," he told them, gesturing to the waiting warriors. Three of them stepped forward and handed kavra fruit to Thrr-mezaz and the two Mrachanis. Thrr-mezaz sliced his and waited.