"So I also heard;' Kamiton put in.
Over at the coffee table, Chuck murmured to Kris: "He's laughed once. Relax." As he poured coffee from the large botde, he inhaled the aroma with a look of pure pleasure on his face that Kris had recently seen, in much different circumstances. Fortunately he didn't see her blushing.
"And the K-class? Three spaceships disappearing from the same area would arouse suspicion," Zainal said bluntly.
"No, the K was Joe Latore's contribution to our growing navy," Ray said. "He found a lot of people hiding out in the forests in New Jersey, and they told him about all the ships they'd seen coming and going from what's left of New York City. He organized a bunch to go have a look. Had enough volunteers to make an army but kept it to a sensible force. Lots of people have rifles and small arms, you see. Have to hunt to live. They got to the city via the Lincoln Tunnel."
"The tunnel?" Chuck asked, exchanging surprised looks with Kris and Gino.
"Well, all the bridges were gone, and the Holland, but debris from the old Port Authority hid the entrance to the Lincoln and evidently the Cat-teni hadn't noticed the New Jersey entry. Can't get vehicles through the ones already stuck there. Some folks are using them to camp out in: those who got stuck there when the Catteni hit the city. Joe said they nearly caused a landslide getting through the debris on Fortieth Street and that didn't make them popular with the refugees. But…" and Scott shrugged off that complaint.
"According to the tunnel people, Central Park was a prime landing and loading area. So Joe and his group started up Eleventh Avenue toward the park. When Joe saw the K-class parked on top of the Cunard building at Fifty-fourth Street, he decided to take a closer look. It was fully loaded and the crew drunk out of its tiny minds on champagne;' Ray grinned. "By the way, Catteni do not know how to swim."
When Zainal translated that, Kamiton gave another of his bursts of laughter. Even Zainal had a grin on his face.
"So no one's going to miss that K right away. It was only a matter of getting in touch with the KDL. General Beverly sent his shuttle with a couple of air force Hercules pilots and enough crew to handle her. Joe brought as many folks back as possible and promised to lift more when he could." Scott sighed.
Not, Kris thought, that he didn't blame Joe for promising, but because it might be difficult to honor it.
"Were proper precautions taken to avoid the thirty-hour satellite?"
Zainal asked in English.
"Hid behind the moons until they got the olley-olley-in-free," Ray Scott said with a boyish grin in keeping with the hide-and-seek password.
"The what?" Zainal glanced at Kris for explanation. She was relieved to see that his eyes were back to a normal shade of yellow and that the tension in his face muscles had dispersed.
"A children's game word. Quite appropriate."
"But how did the new vessels pass the Bubble?" Zainal asked, frown ing.
Ray gave a flick of one hand to indicate the ease of that operation.
"Baby brought one H-class in, using the same trick you did, Zainal, with a magnetic linkage. Then the KDL piggybacked the other two the same way when the coast looked clear of surveillance:'
Zainal blinked. "Piggybacked? More children's games?" he asked, with a weary but tolerant sigh.
"As far as we know, before they got through the Bubble;' Ray went on, filled cup raised in both hands, "no alarms were heard on any of the Cat-teni channels. If they haven't missed the ships in nearly three weeks, will they ever?" Then he took a long drink of coffee.
Zainal repeated that in Catteni to Kamiton, then stood up with his empty cup in his hand, and silently held out the other for Kamiton's.
"It is refreshing to drink;' Karoiron said, handing the cup over but he followed Zainal's progress to the service table to refill their cups while answering Ray in Catteni.
"I doubt even the Eosi know how many ships they have in the fleet. The shipyards keep building them," and Karoitoh shrugged his heavy shoulders diffidently. "The ships not to touch are those used only by the Eosi. They are distinctively marked and no one enters who does not have to:'
"I can easily understand that;' Ray said with a grin. Then, as Zainal returned with the refilled cups, he leaned across the table toward them. "But would not they be the very ships we'd need to hijack if you," and he pointed at both Zainal and Kamiton, "want to be rid of Eosian domination?"
Chuck grinned though, Gino, for a moment, looked apprehensive.
"There are at least one hundred Eosi," Kamiton said. "That is one hundred ships to destroy and you have… how many now? Six?"
"It's "
a start, Ray said, grinning slightly. "Are you also with us in our fight against Eosian domination?" When Kamiton nodded slowly, he added.
"Are there any more at home like you?"
"There are," Kamiton said firmly and soberly. Now he leaned forward across the table. "We must plan. It will not be easy."
"What is worth having never is," Ray Scott said. "Now, it's your turn, Zainal," and he continued in Catteni, "tikso."
ZAINAL "REPORTED" IN THE SAME LANGUAGE, although occasionally Ray had to ask for a translation. He chuckled over the asteroid belt deception.
"Well done, well done," Ray said, rubbing his hands together.
"We cannot make mistakes, Ray," Zainal said as if he could see Scott planning all kinds of hijacking missions that would eventually be noticed: perhaps even traced to Botany.
"There is one Mentat, the Ix? Kamiton said, glancing at Zainal with a significant nod, "who is certain you all," and his large finger circled the table, "are responsible for every disaster that has occurred recently. You realize that a moon base is being constructed to keep watch over you."
Ray nodded. "We know, which is one reason why we are using the south polar windows."
"Good." Kamiton hitched his chair forward, the wood creaking under his weight. He glanced down at it, shifted experimentally, and then ignored the occasional noises.
Kris really did hope that the chair, though made of lodge-pole wood, was sturdy enough for the heavily built Catten.
"The Mentat Ix has had one seizure…"
"Seizure?" Zainal came alert.
Karoitoh nodded, grinning. "Interesting, isn't it? The Immortals have a weakness.
. We must discover how we can use them to our benefit."
"Tactically," Ray said, showing appreciation for that information, "its always smart to get your enemy to destroy himself… if you possibly can.
"No species' injury;' Chuck said with great satisfaction. "Only how do we do it? One of them losing his cool doesn't mean we'd be able to get to the minds of the others." He cocked his forefinger and clicked his toung making his hand into an imaginary weapon.
"A seizure in a Mentat has never happened before," KaroitOh said.
sitting back and folding his arms across his chest.
"No, it has not;' Zainal said, then switched to English, addressing the "The significance of such an occurrence wouldn't mean as much to as it does to us;' and he turned back to Kamiton. "I would like to know why I heard nothing of that on Catten," he added in Catteni.
"Nor would you," Kamiton said in a droll tone. "But I know of it as well. The Bubble frustrates Mentat Ix. Total annihilation of this planet is required as retaliation for the humiliation suffered by Ix."
"But this Ix fellow can't get past the Bubble and we know he, it, what-has tried;' Ray Scott said smugly.
"Necessity is the mother of invention," Gino reminded them pointedly.
Zainal translated to Kamiton.
"Have you heard if their brain-wiping of Human specialists has given help?" Ray asked.
"We know that it was done," Kamiton said. "We are trying to find out if any worthwhile information was discovered. More importantly, if any projects have been started. Not so far as I know:' And Kamiton's attitude was that if anyone would know, he would.