‘I can see where holding her would give you a certain… leverage. But I fail to see where there's any profit in that for us,' said Dinah O'Neill.
‘I really should have spoken to your leader then,' Torkel said. 'He would have understood at once. Petaybean mineral wealth is still waiting to be mined. Captain Louchard has seen this…’
She shrugged. 'That is true. But it's also true, Captain, that there are many other worlds to mine. Petaybean ore and gems are top quality but are proving… costly to extract. In addition to losing four men and the supplies invested in their operation you now want us to kidnap some settlers? That planet doesn't yield its largesse to them either and they're all poor as dirt. Sounds to me like you've got a personal problem with these people, Captain. We're not terrorists, we're business people.’
‘So is the woman who is hosting Yana Maddock and the children. I'm sure as a "business person" you'll be familiar with the name Marmion de Revers Algemeine?’
‘Naturally, though regrettably she has never shown an inclination to avail herself of our services. If the parties you're interested in detaining are in her care, however, I must tell you that such an operation would be so difficult it would be no more cost-effective than your other proposal.’
‘Even if detaining Algemeine as well as Maddock is possible? I would think that the lady would command an extremely high ransom.’
The woman shook her head and looked at him pityingly. 'So would the board of directors of Intergal, but we do know our limits, Captain.’
He leaned over and boldly took her hand. 'So do I - on my own. You don't think I'd suggest this unless I knew I could expedite access to the targets, do you? Just say yes and we can make this happen.’
She smiled and covered his hand with her other one. The rings bit into the back of his knuckles. 'I never could resist a smooth-talking man who wears more jewellery than I do. Expedite away, Captain, and have your people get in touch with our people. You know how.’
5
After asking to be taken to Cita's leader, whoever that was, the white-robed Sister Igneous Rock continued to look at Cita expectantly while the others chimed in.
‘A very good idea, oddly enough, considering the source,' one of the women in very short skirts said. 'Do take us to your leader. I'd like to speak to whoever is in charge. I represent BIEX, the galaxy's leading pharmaceutical concern and…’
‘Come off it, Portia,' said one of the men in shiny pants. 'She's just a kid. Doesn't even look like she speaks English.’
‘Petaybeans don't need to speak English,' Sister Igneous Rock told the man sternly. 'They communicate instinctively with the Beneficent Source. Please take us there, dear. Can you give us a name, perhaps?’
‘This unworthy one has been called Goat-dung,' Cita began timorously, awed by the presence of such strange, if apparently ignorant, ones.
‘Not by me,' Sister Igneous Rock said indignantly, wrinkling her nose as if Cita smelled like her namesake. 'Really, dear, while natural names are pleasing to the Beneficence, I would not dream of calling the first actual denizen of Petaybee I meet by such a demeaning name as "Goat-dung".’
‘Mostly I answer to Cita.’
Sister Igneous Rock nodded and seemed gratified but the rest once more began talking as if Cita was not there.
‘Coaxtl, what shall I do?' she asked softly, hoping the big cat could hear her, for she could no longer see her friend. 'Who is it they wish to see? It is too far to take them back to Uncle Sean before nightfall and the ones in the short clothes will freeze after dark…’
‘I don't want to see any damned leader,' one of the men with the metal sticks was saying. 'They had plenty of time to answer our applications for hunting permits. That fellow I talked to said they had cats here big as horses with pelts that would fetch thousands, and unicorns that if you cut off their horns and drank them in a powder would let you do it as many times a night as you wanted.’
Do not tell them I am here, Youngling, Coaxtl said.
‘There's no need to bother this child at all,' an older woman said. 'Once we find my family, they can help us all sort out our problems. Honey, do you know a family named Monaghan? We got separated when the Company resettled us during the Troubles. I've been living on Coventry all these years and I just now heard that some of the folks from my village were settled here.’
Cita shook her head. The woman looked nice and Cita wanted to help her but this was all very confusing. 'I haven't lived in Kilcoole long, but we could ask my Uncle Sean, if he's not too busy. Or Clodagh. I guess they're leaders.’
‘No, no, child,' Brother Shale said. 'We don't mean human leaders, we want to make the acquaintance of the Beneficence. We want to offer up our service and adoration…’
‘In all due humility, of course,' added a third white-robed figure. Behind him was a fourth that Cita had not previously noticed.
‘Brothers Shale and Schist are correct,' this new person, a woman, added. 'We have no use for human leaders. I am Sister Agate, and I personally would like to state,' and as she said this, she turned about this way and that to shout over the heads of all of the people, including Cita,' that I am delighted to be here and will assist the Beneficent Entity in any way I possibly can.’
‘Hush, Agate. We all will. It's not right to put yourself forward like that,' Sister Igneous Rock said.
‘I don't know about any Beni - whatsis,' Cita said, 'or that family either. But I'm very young and ignorant. They'd know in Kilcoole. Except it's almost night now and it'll be dark before we can get there and I'm afraid I'm too stupid to find my way in the dark.’
‘That's where the Government is supposed to be,' the woman called Portia said. 'How far is it?’
‘Many klicks,' Cita said after trying to figure out how to explain distances on Petaybee.
‘Coaxtl, where can I take them to spend the night?' she asked while they argued among themselves. But the big cat didn't answer. She was all alone with these strangers. Finally, she drew them into the woods, where they would not get snowed upon, and with the help of the white-robed ones, who could be most insistent, got them to bundle together beds of leaves and needles and lie close together, the most warmly dressed to the outside.
‘Ah, rocked to sleep by the breeze of the Beneficence,' Sister Agate said through chattering teeth, as she curled near Portia Porter-Prendergrass, who kicked her viciously.
The men with the metal sticks refused to obey and sat with their backs to trees, shivering despite their winter clothing, holding their sticks menacingly in front of them. When they fell asleep, in spite of themselves, Cita crept over to them and took the sticks from their hands and buried them beneath bushes.
Brother Schist muttered constantly under his breath and the man in the shiny pants tried to snuggle Sister Igneous Rock.
Cita huddled alone in the dark, searching for a particular touch in her head, a particular pair of eyes kindling in the darkness. She had actually dropped off to sleep when she felt a familiar warmth against her side.
Help comes, Coaxtl said simply. That was when Cita noticed that Coaxtl's warmth was joined by another, smaller purring bundle.
An orange cat rubbed herself against Coaxtl who rumbled a low growly remark.
Clodagh is on her way to us with the curly-coats. She will be here soon.
Cita was so relieved she could almost cry. She was so incompetent and everyone was always helping her out of the problems she seemed to find.