‘I wouldn't dream of taking you away from either your crew or your newfound family when you've just got here, Dama,' Yana said sweetly. 'I've flown this class shuttle all over the galaxy. I'm sure Sean and I can manage. You join the others.’
‘Oh, curses! Foiled again, I suppose,' Dinah muttered. 'But, very well. Have it your way. Muktuk, Chumia, you did promise to share the family history with me and I have a bit to tell you. Shall we return to your lovely home and thaw out?’
Southern Continent
‘Coaxtl says there is a storm coming, Captain Johnny,' Cita said. 'She says that if all will follow me, one at a time, she will lead us to a warm place of safety.’
Zing Chi looked down at her scornfully. 'This is no time for childish prattling. You people obviously indulge your children too much if they feel they may interrupt adults dealing with such a crisis.’
Cita couldn't help herself. Her wicked streak surfaced.
‘They do not indulge children! I should know. I have been beaten well and often as I so frequently deserve. But the words I spoke were the words of Coaxtl and
no-one beats Coaxtl. And Captain Johnny would not have a crisis to deal with if you had not caused it! I may be unworthy and a mere child, but you are a wicked, greedy man and very impolite as well to come to the Home and take things without asking!’
Zing Chi spat disgustedly. 'Your pardon, Captain. I didn't realize the child was mentally unbalanced.’
But Captain Johnny gave him the same sort of look Zing Chi had given Cita and asked her, 'Would Coaxtl know if it would be safe for me to fly?’
Cita asked and reported the answer. 'She says there will be strong winds and much snow and all will be whiteness. We must follow now to find the safe place.’
‘In other words, no flying. Loncie, Pablo, you heard? What do you think?' Johnny asked.
‘Follow your lion, muchacha,' Loncie told Cita approvingly. 'We will follow you.’
‘We won't,' Zing Chi declared. 'You think I am fooled by your notion that animals talk? That animals know things that humans don't? Especially about flying conditions. This is a trick to separate us so we can be taken and it does not work with Zing Chi. Those animals are only waiting until we separate so that they can pick us off more easily.’
Cita had had quite enough of this rude and grabby man. She pushed through the crowd to Coaxtl, who easily cut a swath from the outer ring of animals through the huddle of people. Behind her, Cita heard Johnny say, 'Oh, no, Zing Chi. As far as the polar bears are concerned, larger groups are a more satisfying entree. But suit yourself. I'm following the cat and,' he raised his voice to shout over the wind, 'if any of you other folks want to get in out of the cold before a big storm comes, follow us, one at a time!’
Hurry, Youngling, the place is far and time is short, Coaxtl said.
Cita felt the warm softness of another, smaller cat brushing her legs, twisting about her ankles and then the prickle of claws on her thigh. She looked down into the gold-coin eyes of a lion cub.
Behind her, a voice said, 'It wants to go with you. I will too. I don't care what the others are doing.’
Cita looked back and saw the boy she had glimpsed from the copter. He was bending over to stroke the cub. She nodded and Coaxtl preceded her back through the throng to the copter, where Johnny, Loncie, Pablo and the others from Bogota fell in behind herself and the boy. Zing Chi was shouting at his people that it was all a trap. Not that there was another option open, for the circle of animals closed tighter and tighter around the people, funnelling them in behind Cita's group.
As Coaxtl reached the outer edge of the humans she stepped forward, Cita following, and marched with great unconcern between two long ranks of animals with fetid breath, white teeth, and shining eyes.
24
Yana had Louchard's shuttle pilot - prompted by a saccharine order elicited from Dinah-Two-Foot - run her through the checklist to be sure there weren't any surprises on this slightly less orthodox than usual vessel.
Then Marmion, Namid, Bunny, Diego and the villagers began the trek back to Tanana Bay with their prisoners. Muktuk suggested that Marmion and Namid ride back on curly-coats, an exercise which enchanted Marmion and caused Dinah O'Neill to protest.
‘I don't see why I can't ride one of those lovely creatures,' she cried, then with a flirtatious appeal to her new kinsman, 'Muktuk, dear, you did say they were not the virgin-exclusive sort of mythical-beastie unicorns and I am quite a good rider.’
‘I'm sure you are, cousin,' Chumia said firmly before her mate could be cajoled. 'But since you've fallen in with evil companions who are known to be a bit free with other folks' property, we'd like to get to know you better before we entrust one of our curlies to you.’
Dinah opened her mouth and closed it again, nonplussed, and allowed herself to be bundled on to one of the sleds. She did sufficiently recover her aplomb after being so uncompromisingly confronted to complain in an exaggerated whine that a dogsled was not the same thing as a unicorn ride at all.
Yana used the pirate comunit to monitor the Intergal satellite. Not only would it still be night for another six hours at Bogota, but the whole of the Southern Continent was wrapped in a massive blizzard, making flying anything at all inadvisable.
‘I could try,' she said. 'I hate to leave Cita in the lurch.’
Sean thought for a moment and shook his head decisively.
‘No. Johnny's there with the copter and Coaxtl won't let anything happen to her. If those two can't take care of her, we won't add much to the equation, especially with you half frozen and about to drop.’
So they bedded down on the shuttle, happily warming each other, to await a more appropriate time to start their journey. If they didn't get to sleep immediately, they had been parted a long time for newlyweds. Nanook, who had insisted on staying with them, discreetly adjourned to the next cabin.
When they awoke, Yana checked the comunit again, once more monitoring Intergal Station for a weather check. She had gotten out of the habit of such facilities, what with having been on Gal-Three where weather reports dealt with solar winds or worm-hole distortions. She was also still slightly disoriented after long inactivity on the pirate ship.
Though they'd land in daylight now, the weather was no better but they decided not to delay any further. After all, they had the map which Petaybee itself had presented them with, indicating all the trouble spots. The shuttle had only the one spatial view of Petaybee - the northern quadrant that included SpaceBase and no other sites. Sean knew the location of Bogota though and its coordinates. In a shuttle of this class, it was not a long journey but their destination was lost in the swirling mass of a first-rate late spring blizzard.
‘I'm a good pilot,' Yana insisted to Sean as she fought the controls which buffeted the sturdy space-worthy shuttle, 'but I was too preoccupied to pay much attention to my surroundings the last time I was here. What am I looking for exactly?’
‘A cluster of buildings…’
‘Which I can't see in what is virtually a white-out.' There was a slight edge to her voice because Yana was prudently aware of her limitations. Piloting a shuttle when you could see where you were going, even if you didn't know what you were looking for was one thing. Flying blind over unfamiliar terrain in these conditions without a beacon to set you down was another.
‘Put us down anywhere. Nanook'll reconnoitre,' Sean said understandingly.
‘He'll know where we are?’
‘He'll be in touch with Coaxtl. And while Coaxtl may not know where we are, he'll know where he is, and can give Nanook directions in - er - cat terms, I suppose.’