They Also Serve by Mike Moscoe Read Free Book Online Page B

"Jeffs got pictures from his brother's survey and one he just made, and the people from space even have a map. Daga, they know!"
    "But they don't know what we know. They don't know how it happened. Nikki, you worry too much. There's no way they can tell it was us, or anything."
    "But.. . but..." Nikki couldn't figure out what to say after that, but she knew there was more to it than Daga wanted.
    "No buts, Nikki. Go home, go to bed. Don't say anything, and they won't know anything."
    "But what are you going to do?"
    "I haven't made up my mind yet."
    Even in the dark, Nikki could see Daga's grin. It was wide, and like it always was with Daga, it was sure.
    Caretaker studied the new ones as they slept. They were like the other new ones; already their bodies rejected this world. Their body temperatures rose as they twisted in sleep, scratching and sneezing. Just as it had three hundred years ago, Caretaker released the viruses to make the necessary adjustments. This time it would go easier on the strangers; this time the Caretaker knew where to touch these strange bodies.
    Even as Caretaker worked, its own simple processes tried to extrapolate the significance of these new arrivals. These had landed close to itself, to that central core that Caretaker thought of as its very being. Did they know that? Would they help or hinder Caretaker's work? It was very difficult dealing with a species that resolutely refused to enter into any communication with the Caretaker.
    Certainly the Central Font of All Knowledge would know what to do. But apparently it had gotten slow over the years, too. Its slow message had said it was coming, but had to mend many nodes between the center and a distant, minor subsystem such as Caretaker.
    Caretaker would wait. In the meantime, it would do what it could. That was what the Caretaker was for.
    Ray walked in a garden, his bladder painfully full. The gravel crunched under his feet, but he heard nothing else and smelled nothing at all. He rounded a hedge. An old man in dirty work clothes watered roses. His hose aimed a high, proud arc of water over the flowers. The image left Ray desperately holding back his own need to spray.
    The Gardener noticed Ray with a smile. He looked familiar; Ray remembered the old fellow who kept the flowers so tenderly outside the dining hall at the Academy. "Do what you need, fellow, I won't mind," the old one said.
    Ray reached for his zipper....
    And came awake before he wet the bed. Ruefully, Ray reached for his canes. Hot and sweating, he struggled up, cursing the battle wound they didn't fix.
    As he did his business, he became aware of a headache. Nothing too bad; his back hurt worse. Ray ignored the pain meds Mary had laid out on the table next to a glass of water; he didn't want more water in his system. Besides, this was nothing compared to how bad it could get.
    Ray gritted his teeth against the pain and waited for sleep to come

Four
    A WEEK LATER, Ambassador Ray Longknife relaxed into his seat, contemplating the night. Stuffed-in far too many ways.
    He'd been wined and dined from one circle to another as he moved from village to county to state and finally to Lander's Refuge. Local after local had shaken his hand, kissed his cheeks, and done their damnedest to pick his pocket-in the nicest way. Every step of the way he'd been offered undying friendship and kind words. As he got farther up, smiling officials had thrown in huge land grants, personal bribes, beautiful women, and a seat among the powerful with a growing panic that made Ray feel right at home. "Damn, humans are all the same."
    "What'd you say, sir?" Mary asked from the front seat. She was driving a mule, a four-wheel, go-anywhere vehicle; its efficient solar cells and storage system made it the envy of everyone here. Mary was his aide, bodyguard, driver... and nurse as much as he let her. Ray was traveling light among the natives. So far, he did not regret it.
    "Take us back to the residence," Ray said