Part 4 (2/2)
Thian shook his head. One probe swooped lower to the ground and then quartered the field area. Thian halted it a few centimeters above the ground.
”I can just make out a long seam, sir. . .”
”Yes, yes, and covered with sand or dust or whatever.”
”Hangars don't look to have been opened in a long while,” Thian said.
”No, they don't.”
”And if you'll look to the other screen, sir, there doesn't seem to be as much under cultivation.”
”Is this colony then dying?”
”Doesn't look to be, not with those flouris.h.i.+ng crops which seem to be well tended. In fact, it's a rather nice world, Admiral. There's a good balance between cultivated and fallow fields. See that stretch just coming up ... and forestry. And that lake . . . lovely. Almost Arcadian,” Thian remarked.
”Arcadian?” the Admiral echoed. ”What's its designation on the Mrdini star maps.”
”Huh? Oh. Let me see.” Thian tapped a few keys before he said, ”Cj-70.”
As.h.i.+ant gave a disapproving grunt deep in his throat. ”Shame to stick to alpha numerics on it, pretty as it is. Let's refer to it as Arcadia. Agreed?”
'Willingly, sir,” Thian said obligingly, and keyed in a subst.i.tution. 'However, it's certainly not as active as Xh-33 was.”
To this the Admiral agreed, seeing the neatly weeded rows of greenery, the adjacent field sporting some dark purply-green foliage. Go on, will you, Thian?”
And Thian sent his two probes, in opposite directions, skimming over the surface at a height of twenty meters. In each screen, they saw several of the collection squares, none as big as those on Xh-33 but substantial enough. Finally the right-hand screen showed movement and homed in on it. Workers were trundling along in their ordered phalanx down to yet another collection point. The creatures were head to tail, moving on six limbs at a brisk trot. Two more limbs were c.o.c.ked at each ”head” and the watchers could see the specialized arrangement of trowel and fork.
”Thosecreatures aren't as large as theories Rojer recorded on Xh-33, are they?” As.h.i.+ant said, puzzled.
”No, they don't seem to be,” Thian concurred, and activated another screen with the relevant disk of Rojer's exploration of that planet. ”Much smaller.”
”But carrying the same sort of tools, so they're similar 10 the XH-.3.3 workers. Why would they be smaller?”
”I haven't a clue, sir. Shall I get one oi the xenbios in here:”
”Aren't you projecting all this on their lab screens?”
”I am, but there's no reason you can't have a running report on their a.s.sessment.”
”Ask Lieutenant Weiman and 'Dini (Jrm to join me at the Talent post, will you?” Admiral As.h.i.+ant said into bis wrist com, his eyes not leaving the screen.
While they were waiting for the specialists to arrive, As.h.i.+ant gave Thian a curious look. ”Would you mind my asking you”-his glance included the other Talents-”a little more about Talent? I mean, I know that Primes do both telepathy and teleport over enormous distances, but Clancy here's a T-2 and 1 know he 'paths as well as 'ports and . . .” As.h.i.+ant shrugged, his rugged face indicating a sincere desire for a full briefing on the distinctions.
Thian grinned, saw Clancy reddening and Kloo trying hard not to grin.
”It's basically a difference in strength and length, and combinations of inherent skills, sir. I can ”path or 'port with or without generator gestalt. Clancy's got more kinetic ability than telepathic, and while he s strong in kinetics, he can't really 'path or receive far, even in gestalt, but his abilities multiply mine. And Kloo. Now she didn't know she was a latent Talent until the Phobos examination. At first she could only f 11 11 m send.” Thian smiled again at Kloo rolling her eyes over her discovery of latent abilities. ”Now she can receive, and come in to add strength to our”-he pointed to Clancy--''merge. Alison Ann was a T-S em path, but she's advanced in skill, learning to'port as well as 'path, but her initial ability made her a superb nurse.”
”It's a.s.sociation with us lot that's improved her at least a full grade up,” Clancy said, slyly grinning at Thian.
”It does help to be continually in use, as it were, sir. Our father, Afra Lyon, was originally a T-.3, but constant a.s.sociation with our grand-mother increased his skills to T-2. He may even be as close to Prime as he wants to get.”
Clancy made a grimace of surprise.
”Not that he'd admit it,” Thian went on. ”However, two T~2's, one with more telepathic strength, the other with kinetic, like Yoshuk and Nesrun on Sef, or the Bastianmajanis, Flavia's parents, on Altair, mesh Talent so well they are all but equal to Prime. My sister Zara, as another example, has both kinetic and telepathic ability but her empathic level is too high for her ever to be a Tower Prime. Like Hli*.ara, she's best fitted for the medical and healing profession. So not all T-]”s can automatically he Tower Primes . . . which, as you know, sir, FT&T badly needs.”
As.h.i.+ant nodded and gestured for Thian to continue. Below the 2's, you get variations of the abilities to 'port or 'path, sometimes just one and not the other at all. Or some can receive but not send. Or send a fair distance on a gestalt but not receive. T-*Ts are useful as aids to T-2's or Primes. There are far more T-4's and downward available as backup, but they don't have the inherent stamina, even in connection with a gestalt, to work on their own, or for very long. However, engineers from T-4 down are apt to work solo anywhere and We've a lot of choice among them.”
I thought that your cousin Asia”-As.h.i.+ant turned to Clancy- trained with Rojer as engineer.”
Yes, she did, sir, and is on the (Columbia as T-4 and will probably get a post on a Tower.”
”That's just the Federated Teleport and Telepath side of Talent,” Thian went on. ”Sometimes we get T-2 rank for clairvoyants, finders and empaths. FT&T tries to contact anyone with latent Talent, a.s.sess and train them. Some are better off going into private firms where their particular level of other aspects of Talent, like dowsing or affinities to water and tire, makes them invaluable to their employers.”Thian made a face and scratched the back of his head. ”I know my grandfather's trying to lure some of the higher ranks away from commerce and industry because F'T&T never expected to expand so heavily into this sort of a.s.signment. . .” Thian gestured to indicate the Was.h.i.+ngton and naval duty.
”d.a.m.ned glad FT&T permits it,” As.h.i.+ant said, nodding his head and then giving Thian a wry smile. ”Though I wouldn't have thought I'd admit that when you first came aboard.”
Thian laughed out loud, remembering how many naval regulations and traditions he had set on their ears in his first few hours aboard the old Vadim. As.h.i.+ant grinned back and nodded his head.
”We've both learned a thing or two since then, haven't we, Isthian?” As.h.i.+ant said, using his Prime's full first name.
”I know I have, sir,” Thian said. He turned toward the entrance to the Talent quarters. ”The xenbees're here.” A discreet knock on the door panel followed his words.
However, when As.h.i.+ant explained the reason for their summons, neither Weiman nor Grm could give him any answer to the puzzle.
”The queens activate whatever sort of worker they need for the task,” Sam said, rubbing his chin while Grm, a dusty brown 'Dim, rocked gently on its flat feet. ”I have been noticing, Admiral, that this planet doesn't seem to be as densely farmed as Xh-33.”
”I have decreed”-the Admiral glanced about in a pseudopompous manner-”that this planet is to be referred to in all doc.u.mentation as 'Arcadia.' ”
”That gives it more personality than Cj-70,” Sam said with a big grin.
Grrn pondered this, fingering its chin. AGREE. AR-CA-DKH-A.
At that point, the Admiral's wrist corn bleeped quietly with an incoming message.
”Yes? Now that's very interesting. Thank you, Commander,” As.h.i.+ant said. ”They've dated the sphere by the deterioration of the metal fragments at five hundred and eighty years old.”
”That's old!” Sam added a soft whistle. ”What is the oldest sphere you ever encountered, Grin?”
”This one older than any seen,” Grm replied in good Basic, still rocking on its feet. ”We have only two hundred years fighting. That is much older.” Now it shook its head up and down and clicked softly in its throat. ”Far, far from homework! too.”
”Rather daunting, actually,” As.h.i.+ant murmured, ”just how deeply have they penetrated our galaxy?”
The probes had entered the night side of the planet.
”Shall we continue, sir?”
”Yes, since I believe those probes are equipped for dark-vision. I want to know just how many collection points and queen installations there are, and where.”
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