Missing Link

* * *

  Gray mud floor and gloomy aisles between monstrous bluish treetrunks--that was the jungle. Only the barest weak glimmering of sunlightpenetrated to the mud. The disguised sled--its para-grav units turnedoff--lurched and skidded around buttress roots. Its headlights swung inwild arcs across the trunks and down to the mud. Aerial creepers--greatlooping vines of them--swung down from the towering forest ceiling. Asteady drip of condensation spattered the windshield, forcing Orne touse the wipers.

  In the bucket seat of the sled's cab, Orne fought the controls. He wasplagued by the vague slow-motion-floating sensation that a heavy planetnative always feels in lighter gravity. It gave him an unhappy stomach.

  Things skipped through the air around the lurching vehicle: flitting anddarting things. Insects came in twin cones, siphoned toward theheadlights. There was an endless chittering whistling tok-tok-toking inthe gloom beyond the lights.

  Stetson's voice hissed suddenly through the surgically implantedspeaker: "How's it look?"

  "Alien."

  "Any sign of that mob?"

  "Negative."

  "O.K. We're taking off."

  Behind Orne, there came a deep rumbling roar that receded as the scoutcruiser climbed its jets. All other sounds hung suspended inafter-silence, then resumed: the strongest first and then the weakest.

  A heavy object suddenly arced through the headlights, swinging on avine. It disappeared behind a tree. Another. Another. Ghostly shadowswith vine pendulums on both sides. Something banged down heavily ontothe hood of the sled.

  Orne braked to a creaking stop that shifted the load behind him, foundhimself staring through the windshield at a native of Gienah III. Thenative crouched on the hood, a Mark XX exploding-pellet rifle in hisright hand directed at Orne's head. In the abrupt shock of meeting, Ornerecognized the weapon: standard issue to the marine guards on all R&Rsurvey ships.

  The native appeared the twin of the one Orne had seen on the translitescreen. The four-fingered hand looked extremely capable around the stockof the Mark XX.

  Slowly, Orne put a hand to his throat, pressed the contact button. Hemoved his speaking muscles: _"Just made contact with the mob. One on thehood now has one of our Mark XX rifles aimed at my head."_

  The surf-hissing of Stetson's voice came through the hidden speaker:_"Want us to come back?"_

  _"Negative. Stand by. He looks cautious rather than hostile."_

  Orne held up his right hand, palm out. He had a second thought: held uphis left hand, too. Universal symbol of peaceful intentions: emptyhands. The gun muzzle lowered slightly. Orne called into his mind thelanguage that had been hypnoforced into him. _Ocheero? No. That means'The People.' Ah ..._ And he had the heavy fricative greeting sound.

  "Ffroiragrazzi," he said.

  The native shifted to the left, answered in pure, unaccented HighGalactese: "Who are you?"

  Orne fought down a sudden panic. The lipless mouth had looked so oddforming the familiar words.

  Stetson's voice hissed: _"Is that the native speaking Galactese?"_

  Orne touched his throat. _"You heard him."_

  He dropped his hand, said: "I am Lewis Orne of Rediscovery andReeducation. I was sent here at the request of the First-Contact officeron the _Delphinus Rediscovery_."

  "Where is your ship?" demanded the Gienahn.

  "It put me down and left."

  "Why?"

  "It was behind schedule for another appointment."

  * * * * *

  Out of the corners of his eyes, Orne saw more shadows dropping to themud around him. The sled shifted as someone climbed onto the load behindthe cab. The someone scuttled agilely for a moment.

  The native climbed down to the cab's side step, opened the door. Therifle was held at the ready. Again, the lipless mouth formed Galactesewords: "What do you carry in this ... vehicle?"

  "The equipment every R&R field man uses to help the people of arediscovered planet improve themselves." Orne nodded at the rifle."Would you mind pointing that weapon some other direction? It makes menervous."

  The gun muzzle remained unwaveringly on Orne's middle. The native'smouth opened, revealing long canines. "Do we not look strange to you?"

  "I take it there's been a heavy mutational variation in the humanoidnorm on this planet," said Orne. "What is it? Hard radiation?"

  No answer.

  "It doesn't really make any difference, of course," said Orne. "I'm hereto help you."

  "I am Tanub, High Path Chief of the Grazzi," said the native. "I decidewho is to help."

  Orne swallowed.

  "Where do you go?" demanded Tanub.

  "I was hoping to go to your city. Is it permitted?"

  A long pause while the vertical-slit pupils of Tanub's eyes expanded andcontracted. "It is permitted."

  Stetson's voice came through the hidden speaker: _"All bets off. We'recoming in after you. That Mark XX is the final straw. It means they havethe_ Delphinus _for sure!"_

  Orne touched his throat. _"No! Give me a little more time!"_

  _"Why?"_

  _"I have a hunch about these creatures."_

  _"What is it?"_

  _"No time now. Trust me."_

  Another long pause in which Orne and Tanub continued to study eachother. Presently, Stetson said: _"O.K. Go ahead as planned. But find outwhere the_ Delphinus _is! If we get that back we pull their teeth."_

  "Why do you keep touching your throat?" demanded Tanub.

  "I'm nervous," said Orne. "Guns always make me nervous."

  The muzzle lowered slightly.

  "Shall we continue on to your city?" asked Orne. He wet his lips withhis tongue. The cab light on Tanub's face was giving the Gienahn aneerie sinister look.

  "We can go soon," said Tanub.

  "Will you join me inside here?" asked Orne. "There's a passenger seatright behind me."

  Tanub's eyes moved catlike: right, left. "Yes." He turned, barked anorder into the jungle gloom, then climbed in behind Orne.

  "When do we go?" asked Orne.

  "The great sun will be down soon," said Tanub. "We can continue as soonas Chiranachuruso rises."

  "Chiranachuruso?"

  "Our satellite ... our moon," said Tanub.

  "It's a beautiful word," said Orne. "Chiranachuruso."

  "In our tongue it means: The Limb of Victory," said Tanub. "By its lightwe will continue."

  Orne turned, looked back at Tanub. "Do you mean to tell me that you cansee by what light gets down here through those trees?"

  "Can you not see?" asked Tanub.

  "Not without the headlights."

  "Our eyes differ," said Tanub. He bent toward Orne, peered. The verticalslit pupils of his eyes expanded, contracted. "You are the same as the... others."

  "Oh, on the _Delphinus_?"

  Pause. "Yes."

  Presently, a greater gloom came over the jungle, bringing a suddenstillness to the wild life. There was a chittering commotion from thenatives in the trees around the sled. Tanub shifted behind Orne.

  "We may go now," he said. "Slowly ... to stay behind my ... scouts."

  "Right." Orne eased the sled forward around an obstructing root.

  * * * * *

  Silence while they crawled ahead. Around them shapes flung themselvesfrom vine to vine.

  "I admired your city from the air," said Orne. "It is very beautiful."

  "Yes," said Tanub. "Why did you land so far from it?"

  "We didn't want to come down where we might destroy anything."

  "There is nothing to destroy in the jungle," said Tanub.

  "Why do you have such a big city?" asked Orne.

  Silence.

  "I said: Why do you--"

  "You are ignorant of our ways," said Tanub. "Therefore, I forgive you.The city is for our race. We must breed and be born in sunlight.Once--long ago--we used crude platforms on the tops of the trees. Now... only the ... wild ones do this."

 
Stetson's voice hissed in Orne's ears: _"Easy on the sex line, boy.That's always touchy. These creatures are oviparous. Sex glands areapparently hidden in that long fur behind where their chins ought tobe."_

  "Who controls the breeding sites controls our world," said Tanub. "Oncethere was another city. We destroyed it."

  "Are there many ... wild ones?" asked Orne.

  "Fewer each year," said Tanub.

  _"There's how they get their slaves,"_ hissed Stetson.

  "You speak excellent Galactese," said Orne.

  "The High Path Chief commanded the best teacher," said Tanub. "Do you,too, know many things, Orne?"

  "That's why I was sent here," said Orne.

  "Are there many planets to teach?" asked Tanub.

  "Very many," said Orne. "Your city--I saw very tall buildings. Of whatdo you build them?"

  "In your tongue--glass," said Tanub. "The engineers of the _Delphinus_said it was impossible. As you saw--they are wrong."

  _"A glass-blowing culture,"_ hissed Stetson. _"That'd explain a lot ofthings."_

  Slowly, the disguised sled crept through the jungle. Once, a scoutswooped down into the headlights, waved. Orne stopped on Tanub's order,and they waited almost ten minutes before proceeding.

  "Wild ones?" asked Orne.

  "Perhaps," said Tanub.

  A glowing of many lights grew visible through the giant tree trunks. Itgrew brighter as the sled crept through the last of the jungle, emergedin cleared land at the edge of the city.

  Orne stared upward in awe. The city fluted and spiraled into the moonlitsky. It was a fragile appearing lacery of bridges, winking dots oflight. The bridges wove back and forth from building to building untilthe entire visible network appeared one gigantic dew-glittering web.

  "All that with glass," murmured Orne.

  _"What's happening?"_ hissed Stetson.

  Orne touched his throat contact. _"We're just into the city clearing,proceeding toward the nearest building."_

  "This is far enough," said Tanub.

  * * * * *

  Orne stopped the sled. In the moonlight, he could see armed Gienahns allaround. The buttressed pedestal of one of the buildings loomed directlyahead. It looked taller than had the scout cruiser in its jungle landingcircle.

  Tanub leaned close to Orne's shoulder. "We have not deceived you, havewe, Orne?"

  "Huh? What do you mean?"

  "You have recognized that we are not mutated members of your race."

  Orne swallowed. Into his ears came Stetson's voice: _"Better admit it."_

  "That's true," said Orne.

  "I like you, Orne," said Tanub. "You shall be one of my slaves. You willteach me many things."

  "How did you capture the _Delphinus_?" asked Orne.

  "You know that, too?"

  "You have one of their rifles," said Orne.

  "Your race is no match for us, Orne ... in cunning, in strength, in theprowess of the mind. Your ship landed to repair its tubes. Very inferiorceramics in those tubes."

  Orne turned, looked at Tanub in the dim glow of the cab light. "Have youheard about the I-A, Tanub?"

  "I-A? What is that?" There was a wary tenseness in the Gienahn's figure.His mouth opened to reveal the long canines.

  "You took the _Delphinus_ by treachery?" asked Orne.

  "They were simple fools," said Tanub. "We are smaller, thus they thoughtus weaker." The Mark XX's muzzle came around to center on Orne'sstomach. "You have not answered my question. What is the I-A?"

  "I am of the I-A," said Orne. "Where've you hidden the _Delphinus_?"

  "In the place that suits us best," said Tanub. "In all our history therehas never been a better place."

  "What do you plan to do with it?" asked Orne.

  "Within a year we will have a copy with our own improvements. Afterthat--"

  "You intend to start a war?" asked Orne.

  "In the jungle the strong slay the weak until only the strong remain,"said Tanub.

  "And then the strong prey upon each other?" asked Orne.

  "That is a quibble for women," said Tanub.

  "It's too bad you feel that way," said Orne. "When two cultures meetlike this they tend to help each other. What have you done with the crewof the _Delphinus_?"

  "They are slaves," said Tanub. "Those who still live. Some resisted.Others objected to teaching us what we want to know." He waved the gunmuzzle. "You will not be that foolish, will you, Orne?"

  "No need to be," said Orne. "I've another little lesson to teach you: Ialready know where you've hidden the _Delphinus_."

  _"Go, boy!"_ hissed Stetson. _"Where is it?"_

  "Impossible!" barked Tanub.

  "It's on your moon," said Orne. "Darkside. It's on a mountain on thedarkside of your moon."

  Tanub's eyes dilated, contracted. "You read minds?"

  "The I-A has no need to read minds," said Orne. "We rely on superiormental prowess."

  _"The marines are on their way,"_ hissed Stetson. _"We're coming in toget you. I'm going to want to know how you guessed that one."_

  "You are a weak fool like the others," gritted Tanub.

  "It's too bad you formed your opinion of us by observing only the lowgrades of the R&R," said Orne.

  _"Easy, boy,"_ hissed Stetson. _"Don't pick a fight with him now.Remember, his race is arboreal. He's probably as strong as an ape."_

  "I could kill you where you sit!" grated Tanub.

  "You write finish for your entire planet if you do," said Orne. "I'm notalone. There are others listening to every word we say. There's a shipoverhead that could split open your planet with one bomb--wash it withmolten rock. It'd run like the glass you use for your buildings."

  "You are lying!"

  "We'll make you an offer," said Orne. "We don't really want toexterminate you. We'll give you limited membership in the GalacticFederation until you prove you're no menace to us."

  _"Keep talking,"_ hissed Stetson. _"Keep him interested."_

  "You dare insult me!" growled Tanub.

  "You had better believe me," said Orne. "We--"

  Stetson's voice interrupted him: _"Got it, Orne! They caught the_Delphinus _on the ground right where you said it'd be! Blew the tubesoff it. Marines now mopping up."_

  "It's like this," said Orne. "We already have recaptured the_Delphinus_." Tanub's eyes went instinctively skyward. "Except for thecaptured armament you still hold, you obviously don't have the weaponsto meet us," continued Orne. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be carrying thatrifle off the _Delphinus_."

  "If you speak the truth, then we shall die bravely," said Tanub.

  "No need for you to die," said Orne.

  "Better to die than be slaves," said Tanub.

  "We don't need slaves," said Orne. "We--"

  "I cannot take the chance that you are lying," said Tanub. "I must killyou now."

  * * * * *

  Orne's foot rested on the air sled control pedal. He depressed it.Instantly, the sled shot skyward, heavy G's pressing them down into theseats. The gun in Tanub's hands was slammed into his lap. He struggledto raise it. To Orne, the weight was still only about twice that of hishome planet of Chargon. He reached over, took the rifle, found safetybelts, bound Tanub with them. Then he eased off the acceleration.

  "We don't need slaves," said Orne. "We have machines to do our work.We'll send experts in here, teach you people how to exploit your planet,how to build good transportation facilities, show you how to mine yourminerals, how to--"

  "And what do we do in return?" whispered Tanub.

  "You could start by teaching us how you make superior glass," said Orne."I certainly hope you see things our way. We really don't want to haveto come down there and clean you out. It'd be a shame to have to blastthat city into little pieces."

  Tanub wilted. Presently, he said: "Send me back. I will discuss thiswith ... our council." He stared at Orne. "You I-A's are too strong. Wedid not know."

 
* * * * *

  In the wardroom of Stetson's scout cruiser, the lights were low, theleather chairs comfortable, the green beige table set with a decanter ofHochar brandy and two glasses.

  Orne lifted his glass, sipped the liquor, smacked his lips. "For a whilethere, I thought I'd never be tasting anything like this again."

  Stetson took his own glass. "ComGO heard the whole thing over thegeneral monitor net," he said. "D'you know you've been breveted tosenior field man?"

  "Ah, they've already recognized my sterling worth," said Orne.

  The wolfish grin took over Stetson's big features. "Senior field menlast about half as long as the