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And that was it. In half a minute, D'arl had completely blunted his attack. An attack the Committi had been remarkably well prepared for. . . .
Tight-lipped, Jonny collected his magcards and left the room.
Halloran, still in Niparin, listened quietly as Jonny described the fiasco over the phone. "He sounded awfully sure of himself," he commented thoughtfully. "...
Jonny exhaled loudly. "It's hard to imagine him going that far out on a purely speculative limb," he admitted. "But if that's what's happening, how come he k...
Halloran shrugged. "You've been sending samples and data back to Asgard for a long time, and they've got far better test and computer simulation equipment th...
"Dehydrated. So you think it's the drought?"
"I don't know what other condition he could have been referring to. It's the only environmental factor that's new to you."
Jonny gnawed the inside of his cheek. "The drought. All right, then. If that's the problem, we'll just have to eliminate it."
Halloran cocked an eyebrow. "You know a rainmaker who specializes in getting clouds over mountains?"
"Actually, I can do better than that. Hang on." He pressed the lock key on the phone and got a connection to Rankin. Chrys answered, the screen splitting to ...
"Hi, Jonny; Cally. Yes, she's in the kitchen. Gwen?"
A moment later Gwen's face replaced Chrys's. "Hi, guys. What's up?"
"Your vacation," Jonny told her. "I've got a little job for you and Cally."
Describing what he had in mind took only a few minutes . . . and it turned out to be the easy part.
"Jonny, that's crazy," Gwen told him flatly. "Do you have any idea of what you're asking?"
"Syndic Hemner will be furious if he catches them," Chrys put in from off-camera.
"Why?" Jonny countered. "They're both supposed to be in his district, remember?"
"But under his authority, not yours," Halloran said.
"So you leave your field phones off and plead ignorance," Jonny shrugged. "What's he going to do, bust me back to cee-five?"
"Probably have you arrested and sent to the Palatine beachhead," Halloran said bluntly. "Especially if it doesn't work."
"But if it does work he won't be able to do a thing without looking like a petty legalist," Jonny said. "And I have confidence in you two."
"Well, I don't," Gwen admitted. "Jonny, you can't do something like this on ten minutes' notice. It takes time-time for studies, time for mapping and emplace...
"Maps we've got-the Molada mountain range has been extensively studied. As to the rest, we can surely risk a little environmental damage."
"Jonny, there's still one major point you're missing." Chrys moved back into camera range, and Jonny was struck by the odd intensity in her face. "What you'r...
Jonny's mouth felt suddenly dry. "No. No, it's different, Chrys. He was trying to take over the whole planet, to totally eliminate the Dominion authority."
"It's different only in degree," she shook her head minutely. "You'll still be setting a precedent that a syndic-or a Cobra-who doesn't like a legal governme...
But it's not the same, the words echoed through Jonny's mind. The government's doing something stupid just because an important outsider wants them to. My re...
To the people of Aventine.
Challinor's old argument.
The three faces crowded together in the phone screen were watching him closely. "All right," he said with a sigh. "Gwen, you and Cally will head out for the ...
Chrys seemed to sag as the tension left her. "Thank you," she murmured.
He smiled tightly. "Don't thank me. You're the one who was right." He focused on Gwen. "Chrys'll get you in touch with Theron Yutu, my assistant, who'll find...
"Got it." Halloran hesitated. "If it helps any, I think you're making the right decision."
"Not really, but thanks anyway. Chrys?"
"I'll call Theron right away," she nodded, all business now. "We can probably have Gwen down to Niparin in three hours or less."
"Good. Well . . . keep me posted, everyone, and I'll let you know when you're needed here. And be careful."
They all signed off, and for several minutes Jonny just sat there, feeling oddly alone in the quiet office. As if his own career and Jame's weren't enough, h...
There wasn't any answer for that . . . but at the moment there was something he needed more than answers, anyway. Flipping on the phone, he called D'arl's sh...
The other nodded and faded; a minute later the screen lit up with Jame's image. "Yes, Jonny?" he said. His voice was casually friendly, but there was an edge...
"I'd like to get together with you later," Jonny said. "Dinner tonight, maybe, whenever you get off duty?"
The wariness deepened. "Well . . ."
"No inquisitions, no favors, no politics," Jonny promised. "I'd just like to be with family for a while. If you've got the time."
Jame smiled faintly, the tension easing from his face. "There's always time for the important stuff," he said quietly. "Let's make it lunch-that same restaur...
Jonny smiled back. Already the weight around his shoulders was lifting a little. "I'll be there."
* * *
It took a week, but at last the results of the various blussa reed tests began to coalesce . . . and they were indeed just as D'arl had suggested.
"It seems to be a response to severe lack of available ground water," the senior botanist told the council, his hand trembling noticeably as he shifted graph...
"In other words, the drier it gets, the crazier the gantuas become?" Syndic Hemner asked.
"Basically, yes," the scientist nodded. "There may be a cutoff somewhere where the gantuas switch to a different plant species for food, but if there is, we ...
Seated beside Gwen against the side wall, Halloran caught Jonny's eye and wrinkled his nose. Jonny nodded fractionally in agreement: if the gantua they'd fou...