Chapter 191

We were talked out about the spirits and the cat and I knew we both wanted to leave my office and join the others again. We decided if we got more questions we'd tell them Georgo and Dotallto asked us not to say more about it until they had given the spirits a chance to provide enlightenment. It would probably work for most people, but I knew it wouldn't fly with my mates.

I was surprised things seemed pretty normal when we left the office. No one was standing around waiting to grill us and it was a good sign. Some of my mates were in the kitchen and I was sure most of the rest were in the celebration cave getting things prepared. I saw the entrance curtain swing open and two men came through carrying a picnic table. I followed them and saw there were already several of them in place.

I went into my bedroom and found Shateala had been moved. No one else was in the bedroom so I didn't have a clue where she'd been put. I guessed the unmated women's quarters was a good place to start looking and so off I went.

Sure enough, it was easy to find her once I walked into their quarters. All eleven of the unmated ones we'd brought from the ill-fated camp were crowded in or around her new resting place. I walked over and when I could see inside I spied Eileiea sitting on the edge of Shateala's new bed while Shateala was lying in it, apparently asleep.

"How is she Eileiea?" I asked, when I got closer.

"I have given her some strong tea which will let her rest. I could make her understand she should drink the tea, but it is nearly all I've been able to do. We couldn't get her to walk on her own and practically had to carry her here. She won't speak, it's as if she can't do anything, but remember the cat. She is still so very frightened she can't think," Eileiea told me.

"I don't doubt it, she must have known the cat was following her for hours. It would make anyone lose their wits."

"I think she will sleep until tomorrow from the tea, maybe she will be better then," she said.

"Will you have to stay with her?"

"No, the others who were in her camp once have said they will take turns watching her. They can come for me if I'm needed, but I don't think she will need me before morning," she said.

"Did she tell you nothing before she went to sleep?"

"No, nothing at all."

That settled it. If Shateala was going to be out until tomorrow we'd just have to wait to get her thoughts. Until then I still had a couple of hours to kill before the celebration began.

I went to my office, alone this time, and was greeted by Ralph as soon as I entered.

"Hello John, you've had an exciting morning," he said.

"Yes I have, I believe it was something the Chinese would have called interesting times."

"May you live in interesting times, it was said to be meant as a curse," he said.

"I think I live in interesting times, but I don't consider it a curse. Even the adventure today wasn't so bad - at least it didn't turn out bad for anyone. None of us are bleeding or otherwise injured."

"The woman got the worst of it and you were exactly right about her state. She had known for some time the cat was following her and she realized she had no way to escape it. The constant weight of the threat finally overwhelmed her thinking," he said.

"The main question I have is about what she was doing in the first place."

"I can tell you if you'd like, but it is our opinion she will be coherent by morning. She probably won't be awake before Argent's forty-eight hours are elapsed though. Of course we can extend the time as long as you want," he said.

"It won't be necessary and it wouldn't be polite. I don't want to make Argent mad, or at least any madder. I'm not seeking any type of ultimate power or negotiating position.

"I feel confident with the help of Frank, Phil, and you I can carry on as I please, but I don't want to rub it into their faces. If Argent returns with a reasonable tone in his voice I'm sure we'll all be getting along famously within a few minutes."

"Even though we blocked all communications from this planet to the ship we didn't block them the other way and neither did they. They were so shocked I feel they just didn't think to do it. We know everything which has been going on aboard ship and we know what information was sent back to the ones at their base. We also know what the base sent back. Argent will surely have what you call a reasonable tone," he said.

"Now I am confused. When I sent a message to Argent and got a reply back it took longer."

"This qualified as an emergency to Argent and he used a higher priority for the transmission as they did to send back the answer," Ralph explained.

"So as long as I was sending messages to him it wasn't considered an emergency, but now he has problems it is an emergency?" I asked.

"It didn't happen exactly the way you make it sound now. No slight was meant to you. If you remember it was I who sent the message to Argent while he was away and I didn't consider it an emergency. You didn't seem to think it was one at the time or at least I didn't take it that way. Since I didn't use emergency protocol to send it they didn't use it sending the answer," he said.

"I don't guess it really was an emergency after all. What makes it an emergency this time?"

"Telling you that would go directly to explaining the whole purpose of the experiment. I will tell you if you want me to, but I still think it would be counterproductive," he said.

"Was sending Argent back to the ship against his will such big a deal?"

"No, but cutting off their access to the data was and is a tremendous deal. I wouldn't recommend doing it again unless you find it absolutely necessary and I'm certain they will not do anything again to make you feel the need. I have searched for a phrase from your original planet to convey your position to you. You have them By the Balls, is the one I think fits best," he said.

"If that's the case then I can afford to be magnanimous when he returns."

"You can afford anything," he said.

It was good to know, but it made me wonder again what was so special about what I was doing here and for the life of me I couldn't understand it. I wasn't making any exciting discoveries or doing any critical research.