Chapter 44

"And it's still daylight, sort of," she smiled.

He laughed easily. "I gather that you feel pleased about the proposed course of action." "Very pleased," she said. "But you know, I don't like the idea of dealing with this over the communicator. I really think I need to get back to the Gardener and get it talked out with everybody in the same place."

He nodded slowly. "That should not be difficult to arrange," he said. "We can have a lander sent down to retrieve us at our convenience."

"When?"

"Are you so eager to abandon our 'honeymoon cottage?'" he asked straight-faced.

"No, of course it's not—" she broke off as he suddenly smiled. "All right, you got me," she continued with a wry grin. "But what I am eager to do is get this process started. We're already a month into our stay here, and the sooner we can get everyone on the same page and working the better. Oh! But what about the security question? Are you going to be comfortable with more people coming back down to the surface?"

"Not altogether, I admit," he replied. "There seems no ready way to put the situation on an equal footing. The more of us are on Eden the more hostages we offer them for the taking, there is no possibility of effective reciprocation, and we have already ruled out retaliatory action if they repeat their attack."

"But why would they attack?"

"That is the other side of the coin. We are volunteering the teaching for which they sought to kidnap you and your colleagues, they are now aware that they cannot sustain human captives, and they would logically appear to have nothing to gain by a repetition—and this collective seems to be eminently logical. We can also make it so that an attack would net them little in terms of useful artifacts by minimizing gear and using the lander as a shuttle rather than an on- planet base."

"Well, then?"

"For the present at least I think I would prefer that on-planet parties be kept to comparatively small numbers," he said. "Perhaps something of the size of our original group. We can use a rotation system, perhaps weekly, to ensure that all of your colleagues get their fair share of time here—after all, we still have more than an Earth year. But within that limitation, which perhaps we can relax later, and with the caveat that I need to make the situation clear to the collective, yes, I think we can begin to open things up. It is not as secure as I might like, but there ­comes a time when considerations of security must give way to the needs of the mission."

"Then that's settled," she said with satisfaction. "You and I go back— you're coming with me?"

"Yes."

"Good. We go back, we have a ship's meeting, we put together a new landing party, and we all come back down and get really going. Sounds like a plan. When do you have in mind, tomorrow?"

"Let me talk to the natives first, but unless something surprising develops I think tomorrow would work," he said.

"Good again," she said.

He cleared his throat. "Meantime, inasmuch as our lease on the 'honeymoon cottage' is expiring..."

"My God, so soon?" She looked down. "So soon," she confirmed. "Oh, my, what have I got myself into?" But she came eagerly to his arms.