The Amelioration Expedition
Chapter 21
Rianne was the biggest surprise to Marlin. On the Spero, Rianne had been particular about her appearance; about her beautiful long golden hair, her clothing and everything in general. She always wore an attractive blouse and long skirt. Even though Rianne had come to them from a more primitive planet than Oriel, Rianne was obviously accustomed to living comfortably. Yet as soon as they arrived on Opus, she adapted to the primitive conditions. She wore a divided skirt and boots and pulled her hair up to the top of her head. It didn't matter how she dressed. She always looked like a fine lady. Rianne cleaned anything and everything; took care of Gezant when Marlin was busy; cooked the meals and even helped plant the garden. She wasn't simply cooperative. She actually appeared to enjoy the work. She did everything with a calm confidence that Marlin could never hope to match. No wonder Donte loved Rianne. And yet, he had turned away from her. He would have left her behind. It was as if he no longer wanted her.
Donte and Saar were gone five days before they returned with the news that they and had an idea how to convince the natives that they wanted to be friends. It appeared to Marlin that Donte and Saar were forming a friendship.
Rianne told Marlin that Saar was a Mascot from Bosvrouwen colony who had served on the Moeder about thirty years ago when Donte was his commander. He had since joined the Premier Infantry. Rianne said she hoped Saar would be to Donte what Beier had been.
Beier was the man Marlin's grandfather had killed – in self defense, she had always believed. Now she wasn't sure. She no longer doubted that her grandfather tried to kill Andras. Apparently Beier had been trying to protect Andras. Rianne said she was told by eye witnesses that Captain Pacilio had a gun in his hand before Beier used his weapon. It was difficult to think of her grandfather as being anything but the gentle person who had been ripped from her life when she was only six years old. All these honest people couldn't be wrong. She had poisoned her own mind with hate for Donte, blaming him for her grandfather's death. She had turned on Reyse for having the audacity to tell her the truth about herself. When she thought of some of the things she had said and done, she cringed. It was too late to get Reyse back, but if someone else came along who could compare to him, she'd certainly treat the next man better.
Saar had golden blond hair and dark blue eyes. He was a nice-looking man, and quiet. Were all Mascots good looking, and did they all have a quiet temperament? Certainly, all she had met were. Of the four men Donte had selected, two were Mascots. Paden, the red-headed mascot with green eyes, had also worked with Donte before when he was in command. None of the four Premier Infantry men bowed to Donte, as she had seen the first man do, and that man was not among the four chosen to serve with Donte on Opus. Either all the men of the Premier Infantry didn't bow to Donte or he had asked them not to bow to him. Marlin suspected the latter. They certainly treated Donte with deep respect. They weren't merely subordinate. They obviously liked and admired him, and they all called him Monomi.
The other two Premier Infantry members were Lucas, a nice-looking young man with brown eyes, black hair and golden skin like that of Donte and Quade; and Akida, a black man from Nyumbani. What surprised Marlin was that each of the colonies had been separated for hundreds of years, each having their own physical features, yet they worked and socialized together now as if there was nothing different about them at all. That didn't always happen on Oriel and she'd like to know what made it that way on Purlieu. She'd like to duplicate that situation, as well as some others, on Opus.
Rianne was no help in one area. Her only concept of segregation was what Fontalo had done with the colonies. She acknowledged that people of different colonies looked different and had different cultures, but again, attributed that to meddling by Fontalo. Maybe people simply needed someone to blame. In this case, it was Fontalo, not their religion, culture or physical features. How would the new colonists perceive the Opus natives? More importantly, how would they treat them, and how would the natives react to the colonists? Donte probably understood that prospect more than anyone there. No wonder her father was so impressed with him. No wonder everyone with opened eyes welcomed Donte and the other Mascots in this mission. This was what they were created to do. And yet, their current method almost certainly wasn't what Fontalo originally intended. So much of the information about Mascots had been destroyed years ago by Fontalo. The scientists had attempted to create a superior human to help the colonists. Did they think they had not achieved their goal? That might explain why they wanted to eliminate them.
Marlin had never questioned Fontalo's motive until she met Donte. She trusted Donte. When someone was willing to sacrifice their life for you, trust was inevitable. Of course, Donte could be wrong, but she didn't think he was in this instance. Donte hadn't convinced her of anything specific. What he had done was challenge her to use her mind creatively instead of accepting the theory that best fit her preconceived ideas.
Gezant had finally settled down to a predictable schedule. She was happy when Donte was around and whiney when he wasn't. Even Rianne found it difficult to console her at times. It was on one of those occasions that Rianne and Marlin had been taking turns trying to comfort her when Donte returned from his mission with Saar.
Gezant had worked up to a nerve-wracking wail when Donte stepped into the room.
"Gezant. What's the matter with you?"
When Gezant heard his voice, she immediately stopped crying and opened her eyes, searching the room for him."
Donte leaned down and took her from Rianne's arms. The transfer was awkward and it took them longer than it should have for two people who had raised four children. Donte stood and laid Gezant on his chest, rubbing her back as he spoke to her. Gezant snuggled against him and began sucking on her fist. Donte looked at Marlin. "She's hungry."
Marlin rolled her eyes. "Do you think I haven't thought of that? She refuses to take her bottle." Marlin sighed. "It seems that she isn't happy unless you're here. She likes Rianne, but I think she likes you better than anyone. I don't know what to do."
Donte looked at Rianne. "Maybe she's addicted to my pheromones."
Rianne lifted a brow. "Maybe you could leave some with me when you're not here."
Donte nodded. "I could leave a shirt when I go."
Rianne's response was delivered with a straight face. "I suppose that would make more sense than skin to skin contact that would be gone after I bathed."
Marlin gaped from Donte to Rianne, shocked at the blatant flirting going on between two people who had been avoiding each other for months.
Donte's eyes twinkled with restrained humor as he gave Rianne a wry smile. "If the shirt doesn't work, maybe we can try something else later."
Too bad it wasn't the two of them who had been trapped together for three weeks. Maybe they would have settled their differences. In fact, if they had some time together alone now, they might get back together. If the sparks between them got any hotter, Marlin would have to leave the room.
Donte squatted beside Marlin. "Why don't you let her suckle?"
Marlin frowned. "What good would that do? I don't have any milk."
Donte shrugged. "Maybe she wants the comfort of something familiar more than she wants the milk."
Marlin gave him a level look and handed him the bottle of milk. Donte offered it to Gezant and she immediately began to feed eagerly.
Marlin threw her hands in the air and rolled her eyes. "See what I mean?" she said to Rianne.
Rianne nodded. "I wonder if it's the milk formula."
"If that was true, why would she be happy with it when Donte holds her?"
They all looked at each other and said the word at the same time. "Pheromones."
***
Dr. Oriana didn't like the distraction from their original plan. The loss of Donte and Marlin had thrown the expedition behind schedule. They had been able to do lab work, but very little field work. Now the two had been rescued and were working on Opus – but not with the expedition. Essentially, Arlo had assigned her two people and then taken them away when he decided he could use them on a new project. Had he forgotten that she was the one who had requested Donte – and it was a condition of her agreement to join the expedition?
Actually, Donte and Marlin were still working on the original project - the colonization of Opus, but the expedition was supposed to precede and prepare for the colonists. Maybe Arlo had lost faith in her ability to lead when the two were lost. Did he know that Marlin actually caused the accident? Probably not or he wouldn't have put her in charge of organizing the colonization.
It was no surprise that Marlin had requested Donte – or that he had accepted, for that matter. To make matters worse, Marlin had hired Rianne before Dr. Oriana had the opportunity to talk to her. Rianne was more help than Marlin had ever been. But then, no one had actually assigned any work to Marlin.
Donte had assigned three of his troops to stay at the permanent camp, but she suspected he had done that to protect Rianne more than anything else. Surely Rianne had noticed that wherever she went, Paden kept her in sight. The other two men cheerfully assisted in any way they were asked. Quade and Akira were helping in the lab, but much of the work was new to them.
The loss of Marlin and the lost opportunity with Rianne wasn't what troubled her the most. It was the reassignment of Donte that was most disturbing. She had been the one who wanted Donte on the team, not Marlin. So where was he when she needed him? He was off trying to forge peace with the Apes of Opus. It wasn't bad enough that Marlin was now calling them Opus natives. Donte was actually treating them like they had more right to the land than any of the other animals on the planet.
It had been Fontalo's intent from the beginning to have as little impact on the environment and indigenous wildlife of Opus as possible, but Donte was taking that to an extreme. That shouldn't surprise her. After all, Donte had enough animal genes to help him relate to the animals.
The thought brought her to shame. Now she was the one who was thinking of Donte as less than human. Everyone on the team was a primate of some sort. The truth was; she had met some people who were classed as Homo sapiens that acted more like Neanderthals.
Face it. She was feeling grumpy because she was behind schedule and she had so much to do. When she mentioned that, Donte looked surprised.
"I'm sorry I didn't notice. What kind of help do you need?"
Why hadn't she simply approached him with her problem in the first place? One of the things she liked most about him was that he was so approachable.
"We need a guide and someone to give us some kind of warning."
Donte looked uncomfortable. "What you asked me to do. I apologize. I thought you no longer needed me. I should have asked."
Dr. Oriana placed a hand on his arm. "No. Marlin should have asked." She waved a hand in dismissal. "It doesn't matter. It's done. I shouldn't have said anything."
He smiled. "Of course you should have said something. I doubt Marlin realized you still needed me either." He frowned. "You need some kind of warning – you mean for protection?"
She hadn't actually thought of Donte as protection – more like some kind of warning, but that amounted to protection. "I suppose so, but..."
"Someone to sense the wildlife?"
"Well, yes, but I specifically asked for you because you could sense when something was out there that might want to harm us. You have sensed that. I've been concerned about wandering too far from the security of the base camp without any protection. We haven't been able to do much field work."
Donte thought about it for a few minutes. "Let's go talk to Marlin. I don't think there is anything we are doing right now that couldn't wait or someone else couldn't do."
They walked into the great room where Marlin and Rianne were working at the table with some papers.
"Wait a minute," Donte said as he turned toward the lab. "Let me get the others."
When he returned with them, they all sat at the table together and Donte explained the situation. "I realize that the mission has been restructured, but we're all working toward the same goal. We should all be helping each other to that end."
Akira nodded. "Couldn't Andras help with what you were doing, Donte?"
"I don't think so," Donte said. "I doubt he would be willing, but even if he was, he has never worked with his skill that way. I'm not sure how effective he would be. I don't know if he senses emotions. In any case, I'm sure Adriaan will be expecting him back shortly. I don't know how much longer the Lyra will be here, but I suspect not more than a week."
Marlin had been quiet, listening to them, but she finally spoke. "I didn't realize you still needed Donte. We have several months before the colonists arrive. How much longer do you need him, Dr. Oriana?"
"A few weeks, at least. Maybe we could split up our team so that some stay here doing the lab work and some go with Donte."
Quade lifted a brow and looked at Akira. "We could work in the lab if you leave one person to guide us." His expectant gaze shifted to Dr. Oriana.
Marlin nodded. "That sounds like an excellent idea. Rianne and I were just talking about the fact that we are all stretched a little thin now that we have divided into different teams." She looked at Donte. "Is there anything your infantry can do to help your work while you go into the field with Dr. Oriana?"
"Definitely. Saar and I were going to build a safer ladder down into the fissure and rig up a bucket on a rope for the natives to pull up water. I thought we might leave them food or something as an offering of friendship."
Rianne smiled at him. "That's a great idea." She studied him a moment. "Of course you know that Saar will want to go with you on any trips."
"That's not a bad idea," Donte said. He looked at Dr. Oriana. "Remember the day I sensed two groups of people – and hostility?"
Dr. Oriana nodded. "It's something I think about every time I consider going into the field."
Donte looked at Marlin. "This could help our work as well. Now that I know what they are, I might be able to contact the other group." His gaze came back to Dr. Oriana. "I'd really like to get input from you and Chandler. They are part of the life on this planet."
Dr. Oriana considered the idea. She hated to say it, but Marlin would probably be helpful with that as well. She sighed. "All roads appear to lead back to Marlin."
Marlin looked startled. "How's that?"
"Marlin has studied other languages. She doesn't have degrees in everything, but she has a wider range of skills than any of us." She shrugged. "I suppose that's why Arlo put her in charge of organizing the colonization."
Donte and Rianne studied Marlin for a few minutes. Donte finally looked at Rianne. "She said Gezant was Dutch."
Rianne jerked her attention back to Marlin. "You can speak our language?"
Marlin shrugged. "It's a different dialect, and I'm not used to speaking that language anyway." She looked at Quade. "Your language has remained closer to the original. I can usually understand what you're saying."
Quade grinned at a surprised Donte. "That piece of information has got to be helpful to your project."
Donte nodded. "She's a psychic too – a seer." He shrugged. "But we need her here. If I could convince one of the natives to come back here…." He shook his head. "We're straying from the purpose of this meeting."
He tapped his medallion and asked for Andras. When he answered, Donte explained the situation.
"What do you need?" Andras asked.
"We need more people, preferably people who are skilled in stonework and carpentry, but also some troops for protection. I'm going to be working with Dr. Oriana in the field part of the time. I'd like someone to do some work for me - and some guards."
"Dalziel instructed me that you were to have all the troops you wanted for as long as you needed them. I'll check to see who fits your needs and how many want to stay. Adriaan is already asking when I'm going to return."
Marlin shook her head. "We don't have housing or food for more people."
"We can provide that," Andras responded. "If you don't want them, that's another story."
Marlin lifted her brows. "We aren't refusing any help. We appreciate all you can offer. I'm only trying to explain the situation – and we don't have the funding to pay wages either."
Andras laughed. "I don't know what they would do with money anyway. Just treat them respectfully and remember they answer to Donte. We'll pick them back up as soon as you're through with them. We have ships out this direction every now and then and we can send one any time you request one."
"That sounds great." Marlin answered. "We need to be ready for 300 colonists and their stock, but we only have a few months to do that. They will be building their own homes, and I assume they will bring some kind of shelter until then. It's our job to establish where they can build."
"Let me see what I can come up with, Dad. I'll contact you when I know something."
Soft Science Fiction
