Prr't-zevisti can't get to any of his people-that metal room has him completely trapped."
"We only have his word for that," Holloway shot back, jabbing his stylus toward her for emphasis. "For all we know, the whole Zhirrzh task force out there could have been listening in."
"Which is one reason I thought I should be the one to talk to him first," Melinda said. "I don't have any military knowledge they could use against us."
"That's not the point," Holloway insisted. "The point is that you had no business pulling something like this without consulting with me first."
"And what would you have said if I had?" Melinda countered. "That no one was to talk to him until you'd taken a close look at who and what this incorporeal creature was who'd taken up residence in your camp? Fine. Who exactly would you have picked to do that study?"
"That's irrelevant," Holloway growled. "And damn conceited, besides."
"I'm sorry," Melinda said stiffly. "Being irrelevant and damn conceited runs in my family."
There was an almost-chuckle from the side, instantly strangled off. "You have something to add, Major?" Holloway demanded, glaring at his second in command.
"No, sir," Major Fujita Takara said, his face straightening instantly back to serious. "I was just agreeing with Dr. Cavanagh that those qualities do indeed run in her family."
For a long moment Holloway held the glare, the muscles of his throat and cheeks working, but his reddish color slowly beginning to fade. Finally, with a long and thoroughly exasperated sigh, he turned back to Melinda. "I'd have you court-martialed, Doctor," he said, tossing the stylus in disgust onto the desk, "except that that's what you technically are anyway. All right-let's hear it."
"Yes, sir," Melinda said, turning on her plate and setting it on the desk where Holloway could see it. "To begin with, Prr't-zevisti seems to represent a stage of Zhirrzh existence that has no real analogue in the human life cycle. At the point of physical death, their spirits-or personalities, or whatever-are drawn back to and anchored at the site of an organ that had been earlier removed and preserved. Thesefsss organs are taken from beneath the brain when the Zhirrzh are children-that's where that scar at the back of the skull comes from. The organs are then stored in huge pyramid-shaped structures maintained by the various Zhirrzh families."
"Ghost retirement homes," Takara murmured, hitching his chair closer to the desk for a better look at the plate.
"Something like that," Melinda agreed. "Except that they're called Elders, not ghosts. Anyway, it seems that if you then take a slice from one of thesefsss organs, the Elder attached to it can move back and forth between the main organ and the cutting. Supposedly instantaneously, even if the two pieces are light-years apart."
"I'll be damned," Takara said quietly. "There it is, Cass. That's their instantaneous communication method."
"Maybe," Holloway said, frowning suspiciously at Melinda. "And he justtold you all this?"
"Most of it," Melinda said. "Some parts I had to work out on my own because of the language barrier."
"So it's really just speculation."
"There's very little speculation to it, Colonel," Melinda said tartly. "The bottom line is that Prr't-zevisti thinks this war is a terrible mistake, and he wants very much to get it stopped. That's why he opened a dialogue with me in the first place, and why he's been so candid about himself and his people."
"What does he mean, a mistake?" Takara put in. "Did they think we were someone else?"
Melinda shook her head. "It was the communication package theJutland transmitted to them. Apparently, radio waves play havoc with the Zhirrzh sense of balance and also cause tremendous pain to Elders via theirfsss organs or cuttings. So much so that radio transmitters were used once-just once-in a Zhirrzh war. They're still called Elderdeath weapons."
For a minute both men were silent. "No," Holloway said at last. "It's
"We only have his word for that," Holloway shot back, jabbing his stylus toward her for emphasis. "For all we know, the whole Zhirrzh task force out there could have been listening in."
"Which is one reason I thought I should be the one to talk to him first," Melinda said. "I don't have any military knowledge they could use against us."
"That's not the point," Holloway insisted. "The point is that you had no business pulling something like this without consulting with me first."
"And what would you have said if I had?" Melinda countered. "That no one was to talk to him until you'd taken a close look at who and what this incorporeal creature was who'd taken up residence in your camp? Fine. Who exactly would you have picked to do that study?"
"That's irrelevant," Holloway growled. "And damn conceited, besides."
"I'm sorry," Melinda said stiffly. "Being irrelevant and damn conceited runs in my family."
There was an almost-chuckle from the side, instantly strangled off. "You have something to add, Major?" Holloway demanded, glaring at his second in command.
"No, sir," Major Fujita Takara said, his face straightening instantly back to serious. "I was just agreeing with Dr. Cavanagh that those qualities do indeed run in her family."
For a long moment Holloway held the glare, the muscles of his throat and cheeks working, but his reddish color slowly beginning to fade. Finally, with a long and thoroughly exasperated sigh, he turned back to Melinda. "I'd have you court-martialed, Doctor," he said, tossing the stylus in disgust onto the desk, "except that that's what you technically are anyway. All right-let's hear it."
"Yes, sir," Melinda said, turning on her plate and setting it on the desk where Holloway could see it. "To begin with, Prr't-zevisti seems to represent a stage of Zhirrzh existence that has no real analogue in the human life cycle. At the point of physical death, their spirits-or personalities, or whatever-are drawn back to and anchored at the site of an organ that had been earlier removed and preserved. Thesefsss organs are taken from beneath the brain when the Zhirrzh are children-that's where that scar at the back of the skull comes from. The organs are then stored in huge pyramid-shaped structures maintained by the various Zhirrzh families."
"Ghost retirement homes," Takara murmured, hitching his chair closer to the desk for a better look at the plate.
"Something like that," Melinda agreed. "Except that they're called Elders, not ghosts. Anyway, it seems that if you then take a slice from one of thesefsss organs, the Elder attached to it can move back and forth between the main organ and the cutting. Supposedly instantaneously, even if the two pieces are light-years apart."
"I'll be damned," Takara said quietly. "There it is, Cass. That's their instantaneous communication method."
"Maybe," Holloway said, frowning suspiciously at Melinda. "And he justtold you all this?"
"Most of it," Melinda said. "Some parts I had to work out on my own because of the language barrier."
"So it's really just speculation."
"There's very little speculation to it, Colonel," Melinda said tartly. "The bottom line is that Prr't-zevisti thinks this war is a terrible mistake, and he wants very much to get it stopped. That's why he opened a dialogue with me in the first place, and why he's been so candid about himself and his people."
"What does he mean, a mistake?" Takara put in. "Did they think we were someone else?"
Melinda shook her head. "It was the communication package theJutland transmitted to them. Apparently, radio waves play havoc with the Zhirrzh sense of balance and also cause tremendous pain to Elders via theirfsss organs or cuttings. So much so that radio transmitters were used once-just once-in a Zhirrzh war. They're still called Elderdeath weapons."
For a minute both men were silent. "No," Holloway said at last. "It's
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