The farmhouse was soon back in sight, but now it swarmed with men.
“There must be a whole security company here. Where’d Tlurg get all these people? You and I must be quite popular. … I see what we want. There’s Tlurg’s aircar off to the side.
“Dot Head, how does your power work? I want to walk right up to that aircar disguised as the unit commander. Can you make us look like that?”
“Is a unit commander another tool, Hansen?”
“Christ, Dot Head!”
“Don’t call me Dot Head.”
“All right, what is your name?”
“What’s a name?”
“Then why don’t you to want me to call you Dot Head?”
“It makes you think bad things of me.”
“Jesus! All right, how about if I call you Melene. I used to know a Melene … yes indeed.”
“Yes, I like that.” The Harpupon gripped a little tighter; it sent a warm feeling coursing through Hansen.
“So, Melene, what can I look like besides a rock, a beachball, or a lump on a log?”
“Something that you or I have a good image of, and is nondescript.”
“Nondescript isn’t going to help much now. We’ve got to move fast.”
Hansen pulled out the weapon he’d pulled off the guard; the Xobons were reasonably civilized and humanoid. He inspected the weapon in the dim light. It was heavy, fist-sized, and energy-based. Hansen pointed it at a nearby tree and pressed what he guessed was the fire button. A beam of light came out followed by a brief hum.
“Nothing to it.”
“What did it do?”
“Hell, I don’t know … probably stunned the tree. But whatever it does, I can make it work.”
Hansen began to stalk the aircar guard.
“You don’t know what it does. I thought you were a tool-user?”
“This is someone else’s tool. Now quiet, I’ve got to jump this guy.”
Hansen’s approach was perfect. Just as the guard walked by his hiding place, Hansen jumped out and blasted. The light hit the guard dead in the back, and the gun hummed. Instead of dropping, the guard turned around, reaching for his gun.
“Shit!”
Hansen jumped forward and roundhoused the guard using the handgun as a blackjack. It was effective; the guard went down and lay still.
“I don’t profess a great understanding of these things, but—”
“Not another thought, Dot Head!”
Hansen ran for the aircar and hopped in. This was a native design, and he operated it easily. Seconds later, they were in the air just above treetops, headed away from the farm.
“Oooh, this is such fun!” The Harpupon squeezed Hansen a little tighter.
“How can you tell? You can’t see.”
“It’s feeling you that’s fun, Hansen. I’ve never had a chance to feel what a tool-maker like you feels under these circumstances. It’s thrilling.”
“Won’t be nearly as thrilling as if I miss seeing one of these trees. Ease up on me, kiddo. I can hardly breathe.”
“Sorry.” The Harpupon relaxed slightly.
“Here: This is as far as we go.”
Hansen dove the aircar close to the surface of a wide river. Just inches from the surface, he put the car in a slow climb and jumped.
The water wasn’t quite a rapids, and it wasn’t quite over his head. In the gray light, Hansen maneuvered his way rapidly downstream, dodging rocks and sticking to the mainstream. This went on for a quarter mile more, then he went over a waterfall.
He came up, sputtering and gasping, in the deep pool downstream of the waterfall.
“Melene?”
There was no response.
“Melene?”
Still no response. The Harpupon was still there, but inert.
Hansen swam for the edge. He crawled on hands and knees to rest on a shallow mudbank, his back and the Harpupon out of water.
“Melene?”
“Yes?”
“You’re out again. Whew! I forgot to check if you could swim.”
“I can’t, but I can survive under water for long periods. Why did we do this?”
“The Xobons can probably track an aircar, but it’s unlikely they can follow a trail in moving water. They’ll intercept the aircar, but it’ll take’ em a while to figure out where we got off. I’ve bought us some time.”
“Time to do what?”
“We need to get you off-world, to prove that you exist.”
“Of course I do.”
“I know it. You know it, and at least some Xobons know it now. But the Federation doesn’t, and the Federation can protect you.”
“How so?”
“You can be declared an endangered species. How many Harpupons are there?”
“Many, more than I can count.”
“How high can you count?”
“Oh, you can count much higher, Hansen.”
“Can you count how many tentacles you have?”
“Yes, one mature set less three.”
“Oh great.”
Hansen stood up and started looking around.
“Dawn’s coming.”
“You’re getting frustrated again.”
“Yes, Melene. I can’t figure out how we’re going to get away from here.”
“How about hitching a ride?”
“On what?”
“That grolock over there.” The grolock was an elephant-sized lizardish thing that had just come to the other side of the river for a drink.
“Is it safe?”
“I can control it. Take me there.”