The outer door whooshed open. The airlock flooded with sunlight and sound. Dowornobb swallowed hard to equalize pressures as a chilly blast of air made his eyes water, but his discomfort was eclipsed by the unadulterated freshness and clearness of native sounds and smells. Oh, the smells! Dowornobb's olfactory glands overloaded with a symphony of fragrance. Such sweetness and body—a cloying sensation surged through his extensive sinus network. He sniffled. Such sights! They were surrounded by verdant forests domed with bright blue skies; and tall on the northern horizon, razor sharp in the clear air, a jagged line of snowcapped mountains rambled into the distance.

The kones milled onto the tree-dotted sward surrounding the station. Red birds and yellow hopped and fluttered on an emerald lawn, chittering and warbling. A bareheaded scientist scattered seeds and crumbs across the grass, and dozens of other birds converged, dropping from the trees. Mistress Kateos moved quickly to the activity and stared, enraptured at the abundance of color and sound. She glanced at Dowornobb and smiled like a child. Dowornobb could not help himself and returned the innocent expression. He felt light-headed but was not certain that it was due to lack of carbon-oxygen compounds.

Et Silmarn continued his lecture. The newcomers listened, the distractions of the scenery albeit difficult to overcome. Dowornobb, disquietingly happy with the attentions of Mistress Kateos, tried to inhale the whole world, take in the bright colors, and hear the shifting blend of gentle sounds, but after several minutes another sensation overflowed the others. It started as a tickling between his eyes and quickly became an irrepressible imperative welling up from the back of his head. To no avail, he tried to stifle the explosions. One after another, colossal sneezes erupted from deep within his massive body. Embarrassed, he realized others were also sneezing.

"A signal to put on your breathing unit," Et Silmarn advised. "Pollen. You will get used to it."

Dowornobb looked at Kateos, her face flushed and wide-eyed. She returned his glance, eyes laughing. As they put their helmets on they took a lasting look at each other, excited with the delightful experience they had shared.

Chapter 21. Evidence

No one slept well, wearing a helmet. Haggard and weary as they were in the predawn, they were all enchanted with the vast array of luminous patches and extremely bright individual stars pulsing from moonless morning skies, so different from the muddy nights of Kon. Their revelry was brief, the bracing chill of the air all too real. Headlamps were pointed to the job at hand, and the explorers-to-be broke down tents and packed up camp gear. The end of summer was nearly upon them.

As the sleepy scientists stumbled and shivered down the dark pathway toward the station, brilliant banks of arc lights rippled on, spreading a stark glare. A pair of aircraft sat at on the matting, reflecting the artificial light from their polished, white-painted flanks. Squatting on low-pressure tires, the sturdy craft had stubby fuselages and drooping wings mounted high to facilitate downward surveillance. The aft portion of each fuselage split and tapered into twin booms with a connecting elevator mounted high above the ground. A single large engine nacelle with vectorable ducting was mounted over the wing spars.

"Stow your gear in the aircraft," Et Silmarn ordered. "We call them abats."

After a startlingly animated discussion between Et Avian and the corporal of the militia guard, the team was split, with Et Avian, Kateos, Dowornobb, and two soldiers in one of the craft and the rest of the team in the other. Et Silmarn was to pilot Et Avian's plane, and Scientist Lollee, another station engineer, was assigned to pilot the other craft.

"Abats?" Dowornobb asked Et Avian. "Is that not a mythical bird of prey?"

The noblekone nodded. "It also is the name we have given to a bird species on this planet. We will talk about real abats later. See, the sun rises." The sunrise, through layers of clouds, was extravagant; golden rays spiked with orange and coral forged unevenly into the eroding deep blues and purples of the retreating night.

With the glorious sunrise at their back, the loaded aircraft revved engines to high rpm and released brakes. Each sprang forward, rolling from the matting and onto a grassy strip before lifting clumsily into the air. The second plane fell into trail position, and both planes banked sharply to the north, toward the mountain passes. Dowornobb sat, glued to the window, watching the jagged, snowcapped peaks drift by, some just off their wing tips.

"I want you to work together," Et Avian said, interrupting Dowornobb from his sight-seeing trance. Mistress Kateos sat to his left. Dowornobb avoided looking at the female, for she was constantly staring at him. He noticed the soldiers listening, their contempt clearly evident.

"Yes, Your Excellency," Dowornobb said.

"This will require you to communicate," Et Avian continued, looking intently into each of their helmet-shrouded faces. "Yes, Your Excellency," Dowornobb repeated. "Communicating means two-way communications, talking and listening, each in their proper turn," Et Avian said.

The noblekone was certainly driving his point. Dowornobb wondered how to respond. "Yes, Your Excellency," was the best he could do. The noblekone glared at Dowornobb. He looked over to the female and then back to Dowornobb. His huge eyes rolled in his great head.

"Mistress Kateos," he said firmly, still looking at Dowornobb. "I am sorry. I had hoped we might surmount this situation with our departure from Kon. Konish males seem incapable of breaking our mindless conventions. You must help them. Introduce yourself to Master Dowornobb. Inform him of your needs and skills. We will be flying to the search area for the next two days, and it would be time better spent if you were to develop an understanding of each other's mission."

"Yes, Your Excellency," Kateos said, chin up. "I understand. I will endeavor to make Master Dowornobb appreciate my contribution to the team."

"Very good," Et Avian said, turning his attention to the soldiers. "I will leave you alone, for I have business with Corporal Longo." The noblekone moved across the narrow aisle to engage the lead corporal. Dowornobb knew that Et Avian had wanted all the guards on one plane and the technical team on the other. The lead corporal, Longo by name, had bluntly refused, maintaining his orders were to watch over everyone; separating the groups would make it impossible for him to carry out his orders. Dowornobb had to agree with the logic, but something was amiss.

"I speak eight languages, Master Dowornobb," Kateos said proudly.

Such vanity, Dowornobb thought. "I did not know there were that many different tongues on Kon," he replied awkwardly.

"Oh, there are at least twenty modern languages and ten times as many dialects. The north is more homogeneous, because of its history of totalitarian regimes. After the Great Massacre the rulers of the north consolidated many isolated tribes and suppressed their languages. Some were simply killed off. The southern regions never succumbed to the genocidal tyranny of the north."

Dowornobb looked up anxiously. The scientist was himself inclined to talk obliquely about the inadequacies of government, but he knew where to draw the line, particularly when talking to strangers. The female was talking treason.

"I have been all over the planet working as a translator for the Minister of Internal Affairs. Ironically, as long as I am translating the silly words of some pompous official, my voice is received and welcomed. I am frequently requested by name to act as the official interpreter for opposing leaders." She talked rapidly, as if unburdening herself, a dam broken.