After a while he would always remember that this was hardly possible, as long as Feragga was sympathetic to the Seekers. Then he would finish with more or less the same words: «We'd better keep quiet about this one for a while.»
Nungor might not be willing to see Doimar defeated rather than let the Seekers get the credit for a victory. But he was certainly willing to risk many things to reduce the Seekers' share of glory, including the lives of his own men. Blade was perfectly happy to encourage this desire. It not only made his own job of sabotaging Doimar's war effort a great deal easier, it made it considerably safer as well. If the Seekers and the infantry ever got together and compared notes on what Blade was telling them, he'd be finished. Thanks to Nungor's stubborn prejudices, that meeting would probably never take place.
They were halfway through the last room when Blade's eyes widened. The next six vehicles were identical-light Hovercraft with a large shrouded propeller in the rear and a domed passenger compartment in front. They didn't look heavily armed, so they were probably scout vehicles of some sort, relying on speed rather than firepower.
Nungor had noticed Blade's expression. «Ah, you think these are worth studying? So do we. We have even made one of them live for a short time.» He pointed to the fourth Hovercraft.
«Why didn't you keep it alive?»
«We could make it rise and move. We could not make it move in one direction for long. It was like a wounded munfan running wild.»
Blade nodded. Hovercraft could move fast and cross any sort of surface, but they were hard to steer. In a crosswind it was almost impossible to keep them on a straight course, and even in a calm air they needed plenty of room to turn. Large Hovercraft like the ones used as ferries across the English Channel overcame the problem by sheer weight and power, but smaller machines simply needed careful handling.
Fortunately Blade was in a position to provide that careful handling. He'd learned to drive Hovercraft while taking his commando course with the Royal Marines. If the controls on the Tower Builders' machines were anything like those in Home Dimension… Blade hurried over to the fourth Hovercraft, scrambled up on the front, and peered in through the scratched and dusty windshield. A quick look was enough. He let out a shout of real pleasure, then dropped to the floor and hurried back to Nungor.
«Can you use this machine?» asked the War Captain.
Blade nodded. «We do not have such machines among the Oltec of England. But we did find books which spoke of them and how they were guided. I have read those books, and I think I can remember how to guide the machines. I will need a few days to practice, of course, and many large fire boxes to power the machines, but-«
«You can have anything you need, Blade, if-«Then he shook his head. «No. I must not promise too much. We shall have to get Ferraga's orders for what you need. She will insist that the Seekers learn of it, and then…» He sighed.
Blade grinned. «For once, this will make no difference. The Seekers will get no good from these machines, no matter how many we use.» Nungor's mouth fell open and Blade continued smoothly. «To begin with, it will need strong and swift men and women to guide these machines. That means men and women like the foot soldiers, not like the weak and sickly Seekers.» That did the Seekers an injustice, but it was what Nungor wanted to believe about them.
«Also, these machines cannot carry anything the Seekers need. They cannot carry the Fighting Machines or anything else heavy. They can easily carry foot soldiers or foot soldiers' weapons.» That might even be the truth. The Hovercraft had a rear deck obviously able to hold cargo, but they were certainly too small to lift a three-ton waldo. Blade was prepared to take his chances that they could not carry the radios.
«So-the foot soldiers will have this Oltec all to themselves, whatever Feragga says?»
«I do not know what Feragga will say,» Blade pointed out. «She may try to favor the Seekers. But you can certainly trust me to speak strongly for the foot soldiers. Even Feragga of Doimar cannot make an Oltec machine into something it is not.»
«No.» Nungor was staring at the Hovercraft like a starving man offered a seven-course banquet. Blade practically had to drag him away.
Like the other times Blade dined with Feragga, this meal ended with a huge bowl of fruit sliced up in honey. As usual, Feragga served herself the lion's share of the bowl. The chief of Doimar had a sweet tooth.
As she spooned up the dessert with childish pleasure, Blade watched the candlelight play on Feragga's smooth brown skin, showing the muscles rippling under it. There was more skin than usual on display tonight. Feragga wore her knee-length boots with knives in them, a skirt of blue leather reaching to her ankles but slit up to one hip, and nothing else except a heavy dose of perfume. The perfume could not entirely hide Feragga's reluctance to take a bath more than once a week.
Otherwise Blade had to admit that the less Feragga wore the better she looked. Her breasts were large, in proportion to the rest of her, but well shaped and solid. The curve of her belly told of muscle rather than flab, and her surprisingly graceful throat-
Blade realized he was staring at her a moment before Feragga laughed. «Ah, Blade. Sometimes I think I should bed you. Sometimes I think I should not. Sometimes I think I should ask you to decide for me. But if you are going to look at me like that, I know the answer you would give if I asked. So perhaps I should not trust you that much in matters where your prick might rule you.»
She pushed the empty dish away, lit a fresh candle from the dying one, and signaled to the maidservant at the door to leave them. When the door closed, Feragga's smile faded. «You are wiser in matters of war and Oltec, I think. So there I will trust you.» She filled both their cups with beer from a jug on the floor beside her. «Nungor says you can make one of the Oltec carrying machines live again. Is this so?»
«If he says that I am sure of it, he is hoping for too much,» began Blade cautiously. «If he says that I think I can learn the machine's ways, then teach them to others… «He shrugged. «I will not give you false hopes, Feragga.»
«Good. I would not thank you for that.» She gulped her beer noisily. «Nungor also says that the Seekers cannot use these machines.»
Blade nodded. «There he says what I think, too. I know the Seekers' wisdom and do not think they lack courage. But I do not know what they could do with these machines. If I knew more of the Seekers' work-«
Feragga raised a hand. «You shall, Blade. You shall, as soon as you have learned how to guide these machines. You shall teach the Seekers as well as the footmen how to guide them. In return the Seekers will tell you everything they know.»
«Thank you, Feragga. This will make my work easier. But-will Nungor-«
Feragga slammed her cup down on the table hard enough to knock spoons and knives off onto the floor. «I piss in Nungor's beer! He will like it, or I will find another War Captain. For too long the Seekers and the footmen have been fighting like tomcats. The Doimari will never rule the Land if we go on running off in different directions like a flock of sheep when a great-hawk swoops down!» She poured herself more beer. «But with your help, Blade, this can change.»
«I will be glad to help,» said Blade. He was still cautious. In spite of her coarse manners, Feragga was dangerously sensible. She might ask him to do something which would be fatal to Kaldak.
«Good.» She explained. Once he'd proved he could make the Oltec vehicles live again, Blade would be named Doimar's Captain of Oltec, ranking equal to both the First Seeker and Nungor the War Captain. He would be given a staff of intelligent men and women, chosen equally from the Seekers and from the foot soldiers. With this staff, he would find, study, and learn to use any Oltec found in the cities Doimar conquered. Then he would teach what he'd learned to both the Seekers and the foot soldiers.