Chapter 14

"Doctor Lahn? Doctor Lahn!

Sheela turned at the shout and saw one of her students trying to overtake her through the crowded corridors of Solstice University. She stopped and waited until he caught up. "Hello Jerrold. What can I do for you?"

"Great lecture today, Doctor!" gasped the boy. "I was… I was wondering if I could get you to autograph a copy of your book?" He held out a computer pad with the title page of her book The Rediscovery of Barrayar, on the screen. She smiled and took the pad and the proffered stylus and signed her name.

"Thank you, Doctor!"

"You're welcome. But if you really wanted to butter me up you should have asked me to sign your textbook."

The boy blushed. "Well, I wanted you to sign something I might actually read."

Sheela laughed. "All right! Extra points for honesty!" The boy thanked her again and hurried away. By this time most of the crowd had dispersed and Sheela walked back to her office. She was done for the day. She had a nice office. The fame from the successful trip to Barrayar had not only restored (or made) her reputation, but gotten her a teaching and research position at Solstice University—and a very nice office. Most of her work was in astrophysics, but she also taught one xenosociology class about Barrayar. It was an undergraduate course that her colleagues had dubbed: 'Sheela's Adventures on Barrayar' which it very nearly was, she supposed. No matter, it was fun.

She sat down at her comconsoles and took care of some routine administrative matters. One personal message caught her attention. Ah, her quarterly payment statement. In spite of Mr. Weitzl's gloomy forecasts, there was money being made off the new wormhole route to Barrayar. Not the huge sums that might have been made from a rediscovered route to Escobar (which a different exploration company had just opened up last month) but still a sizeable amount. Sheela's five percent share of that came to a respectable payment. Added to her normal salary she was doing very well. And the payments would only get bigger as time went by and more and more trade with Barrayar occurred.

One notation on the statement caught her eye: Payment #012. Twelve payments? It's been three years already? How did the time fly by so fast? It didn't seem possible. She sighed and called up some of the messages she'd gotten from Piotr and Arkadi. Message service to and from Barrayar was somewhat erratic with waits from weeks to months depending on shipping schedules, but the messages did get through eventually. She noted sadly that even though the service was getting quicker and more reliable, the number of messages between her and her friends had been steadily declining. The last one from Piotr contained a picture and she was amazed at how the boy had grown.

I really ought to plan a visit. Maybe after the end of this semester. I can afford it.

She closed down her comconsoles and left the building. As she often did she spent some time in the University's gardens. They were nice and they did have some mature trees soaring up toward the barely visible dome overhead. This place, along with a few of the other large parks in the city, were the only places she really felt comfortable anymore. It was absurd to think of a native Komarran being claustrophobic, but there it was. She wanted to see forests and mountains again! Komarr did have a few regions that almost qualified as mountains. But there were no forests—and wouldn't be for three hundred more years.

Yes. Yes, at the end of the semester I'll go!

Feeling a bit better at her resolution she made her way home on foot. The bubble car system made her uncomfortable, too. She ate a solitary dinner and then sat down at her home comconsoles and began to plan out her trip. There was no scheduled passenger service to Barrayara yet, but it was often possible to book passage on a cargo ship.

She had barely started when there was an incoming message. Her eyes widened when she saw it was from Mr. Weitzl. What the hell did he want? Only one way to find out. She hit the accept key and the little man appeared on her screen.

"Ah, Doctor Lahn, I was hoping to find you home," he said. "I hope you are well?"

"Yes, fine. And you?"

"Quite well, thank you. But I don't want to waste your time, so I will come right to the point: would you be interested in selling your share of the Barrayar wormhole fees? I can make you quite a handsome offer."

"Uh…"

"It's a very generous offer." He named a sum and Sheela's eyes got wide. Doing some quick math in her head she saw that it was two or three times the estimated return on her share for the rest of her life—even if she lived quite a long time.

"But… why?"

"Well, it's business, you know," replied Weitzl in an offhand fashion. "These things happen. An investor thinks he sees a way to increase the return, wants to get into the game and is willing to pay. But these things are always risky, as likely to turn a loss as a profit. But for you it is a huge opportunity, Doctor Lahn. A sum like this could be reinvested and set you up for life."

"Yes, I guess it could!"

"So are you interested?" The man looked very eager.

"I… I'll have to think this over."

Weitzl frowned. "I was hoping for an answer today."

"I'm not sure I can give you one today, Mr. Weitzl."

"The man I represent is very eager to proceed. And there are other people he can make this offer to."

"Be that as it may, I want to sleep on this. Can you call me back tomorrow?"

Weitzl did not look happy and he tried to change her mind for several minutes, but she stood her ground. "Very well, Doctor Lahn, I will call again tomorrow—assuming no deal is reached with anyone else." He clicked off and the screen went blank.

Well isn't that peculiar?

She called up a business news site and did several searches, but she couldn't find anything that would account for some sudden increase in the value of her share. And clearly Weitzl—or whoever he was representing—thought that share was going to become much more valuable.

Not that it really mattered, she supposed. Money had never meant all that much to her and she was already very comfortable. If she took his offer she would be more than comfortable. What would she do with all that money? Reinvest it? In what?

How about Barrayar?

Going back to the information net she called up as much information as she could about what was going on with Barrayar as far as trade and investment were concerned. She saw that quite a lot of weapons were being purchased by the Emperor. Some basic technologies, too, computers, industrial equipment. What about medical equipment? She still had nightmares about that poor baby girl. Was anything being done to improve Barrayar's medical technology? Not much that she could see. An idea started taking shape in the back of her head.

What if she took Weitzl's offer and then used the money to set up a hospital on Barrayar? A real hospital? Perhaps with a small medical school as part of it? Yes! She started getting excited.

But what is Weitzl really up to?

The thought intruded on her planning. She dithered for a bit, got herself a cup of tea, and then sat back down and did a person-search on the information net. She quickly found that Tam Hodgkins was off-planet, as was Danno. Not surprising about Danno: jump pilots have to jump. But wait, Ian Cummings was on Komarr. She placed a call and he answered.

"Sheela!" he exclaimed. "I was just thinking about you!"

"Really? Why? Did the Weasel call you, too?"

Ian looked surprised and nodded. "Just got off the com with him. Was he trying to buy your share, too?"

"Yes. I stalled him. What about you?"

"Well, it is a hell of an offer. I could buy my own ship for that much! But no, I figured he must be up to something, so I put him off, too. Is that why you called?"

"Yeah. Something seems odd about this. I was wondering if you had any idea what was going on."

"Not a clue," said the engineer, shaking his head. "But it's got to have some sort of business angle. I've got a cousin in the Senate's Commerce Department. Maybe I'll give him a call and see what he knows."

"All right. If you find anything out let me know, okay?"

"Will do. And it's good to see you again, my lady." He grinned.

"Good to see you, too, Ian. Talk to you later."

Nothing happened for the next several days except for frequent calls from Weitzl. He really wanted her share. And the more he wanted it, the more she was determined to find out why. At the same time she continued to make plans for what to do with all that money if she did finally accept his offer. She contacted the University medical school and various hospitals and clinics to see if there was any interest in a hospital on Barrayar. Results were lukewarm, but that was to be expected with a new idea like this. And her research was teaching her a lot about portable medical gear.

Five days after she'd talked with Ian, she got a call back. The man seemed furious. "Well!" he began without preamble, "I think I know what the little rat is up to!"

"Really? What?"

"You know how he was constantly bitching and whining about what small potatoes the Barrayaran run was going to be?"

"Yeah…"

"He was looking for some huge payoff all at once instead of a steady return like what we've got. Well, it looks like he—or someone, I'm not sure who's really behind this—has figured out a way to do that!"

"What?" snorted Sheela, "Did he find some sucker willing to buy the whole planet?"

She'd meant it as a joke, but Ian wasn't smiling. "In a way, that's exactly what he did, yeah."

"What? Who? How?"

"The Cetagandans."

Oh… My… God… A shudder went through her. The Cetagandan Empire was the largest and most powerful political entity in the wormhole nexus. They had a bizarrely structured social and political system with a genetically engineered ruling glass called the haut and a military sub-caste known as the ghem. How it all worked was a mystery to the rest of the galaxy, but one thing was abundantly clear: from time to time the Cetagandans went into conquest mode and unleashed the ghem against some target. Komarr was uncomfortably close to the Empire and had been forced to play a delicate game with them for centuries to maintain their independence.

"But… but the Cetagandans can only get to Barrayar by way of Komarr!" she protested. "How could the Senate allow that?"

"Well, that's the real trick, isn't it?" said Ian. "I got this from my cousin. There's a sub-committee in the Senate debating the issue right now. It's all top secret, of course. The rumor is that the deal—if one can be made—would involve passage of a Cetagandan invasion force in return for massive trade concessions throughout the whole Cetagandan empire. The total value of a deal like this could be in the trillions. And that stinking Weasel thinks he can swindle us out of our share!"

Sheela looked at Ian in shock. He wasn't pissed off about selling out the Barrayarans, he was pissed off about losing a chunk of the profits! And she thought she knew the man…

"So, my advice to you, girl, is to hang onto those shares! My cousin thinks that the negotiations over this might take years. Even if you do decide to sell, wait for a bit and soak the bastard good! Me, I'm holding on to mine!"

She was scarcely listening anymore. An invasion. An invasion of Barrayar. A fleet of modern warships in orbit, raining down fire on defenseless targets, hundreds of thousands of assault troops dropping out of the sky to vaporize the imperial armies, still mostly armed with gunpowder rifles and cannons. She remembered the vids of all those weapons she'd shown the Barrayarans, but the weapons would be in the hands of the invaders. And the Vor, the Vor wouldn't surrender. They'd fight. Just like Vorstakof. A hundred suicide charges. They'd throw themselves with swords against men in power armor. They'd fight and they'd die. The Emperor, Count Vorkosigan, Piotr. They'd all die.

And Arkadi would die at Piotr's side…

"Sheela? Sheela?" With a start she realized that Ian was still on the com. "You okay?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, yeah. Thanks for the information Ian."

"I'm gonna call up all the other people who were on the old Fool and warn them, too, See you later." He cut the connection.

Sheela sat and looked at the blank screen for a long time.

What could she do? What should she do? Warn them, of course. Warn the Barrayarans. Warn Arkadi and Piotr. But how? She could send them a message, but if this really was in the works, messages to and from Barrayar were probably already being monitored. And even if she could get something through would it do any good? Would it even be believed? Barrayar did have an embassy on Komarr now but she was sure that it was totally bugged and their communications intercepted. After all, these stupid barbarians wouldn't know about such things, would they?

She stood up and stalked around her apartment, working herself into a rage. How could they? How could her countrymen do such a thing? The Barrayarans needed help! Not an invasion! But it was just business, wasn't it? Business! She remembered her first day on Barrayar and Arkadi's disdain at Komarrans' seeming lack of honor.

He was right. We don't have any honor.

She had to do something. But what? She sat down and tried to think.

She was still thinking the next day. And the next and the next.

Slowly ideas began to arise. She did research and the ideas gradually became plans. She forced herself not to rush into anything. Ian had said the negotiations could take years. And her research taught her that the Cetagandans planned for the long haul. The invasion—if it happened—might not come for twenty years. She had time. She hoped.

The semester ended and she applied for a sabbatical. It was approved, although with some reluctance on the part of the University. She'd only been there for three years, after all.

Weitzl continued to badger her and after dropping some hints that she knew he was up to something, she managed to get him to nearly double his offer and she took it. She'd need the cash and she wanted nothing more to do with the man or his blood scheme.

She told no one what she was up to. Technically she supposed what she was doing was treason. Or perhaps unethical business practices which was nearly as bad on Komarr. Finally she was ready. She made a call to an old friend.

"Hello, Danno." The jump pilot looked surprised but delighted on the comconsoles screen.

"Sheela! How are you girl? Long time, no see!"

"Well, who's fault is that?" she said. "You're always outsystem!"

"True, but I'm back for a few months. How have you been?"

"Fine," she lied. "How about you?"

"Good, good. Been doing a lot of interesting jumps, getting to new places. But I'm guessing that you called for something more than to chit-chat. What's up?"

"I know you've got a lot of contacts in the shipping industry, Danno. I need to ship me and some cargo somewhere and I'd rather do it, well, quietly."

Danno's eyes got large. "Where?"

Sheela smiled.

[Scene Break]

"Come on Arkadi! Let's get going!" Piotr called to his armsman from atop his horse. The man emerged from the stables leading his own horse.

"What's the rush? You've still got a month until you report to your regiment. Plenty of time for riding and hiking and camping—not that you won't get your fill of that with your regiment!"

Piotr grinned. He'd be fourteen at the end of the summer and then he'd be reporting to the Emperor's Own Lancers as a new ensign! He could hardly wait! The letter he'd gotten from their new colonel indicated that he was already considered a veteran due to his presence with them during Vorstakof's treason. How grand!

But today's ride had nothing to do with that. Today was going to be special. "I have a surprise for you, Arkadi," he said. "And we mustn't be late!"

"A surprise? What sort of surprise?" asked Arkadi as he swung up into the saddle.

"You'll see."

"Great. What are you up to now?"

"You'll see!"

They rode out from Vorkosigan Surleau and headed down the shores of the Long Lake. It was a beautiful summer day and Piotr's spirits only grew more buoyant as he imagined the scene ahead. Oh! This was going to be wonderful! He spurred his horse into a trot and Arkadi complained as they bounced along.

"Spare my old bones!"

"You are not old! Stop using that as an excuse!"

"I'm older than you and always will be. Show some respect for my gray hairs."

"I've always respected each and every one of them."

"As well you should, considering you gave me most of them."

Piotr just laughed and broke into a gallop for a bit on a long level stretch of shoreline. He reined in as he reached their destination, a wide open area in the woods that lined the lake. They often used it as a picnic spot. He pulled out his computer pad and checked the time. Perfect! He dismounted and led his horse to the tree line and tied it there. Arkadi did the same, a puzzled expression on his face.

"What's this all about? We didn't bring a lunch."

"You'll see."

"You keep saying that! I'll see what?"

"That!" said Piotr pointing skyward. Arkadi looked up and gasped. A silvery speck had appeared in the sky and it was growing larger rapidly. Unlike the first shuttle to ever land at Vorkosigan Surleau, this one was nearly silent. There was a bit of a hum, but that was all. It dropped straight down at what seemed a frightening rate, but then abruptly slowed and handed gently as a feather fifty yards in front of them. He glanced at Arkadi and his mouth was hanging open. But his hand was on his revolver.

"It's all right, Arkadi," said Piotr. "There's no danger." He started forward and his armsman followed, still gaping.

The door on the side of the machine was swinging open. A figure stepped out.

"Sheela!" hissed Arkadi.

"Sure is!" chortled Piotr. "Surprised?"

Lady Sheela had a large smile on her face but suddenly she was running forward and so was Arkadi and they collided with a thud he could hear. Their arms were around each other and they were locked in a kiss. Piotr walked up next to them with a huge grin.

After quite a while they pulled apart, both their faces were flushed.

"Welcome to Barrayar, Lady Vorlahn," he said, making a bow. "You do remember me, don't you?"

"Piotr!" she cried in delight. "My God, look how you've grown!" Arkadi released her and she gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"But… but… what are you doing here?" stammered Arkadi, looking totally gobsmacked.

Lady Sheela's expression became more serious. "It's a long story. But first, could you help me unload my stuff? The shuttle is here illegally, as you must know, and doesn't dare to stay grounded long."

"Yes, all incoming shuttles have to land at Vorbarr Sultana, how did you…?"

"Explanations later. Help me with this stuff," commanded Sheela.

"Yes, milady."

A larger hatch was swinging open on the side of the shuttle and there was a compartment filled with boxes. All three of them started hauling them out. Sheela had several amazing little things that floated in the air and were like wagons without wheels. The larger crates were already stacked on them and they just towed them out like a boat on water! Finally they had them all out and only moments later the shuttle took off and was quickly gone.

"So what is all this stuff?" asked Arkadi. "Your luggage? Are you going to stay?"

"I think I will be staying, yes," she said with a smile. The smile on Arkadi's face was unbelievable. Piotr's own face was starting to ache with all the smiling he'd been doing. "But that's my luggage," she said, pointing to one modest sized trunk. "The rest is equipment."

"Equipment? What sort of equipment?" asked Arkadi.

"Medical mostly. I've got a couple of portable autodocs, gene scanners, automated pharmaceutical factories, uterine replicators, lots of computers, all kinds of stuff, really."

"You, you're planning to start a hospital or something?" asked Piotr. When he'd gotten the message from Lady Sheela she'd only said she was coming to visit and she wanted to surprise Arkadi. She'd said nothing about this!

"Well, yes, but not with this stuff," she replied. "But this is going to be a long story. Why don't we sit down in the shade over there and I'll try to explain." Her face had become much more serious, almost grim. What was the matter? They moved over near the horses and sat down. Lady Sheela was wearing Barrayaran-style clothing, he noticed.

She sat on the ground and hugged her knees up to her. Arkadi was right next to her. "Sheela, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I made a horrible mistake," she said. "I didn't intend to, but it's still my fault and I hope you can forgive me."

"What? What did you do?"

"I found the way back to Barrayar. I rediscovered your planet."

"But… but what's wrong with that?" asked Piotr. "I mean I guess it caused Vorstakof to do what he did, but that's hardly your fault!"

"No, but this is worse. I'm bringing some really bad news Piotr. Worse than you can imagine."

"What? What could be that bad?"

She bowed her head and then raised it again. "Barrayar is going to be invaded."

"By Komarr?" snorted Arkadi. "Let them come!"

"Even a Komarran invasion would be bad enough," she said sternly. "They… we aren't all cowards and shopkeepers you know!" She stared at Arkadi and he dropped his eyes.

"No, of course not. Forgive me."

"But if not Komarr, then who?" demanded Piotr.

"The Cetagandans. You might have come across them on the computer I left you, Piotr."

"I think I might have read something… but what…?"

"They're big. A big empire, Piotr. Eight fully populated worlds and half dozen other lesser colonies. Billions of people. They have a big fleet and a big army and they are negotiating with Komarr for the rights to invade Barrayar. I couldn't believe it when I found out. So I'm here to warn you."

"We will fight them!" cried Piotr, both scared and defiant.

"When are they coming?" asked Arkadi who was scanning the skies anxiously.

"Oh, not any time soon, I don't think," replied Sheela. "A few years at least. These things take time. And there's a faint possibility they might not come at all. But you have to prepare."

"We'll fight them!" declared Piotr again.

"I know. I know you will. But you can't win, Piotr. Not in a stand-up fight. There are too many of them. They are too strong. Remember Vorstakof's last charge? It would be like that all over Barrayar."

A chill went through him. Could that really happen? It didn't seem possible!

"We need to get word of this to the Count, and the Emperor," said Arkadi urgently. "I'm sure they'll want you to come to Vorbarr Sultana right away and…"

"No." The look on Sheela's face was hard as stone.

"What?"

She held up a computer pad. "Everything I know about this, plus a long list of suggestions for action are on this. Get this to your father, Piotr." She handed it to him. "But I can't go or meet with him."

"Why not?"

"I'm not here, Piotr. I was never here. The plans for this invasion are still secret, even on Komarr. But there are people on Komarr who know that I know this. And there are Galactics all over Vorbarr Sultana now. If word should get back that I'm here, I'm afraid that people will put two and two together and suspect that I've come to warn you. I don't know what might happen then. They might speed up their plans and invade sooner—before you could prepare at all—or they might even come and try to take me back. I have to remain here in secret."

Piotr was stunned. He'd never expected anything like this! He wished his father was here.

"So what will you do?" asked Arkadi. "What should we do?"

Sheela shook her head. "I'm no general. Honestly I don't see how you can possibly make yourselves strong enough to defeat an invasion in the time you'll have. But there may be some things you can do. Import more weapons. Maybe buy a few ships of your own. Prepare places of refuge with scanner scramblers so they can't find you so easily. Stockpile supplies. Make evacuation plans. It's all on the computer I gave you. Most importantly, make some allies. The Cetagandans are powerful and that scares a lot of people. There's a loose alliance of worlds that tries to keep them in check. Beta Colony is the chief among them. Maybe they can help. I don't know."

"But what about you?" asked Arkadi. "You say you are staying? But if you want to stay secret, where will you go?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "I want to help the people here. That's why I brought all the medical gear. But this is just a part of what I've planned. I made quite a lot of money from discovering the way here. Not enough to buy you a fleet of battleships, unfortunately, or even one, but still quite a lot. All the gear you see here didn't even make a dent in what I've got. I've set up a corporation back on Komarr. It will be coming here soon to build a real hospital and a medical school in Vorbarr Sultana—assuming the Emperor will give his permission, of course."

"I can't imagine him refusing…"

"I'm hoping that the medical school can expand to a university in time. But I'm also thinking that this corporation can become a pipeline, of sorts, for you to bring in the other things you'll need to prepare for the invasion. Maybe a pipeline to get information out, too. As a Komarran company, the Cetagandans might let it stay in operation even after they get here."

"Clever," said Arkadi.

"I hope so. But as for me, well, I was thinking that I could go up into the hills, where the really poor people live and set up a clinic or two. It will only be a very small drop in a very big bucket, but I could try."

Piotr stared in shock and consternation. "But… but you can't go out there alone!"

"Well, I was hoping that someone might come with me." She looked at Arkadi and then back at him. Piotr felt like someone had punched him in the belly. Tears started in his eyes. Did she really mean…?

"A-arkadi?" he stuttered. "Do you… do you want this?"

The look on his face told him that he wanted it very much. But also that he was as torn as Piotr felt. "I am sworn to you, my lord. I won't break that oath."

"But do you want it?"

Arkadi bowed his head. "Yes my lord. And we both owe it to her."

Piotr sprang up and turned away. No! This wasn't what he wanted! Arkadi had been his protector for as long as he could remember. You'll be an ensign in a month. One of the Emperor's officers! You'll be expected to take care of yourself. He turned back. "Would… would I still see you? From time to time?"

"I would imagine," said Arkadi. He looked to Sheela.

"I'll need to store all this gear here for a while at least," she said. "And we'll have our computers to send messages. I'm sorry, Piotr, I didn't come here to take away your friend."

But you are taking him away! A huge surge of anger and resentment filled him. How could she do this?

This isn't about you. It's about them.

His anger faded. Arkadi had served him for years and never asked for anything beyond the honor. Now, at last, he was asking for something for himself. How can you refuse him? Honor had to work both ways…

"V-very well," he said, trying to keep control of himself. "Arkadi Kurzov, I release you from my service." In spite of himself, tears rolled down his cheeks.

Arkadi looked like he's been slapped. He went to his knees and bowed his head. "Thank you, my lord. But the Vorkosigans may always call on me and I will come if I can." He rose up and took Sheela's hand.

"Thank you, Piotr," said Sheela. Her eyes were glistening, too. "But we need to keep this a secret. Even from your father—although I'm sure he'll suspect. Just give him the computer and tell him that I came here, explained the situation, gave you the computer and then left again."

"Yes my lady. I give you my name's word that I'll never tell a soul."

[Scene Break]

Arkadi turned in his saddle and looked back at Vorkosigan Surleau. It looked different somehow. It's not different, you are.

"What was that about Piotr's 'names word' that he said back there?" asked Sheela. She was riding next to him and seemed at ease in the saddle.

"What? Oh, it's an oath. He'll die before he breaks his word. It's a Vor thing."

"Oh, a Vor thing!" she laughed. "All those Vor things to learn about. Except I can't be a Vor anymore."

"Well, you can't be Lady Vorlahn anymore, that's for sure. That would be too obvious."

"So how about just plain Sheela Kurzov? How do you folks get married around here anyway?"

"It… it's pretty simple," replied Arkadi, feeling rather stunned. "We just need to go to a village speaker and he can do it. Do… do you want to?"

"I thought I was pretty clear, wasn't I?" she asked smiling. "But yes, yes, I want to."

"All right. We can take care of it when we get there."

"There? And just where are we going?"

"Well, I was thinking that it would be a whole lot easier starting out somewhere where we aren't complete strangers. There's a fellow I met while I was in the army. Name's Payne. He was older than me and is retired now. He's got a farm up in the hills. Little village named Red Rocks. Seems like it could be a good place to start out."

Sheela halted her horse and turned it so she could look out on the Long Lake and the setting sun. He stopped beside her. "Yes, a fresh start," she whispered. "What a beautiful place!"

He leaned over and kissed her.

"Welcome to Barrayar."

The End