But one more member had to be added to the “liberty party.”

  “There are things only a medical doctor will see, will understand,” Dr. Nasr said gravely. “It is vital that a doctor accompany the landing group. Especially considering that we have no way of knowing what sort of environmental factors we might encounter.”

  Geary wanted to reject this offer as well. But he couldn’t. “That is true, Doctor. Hopefully you won’t encounter any environmental danger that our medicine can’t handle. I’ll look forward to whatever you can learn about the Taon. However, I hope you’ll be careful. I value your support and insight. Make sure you get back to the ship alive and well.”

  Nasr smiled. “I will do my best, Admiral. It is the duty of doctors to go where they are needed.”

  And so the size of the group to be sent down to the surface grew to forty-four; forty Marines of which only thirty would leave the two shuttles, two pilots who would also remain in the shuttles, Colonel Rogero, and Dr. Nasr. “I want you all back safely,” Geary told the part of the group leaving from Dauntless. “Have fun if you can. The Taon say it’s a fun place, but we don’t know what Taon consider fun. Stay out of trouble. Do not knowingly provoke any problems with the Taon. You’re planned to stay down there for ten days. If there are difficulties, we’ll get you out of there. Gunny Orvis, get going.”

  “Yes, Admiral,” Gunnery Sergeant Orvis said with a salute sharp enough to cut a steak. Most of the Marines wore dress uniforms and carried small bags with changes of clothing and personal necessities. They also all had cameras with sound pickups embedded in the collars of their uniforms so if necessary they could relay events on the surface back to the ship. But five of the Marines bulked larger in their battle armor. They wouldn’t have to wear it the entire time they were in the shuttle, but Orvis had wanted them ready when the group landed.

  Colonel Rogero also wore a dress uniform. He was speaking softly to Kommodor Bradamont, who was nodding, her stoic expression that of countless others through human history who had sent someone off to possible danger.

  Dr. Nasr had already had a brief talk with the medical personnel staying behind on Dauntless, and seemed eager to leave.

  As they watched the shuttle ramp seal and the shuttle rise to depart, General Charban spoke to Geary. “Someday their names may be in all of the histories.”

  “If they are, hopefully they’ll be listed among great explorers, and not among famous last stands,” Geary said.

  * * *

  ON their way down to the surface, the two shuttles were met by an escort of six Taon aerospace aircraft. Physics in atmosphere being the same on this planet as on other planets, the Taon aerospace craft outwardly bore a lot of resemblance to human craft of the same type. But their propulsion method appeared to be both very efficient and very powerful as the six smaller Taon craft wove their way about the shuttles and guided them down.

  The destination proved not to be one of the small cities, or even a town, but an isolated cluster of buildings about a hundred kilometers from the nearest population center.

  “I guess that’s just prudent on the part of the Taon,” Charban remarked. “They don’t really know anything about us, either.”

  “Like Badaya said, it looks like a prison,” Desjani grumbled suspiciously.

  * * *

  THERE were nearly continuous brief updates from the liberty party over the next two days as they settled in to their accommodations and dealt with the group of Taon who were introduced as people who worked there. Late on the second day after arriving on the planet, the leaders of the liberty party called Geary from one of the shuttles for a more detailed briefing. Dr. Nasr, Colonel Rogero, Sergeant Barnwell, and Gunny Orvis were crammed into the front of one of the shuttles, the shapes of the five hidden Marines, their empty combat armor, and the shuttle pilot visible behind them.

  “We’re assuming the Taon are intercepting our collar cam signals,” Orvis explained. “We wanted to use the more secure communications on the shuttle to give you a more detailed and candid report than we’re comfortable saying on the cams.”

  “My impression from your earlier, brief updates is that things are okay but not great,” Geary said.

  “Nothing too bad has happened yet,” Sergeant Barnwell said. “We are isolated here, that’s for sure.”

  “If this was a human facility, we’d consider it a resort,” Colonel Rogero said. “We’re on the shore of a lake, surrounded by forest. We saw coming in to land that there aren’t any nearby towns, and the buildings here pretty much match a resort layout.”

  “Maybe a kids’ resort,” Barnwell said. “Or a boot camp. There are a few individual rooms, and a lot of big rooms with lots of beds in them. Also large dining rooms. That sort of thing.”

  “It’s definitely not a boot camp,” Orvis said. “Too nice for that. The rooms have been pretty much stripped, though. No art, only absolutely vital furnishings, that kind of thing.”

  “There are multiple places in each room where electronics such as displays may have been mounted,” Rogero said. “But there’s nothing left except bare walls.”

  “What about toilet facilities?” Geary asked. “Are those still there? Surely those will tell us something about Taon anatomy.”

  Dr. Nasr shook his head. “Toilet facilities are all basically waste deposit and waste removal devices. They don’t vary much in design across human cultures except in the degree of elaboration and comfort. The Taon facilities are larger and sturdier, but aren’t dramatically different from human facilities. I didn’t expect them to be.”

  “Everything left is hands-free,” Orvis added. “No touch required to flush or get water or whatever.”

  This time Nasr nodded. “Yes. Handles might have offered some more clues to Taon anatomy. Hand strength. Things like that. Maybe the handles were removed, or maybe the Taon always use hands-free controls for such things.”

  “How about interacting with the Taon down there?” Geary asked. “Are they talking with you? Sharing anything?”

  “Oh, they’re talking,” Sergeant Barnwell said, rolling her eyes. “Asking us stuff, asking us for stuff . . .”

  “What are they asking for?”

  “The Taon requested DNA samples from all of us,” Dr. Nasr said. “Allegedly to ensure no food or drink they offer would be hazardous to us, and that none of their materials would trigger reactions in us. We have politely declined every request, instead offering the Taon samples of our rations so they know what is safe for us.”

  “But they keep asking,” Orvis grumbled.

  “The Taon seem to be very interested in the differences between our males and females,” Rogero said.

  Dr. Nasr winced. “They asked many of the Marines to strip so they could see their outer anatomy.”

  Gunny Orvis grinned. “Lucky for us, the Taon didn’t know that you usually need to feed a Marine several beers before asking them to strip for you.”

  “And even then they’d probably wallop you one,” Barnwell added wryly.

  “Are the Taon there all male?” Geary said.

  “They’re all the same something, I think,” Orvis said. “Admiral, they might all be female. Or something else. None of them have removed any clothes, even their tops. But they all look the same in terms of the, uh, physical characteristics we can see.”

  “That’s not a sure guide,” Dr. Nasr cautioned. “The vast majority of species we’ve encountered on different planets do show at least minor external physical differences between sexes. Those that have sexes, that is. But some do not. And some species shift between sexes at different phases of their lives. All we can say here is that externally all of the Taon we’ve seen appear to be the same.”

  “There are individual differences,” Rogero said. “The exact shapes of those bony ridges on their faces vary in minor ways.”

  “Like human noses,” Orvis agreed. “We can tell some of them apart. That’s helped us get a count. We think there’s about forty Taon here. That many have shown themselves, that is. There could be a few thousand staying quiet in the woods beyond the buildings. They’re bigger than we thought, Admiral. You’ve seen that. The short ones are a bit more than two meters. And they’re wide to match.”

  “From the way they walk,” Dr. Nasr said, “their pelvises must be sturdy, but less flexible as a result.”

  “Heavy-duty frames,” Barnwell agreed. “I wouldn’t want to wrestle any of these Taon.”

  “They have not acted hostile,” Dr. Nasr interjected. “They are . . . pushy, by human standards. But that is all we have seen.”

  “None of them have tried to kill us yet,” Colonel Rogero agreed.

  Gunny Orvis nodded. “Which is kind of a big thing compared to the enigmas and the Kicks. They’re not answering any of our questions, though.”

  “No, they’re not,” Nasr admitted. “Every question I ask of them is met with it being turned back on me. How many star systems do Taon live in? How many do humans live in? Can I speak with one of your doctors, the ones who heal the sick or injured? Our doctors are busy healing the sick and injured, and will speak with you when they have time. May I examine a Taon? May we examine a human? I’ve been able to learn nothing.”

  “We’ve discussed making a bargain,” Rogero suggested. “We’ll show you one of ours if you show us one of yours. But none of us wanted to do that without clearing it with you.”

  Geary didn’t entirely like that idea, but they were here to learn. “We can’t expect them to share information with us if we won’t with them. Doctor, see if they’ll agree to let you conduct an external exam of one of the Taon in exchange for us agreeing to let them conduct an external exam of one of our people. If that goes well we can see about swapping information about internal physiology.”

  “I will try,” Dr. Nasr said, looking pleased.

  “I did discover one thing,” Colonel Rogero said. “I asked a Taon how they’d known enough of our language to put together their translation devices before we ever met them. The Taon told me, ‘Trade eight-legs.’ ” Rogero paused. “That disclosure may have displeased that Taon’s superiors. I haven’t seen that particular Taon around since that time. What he told me sounds like the Dancers traded some knowledge of our language to the Taon. I realized that such information about other species may be a very valuable trade item in the Great Galactic Bazaar if such a thing exists. Which made me wonder whether the reason the Dancers have shared so little about themselves with us is because they’re waiting for us to make an offer. What are we going to give them in exchange for the information about themselves, or other intelligent species, that they give us?”

  Geary sat back, feeling stunned. “That’s . . . certainly possible. I can’t recall anything the Dancers have sent along those lines. Maybe the trade negotiations are supposed to be carried out in a very subtle way that we’ve missed. No, wait, when the Dancers wanted duct tape, they asked for it. We had to figure out what they wanted, but they straight-out asked for it.”

  “Nonetheless, I think you, and Midway, need to consider the possibility,” Rogero said.

  “I think you’re right. I’ll talk to General Charban about it. What’s your gut feeling about the situation down there?”

  Rogero paused again for a few seconds before replying. “The Taon act friendly enough. But we’re isolated. And when I see the Taon with us here something in me thinks I’m looking at ground combat soldiers. That’s just an impression, but it keeps coming back to me. The ways they move as individuals and in groups, the ways they seem to be conversing among themselves, the ways they watch us. Groups of six, by the way. They really seem to prefer that number.”

  Orvis nodded. “You know, there might be thirty-six Taon watching us. Forty is just a guess. But I agree it feels a bit like having friendly prison guards watching you. Like one of those minimum-security places that rich people get sent to instead of the tough jails.”

  “I would not go so far,” Dr. Nasr objected. “I do agree they watch us, but isn’t that what humans would do if aliens were visiting one of our planets? It is perilous to judge the motives of a different species by whether or not their actions seem to resemble certain human behaviors.”

  “That’s a reasonable argument,” Geary said. “Is there any clue why they like six so much?”

  “Nothing about them shows six of anything,” Sergeant Barnwell said. “Nothing we can see, anyway.”

  “Humans,” Dr. Nasr offered, “have always seen three as a special number, one with special powers and importance.”

  “Any idea why, Doc?” Barnwell asked.

  “No.”

  Colonel Rogero smiled. “If we don’t know why we have a special affinity for three it doesn’t help us understand why the Taon like six.”

  “I haven’t seen much in the way of diversions on the collar cams,” Geary said. “What are they offering in the way of entertainment for you?”

  “That’s a funny thing,” Gunnery Sergeant Orvis said. “There aren’t any swimming pools. At least, none outdoors, and none in any of the buildings we’ve been in. There are docks extending into the lake, with some really heavy-duty railings along the sides, but no sign the shore has ever been used by swimmers.”

  “I am thinking the Taon may have denser bodies than humans,” Dr. Nasr said. “We see a lot of bony ridges on the exterior, and their build is very stout by human standards. They may have more bone and larger bones than comparable humans would. If so, staying afloat in water would be more difficult for them.”

  “They probably wouldn’t think fighting to avoid drowning was much fun,” Orvis agreed. “I did try asking about swimming in the lake and the Taon didn’t understand. Since we don’t know what might be lurking under those waters, I haven’t let any of our Marines go in. They’re not happy about it, because other than the swimming pools we don’t have, all we’ve got are running tracks, and open fields to run in, and long hallways to run down.”

  Colonel Rogero shook his head, looking puzzled. “I expected the Taon to have more materials available here. Lots of different items that would allow them to see how we interacted with those items. Even the sort of things you see in tests for children to determine abilities. But there’s basically nothing. I don’t know what they hope to learn about us from this.”

  “It may,” Dr. Nasr said cautiously, “reflect an emphasis on how individuals interact with each other, rather than how they interact with objects. Perhaps the Taon are primarily interested in how humans act together. By giving us little to do individually, the lack of diversions requires us to deal with each other almost constantly.”

  “That’s possible,” Geary said. “I should let you know that things are more tense up here. The Taon fleet sped up their moving around and getting closer until they’re less than one light minute from us now. Projecting their movement shows them heading to assume high orbit above our fleet within the next day or so.”

  “Is that as bad as it sounds to a ground fighter?” Rogero asked, concerned.

  “It’s not good. It will put us in a very vulnerable position. I’m trying to decide whether to move the fleet, but doing that would leave you all cut off from quick recovery if anything requires you to leave fast.”

  “Is that why the Taon wanted some of us on the ground?” Sergeant Barnwell asked, her eyes narrowed in thought. “So you couldn’t move out of where you are?”

  “That’s likely,” Geary said. “If the Taon intent is to force us away from where we can support you, they’re going to be disappointed.”

  “It sounds like we need to be ready to get out of here fast, though,” Gunny Orvis said.

  “Yes,” Geary said.

  The call over, he looked at Desjani, who was standing nearby in his stateroom and had listened and watched. “What’s your assessment on this?”

  “Admiral, we need to get them back up here now and get away from this planet before they pin us in lower orbit,” she said without hesitating.

  “Noted,” Geary said, rubbing his eyes. “Captain Desjani, are you saying that you couldn’t come up with a way for the fleet to outmaneuver and outthink the Taon so we can safely leave this orbit even after they reach high orbit above us?”

  Desjani glared at him. “No, sir, I am not saying that. Whatever mess you get us into, I can get us out of.”

  “I have every confidence in you,” Geary said.

  * * *

  HE had only a day and a half longer to wonder if he ought to recover the liberty party and move the fleet before his hand was forced.

  Geary had barely reached the bridge of Dauntless in response to urgent alarms when reports started coming in.

  “Sir, a lot of new ships have arrived at the other jump point.” Lieutenant Yuon squinted at his display as new information cascaded onto it. “Sixty-six of them.”

  “Are they more Taon?” Desjani asked, gazing at her own display, her face hard. “They’re not enigmas or Dancers.”

  “Our systems are giving them a tentative identification as Taon,” Yuon said. “There are some small differences in the exteriors even though the basic designs are similar to the Taon ships we’ve seen so far.”

  Desjani shook her head. “How would you compare a Syndic battle cruiser to an Alliance battle cruiser, Lieutenant?”

  Yuon’s expression grew worried. “Differences in the exteriors even though the basic designs are similar, Captain.”

  “Yeah.” Desjani looked over at Geary. “This stinks.”

  “The shields on the new arrivals appear to be set much stronger than that we’ve seen on Taon ships prior to this,” Lieutenant Castries said. “And . . . Captain, the Taon ships near us are increasing their shield settings. We’re also picking up indications that sensors indicate may be weapons charging.”