Power Play - Anne McCaffrey [65]
“Ah, now, that would be very kind of you, Dama,” said Muktuk.
“Very kind indeed,” Mrs. Muktuk said. “I’m sure all my people will appreciate it, and we’d all like to come to your school along with the children, please and thanks very much.”
Aboard the pirate ship
When Dinah O’Neill returned to the captain’s quarters, she found a message from Macci Klausewitch waiting on her comm unit.
“Dama O’Neill,” Klausewitch’s voice said, “this came in last night in response to your follow-up ransom message to the Petaybean administration. At first my stupid assistant didn’t think it was important and almost discarded it. It’s from Shongili’s office, but it seems to be in some sort of code, hence the mistake. I do hope it will be good news—for both your captain’s organization and my own.”
There was no voice message involved, just print on the screen.
DEAR DAMA O’NEILL OF THE PIRATE SHIP,
WE LEARNED OF YOU WHEN YOUR BOSS’S NOTE CAME TO DR. SEAN SHONGILI’S OFFICE. YOUR NAME CAUGHT OUR EARS RIGHT AWAY AND WE WERE WONDERING IF MAYBE YOU MIGHT BE RELATED TO THE COUNTY GALWAY O’NEILLS TAKEN FROM IRELAND AT THE HEIGHT OF THE REUNIFICATION? WE HAD A GRANDFATHER FROM THAT AREA AND TIME PERIOD WHO, DESPITE RAISING A LARGE FAMILY HERE ON PETAYBEE, NEVER FORGOT HIS BROTHER, RORY, WHO WAS KNOWN LOCALLY AS HANDY RED O’NEILL, HE THAT WAS INVOLVED IN THE BATTLE ABOARD THE ROSSLARE FERRY AND WAS THEN LOST FROM THE REST OF THE FAMILY WHEN THE COUNTRY WAS SO-CALLED EVACUATED BY THE POWERS THAT BE.
WE KNOW SOME GOOD SONGS ABOUT THE FAMILY YOU MIGHT LIKE TO HEAR AND WE WERE WONDERING IF YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME FROM YOUR FAMILY AS WELL, WHETHER OR NOT YOU’RE OF THE SAME FAMILY AS US.
WE WERE GLAD TO LEARN ABOUT YOU BUT SORRY TO HEAR YOU ARE HAVING TO WORK FOR PIRATES. IF IT’S FOOD OR A PLACE TO LIVE THAT YOU’RE NEEDING, WE’D BE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU COME TO LIVE WITH US HERE ON PETAYBEE IF YOU CAN QUIT YOUR JOB. WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, IF YOU HAVE ONE.
REGARDS,
CHUMIA AND MURPHY
OF THE TANANA BAY O’NEILLS
ON PETAYBEE
P.S. COULD YOU PLEASE PUT IN A WORD WITH YOUR BOSS AND ASK THAT SEAN’S WIFE AND RELATIONS AND THE NICE COMPANY LADY ARE KINDLY TREATED AS WE’RE ALL VERY WORRIED ABOUT THEM?
Then the screen scrolled on to a second note.
THERE IS NOTHING A PERSON CAN DO IN REGARD TO RANSOM HERE. SS
Dinah O’Neill ran the message through several times. This was not going the way it should have. Not in any way, shape, or form. She hated to take Namid’s accusation to heart: that she was losing her touch; she preferred the Yana-woman’s suggestion that she had been badly informed.
She pondered the brief sentence from Shongili—for who else would be “SS”? “Nothing a person could do,” huh? Well, that was certainly in line with Yana’s allegation. Wouldn’t the anxious husband of a newly wedded pair try to bargain? Not, Dinah came to the reluctant conclusion, if he had no control over this planet entity, this sentient world. Then she turned to the bulk of the message—so innocent and naive. If she could get out of her job as a pirate? What ingenuousness. Part of Shongili’s ploy? No, the words had the ring of truth.
Further to that, which the Tanana Bay O’Neills couldn’t have known at all, was that she was a descendant of that Rory O’Neill, Handy Red O’Neill, who had been so proud of fighting that battle on the Rosslare Ferry. The last stand of the Virtuous, he’d called it. And he’d composed a roaring saga which was one of the few memories she had of her own redheaded father: bellowing out the chorus to the many stanzas of that saga. Oh, she’d have a family song to sing to these O’Neills of Tanana Bay, she would indeed.
Abruptly she clicked on the holoshield control set in one of her rings and depressed another button to summon Megenda.
Almost immediately, Megenda reported to his Aurelian captain. “Yes, Captain Louchard?”
“It’s time to leave. We’re going to Petaybee, Megenda.”
The man’s broken teeth showed in a grin. “Aye-aye, Cap’n.”
16
Kilcoole
“Sean?” Simon Furey came charging into the governor