McCaffrey, Anne - Freedom 02 - Freedom's Choice.pdf - Anne McCaffrey - aro164

Freedom's choice

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Freedom's Choice

by Anne McCaffrey

Synopsis:

In McCaffrey's latest novel, the unwilling colonists from Freedom's Landing struggle to sur-

vive on their new world. As the colony grows, divisions disappear. Still, questions arise.

Should they settle in and begin to make this world their home, bearing children and creating a

new society? Or should they return to Earth and join the battle against the Catteni oppressors

who abandoned them on this planet?.

sequel to freedoms landing prequel to Freedoms Challenge

Preface

When the Catteni, mercenaries for a race called Eosi, invaded Earth, they used their

standard tactic of domination by landing in fifty cities across the planet and removing entire

urban populations. These were distributed throughout the Catteni worlds and sold as slaves

along with other conquered species.

Since slavery did not sit well with many of the first world countries, the conquerors met

with considerably more resistance than had been anticipated. The size and general brutality

of the Catteni soldier generally inculcated sufficient fear and obedience to inhibit active resist-

ance on many of their previous invasions.

However, since many M-type planets.had been discovered by the Eosi, the Catteni were

advised to round up sufficient dissidents and felons alike, deposit them on whatever M-type

planet was currently available for occupation and let them fend for themselves.

Not all M-type worlds are suitable for colonization but, since the Catteni had quantities of

expendable personnel, they could utilize an empirical method of discovering which was fertile

and friendly, and which contained dangers making them inimical. A check was kept on the

survival rate of such inadvertent settlers. If few remained alive, the world was abandoned. If

the survival rate was high, more deliveries were made. When the imposed population had

made the world tenable, the Catteni would install an overlord and exact a percentage of the

gross planetary product. Any dissenters to this procedure were then rounded up and depos-

ited on yet another potential colonial world.

Botany was one such colonial world on which the Catteni, emptying holding cells on Bar-

evi and Earth, dropped several species to see how they survived - each other as well as the

peculiar, but as yet unidentified denizens.

The Catteni outfitted each of the unsuspecting colonists with durable clothing, a blanket

and a packet of dry rations. The 'shipment' spent the voyage in a form of suspended anima-

tion and were deposited on the planet where knives, hatchets and rudimentary medical kits

were left for their use, or abuse.

On Botany, however, a former staff sergeant took charge of those dropped with him, and

warned by one of the alien species, the Deski, managed to avoid one of the local avian pred-

ators.

Zainal, the one Catteni who had been shanghaied in that shipment, remembered other

vague problems about this planet from a cursory reading of the original exploration report. Al-

though some of the stranded people wanted to revenge themselves by taking the Catteni's

life, Kris Bjornsen forestalled the attempt, suggesting that he knew more than anyone else did

about this planet and they'd better keep him alive for a while. Sergeant Chuck Mitford saw

the wisdom in that - and also in the Catteni's advice to seek higher, stonier ground if they

wished to survive. In a forced march to the safety of the nearby hills, Mitford realized that

Zainal could be useful for quite a few reasons.

Establishing a base camp, hunting for edible life forms and foods, occupied every one of

the survivors under Mitford's command. The settlers discovered that this planet was not as

unoccupied as the Catteni report suggested. In fact, it seemed to be a planet extensively

farmed by mechanized, highly sophisticated machinery, operating without any 'live' supervi-

sion. On a scouting mission, Kris Bjornsen and Zainal encountered more humans, as well as

representatives of the other four races also dumped on Botany.

In order to save the Deski from dying of malnutrition, since Botany did not produce a basic

dietary requirement, Zainal forced a confrontation with the Catteni captain of a second trans-

port which was dumping a new load of people. He also sent back the message that this plan-

et was obviously an agricultural subsidiary of a heretofore undiscovered sophisticated race.

Then he was summoned to a covert meeting with another Emassi high-ranking official,

with an offer to be returned to his rank and duties: an offer he summarily rejected.

By then, there were sufficient technicians and engineers available to redesign some of the

available equipment into useful appliances and machines, supplying communications and

useful equipment to assist the settlers.

Using the aerial maps reluctantly supplied him, Zainal led a group to what might be a com-

mand centre on the planet.

However although it had obviously not been occupied for a very long time, a garage held

several aerial devices and smaller missiles of a homing device design. One of these was de-

liberately launched by Dick Aarens.

The launch is observed by interested agencies - and so begins the second part of the Cat-

teni story.

Chapter One

The satellite logged the departure of a missile from the surface of the planet under obser-

vation. It analysed the components and attempted to correlate the information within its

memory banks, but found no match. The unusual speed and approximate direction of the

device was also noted as it headed galactically north and east towards the furthest edge of

the Milky Way. Just as the missile reached the heliopause of the system, it disappeared. A

scan produced no debris; no ion or any other trace of what had powered its drive could be de-

tected. It had vanished: a fact that was unacceptable to the monitoring program and caused a

functional error which required internal investigation and repair. Although its earlier tracking

was recorded, the satellite did not - due to the anomalies - immediately forward the data to its

server.

Consequently, without a requisite emergency code, the information went through several

processings before the anomalies were noticed. It was then immediately reported to the

proper authority. A team was despatched to correct the malfunction, but none was found

even after a complete overhaul and maintenance check of the satellite. The data was there-

fore suspect as a malfunction in itself, rather than the recording of an event. The planet was,

after all, a penal colony; the exiles equipped with the barest essentials for survival and no

technological equipment whatever. It was only by chance that the report was ever seen by

persons with the essential information to realize the significance of the sighting, and the mys-

terious disappearance of the homing device.

Chapter Two

"You say that he refused to answer the summons?" The speaker scowled at the Emassi

captain.

As they were also father and son, the son was accustomed to his sire's scowls; he almost

enjoyed the reaction, knowing that Zainal's refusal to return and accept the duty imposed on

his rank and family would blacken his brother's previously spotless reputation in their father's

estimation.

"He was chosen,' Perizec continued, bashing one huge fist onto the pervalloy worktop.

'He cannot refuse the summons." 'He did,' Lenvec said with an imperturbable shrug of one

shoulder. "'I'm dropped, I stay." You know the convention." Perizec crashed both fists onto

the worktop, bouncing everything on it, and scattering the files from the desk rack. 'An Eosi

matter has precedence over any Catteni convention! You know that!" The scowl deepened,

pulling down the heavy mouth and jaw, darkening the gray-toned skin. 'He has known of this

duty since he was presented to the Eosi. Dropped or not, he is to return to accept that duty."

The fists banged emphatically again.

Then Perizec's eyes narrowed to slits through which his yellow pupils flashed with anger.

'How did he come to be dropped on that felon planet?" Lenvec shrugged. He knew that his

father was well aware of the whole circumstance, but he repeated the report.

"Zainal engaged in a fatal brawl with a minor transport Allo l officer. The crew sought ven-

geance and Zainal escaped in a flitter, which was hit and crashed in the western hunting

grounds. No trace was found of him then, but he was discovered later that night among dis-

sidents who had been gassed during a riot. Because it was within the twenty-four hours, one

of the crewmen made certain that he remained in the transport facility and was included in the

shipment. He made his presence known to a second Drop crew. Your office was alerted and

I made the run to retrieve him. He refused . . ." 'I know, I know,' and Perizec flicked thick fin-

gers to end the recital. 'He must return. The duty is required of him. We cannot avoid the

choosing." He frowned, deep in thought. 'See to it that the crew who arranged his deportation

are sent to the same destination. They will ensure that he is ready to be collected when next

you land there." 'A thought, sir,' Lenvec began, "Catteni would not be popular on the planet

and may even be prevented from finding Zainal." Perizec regarded him with a direct anger.

"Zainal survived.

You said yourself that he was the member of some sort of team." Lenvec shrugged.

'Zainal is, after all, Emassi, sir, and as clever a man as you yourself . . ." Perizec grunted at

the filial compliment. "He is also Catteni and would resist attempts to eliminate members of

his own race." 'He might not be in a position to do so. He may also wish to eliminate the crew

for having put him on that planet in the first instance." 'They will have to be "rewarded",' and

Perizec's smile was unpleasant, 'for their part in his exile. See to that. And let us find among

the Emassi two or three of Zainal's hunting friends.

Them he would certainly protect, would he not?" Lenvec nodded. 'They will see to it that

he is willing to leave when next you land."

"Am I to transport them there?"

"By no means. That would put Zainal on his guard. When is the next mass transportation

scheduled?"

Lenvec consulted his wrist unit. 'In twenty-two days."

"Choose the men . . ' 'A female, too, sir, if I may suggest it. He's been a long time without

. . . companionship." 'An excellent notion,' and Perizec grinned back at his son.

You have someone in mind?" Lenvec nodded. 'They will all be rewarded." He reached to

the files and methodically began stacking them in order as he continued speaking. 'This must

be completed as expeditiously as possible. I have told the Eosi that Zainal was sent on a

special assignment and is unaware of their need of him. We have been granted a respite, but

McCaffrey, Anne - Freedom 02 - Freedom's Choice.pdf

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