Misfits by Steve Miller, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Page A

like--…"
    On the station, Brunner nodded, and
carefully did not sigh.
    "There are large fires burning in the grain
belts on both the major continents," he told her, keeping his voice
merely informative. She had no need, after all, to carry the burden
of his anger. Idiots, fools, and--but, no. That was for later. Now,
there were other necessities to be served.
    "Some of the forests also seem to have been
set on fire. I see plumes all over the planet from installations
and communities that have been--… set afire."
    "Yeah, they asked us to start burning things
awhile back. Ain't in our job description. Seems they got some kind
of fetish 'bout fire cleaning things up--you know, purifying."
    Robertson coughed; Brunner pushed a button
to download a satellite image to the Stubbs' screen.
    "Your location is the blinking green dot,"
he said. "The other green dots are your most recent report points.
The valley directly ahead is very smoky--you can see that there are
four distinct plumes which then merge… I believe that all of the
major communities in your area have burned or are burning;
certainly the crop fields have burnt."
    A pause, broken by her sigh.
    "Guess we won't capture much there. We was
supposed to be moving on one of them towns to meet--… well--…"
    He thumbed the plate, waited.
    "Huh. What's this about winter? It got
pretty cool last night, even for a girl from Surebleak. I'd have
had damn frosty toes without help--… Hey! That looks ugly as all
get out!"
    She was multi-threading, though there was
scarcely need--or maybe, he thought, there was. Who knew how long
she had until the order came to move? Threading was an efficient
way to share information.
    So. "Winter does come," he said, picking up
each thread in turn. "A very strong winter on much of the planet,
according to the records. The snowcaps triple in size at the poles.
But there are still eighty to one hundred planet days until that is
a concern for you. Yes, it is ugly. Easily one hundred and fifty
major fires in both hemispheres; on the plains up north there is
effectively a single fire half the width of the continent."
    A sound came out of the speaker, as if of a
boot against rock, followed by a murmured question, Redhead's soft,
"I dunno--…"
    A new voice emerged from the speaker, crisp
and tight.
    "Commander Lizardi here. My weather reporter
says it looks like the locals are burning themselves out of house
and home. If the Scout is available relay this to his attention.
News of the quarantine has been a catalyst for major upheaval
within power structures. Violent upheaval, even by local standards.
My ground station for our tactical satellite has been destroyed by
ground forces, and the Chilongan government that hired me has been
in transition this last five-day, leaving me with no current
contact up-line despite reports that the north is bringing a major
invasion force down on the continent. If the government that hired
me is gone, I need to withdraw. Repeat: We have no assurance of
contracted withdrawal at this point. We also have attracted a few
dozen off-world non-combatants who travel in our train. The Scout
has my contact radio frequencies and I expect them used
appropriately.
    "We're moving now. Lizardi out."
    * * *
    "Brunner, from this point on you will have
an assistant on duty with you at all times while you are in the
meteorology lab."
    Chief Thurton stood beside his own desk in
his own office, hand clenching and unclenching nervously.
    "An assistant?" Brunner stared, wondering if
he looked upon madness, or only exhaustion.
    "We have no such an assistant available," he
pointed out. "Shall you assign the intern's hours to mine, it might
be possible."
    "The intern--… is on sick-call. She is--…
unreliable. I note that I don't have your letter on file. I need it
as soon as possible. You--through the orders of the Scout, or by
your own choice--are on the verge of violating our neutrality."
    "Indeed," he murmured, keeping his voice
calm, his