“Bingo!” he said. “I mean, no kidding? I’ve been hearing about you all over the place, Lady Acorna, nothing but good things, and here you’re the first person I meet when I get here. Pleased to meet you, ma’am, and I mean that sincerely. I used to be a farm slave on Kezdet when I was a kid and what you did for those children was wonderful, from what I hear. I know your daddies, too. Good men.”
Thariinye cleared his throat in a gruff, manly sort of way. “We are told you were permitted to land because you claim to have a Linyaari aboard?”
Becker’s demeanor altered subtly to be as gruff as Thaarinyes and twice as threatening. “I didn’t claim it, no, sir. Aari himself did.”
Acorna touched Becker’s arm lightly. “My people are unused to visitors. They have had some bad experiences, especially recently. Please do not take offense. May I present Ambassador Thariinye, who was among the party that came to Manganos to bring me back to narhiiVhiliinyar, and these fellows are”-she caught their thoughts-“liryn and Yiirl.”
Becker nodded, a short and wary and not nearly so friendly gesture. “Boys,” he said in acknowledgement. “Well, Aari got a little shy all of a sudden when he saw you coming and he’s back in the holds sorting out the graveyard. I guess if we each take a few loads of bones down we’ll have it dirtside soon enough.”
Thariinye and the other two males looked, if anything, whiter at the mention of bones. Becker examined their faces for a moment, and then seemed to be looking them over in general, and Acorna as well, then he said, “Make yourselves at home. I’m going to go check on KEN and see what’s keeping Aari. He’s probably working so hard back there he didn’t hear you board.”
(That is very strange behavior for one gone so long from us,) liryn said.
(Well, he is very old, from back before the evacuation,)
Yiirl replied. (Perhaps he grows forgetful.)
(You were certainly friendly to that Becker person,)
Thariinye said.
(He’s a good man,) Acorna replied. (Could you not feel it?) (Hmph, No. He didn’t have the same energy -with me that he did with you. He is very hostile and suspicious and, I would say, can be violent.)
(We shouldn’t judge him without knowing him,) Acorna said.
(Not much chance of that, fortunately) Thariinye said.
(You realize, of course, he and this ship must leave immediately after refueling. Their presence contaminates and endangers all of us.)
(I hardly see how,) Acorna was thinking when Becker, looking extremely troubled, reappeared and crooked his finger at her. Thariinye started forward and Becker said, “Hold it, sport. Just the Lady Acorna for now, please.” He started up the ladder connecting the decks.
“Very well,” Thariinye said. “But do not try any unacceptable behaviors with her or I will cause you to be remorseful that you did.”
(Why, Thariinye,) Acorna shot at him in passing, (that sounded hostile and aggressive and maybe even violent.)
She climbed to the upper deck where Becker waited for her.
“Aari’s in a bad way, to tell you the truth. Lady Acorna,” Becker said. “I met him when I was hurt worse than he is, and I hadn’t met any regular people like you then-but looking at you-well, let me prepare you. Those Khieevis messed him up pretty bad. He’s missing his horn, that’s the most obvious thing, but from the looks of you people, there’s other stuff that hasn’t healed right either. The way he explained it to me was that he was all busted up when he collapsed in the cemetery and the power in all those old horns healed him, except the Khieevi had done to him something that kept the healing from proceeding normally. Without someone who knew what they were doing to guide the healing, his bones just knit together wherever one end touched the other. I guess now that he’s almost safe back home again and doesn’t have to be on alert all the time, the impact of everything he’s been through is starting to hit him. I found him curled up in a corner sobbing his eyes out. I thought maybe if you came back alone with me and talked to him, told him it would be okay, that his folks are looking forward to having him back, it would be better.”