Acorna’s posture relaxed slightly, dejectedly, at that. “I suppose that’s what it must be.”
“But you’re right. Your people can probably sort this out quicker than we can, and also, maybe somebody who’s been to Nirii more recently-wasn’t that where your aunt was, Acorna?” he asked. She nodded. “Well, maybe they will know who to notify among the Niriian authorities to let them know the Hamgaarf) ain’t coming home no more, no more. And we should probably do a little searching around to find out who is responsible for taking out the Hamgaan) before we make that report.”
If he’d had a hat, he’d have taken it off and placed it over his heart right then. He knew that the cowboy and his crewmates would have families -waiting for them in vain back on the old home -world. It was one of the hazards of spacefaring that all spacers tried not to think about.
“Yes,” Acorna said. “You’re right. We’ll check all of the fragments of the ship and see if any provide useful evidence. Meanwhile, -we can translate as best -we can the entire ship’s log, and -while -we’re at it, take the coordinates of the place where they saw the escape pod.”
“You’re sure you don’t find anything else about the attack in there, Aari?” Becker asked.
“I will attempt to scan throughout the device for such information.” Aari turned back to the Anscan and the pay I. The monologue broke off, there -was a screech of static, and then, suddenly, there -were images on the screen once more. Horrifying images.
“Holy cow!” Becker said. “Who the hell are the big bugs and what are they doing—oh, no-Cosmos on a crutch! They’re torturing that-Aari?”
Acorna’s healing must have worked pretty well because Aari spoke in a very calm, controlled voice … well, actually, Becker thought, his voice was about as dead as the last fish who tried to swim in a Kezdet river.
“Those are the Khieevi, Joh. And that is me. The Khieevi transmitted the images of my torment to this Niriian ship.”
Once the Linyaari space travelers returned, everyC^ “V thing should have been fine again. Everybody should have been happy. Maati had thought that she, at least, -would be happy. But first Aari had decided not to stay on narhiiVhiliinyar. And then Khornya, who had begun to seem like a big sister to Maati, had left.
Maati felt left out because none of the space travelers she knew wanted to talk to her about what had happened to them. If she’d been old enough to be able to read other peoples’ minds, then maybe she wouldn’t have been so lonely and alone, but she doubted it. From the shocked, hurt, and sometimes almost nauseous way those who had not been in space reacted when meeting those who had been, Maati could tell that the spacefarcrs experiences had been really bad. You could see in their eyes that the pain lingered inside them, in spite of all the healing ivhornya and the Linyaari doctors had attempted to do.
Because so many of the space travelers were seeking out wandam Naadiina’s counsel, since Grandam was the oldest living Linyaari and by far the wisest, Maati couldn’t even talk Grandam. Grandam was much too busy.
It was probably better that way. Maati would have hated to have to admit to Grandam that she didn’t feel especially happy to see the others, not when her brother had left and then Khornya had left, too. It might be selfish of her, but it was the way she felt.
If the viizaar hadn’t been so mean to them, Khornya and Aari might have stayed. Maati had really started to hate the viizaar. Hate, she knew, was not a thing a good Linyaari should feel. It was a violent emotion and her people were supposed to be gentle. But the viizaar was not gentle. She was mean. She just hid it from everybody, even the people who were good mind readers. Grandam said Liriili was a good administrator because, since she was less sensitive than average for a Linyaari, she could make more objective decisions.
Right. She had made one of those recently, it seemed to Maati. She had decided Maati was an object to be pushed around and sent here and there. Nobody even noticed how nastily she spoke to Maati. Everybody was too busy with the returned space travelers.