gone."
I could see the gray-furred one lurking near the storage container. "As you say, Husband."
I did not go back to sleep, however, and as soon as Reever left I got up to dress and arm myself. On Akkabarr I had been an outcast, but I had never been permitted to spend much time alone. Daneeb had rightly feared that my ignorance would kill me. The skela who had taken me in also lived as a tribe unto themselves, and they believed the tribe should remain together. Daneeb had repeatedly told me that it was not good to become lonely and depressed on a world that could kill you ten paces from your shelter.
Even with a protector like Reever to guard me, someone or something on this ship could do that quite easily. I needed to learn more about these people and their technology, and quickly, or I would not be able to keep myself or my daughter safe when Reever was not with us.
The beasts trailed after me as if watching me, but both kept a respectable distance between us, so I ignored them. I ate a small meal of synthetic meat from the wall machine. It was plain fare, but better than the strange dishes Reever kept preparing for me. Perhaps now that we were closer as husband and wife I could persuade him to allow me to program some meals.
One of the small banes of my existence was that nearly everyone on the ship, including my former self, did not eat meat. We Iisleg had relied heavily on synthetics toward the end of the rebellion, but before that I had lived mostly on the meat of the animals we killed, or a portion of what we butchered for the iiskar.
Pretend meat was not very appetizing, but I was sick unto death of eating pretend plants.
Once I had cleared up after my meal, there was nothing left for me to do. I only listened to Cherijo's music when Reever insisted; the strange sounds of it did not move or intrigue me. I had grown weary of reading her journals. There were no hides for me to scrape, stretch, or cut; no furs to be cleaned. The wall machines prepared the food we ate. The three of us were tidy, and even so there were small drones that Reever had programmed to clean the surfaces and furnishings once a week. The beasts had gone off into Marel's room, and now slept huddled together in the center of her bed. I would have gone to work, but for Reever's orders.
I stood by the viewport and looked out at the stars, feeling utterly useless. Despite Daneeb's efforts, I had been a lonely creature among the skela, bound only to the work, but no more. Reever and the child had already made a place inside me, and I found myself empty without them.
Empty, useless Jarn. A pretend Cherijo who wanted to be anything else.
The door chime sounded, startling me so much that I jumped and drew a blade. I went to the panel and enabled the screen to show a view of the outer corridor.
At first I thought it was Squilyp, but the Omorr outside the door bore only a rudimentary resemblance to him. She was female, to begin with, and had a thicker torso. She also wore very elegant, colorful garments with so many baubles that she practically glittered.
I had never seen her before now, so I kept the panel secured and enabled the audio panel. "Yes?"
"I am Garphawayn, the Lady Maftuda," the Omorr female said. "Squilyp's mate. I would speak to you, Terran."
She didn't sound angry or disturbed, but her posture and tone indicated what I interpreted to be determination and resolve. I didn't see any weapons on her, but that meant nothing. I rather doubted the Senior Healer had sent his wife to assassinate me, not when he could have done it himself in Medical and made it look like an accident.
I released the security mechanism on the panel, opened it, and stood back.
"Thank you." The female Omorr jingled as she hopped in. Little gem-encrusted rings around some of her gildrells sparkled, and four circular strands of matching gems swung from her throat. "Where is your lavatory?"
It took a moment for me to realize she referred to the privy. I pointed
I could see the gray-furred one lurking near the storage container. "As you say, Husband."
I did not go back to sleep, however, and as soon as Reever left I got up to dress and arm myself. On Akkabarr I had been an outcast, but I had never been permitted to spend much time alone. Daneeb had rightly feared that my ignorance would kill me. The skela who had taken me in also lived as a tribe unto themselves, and they believed the tribe should remain together. Daneeb had repeatedly told me that it was not good to become lonely and depressed on a world that could kill you ten paces from your shelter.
Even with a protector like Reever to guard me, someone or something on this ship could do that quite easily. I needed to learn more about these people and their technology, and quickly, or I would not be able to keep myself or my daughter safe when Reever was not with us.
The beasts trailed after me as if watching me, but both kept a respectable distance between us, so I ignored them. I ate a small meal of synthetic meat from the wall machine. It was plain fare, but better than the strange dishes Reever kept preparing for me. Perhaps now that we were closer as husband and wife I could persuade him to allow me to program some meals.
One of the small banes of my existence was that nearly everyone on the ship, including my former self, did not eat meat. We Iisleg had relied heavily on synthetics toward the end of the rebellion, but before that I had lived mostly on the meat of the animals we killed, or a portion of what we butchered for the iiskar.
Pretend meat was not very appetizing, but I was sick unto death of eating pretend plants.
Once I had cleared up after my meal, there was nothing left for me to do. I only listened to Cherijo's music when Reever insisted; the strange sounds of it did not move or intrigue me. I had grown weary of reading her journals. There were no hides for me to scrape, stretch, or cut; no furs to be cleaned. The wall machines prepared the food we ate. The three of us were tidy, and even so there were small drones that Reever had programmed to clean the surfaces and furnishings once a week. The beasts had gone off into Marel's room, and now slept huddled together in the center of her bed. I would have gone to work, but for Reever's orders.
I stood by the viewport and looked out at the stars, feeling utterly useless. Despite Daneeb's efforts, I had been a lonely creature among the skela, bound only to the work, but no more. Reever and the child had already made a place inside me, and I found myself empty without them.
Empty, useless Jarn. A pretend Cherijo who wanted to be anything else.
The door chime sounded, startling me so much that I jumped and drew a blade. I went to the panel and enabled the screen to show a view of the outer corridor.
At first I thought it was Squilyp, but the Omorr outside the door bore only a rudimentary resemblance to him. She was female, to begin with, and had a thicker torso. She also wore very elegant, colorful garments with so many baubles that she practically glittered.
I had never seen her before now, so I kept the panel secured and enabled the audio panel. "Yes?"
"I am Garphawayn, the Lady Maftuda," the Omorr female said. "Squilyp's mate. I would speak to you, Terran."
She didn't sound angry or disturbed, but her posture and tone indicated what I interpreted to be determination and resolve. I didn't see any weapons on her, but that meant nothing. I rather doubted the Senior Healer had sent his wife to assassinate me, not when he could have done it himself in Medical and made it look like an accident.
I released the security mechanism on the panel, opened it, and stood back.
"Thank you." The female Omorr jingled as she hopped in. Little gem-encrusted rings around some of her gildrells sparkled, and four circular strands of matching gems swung from her throat. "Where is your lavatory?"
It took a moment for me to realize she referred to the privy. I pointed
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