Silent Dances by A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley Page B
Authors: A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley
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did?"
39
"He said they were ... predators ... He said T ri nity had lots of pre dators ..." Tesa ' s signs trailed off.
Meg visibly tri ed to calm herself, but her anger was still so palpable ,
Tesa could feel it . " I shouldn ' t blame Rob ... I've gotten so used to avoiding the subject, I don ' t think I ever told him." She took a deep
breath.
"It was the Aquila that killed Water Dancer and his entire family , Tesa .
They car ri ed the Grus' futu re leader away like a chicken and ate him.
They lifted him ... so close to us, so close to Scott ..." Meg trailed off, lost in bitter memo ri es.
"The cameras filmed the whole thing. Later, I made myself watch it ... I had to know . That sukin sin hauled Water Dancer up over the ri se as if he knew that . .. Dancer would have to call out to his people , to wa rn them ... he had to, even though he knew his call would hu rt Scott ..."
Meg swallowed. "They were f ri ends , Tesa. Good f ri ends . Alien to each other , but still ... Scott watched Water Dancer be car ri ed off for lunch and Dancer watched his wa rn ing to his people kill his f ri end."
Tesa gaped at her , stunned.
"You must never bri ng the Aquila up! Don't even mention their name to
the Grus . It's their worst taboo ." Meg looked exhausted , as though all her youthful vitality had drained away. "Dancer couldn ' t help what he
did . He would never have deliberately hu rt Scott . As far as I'm conce rn ed , the Aquila killed Scott Hedford." Tu rn ing abruptly , the older woman splashed out of the mockup.
Tesa' s mind reeled from Meg's revelation . Suddenly her mind ' s eye
filled with the glint of sun on a bronze wingtip and the bluest sky she ' d
ever seen. And talons grasping a tanned skin with ragged holes across
its back.
Late that night, Tesa still couldn ' t close her eyes. After finding out the
bitter reality of the Aquila , she was afraid to sleep , afraid to dream .
She'd almost called Rob, but what she re ally wanted was an elder, a
shaman who could interpret d re ams.
After tossing for hours, she'd felt the gentle touch of Doctor Blanket ' s
telepathy , bidding her to come . Eager to talk to the Ave rn ian , Tesa had left her room , wearing nothing but her oldest StarB ri dge nightshi rt, its logo of a glitte ri ng rainbow b ri dge connecting two planets faded from too many cleanings. Using her quilt as a robe , she'd gone to the
Ave rn ian's dark
40
quart ers and, as she had many times in the past , draped the whisper -
light alien on her shoulders like a cape. Protecting the Avernian with a
Miza ri light damper , since visible light could actually burn the alien ' s delicate cilia, Tesa went to the obse rv ation dome.
Doctor Blanket liked the dome and its panorama of brilliant stars. Tesa
enjoyed it, too. StarBri dge Academy was built on an asteroid in a part of
space with no nearby sun. With nothing to hide their b ri lliance , the stars arched overhead in a stunning profusion of color. Blue, red,
yellow - even mauve and indigo. In Tesa's loneliest moments , when
she didn't think she could bear being away from Ea rt h any longer ,
she'd come here to send her spi ri t through her eyes to dance among
those colorful stars.
Tesa carried Doctor Blanket to the middle of the obse rv ation dome and
sat on the floor , tailor fashion . The Avernian was featureless , about the size of a baby blanket , almost flat, and covered with sho rt cilia on one side and small pseudopodlike appendages on the other . The being
slid off her shoulders, as the cilia undulated like a miniature grainfield
in a stiff breeze. Tesa sat in the darkness , with the alien ' s
phosphorescent form opposite her, and sta re d up at the heavens,
knowing the eyeless alien could " see" them through her eyes.
The first time Tesa had met Doctor Blanket, she'd been struck with the sense
of the cre atu re' s incredible age. When she'd felt the being's telepathic
touch , she'd discovered that this person had a
39
"He said they were ... predators ... He said T ri nity had lots of pre dators ..." Tesa ' s signs trailed off.
Meg visibly tri ed to calm herself, but her anger was still so palpable ,
Tesa could feel it . " I shouldn ' t blame Rob ... I've gotten so used to avoiding the subject, I don ' t think I ever told him." She took a deep
breath.
"It was the Aquila that killed Water Dancer and his entire family , Tesa .
They car ri ed the Grus' futu re leader away like a chicken and ate him.
They lifted him ... so close to us, so close to Scott ..." Meg trailed off, lost in bitter memo ri es.
"The cameras filmed the whole thing. Later, I made myself watch it ... I had to know . That sukin sin hauled Water Dancer up over the ri se as if he knew that . .. Dancer would have to call out to his people , to wa rn them ... he had to, even though he knew his call would hu rt Scott ..."
Meg swallowed. "They were f ri ends , Tesa. Good f ri ends . Alien to each other , but still ... Scott watched Water Dancer be car ri ed off for lunch and Dancer watched his wa rn ing to his people kill his f ri end."
Tesa gaped at her , stunned.
"You must never bri ng the Aquila up! Don't even mention their name to
the Grus . It's their worst taboo ." Meg looked exhausted , as though all her youthful vitality had drained away. "Dancer couldn ' t help what he
did . He would never have deliberately hu rt Scott . As far as I'm conce rn ed , the Aquila killed Scott Hedford." Tu rn ing abruptly , the older woman splashed out of the mockup.
Tesa' s mind reeled from Meg's revelation . Suddenly her mind ' s eye
filled with the glint of sun on a bronze wingtip and the bluest sky she ' d
ever seen. And talons grasping a tanned skin with ragged holes across
its back.
Late that night, Tesa still couldn ' t close her eyes. After finding out the
bitter reality of the Aquila , she was afraid to sleep , afraid to dream .
She'd almost called Rob, but what she re ally wanted was an elder, a
shaman who could interpret d re ams.
After tossing for hours, she'd felt the gentle touch of Doctor Blanket ' s
telepathy , bidding her to come . Eager to talk to the Ave rn ian , Tesa had left her room , wearing nothing but her oldest StarB ri dge nightshi rt, its logo of a glitte ri ng rainbow b ri dge connecting two planets faded from too many cleanings. Using her quilt as a robe , she'd gone to the
Ave rn ian's dark
40
quart ers and, as she had many times in the past , draped the whisper -
light alien on her shoulders like a cape. Protecting the Avernian with a
Miza ri light damper , since visible light could actually burn the alien ' s delicate cilia, Tesa went to the obse rv ation dome.
Doctor Blanket liked the dome and its panorama of brilliant stars. Tesa
enjoyed it, too. StarBri dge Academy was built on an asteroid in a part of
space with no nearby sun. With nothing to hide their b ri lliance , the stars arched overhead in a stunning profusion of color. Blue, red,
yellow - even mauve and indigo. In Tesa's loneliest moments , when
she didn't think she could bear being away from Ea rt h any longer ,
she'd come here to send her spi ri t through her eyes to dance among
those colorful stars.
Tesa carried Doctor Blanket to the middle of the obse rv ation dome and
sat on the floor , tailor fashion . The Avernian was featureless , about the size of a baby blanket , almost flat, and covered with sho rt cilia on one side and small pseudopodlike appendages on the other . The being
slid off her shoulders, as the cilia undulated like a miniature grainfield
in a stiff breeze. Tesa sat in the darkness , with the alien ' s
phosphorescent form opposite her, and sta re d up at the heavens,
knowing the eyeless alien could " see" them through her eyes.
The first time Tesa had met Doctor Blanket, she'd been struck with the sense
of the cre atu re' s incredible age. When she'd felt the being's telepathic
touch , she'd discovered that this person had a
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