Silent Songs (6 page)

The flight was over too quickly. Soon, the
Patuxent
soft- landed on the bluff's pad as the escort backwinged onto the ground, blowing leaves and debris everywhere. Szu-yi and Old Bear emerged from the Hedford Shelter, the elder Lakota holding his perpetual coffee cup in hand. Szu-yi, more accustomed to working with Simiu than any of them, had dressed as though she were about to greet an ambassador. Tesa parked her sled.

"You're always so exhilarated after one of those flights," Szuyi signed to her in passable Grus. "Ready for our guests?"

"Ready or not," Tesa signed, smiling, "here they come."

The
Patuxent'
s lock unsealed, and Meg exited. Jib was out next, and when he saw Tesa he grinned. Forgetting her planned speeches, she bounded over, throwing her arms around him.

"You're almost as tall as I am!" Tesa signed when they'd released each other.

"I'd thought you'd shrunk!" Jib replied. The two dark heads moved together and performed the
hongi,
the traditional Maori nose rub greeting, then they hugged again fiercely.

Someone tugged Tesa's shirt, and she turned to see Meg.

"We might need you to run interference," Meg signed.

"What do you mean?"

"K'heera doesn't want to come off the ship," the older woman explained.

"She says she's sick. . . but I think she's afraid of them." She moved her head toward the waiting Grus.

Tesa turned to the ship. "Actually, there's someone better suited to that job than me.. . ."

K'heera had known fear before, but she'd never had to suffer it alone. For the first time in her life, there was no strong family member to console her or give her words of courage.

Any honorable person would welcome this test,
she thought, looking onto a world in which she was the only one of her kind.

She told herself it was the change in gravity that overwhelmed her, but as her stomach rolled and twisted, she realized this was only part of the problem. The months she'd spent

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dreading this moment had infused her with horror. Even her odor had changed--she stank of fear. As K'heera gaped at the huge, white-feathered aliens her family had so violated, she could not force herself to step onto the soil of their world.

When K'heera remained perched at the lock's threshold fighting vertigo, the human called "Bruce" turned to her.

"You okay?" he signed.

The Simiu glanced at him nervously, knowing he disliked her. It was etched around his eyes, though he tried to hide it. She'd seen similar expressions on her own relatives whenever they were forced to interact with humans.

Why was he pretending to care?

He extended a hand toward her. "You'll feel better once you walk around in the fresh air."

His gray alien eyes seemed to bore into K'heera.
He knows I'm afraid! It
makes him feel superior; that's why he's acting the uncle to me.
She moved her hand in a Grus refusal.

"Have it your way," he signed, his expression stiff.

You only draw attention to yourself
K'heera castigated herself.
Step outside!

Slowly, the Simiu placed one palm on the ramp, then another, finally drawing her rear legs after her.

A female human approached. "I am Dr. Li Szu-yi. If you are suffering from nausea, dizziness, or other symptoms of low-gee illness, I can help."

"Yes, please," K'heera responded, hoping she might yet screen her fear from these humans.

The slight Asian woman rummaged around in her medical kit, then pressed a small patch against K'heera's inner forearm.

The Simiu could feel the drug's effect almost immediately. Her stomach settled down, her light-headedness faded, and she relaxed. She waved a sincere thank you at the doctor.
Too bad there is no medication for
cowardice,
she thought.

Glancing past the doctor, K'heera's eyes took in the expansive bluff lush with rich vegetation in a riot of colors, colors that tickled her eyes and filled her with a sudden surge of optimism-- until she glanced again at the flock of Grus, unabashedly straining their necks to get a good look at her.

The Honored Interrelator held court among them, standing with her back to K'heera, signing to the giant avians.

K'heera could not read the Grus' expressionless faces, but she was sure they must want to avenge their dead. That was why they'd flown up to the shuttle, to see the creature that had so unjustly and shamefully caused the slaughter of hundreds of their innocent people. She shivered uncontrollably.

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She wanted to race away, and ached for the loving touch of her mother, or to bury her face in the mane of
her
beloved uncle.

The Interrelator and the flock moved as if they were one organism, as they surrounded Jib. His eyes
widened,
but he signed the appropriate greetings.

K'heera felt depressed again.

Suddenly the tallest avian stretched, and his head spun on his supple neck as his piercing golden eyes captured Jib's. The human stood, his own dark eyes never flinching from "the look." K'heera could tell that Jib had quickly passed, that the Grus believed he was an honest, honorable person. What would happen when they sought what was honest and honorable in her?

The flock kept stealing peeks at K'heera, sometimes with one eye, sometimes with two--one Grus even dropped his head to peer through the others' legs to see better. Then, as she considered retreating back into the shuttle, one of them approached. This avian was also tall and stately, but his head and neck were a lovely brownish-red that gradually faded into white.

The avian stood at the foot of the ramp, holding his neck in a tight S curve, which made him seem smaller. "Good Eyes says your world is heavier than ours." He paused, tilting his head. "Is it hard to fly there?"

K'heera felt dizzy. What kind of question was that for the daughter of murderers?

"Forgive me," the Grus signed, dipping his head even lower. "This is my first introduction. I'm Lightning, son of Taller of the White Wind people. I welcome you to the World, and invite you to meet my father."

Why, he's just a child,
K'heera realized. A child with responsibilities, even as she had. His guilelessness had thrown a blanket over her fear, smothering it.

"It is an honor to be presented to your father," she signed slowly, then carefully walked down the ramp to join him. The doctor walked behind them, with Meg and Bruce following at a discreet distance.

"You have lovely eyes!" Lightning signed casual y. "They're the color of a summer sunrise."

Before K'heera could respond to the unexpected compliment, she found herself staring at a thicket of thin, black legs. Lightning addressed the tallest of the flock. "Taller, greet our new friend-- we can call her 'Sunrise.' "

The young Simiu was startled. Had he really used the informal sign for friend? And to be given a name that alluded to the Sun Family was. .. well, it was an
honor.
She glanced at the Interrelator, but her face was as unreadable as the avians.

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"And this," Lightning signed to K'heera, "is Taller, tallest of the White Wind people in these parts."

Before K'heera could return a respectful greeting, Taller dropped his long neck, fixing her with a round-eyed stare. Burning with shame, she turned away. Without moving his huge body, Taller's face was before hers again, holding her eyes with his commanding gaze, his deadly bill inches from her muzzle.

K'heera felt as though she were being challenged, and her crest rose for a second, then collapsed. She dropped her eyes, and Taller's crown stretched and grew redder.

"I am sorry that your visit to the World has been so upsetting," the leader signed.

His concern was more than she could bear. "I... am ashamed . .." she signed awkwardly, "of the pain my family has caused you. I am ... sick with sorrow and guilt for your loss."

Taller's crown dulled. "No child bears the burden of a parent's crime.
You've
caused no pain, young one. Look at me." He held her violet eyes with his steely gaze. His forgiveness was too shameful. It would've been easier to confront his hatred. After a moment, she had to turn away again.

"To see so much sorrow in young eyes hurts me," Taller signed. "Lightning is right, you need a new name. 'Sunrise' it is. Welcome to the World, welcome to you and Good Eyes' young brother, Jib. We are pleased to greet you."

With that, he threw back his head and called, and all his people called with him. Even through her sound nullifiers, the power of their call sent vibrations ripping through K'heera's body, raising her fur and her crest.

An old man she hadn't seen before suddenly appeared beside her, as though he'd always been there. As casually as one of her uncles, he squatted down, offering her some bright orange leaves. "These will help your. . . bad feelings."

The doctor seemed puzzled. "I've already given her . .."

The old man waved a hand. "She needs a little help from the World. Go on, try it."

K'heera glanced suspiciously at the leaves, but then the old man stuck out his tongue and showed that he was eating one. Tentatively, she took a leaf and chewed it. Sweetness and a refreshing sharp flavor flooded her mouth and sinuses. The Simiu felt color rise to her face; her crest lifted.

The old man winked at her and smiled.

"The fishing is different down south," Thunder signed early next morning as Tesa packed her sled. The raptor perched

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on the highest object lashed to the hovering machine, climbing ever upward as her human friend attached more bundles. "The fish are much bigger, and some of them fight back! Sometimes . . ." the Hunter glanced around as if to make sure no one else could see her signs, "sometimes . . . they win. My mother told me so."

"Your mother would know," Tesa agreed. Rain, Thunder's mother, had gone south to find a mate. "I hear the water's warm there, too."

"Yes, and clear," Thunder replied.

Tesa could tell that beneath the avian's casual conversation was an underlying worry. "You don't have to go."

"But then you'd have only the White Winds to guard you!" Thunder seemed shocked. "I
have
to go." She ruffled her feathers, dust and fluff exploding around her. "Besides, I don't believe a spirit can pull a Hunter out of the sky."

"Neither do I." Tesa swallowed a smile as she pulled her star quilt high up on her shoulders. Father Sun was coming up first these days, but even so, the temperature was dropping. She took her Clovis-point spear, feathers from Earth and Trinity dangling from its shaft, and wedged it securely onto the sled.

"You're not taking that?" Jib signed to her from his own sled. The two of them had gotten up early to pack, enjoy the sunrise, and share a few moments alone.

"I'm not leaving without it!" Tesa insisted. "We're not on Disney Planet. This has saved my life on two occasions."

Jib turned away. "If K'heera sees that, she'll have
a fit."

Tesa stared at the young man. "Then, she'll have one. This spear is the only weapon we have, except for the repulsors we're allowed to use to ward off predators. And those are just scare tactics. She must really be getting to you."

"You haven't been walking in my moccasins,
tuahine,"
Jib signed, calling her "sister" in Maori. He told her briefly about the incident with the spicy Simiu food, which had led to K'heera's humiliation by the drum dancers. "I felt so
bad
for her, she had to see the pity in my eyes. She must hate me."

Tesa nodded. "No one said this would be easy. First thing
you
should do is stop feeling sorry for her. .. and yourself."

He turned to her, surprised.

"You didn't come here to save the World," she reminded him.

"Funny--that's what I said to K'heera before all hell broke loose at Captain's Night." He leaned against Tesa's floating sled,

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his expression sober. "I'm beginning to think I shouldn't have been so quick to agree to this assignment."

She met his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jib shrugged. "This last year, Tesa, I've been working with telepaths, with Shadgui. Now, language, spoken or signed, seems so restrictive.
Those
are the people I should be working with. I'm not going to be much help to K'heera ... or you."

"Well, you definitely won't with
that
attitude," Tesa agreed. "You sure. .. there aren't other reasons you're having regrets?"

He seemed a little embarrassed. "Well. . . sure ... I miss my
tahu,
my girlfriend, Anzia. You'd real y like her, Tesa."

The young woman finally got tired of evading the issue. "Jib, I talked to Rob."

He stiffened instantly. "He ... he
told
you? He had no right to do that!"

"I thought I was your
tuahine,
your sister," she reminded him. "I thought there were no secrets between us."

His hands hung in the air, then he sagged. "Of course you're my sister.

There aren't even any tests for TSS, so how can they be sure I have it? It's just a title they've made up, the disease of the year." He peered at her intently. "They tried to tell me I don't really love Anzia. They're telling me it's this
TSS,
not my own honest emotions. Do you have any idea how that made
her
feel? We've been separated for months now. If my feelings for her were only from TSS, wouldn't they have faded by now? Well, they haven't! I feel the same way about her today as the day I left. Tesa, they're wrong about this."

The anguish on his face spoke volumes of what he'd been through. Could he be right, and Rob wrong?

"I write Anzi every night," Jib told her, more calmly. "I know I won't be able to send these letters till the next ship comes, but when I can, they'll be there to prove my feelings, even though we're apart."

"She loves you?" Tesa asked.

"She says so. When we're together... it's ... like we think with one brain. We know what the other's going to say before we say it. I don't mean to rant on, but I really miss her. And TSS has nothing to do with that."