Voices of Chaos (45 page)

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Alexis captured the hand in both of hers, and held it. "Now that you're here, I feel--fine."

Less than a half day later, they were on their way back to the jump point on the edge of Arekkhi space. Dana was pleasant but remote; most of her waking hours were spent diagnosing the problems in the new servo. "Bad software--unless it's something as stupid as incompatible drivers between the hardware. Aren't you glad I convinced them to leave the old servo unit in place?"

An-Lieye was even more remote, her mood ranging wildly. Magdalena sympathized, but couldn't think of how to console a fellow female who carried new life... but had lost forever the one who helped her create that life.

She's lucky, in a way,
the translator realized late one sleepless night.
Just as
I am. I haven't lost him--but he and I could never have his child-- even if he
wanted one....
Her face flushed; she couldn't complete the thought. The blunt fact was, she and Khyriz were not compatible in
that
way. But hours later, she woke, overly warm, the dream still lingering in her mind. Her lips curved.

Some things aren't possible. Others... may be.

A still very upset Dr. Kim had left three days before Dana's ship; the fast medical transport would drop her and a load of supplies on the Arekkhi station, where Bhelan was ready to retrieve them and her, before it went on to Trinity.

Dana's handwritten message was fixed to the old servo:
CLS sends word
they may have antidote for voice poison, will send chemical notation to
Khyriz via old palace com. Breakthrough possible soon on residual effects of
ahla drug. We dock at station in 8 A-standard hours.

It seemed a lifetime; in actuality, it was no time at all-- barely enough hours to pack her few belongings, take one last shower, comb out her hair. Try to eat. Dana brought the shuttle neatly into the bay in the royal docking area; the hatch slid up, the deck pivoted 180 degrees, and the shuttle rolled forward, into the inner dock. Magdalena waited for the all-clear in the air lock, fingers pressed against the hatch.

Finally the all-clear beeped and the hatch slid sideways. Khyriz stood at the foot of the ramp. Magdalena swallowed

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hard, then closed the distance between them, to bury her face against his throat. "I was so afraid I would never see you again," she whispered.

"Magdalena." His voice was rough with emotion; his arms tightened around her. "Welcome back."

"No," she whispered, and eased away from him enough to draw a finger through his whiskers. "Not back.
Home."

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The Emperor held a formal reception the next afternoon--in the CLS

apartments, since Alexis was still too weak to be allowed out of them. For the first time, Magdalena was able to meet and talk to the members of the Council she had only seen in the formal setting before. She liked Khezahn's new choices, particularly the once-priest Yuchne, who was quiet and intelligent, sparking only when the interrelator and Dr. Kim brought up the antidote formulas. Magdalena left them to it and let Khyriz take her over to more new arrivals.

The initial fuss over, she had assumed she'd take up her translator duties where she'd left them. But for now, Alexis spent most of her days in the talking-pit or the office, dealing with everything from Arekkhi, who wanted outside markets for their crafts, to applications from young Arekkhi for StarBridge testing. For now, it was Magdalena who traveled the countryside, meeting villagers, talking to remote herders and city merchants.

It still surprised her--really being able to travel when and where she wanted.

Of course, there were safeguards everywhere: She knew of three CLS

advisers on-planet besides the two who stayed in the new palace and met regularly with the Emperor and his Council, observing as the Arekkhi began undoing generations of repression. One of them was a special envoy handpicked by Mahree--a high-ranked Heeyoon--who seemed to spend half his time shuttling between planet and station.

But the Heeyoon trading company was making headway with contacts

among the artisan Arekkhi, and the new master of station, one of Khyriz's numerous cousins, was himself head of a society that created contemporary versions of ancient Arekkhi jewelry and was patron to several crafting guilds.

Magdalena could already see some of the fruits of the Emperor's initial reworking of the planetary communications network. During the last two stops on her most recent trip West--

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an impromptu meeting in a village market, and a formal hall-meeting in another, larger town--she'd had to answer some pointed questions about Asha, about the Prelatry, and about outside intervention in both matters.

And the Emperor's secret Council had been disbanded. The room where it had met for centuries stood empty. The Council still debated whether it should be made a museum--as a warning--or destroyed.

Fortunately, few Arekkhi seemed to hold Zhenu's attitudes about Asha.
Or
those who feel that way are keeping quiet around the aliens,
she decided.

Not so good, if true. But she saw no sign of things turning violent again.

Magdalena returned from an overnight visit to Shiksara's family to find Alexis settled in the talk-pit, half-buried in Arekkhi documents and computer marks, with Stephanie Kim cross-legged on the edge of the pit, scowling down at her. "Hey, Perez!" the interrelator said with a laugh, "having fun with
my
flitter?"

"Oh, it's yours, all right." Magdalena smiled. "I have no intention of learning how to pilot one of those--or anything like it."

Alexis laughed again. "Yeah, sure! You have Khyriz to take you."

The smile widened. "He doesn't seem to object--when he has time, of course."

"Which seems to be just about always." Alexis twisted partway around to meet her companion's almond eyes. "I swear, I just gotta talk to her for a minute or two, then I'll go take that nap."

"If I come with you, I suppose?" the doctor inquired dryly, and cast up her eyes. "I only
thought
my usual runaround job-description was a hard one! I was just about burned out anyway, but this woman's going to complete the job." Her warm eyes rested on the Russian, who raised an eyebrow and gave her a wicked smile.

"We just got word from Fahara and An-Lieye," Alexis went on after a moment. "All the preliminary tests show the baby's healthy, due in about five months, male--and the match

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is more than ninety-nine percent that Zhik's the father. They'll do another after it's born, but--"

"I didn't doubt it for a moment. But I'm glad it'll be proven, for her sake,"

Magdalena said softly. "Then that means the Emperor--?"

''His chief clerk sent me a preliminary copy of the proclamation and the documents as soon as they got the physician's sworn statement--it's here somewhere, one of these thick stacks. They must not have doubted, either.

Especially after your testimony and Khyriz's. Anyway, the
zhez's
immediate holdings and twenty
parths
around it go to the infant as Zhik's heir, with that in trust to An-Lieye while he's growing. She'll need a handful of advisers for now, but I wager she'll be fully in charge before the babe loses his infant-mane. Everything else--villages and so on outside the twenty
parths
--wil be in trust to the Emperor while Zhenu's ex-serfs learn to deal with independence. Oh!" She began stacking things on the edge of the pit. "I nearly forgot: The latest antidotes have come in from CLS; the Emperor's Council is very excited. Ah-Naul is nearly back to normal, I'm told; An-Lieye had the opportunity to take him in, but she did the better thing: They've found his family and sent him home, even though he doesn't remember them much yet; she also pledged financial support for them because of what was done to him." She got to her feet, swaying slightly. "No--wait, Steph, it's all right.

Change of altitude, but not nearly as bad as it used to be."

"Hah," the other woman exclaimed sourly. "You've got the part, cut out the act; you're playing feeble to keep me here!"

Alexis laughed. "It's working, isn't it? So, Perez, you're here for the next two days, if I recall right?" She was letting her partner lead her slowly toward the hallway, and her sleep-chamber. Magdalena went with them.

"Well... maybe not. Khyriz thought this might be a good time for me to tour his estates, and ..."

"You and Khyriz..." Alexis stopped abruptly. "I swear, are you two in love, or what?"

Magdalena smiled. "It isn't 'what.' " The smile widened as the interrelator stared at her, open-mouthed in pretended shock.

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"Don't worry, I'm not quitting on you. And it's not as if we could life-bond, or have offspring, you know."

To her surprise, the interrelator's cheeks turned pink. "I don't believe
you
just said something like that! Prudish Perez?"

"Hmmmmm. That was only my nickname in first year."

"But he
is
a Prince."

"And subject to his father's say, but he's talked to his parents. It helps he's a third son. But they let him know that as long as we don't flaunt ourselves and upset the conservative and religious types, they won't make a fuss. They care for him--and they like me."

"Well,
you
look happy," Alexis said.

Magdalena laughed, and twirled in place. 'I am. I just got a response from the McKenzie Dance Company--the best of the touring groups that wanted me to join them before we came here? Well, I sent them a proposal from

Shassiszss, suggesting a touring group of twenty dancers and a star duo and soloist to tour with them. There'll be Arekkhi dance of all kinds, including

'Fringe of Dancer,' solos like 'Bluebird' from
Sleeping Beauty,
and some of that Irish tap. And a new hybrid ballet: Khyriz and I have been working on it, when there's time, a way he can perform classical ballet with me. McKenzie is
very
interested."

"Magdalena! That's great! But I didn't have a clue. Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't dare, in case they weren't interested. And, well ... in case I'd jinx the whole thing. It won't be for two years at least, so you'll have plenty of time to get a new translator." She glanced sidelong at Stephanie, who tugged at the interrelator to get her moving again.

Alexis nodded. "Hmmm. Anything is possible, isn't it?"

She paused in the doorway as their new pantrier opened the outside entry; Khyriz stood there. "I'd better get horizontal before this woman scowls me into a relapse, Perez. I think the caller is for you, anyway."