“And the Anla?” Tsang asked.
She was slow to answer, but Tsang appeared willing to wait. And Ito, for all his discomfort, remained silent. She said, “They offend the temple to such an extent that we will not speak with them. If their ships pursue ours, we will either ignore them or destroy any that are in our way, but we will not engage the Anla.”
“Perhaps we should leave.” Ito moved closer to the Grandmother, but she waited for some sign from Tsang. Reasonable traders might walk around a town a dozen times, but they would stop when they had learned all they needed to find their profit. No doubt he searched for some information she did not understand.
Tsang’s gaze flickered over toward Ito before he said, “Our government promised that the Anla could provide technology and an understanding of the universe.”
“How unfortunate,” she said. Humans lived so few years that they were likely to make errors, and that had been a grievous one. Liam had explained that Anla had taken children, hoping to improve their trading position, and the humans’ attempt to recover the offspring had led to their deaths. She would have happily lent her experience and ship to recover the children, and if she had caused the death of many Anla, she would have counted that as improving the universe in general.
Tsang stood. “Now our government promises that the Rownt can provide technology and raw materials we need to explore the universe.”
She hissed and showed all her teeth. Her anger was so great that she spoke in Rownt before typing her response into her computer. “Do not compare Rownt to the eggless Anla.”
Again, Ito stepped between them. “We truly do need to leave. Grandmother, I have chosen a gift to offer the temple if we can return to the base.” He offered her an abbreviated bow.
“Why should I believe my government about the benefits you offer to the people of Earth?” Tsang demanded as he moved to Ito’s side.
She trilled at the suggestion that she had any interest in benefiting another. “The only people of Earth I would ever help would be children or palteia. If your officers engage in stupidity like trading with Anla, I have no interest. Were you to anger one of the few remaining Cy ships and it came to destroy your planet, I would remove as many children as possible and flee, leaving the rest of you to die. If I trade here it is because I smell profit in a young species who still trades in vegetables while others steal the meat from their table.”
Ito’s eyes grew large. In humans that would indicate alarm rather than curiosity. Tsang, on the other hand, nodded and sat again. “Have you told the government as much?”
“Many times,” she said.
He huffed. She still found it disconcerting that humans used so many Rownt gestures, but assigned such different values to them. “So the government is lying to us.”
“We are not,” Ito protested loudly. “The Rownt are allies and the constant fear-mongering and protests are unnecessary.”
Tsang ignored him. “You cite the Cy as a danger,” he said to her. “Would Rownt ever attack the planet?”
She paled. “I would avoid any action which would result in the deaths of children or palteia. Attacking your planet would necessitate both. However, if you posed an immediate threat to my ship or the young on it, I would have to consider any action. I would attempt to choose the least destructive path to remove any danger.”
“‘Attempt’. So there are conditions under which you don’t try to minimize damage,” Tsang summarized.
She could understand why Liam had thought him almost Rownt. He was far more direct than most humans she had traded words with, and he knew what questions to ask. She considered leaving, but she too feared that misunderstandings could lead their species down a dangerous path. No doubt Ito would report back to his officers, and they needed to consider the dangers. The Rownt had learned after they lost one ship to the Imshee, but she was unsure as to whether the humans had learned their lesson after the Anla took their children. Zach and Liam were certainly trusting, more so than their palteia nature would explain.
“A Rownt who has lost reason while chasing anger or vengeance or some sense of justice wronged is a dangerous creature,” she confirmed. She had said similar words to the generals, but in that room, none of their scents had ever shifted. She did not know whether she spoke a truth so obvious it had not needed saying or if they doubted her warning. However Tsang’s scent did shift. It grew less bitter and more acidic. “If offspring or palteia under my care died, I would not wish for any sentient creature to remain in my path because I will not assume my age would be enough to overcome my anger.”
“Any creature can be dangerous under the right circumstances. I told my son-in-law as much.” Tsang turned his back to her. “He ignored me and took my only grandchild, the son of my late daughter, to a planet that the government promised would be the center of the new Anla alliance.” His voice was soft, but the tone had become brittle, like the vocal cords had been pulled tight.
“Was he among the children taken by the Anla?” the Grandmother asked.
Tsang nodded.
The shrewdest trader cared little for profit when a child was lost. She understood that. She had lost her first child to a flood, and she still carried the pain of that life lost. She always would. Sometimes she wondered what path he would have walked and whether he would have resembled his father as he grew. She had left her next three egglings on the doorsteps of others because having a child in her nest had reminded her too much of her son and her own failings as a mother to protect him. She could blame no one for the flood other than gods who did not exist, but Tsang’s pain would be harder to bear because he could see those who carried a fraction of the blame while his status would not allow him to demand punishment.
“A Rownt might have committed great violence against those whose foolish advice led to the loss of a child,” she said.
Tsang turned. “I considered it. Those protestors who want you off the planet... they remember what the government said, and they are considering violence. Lots of people are fascinated by you, but some of us... forgetting is harder.” Tsang unlocked the glass that protected the Aizen Myo-o.
“Rownt rarely forget.” She wished to return to the ship and speak to Liam about this pain. If the presence of theCaltihurt those who had suffered such loss, remaining would be disrespectful. She turned to leave, and Ito ran to get in front of her and open the door. Already he spoke into his communication device.
“Grandmother,” Tsang called. She turned, careful that her tail did not damage any art. He walked over with the statue in his hands. “Aizen Myo-o teaches us that human flaws can be turned to positive motivations, but he also reminds us that those flaws rule us if we don’t work to transform them. He reminds us that most people are ruled by base emotions.” He held it out to her in both hands.
Slowly, and with reverence for the gift, she accepted it. The wood was smooth under her fingers and up close, the detail even more impressive. She headed for the door. Behind her, Ito spoke quickly.
“That is a wonderful gift. Thank you. I am sure the Grandmothers appreciate your generosity.”
“I don’t need thanks,” Tsang said, and even the Grandmother could hear the anger in his tone. She walked to the car and considered how to best enter it with such a priceless piece of art in her care. If Tsang were Rownt, she would suspect that he had offered the temple gift as a warning—a reminder that humans could rise above their animal nature or lose themselves to it. They were a difficult species, not as easy to dismiss as the Anla or as consistent in their needs as the Imshee. If he were a general, she would suspect that he hoped a temple gift would open new avenues of trade.
