Of course, Rownt also had the unfortunate habit of walking headfirst into death if they became distressed enough and couldn’t relieve that anxiety by killing something. Liam preferred human reactions to stress. Rownt felt loss and grief and fear, but for them, those were emotions separate from pain. Maybe they did understand because more than one trilled and a younger female fled the temple.
“How do we ease the pain?” the eldest asked.
Liam had no answer.
A Guilt of Orphans Part Four
The eldest Grandmotherhad not sent Zach, so Liam was forced to retreat to his own temple to seek some sort of solution. TheCaltiGrandmothers, for all their age and wisdom, had no more answers than those younger Grandmothers on theDesga. The eldest stood in the temple with her nostrils shut tight. She was so pale that her skin matched Liam’s own, and the ka ranks and even some of the tuk had fled.
Liam’s own Grandmothers appeared even more distressed than the Grandmothers from theDesga, but Liam suspected those Grandmothers had more motive to hide their reactions. Not only were they younger, and Liam had learned that with Rownt younger meant touchier about status, but Liam himself was another unknown factor in their world.
He didn’t envy them.
An awkward silence filled the temple. Even the two tuk-ranked individuals who had chosen to stay decided this was a good time to be elsewhere, leaving only Liam and Ondry to represent the lower ranks.
“Are the younglings physically healthy?” the Grandmother asked.
“They are. The humans on the ship moved the children to their most shielded position while they attempted to fix the ship. None of the children are ill,” Liam said. At least the humans on the ship had proven that adults could think rationally from a Rownt perspective. After all the Grandmothers had read the information on orphanages, humanity would need a few points in their favor.
The eldest hauled herself to her feet and stood rocking gently for a second, as if she couldn’t find her balance. Then she turned and headed for the stairs. A few of the younger Grandmothers hurried up the stairs ahead of her, but most of them waited for her to pass, following her up into the more private quarters where Grandmothers debated.
Liam sighed and looked at the Aizen Myo-o secured in his alcove. Several of the Grandmothers considered the art a reminder of the contradictory nature of human logic. That seemed particularly appropriate now.
“Ondry, I would like to speak to Zach alone.”
Ondry widened his eyes. Liam would have to explain later, but right now he needed to have an honest conversation with the other human on the ship, and Zach still tried to give answers the Rownt wanted instead of saying what he felt. When Liam glanced over toward Zach, the muscles around Ondry’s eyes relaxed and he left the temple without another word.
Ondry’s willingness to set aside his own curiosity and honor Liam’s request still made Liam tingle inside. He’d had plenty of partners claim to love him, and most of those had then hurt him. Ondry was the first who respected him enough to listen. Now that Liam knew what love felt like, he had trouble believing he’d ever fallen for pretty lies. He was worlds away from the idiot kid who had once believed Mort.
Zach abandoned the bench on the far side of the temple the second Ondry left the room. “I regret sending them those details about orphanages,” he said softly. “This is why Colonels or above are supposed to make the hard decisions about what information to provide an alien species.”
Sometimes Zach still fell back into Earth-centric thinking. And Liam got it. The statistics Zach had dug out of the sociology database from Earth were shocking, and Zach had not attempted to blunt the horror. However, Grandmothers needed facts. “The Rownt need to know the whole truth. Otherwise, their assumptions could be dangerous.”
Zach’s expression turned stubborn. “Those statistics shocked me. I had no idea so many children were hurt like that. It makes humans look like psychopaths.” Zach grimaced, and Liam could almost see the thought bubble over Zach's head. Liam might not have been an orphan, but he had been hurt like that. That was a history Liam wouldn't wish on anyone, but he had also survived it. He didn’t need Zach’s pity.
“The Grandmothers are even more shocked, but can you imagine what would happen if we wrongly told them the children would be safe? If they drop those kids off on the nearest human planet, and then find out the kids were hurt, what will happen?”
