“So you can see why the Rownt are worried,” Liam said. As an Earthling, he was also worried that a Ribelian now had the power to restart the damn war if she felt like it.
Ama sighed. “They have no reason to worry. Someone taughtWolfabout morality. She feels guilty about the people who suffered in her, and she will not help a new generation of slavers. If we tried, I suspect she would lock us in our rooms like naughty children.” She shook her head, a fond expression on her face.
“Creatures who can live for centuries do develop a different outlook on life,” Liam said.
Ama gazed into Liam’s eyes, a strange intensity in her face. “We can all live that long, tuk-Munson. We may not remember our previous lives, but they are there, whispering in our ear when we are quiet enough to listen.”
She turned and headed through the door to her shuttle. Maybe all Ribelians were not as violent as the vids on Earth suggested; however, the press had underplayed their oddness. The shuttle doors closed. The lines of a Command doorshape were obscured by a bluish film with intricate filaments. Then theCalti’sshuttle door closed and they were, once again, alone.
“Do you feel any instinct to continue to war against her?” Ondry pulled Liam closer.
“No, not at all.” Liam leaned back into Ondry’s strength. “But some humans will. It will be a long time before the two sides stop looking for excuses to hurt each other.” Liam feared that if they’d turned the children over to Command, no one would have gone out of their way to seek out family living in rebel areas. However, if he said that, the Rownt might be driven to kidnap every child out of an orphanage on the theory that humans weren’t doing enough. But the supplies Ama wanted made it clear that the ship was struggling to support the crew they had. Rownt couldn’t start grabbing children and shoving them at Ama.
Ondry took advantage of the privacy to tighten his arms around Liam’s waist. “We should tell the Grandmothers that their message has been delivered.” Despite his words, Ondry didn’t move.
Liam closed his eyes. The kids were going to be safe, the Rownt onDesgahadn’t abandoned their ship and their Grandmothers and the Cy ship didn’t plan on taking up slavery. It felt like all was good in the world. He tilted his head back and studied Ondry’s features. He seemed content. Hell, he was dark with it.
“Did you ever find out what happened on theDesga?” Liam asked. There was no way that a ship would have so many young Grandmothers. On theCalti, there was an engineer who had redesigned the water distribution system to make the whole ship more efficient, and Agaril was still tuk-ranked. Given how often she trilled at the less technically educated Grandmothers, Liam had thought they would promote her if only to preserve their own reputations, but Rownt under ten feet were not welcome in the upper temple.
Ondry tightened his grip for a moment before backing to a more appropriate distance. At least most of him moved away. His tail was tucked into the pocket of Liam’s pants. If another Rownt saw them, it was a shockingly intimate gesture. “They had a disagreement over an aging mining platform,” Ondry said. “The eldest wished to abandon it, but others wished to salvage the parts to minimize the cost of reconstruction.”
Liam winced. An eldest Grandmother was respected, but she was not a dictator. If others had felt as though they could salvage the platform, they would have tried. And given the lack of Grandmothers of an appropriate age on the ship, Liam suspected he knew how that had ended.
“We are very lucky to haveCaltiGrandmothers who maintain their platforms so well,” Liam said. Space was dangerous, even with the Rownt habit of over-engineering everything. That explained why there were no egglings on theCalti. Liam had never seen a child under forty.
“If I did not trust them to maintain their equipment, I would not trust them with your safety.” Ondry rested his fingers on Liam’s neck. Ignoring propriety, Liam rested his forehead against Ondry’s shoulder. If a Rownt had seen them, she would have accused them of sharing the color of the nest pillows with the whole ship, but Liam didn’t care. He was palteia, and if he couldn’t use that to get inappropriate public cuddles, what was the point of life?
Family
Zach stood outsidethe hospital room and leaned against the door. His current Grandmother was young, barely nine-and-a-half-feet tall and able to fit into the hospital, but she had waited outside the room. Now she studied Zach, her eyes wide with confusion. But bless her—she didn’t say anything.
Zach moved to lean against her comforting bulk, and she rested the back of her fingers against his neck where he would have a fora if he were Rownt. “He's dying.” An era was ending. It was as if the ties between Zach and Earth that had begun to fray when the last of his siblings died were now snapping.
Zach remembered how excited John had been when Jackson was born. He’d held that baby like a precious gift and unexploded ordnance. John had been on the front lines when his kids had been born. His wife had gotten pregnant once while John was on leave, and twice by using artificial insemination. She hadn’t been willing to wait for the war to end to have her family.
But then the grandchildren had shown up, and Zach’s baby brother had turned into the posterchild for grandparenting. John would have given a Rownt Grandmother a run for her money.
