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You'll stay ig-norant farmers and fighters and your cubs will grow up just as
inefficient and deprived as you all are."
Wind hammered insistently at doorways and port-holes, the only sound in the
room.
Eventually Hunnar spoke, chosing his words care-fully. "You have ventured
enough insults to result in a shortened tongue, woman. Yet you did so, I
believe, in the hope of benefiting us. What you say is truthspeak." Several of
the other nobles now looked askance at, Hunnar, then at one another. There
were some un-happy mutterings and a few threatening looks in Co-lette's
direction.
"Listen to you all." Ethan thought he had seen someone else behind Colette
when she stepped through the cabin portal. Now that other person also entered.
Elfa Kurdagh-Vlata looked like a bewhiskered amazon in cloak and light robe.
Her translucent dan caught the back light of oil lamps beyond and turned to
curved sheets of orange flame when she raised her arms.
"You confirm what the human woman says every time you speak. She calls you
ignorant and in response to her reasoning words you make stupid threatening
sounds, like mewling cubs caught stealing vegetables."
"We grant the wisdom of her speaking," grumbled one of the other nobles at the
table. "It was the man-ner of such speaking." While Elfa was the inheritor of
the Landgrave's title, the noble had used no honorific in addressing her,
Ethan noted. Such informality be-tween rulers and ruled was one of the Tran's
most heartening characteristics.
"But would Phulos-Tervo or any of our other bor-der rulers do likewise?" the
noble finished bluntly.
There was murmur of agreement from around the table.
"Perhaps not." Elfa conceded the point readily. "But a total stranger might.
Phulos-Tervo would be suspicious of anything my father might agree to. A
stranger would know him not." She gestured at the humans in the room, pointing
at each in turn.
"Here are our offworld friends, proof of the truths we will seek to convince
others of. No one can dis-pute
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(1979)[v1].html (23 of 166) [10/15/2004 12:52:51 PM]
Alan Dean Foster - Mission to Moulokin their existence. Therefore it may be
that others will accept their words as have we."
"That is possible," agreed a swaggering knight named Heso-idn. "If they will
come with us." He eyed
Ethan expectantly.
"Oh, I'll be staying." Milliken Williams sounded surprised that any other
possiblity could be seriously considered. The ancient Tran seated next to him
spoke through a white beard.
"Sir Williams and I still have much to discourse upon to one another. He could
not leave now."
"Of course I couldn't." Williams' guileless enthu-siasm did much to boost the
confidence of the assem-bled Tran as he gazed blithely around the table.
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"You're much more interesting than any of my old pupils, and there's more here
for me to learn. I couldn't possibly leave."
"You must realize, all of you, that as an educated citizen of fair
achievement, citizen Williams is giving up a vote." September sounded as
solemn as he could. "That is something no qualified inhabitant of the
Com-monwealth does lightly, I can assure you."
"What of you, friend September?" asked Hunnar.
"Oh, I guess I'll hang around a while yet." He picked at his teeth with a
triangular fork left from the last meal. "Can't say much for your climate, but
the food's good, the liquor is first class, and the com-pany's agreeable.
Can't ask for much more than that. Besides, nobody asks me too many
questions." He turned to his right. "What about you, young feller-me-lad?"
Ethan found he was the object of everyone's atten-tion, found himself wishing
he was beneath the table instead of seated at its side. He gazed into his lap,
fumbled for a reply.
"I don't know, Skua& Hunnar." His mouth felt like someone had suddenly
substituted glue for saliva. "I
have other interests, other obligations. There's my contracted job and& "
"All is understandable, friend Ethan." Hunnar smiled that simple Trannish
smile, without showing his teeth.
For some reason, Hunnar's timely words of em-pathy made Ethan feel even worse.
Wasn't he the sophisticated member of the advanced galactic civili-zation?
Then why should he feel so devoid of worth-while thoughts and meaningful
feelings?
"Even if I could go with you, I'd only slow you down." Colette du Kane looked
back toward the door-way. "My father's in our own cublicle, asleep. I can't
turn him loose to manage the family affairs, not while he journeys from one
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