Acorna's Rebels

Four

The officers' mess was filled with fragrant candles. Their soft glow lit the room, but the scent of their melting wax did not mask the succulent odors of cooking food that made Becker's nostrils twitch. The group from the Condor were all very hungry and tired, since the inspection had taken much longer than that "little walk-through" Macostut had promised them.

Though the inspection crew did not find RK, they did find the Wats and asked to see their papers. The Wats didn't have any papers. Paper, much less papers, hadn't been around when they were born on Old Terra. The Wats did not have files to speak of, either, and even if they had, the ship's computers were still not working properly after their little adventure with Khleevi hardware. Becker had finally gotten the bureaucrats to leave by blaming the lack of documentation on the malfunctioning computers.

The inspection team had also wondered about Mac. Kis la Ma njari's name came up when they verified the android's records. That certainly seemed to worry the Federation inspectors, who were familiar with the Manjari name. But the android had happily assured them of his complete rehabilitation. Since one of the team, a female chief petty officer, showed polite interest, Mac showed her his original model number. He then explained in detail about his various non-factory-authorized upgrades and reprogramming at Becker's hands, up to and including his new promotion to uniformed crew member. Mac could be exhaustingly thorough sometimes. In the end, the team had cleared the android, probably in self-defense.

But by the time they were ready to disembark, Acorna had her answer from Captain MacDonald-no message about Aari was waiting for her on the Arkansas Traveler from Maganos or MOO. The only message from either place was a short list Hafiz Harakamian had sent, naming things Acorna should let it be known she was in the market for while they were on Makahomia.

She saw one of these items-or rather, several specimens of one of them, as soon as Becker, Nadhari, and she were seated across the table from their host. Seated at dinner with them were a few Federation officers, two men in what appeared to be the local priestly raiment, and a young girl similarly clad. That raiment was what caught Acorna's eye. The attire was red, woolen, and long-sleeved. One priest's clothing was trimmed around the neckline and sleeves with a two-inch-wide ornate band of multicolored embroidery depicting cats, beautifully embellished with cat's-eye stones. The other priest's robe featured a plain stripe of gold embroidery around his sleeves and neckline, and the girl's robe was unornamented. The man in the most elaborate robe had thick dark hair and a luxuriant beard and mustache, in contrast to the other man, who was as bald and clean-shaven as the first man was hirsute. The girl's braided hair was so dark an auburn as to appear black, but the red highlights in it shot back reflections of the candlelight the same color as her robe.

Each of the three Makahomians wore a single striking jewel - a large cat's-eye stone. The ornately dressed man's was round, approximately four centimeters in diameter, and hung from a thick rose-gold chain around his neck. The stone was golden in color, with a deep velvety black cleft down its center. The second man's cat's-eye jewel was half the size of the first, dark green in color, and strung on a leather thong as a pendant. The girl's stone, pale green in color and much smaller than her companions' jewels, was also suspended on a leather thong, but was worn on her wrist.

Acorna had been raised by human asteroid miners. Growing up, she had demonstrated a special psychic gift that had proved very useful to them. She was able to determine the mineral content of any given object without the aid of equipment or computers, simply by using the powers of her mind. As a result of that upbringing and her gift, Acorna was acutely aware of minerals and gemstones of all sorts. The cat's-eye stones the local people were wearing-which were more properly called chrysoberyls - were not only beautiful and sacred, according to Nadhari's lesson on Makahomian culture, but also very useful in the mining and terraforming industries across the universe. Acorna wondered if it would be culturally inappropriate to dicker to purchase a few on behalf of Hafiz, since they were on his shopping list.

All of this she noticed in the blink of… well, a cat's eye… while beside her, Nadhari tensed and then smiled at the man in the embroidered robe as he rose and reached across the table to take both of her hands in his.

"Nadhari - cousin, you've come home to us. Dare I hope you've come to stay?" The man's eyes were large and brown and melting with sincerity. Nadhari flinched. The man noticed it, which Acorna thought was unusually sensitive of him. Most human men, in her experience, would have missed that small movement. "Sorry. Of course I know that cannot be the case," he continued. "Dsu has already explained to me that you've arrived with your friends unexpectedly and in the course of business travels elsewhere."

He started to turn to Acorna. Macostut, evidently feeling the introductions were going too fast and were proceeding without him, said, "Oh, please, Mulzar, allow me to introduce all of our guests to you. Your cousin, of course, you have already met. The Linyaari Ambassador Lady Acorna Harakamian-Li, is on her right, Captain Jonas Becker on her left."

"Yes," Becker said jovially. "Acorna's the one with the horn. I'm the alien-looking one." Acorna smiled at the jest, reflecting that, like many of the planets under Federation protection, this one seemed to be populated with people of Terran stock. She had learned in her studies of galactic history that this was because, since ancient times, Old Terra kept overpopulating itself.

To remedy the problem, Terra had established space colonies, which soon developed the same problem. Those Terrans who were excess or simply adventurous were sent to colonize still other planets. By the time the old planet had worn itself completely out, Terrans had a vast web of colonies throughout their sector of space. They were the dominant, if not the only, sentient species on every planet and moon they could make habitable for their own kind throughout their galaxy and beyond. Through his jest, Acorna knew Becker was trying, however awkwardly, to show his support of her and his solidarity with her.

But Kando laughed as if the jest truly amused him. Acorna considered the possibility that he was more sheltered than she might have supposed, or else, contrary to her experience elsewhere, old jokes were not truly universal here on Makahomia.

"And this is Captain Scaradine MacDonald, who rescued all of them when their ship foundered on Praxos."

Kando shuddered exaggeratedly. "Ah, yes, Praxos. How well I remember our Federation training there - eh, Nadhari? You must have gone through it, too. I wouldn't wish that on anyone! Thank you so much, Captain Mac Donald, for bringing my beloved kinswoman and her friends safely home to us. How did you happen to be nearby at the proper moment?"

"It's on my regular route, uh -"

"Forgive me! Forgive me!" Macostut interrupted jovially. "I didn't complete my introductions. Mulzar Edu Kando sach Pilau dom Mog-Gim is the High Priest and Temporal Ruler of the City of Hissim and the Mog-Gim Plateau, Captain MacDonald, and these are his companions, Brother Bulaybub Felidar sach Pilau ardo Agorah and Little Sister Miw-Sher, a Keeper of the sacred Temple cats."

Acorna had already sensed that all was not well with Little Sister Miw-Sher, who glanced around looking a bit desperate when she thought no one was looking, and who seemed to long to leave. Her eyes were almost as red as her robe, as if she had been crying. Acorna instinctively wished to comfort her and sent an inquiring probe before she was quite aware that she had done so. The girl's green eyes widened as she stared back at Acorna, though she didn't seem to know what to think.

When everyone finished exchanging greetings, Kando looked back to MacDonald, clearly prompting him to answer the question he'd been working on before Macostut had decided to butt in.

"So you're a high priest?" Scaradine MacDonald hedged. "Well, now, that's real nice, Preacher. I'm a Methodist myself, or used to be when I had a church to go to. I hope you won't hold it against me."

Kando looked a little confused, but prompted the ship's captain again. "Is it your Method to linger near swampy planetoids so that you may rescue other ships?"

"Oh, that. No, sir. That's got nothing to do with religion. I'm a tech rep for agricultural supply and equipment companies. I sell and repair all manner of implements and machinery, plus seeds and chemicals and such. I have a regular route for my repair schedule, and part of it takes me within range of where I heard the Condor's distress signal. I've never actually stopped in this neck of space before, though I go through it pretty often. I understand you people don't hold with-uh - my way of doing things." Acorna knew he'd started to say "new" or "modern," and then politely changed his wording.

Brother Bulaybub studied Kando's face as they waited for his reply. Acorna felt a certain emanation from him, as she did not from the girl.

(Nadhari,) she asked silently, (are your people telepathic?)

(Not as a rule, no,) Nadhari replied, rather startled by the sudden mind-touch, but remembering just in time not to look at Acorna. (It would probably be wise not to let them know that you are a strong mind-speaker, at least until we get our bearings.)

(It may be too late already,) Acorna replied, thinking of Miw-Sher's startled face, (but I'll see what I can do.) She watched Kando, who seemed to be trying to drink in MacDonald's words with senses other than his ears. (Is your cousin, the Mulzar, among the few telepaths here?)

(No more than any other good manipulator of people,) Nadhari replied, with a bite to her thoughts.

"That was the original arrangement, yes," Kando said in answer to Captain MacDonald's comment. "But I think there are times - such as the ones we now find ourselves enduring-when change is mandated. I know Dsu agrees with me on this."

Little Sister Miw-Sher made a small, strangled noise and looked with wild hope into Captain MacDonald's face and back to Kando's. The poor child seemed desperate to say something and at the same time, desperate to flee the hall.

"What's the matter, honey?" Captain MacDonald asked her. "Cat got your tongue?"

Acorna got the feeling that Kando was not happy to have the captain's attention diverted from himself, but the priest smiled and said, "You may ask what you are longing to ask him, Miw-Sher."

The girl gulped. "Please, sir, do you know how to doctor animals? That is, do you know anything about how to cure cats?"

"Something is wrong with the sacred cats?" Nadhari asked sharply.

The girl suddenly looked startled and guilty. Kando consciously assumed an expression of concern, and Brother Bulaybub looked down at his lap as if to dissociate himself from the proceedings.

"Yes, ma'am," the girl replied quickly, before her permission to speak was rescinded. "The cats under my care have been sick and dying for over a week now. We have only four left and they have not taken nourishment for at least two days. They may well be-be -"

"Calm yourself, little sister," Bulaybub instructed her.

"… gone when we return." The young girl valiantly swallowed her tears.

"She is such a tenderhearted child," Kando said, reaching across Bulaybub to stroke the girl's cheek with a long brown finger. "So concerned for her charges."

"As she should be," Nadhari said. "This is terrible news." She turned to look imploringly at Acorna. Sensing a chance of rescue, Miw-Sher stopped wiping her eyes and shrinking miserably into herself and turned her face toward Acorna as well.

Kando said, "Dear Nadhari, for one who has lived so long away from those who cherish her, you are such a traditionalist. I almost feel that it is the plight of our poor pusses that has brought you back to us-as if they reached out over the vastness of space to draw you toward them, to comfort them as they diminish and die."

His face bore tender sympathy as he looked at her, and in a possessive aside said to the others, "She is such a devout girl. She's always been like that."

The food arrived.

"Oh, yeah, very pious," Becker agreed, pulling a slab of meat Acorna could have sworn was previously dehydrated, onto his plate. "Righteous, even."

He filled his dish with other foods that were also likely to have been reconstituted, which Acorna thought was odd fare to serve high-ranking guests, especially on a planet that prided itself on its agricultural products. It implied serious problems - problems that nobody here had touched upon yet. But Becker seemed so fascinated with the byplay between Nadhari and her cousin that the bad news - both the sickness being discussed and the disaster implied by the food before them - had not registered with him.

Acorna, however, was alarmed. "A plague, you say, sir? Your wonderful felines, of whom Nadhari has told me so much, are actually dying? But that is terrible!"

Captain MacDonald was the one who responded. "It's a darn shame, and I can tell this poor little girl is broken-hearted about her kitties. But it's even worse than that. Those fellas who inspected my ship tell me it's not just her pussycats involved. They say a lot of the animals here have got the same disease." His cheery expression and bantering tone were gone. His head was lowered, as in deep thought - or remembrance-and his shoulders slumped. He appeared to be personally stricken somehow by the misfortune of the Makahomians.

He wasn't the only one. Panic hit Acorna, too, at the thought of RK catching the disease. Acorna launched a mental search for her friend. She received a clear image of RK walking though the city. The little rascal had probably left the Candor as soon as the robolift was freed, even before the inspection team had arrived.

(RK, since you are off the ship, you should know that there is some sort of contagious illness among your kind,) she told the cat in direct thought-speak, which she had never quite used with him before. (You should return to the ship to avoid catching it.)

She was more surprised than she should have been to receive an immediate answer in clear Standard thought-forms expressed with a slight feline accent and a strong dose of feline imperiousness. (I know. Why do you think I brought us here? Would you and my other people please stop eating and get to work? My fellow holy cats are in sad shape. I could hear them mewling their hearts out clear back on Vhiliinyar. I'm trying to calm them down, telling them you're coming and you'll help them, so please don't make me look bad here, Acorna.)

She didn't bother asking why the cat chose now to communicate directly with her. She and RK had been in peril as bad or worse than this together before, and she'd never gotten anything like this from him. But like all cats, RK did things his own way and in his own time. Perhaps the cat's sudden communicativeness had to do with him being on his world of origin. Or perhaps he was just getting around to experimenting with thought-speak because he felt like it. Or maybe RK had finally found something he considered to be worth talking to her about. Reading minds didn't actually help one understand cats any more than it helped one understand any other life form. And cats - certainly RK, at least - could be rather coy about providing context for their decisions and thoughts. (Since you brought us here, RK, you know the dangers better than we do. Don't you allow yourself to be seen, if you can avoid it. And don't get near enough to the sick ones to catch the disease, please. We all love you.)

(I know you do. That's why I'm not afraid. If I catch it, you'll just heal me again, right? Now, please, will you all stop jabbering and get to work?)

"Ambassador, I believe you wished to ask something of Mulzar Edu?" Macostut said. His tone, which was very polite but quite insistent, indicated that he had given her previous cues that she'd been too preoccupied to hear while she'd been communicating with RK.

"Oh, yes. Yes, I did. But your new revelation about the disease has distracted me, I'm afraid," she said, making eye contact with the Kando. "Somehow I suppose I had the idea the Temple cats were immortal." She had not, but thought such a naive comment might elicit more information.

Edu Kando laughed and smiled at Nadhari. "Did my cousin tell you that?"

"Why, no. I just assumed from the ancient myths that I have heard concerning them that they must be."

"Well, pampered as they are with the best of everything, they live lives longer than many who walk on two legs, but then, our -shall I say lifestyle?-here on Makahomia isn't always conducive to longevity. Our oldest cats until recently were eighty and seventy-five years old."

"So very young," Acorna murmured.

"Young?" Edu Kando asked. Miw-Sher was looking down at her plate, moving the food around without interest or appetite. Bulaybub also pretended extreme interest in his food.

"My people live quite a long time, into a very healthy old age, sir," she said. She could tell that despite their kinship, Nadhari did not care for Edu. Acorna knew her friend must have a very good reason for her dislike of her cousin. Fighting was Nadhari's business. She did not waste her hostility carelessly.

"Oh? Do they?"

"Yes, mainly because my people possess great knowledge of medicine and healing. Like most of my kind, I have some skill at such things. I would be happy to look at your cats and other animals and see what I can do for them. I will attend to it, with your permission, as soon as possible. The matter I mentioned upon our arrival that I wished to inquire about involves research and interviews with a number of your priests, I believe. At the moment, I am too distressed about the ill health of your legendary cats and the other creatures to conduct that other business. Perhaps, with your permission, we can discuss it later. I will not be able to rest until I have seen if I can help the stricken among your charges. I hope that will not present a problem?" She remembered to smile charmingly at Dsu Macostut. "I understand the Federation's permission is necessary. I trust under the circumstances…"

"There are forms to be filled out," Macostut began.

Mulzar Kando evidently enjoyed considerable power here, for he easily brushed aside the post commander's objections. "I believe we could waive that, Dsu, can't we, in view of the fact that these people have brought my dear cousin Nadhari back to us again? And of course, if the ambassador can truly help our sacred cats, then we must make all haste to bring her to them. The glory of our Temple and the faith of our people depend upon it. Perhaps you can bundle up some of the forms for our guests. Then when the ambassador has dealt with the current emergency, she can fill them out at her leisure."

Becker and MacDonald both cleared their throats. "As can these gentlemen, of course. And all of you will be our guests here. You must come and stay with us as long as you like at our Temple. Dsu has made provisions here on the Federation base for you, I know, but the post offers only the simple comforts afforded high-ranking military personnel. Our quarters, though they lack the technological amenities the Federation can provide, are far more comfortable. Our people are very conscientious in their worship. All of the best that Makahomia has to offer belongs to the Temple."

"Since that would bring me closest to your sick cats, it would suit me admirably," Acorna said with a gracious ambassadorial inclination of her head.

"I wouldn't mind having a look at your critters and at what they're eating, where they're sleeping, Preacher," Captain Mac-Donald said. Kando smiled at the form of address, apparently finding it amusing that this rustic man equated him with someone of similar position in his own culture. "My skills are in agriculture. I know that on other planets, it's sometimes been the case that diseases in animals have been traced to contaminants in their feed or elsewhere in their environment. I could maybe do a few tests and see if I can find something that is contributing to your problem."

"Remember," Macostut chided, wagging his finger at them, "no alien technology is allowed beyond the Federation outpost.

The application of any necessary medical knowledge to heal the all-important cats is permissible, but nothing beyond that, including mechanical technology. You do understand you will not be allowed to take with you off-post any of those amenities the Mulzar speaks of?"

"How about a couple of tin cans and some string? Could we phone home that way?" Becker joked.

Macostut gave him a pained smile. "Tin cans are also a product of off-planet technology, however antiquated. I know you were joking, but this is not a laughing matter. Not only is there the dampening field and the gate scanner, but our monitors are manned at all times. Any attempt by you or anyone else to circumvent these rules will lead to your immediate expulsion from this planet and or a strict fine, including possible impoundment of your vessel and imprisonment. Perhaps the treaty is a bit overly restrictive, but so long as it is in force, my command will do its duty and enforce it. We mustn't be a bad influence eh, Edu?"

"By their tails, no," Kando agreed, then gave Acorna a charming smile. "However, if we can avail ourselves of a skilled physician, we must certainly do so and try to save our sacred guardians."

Acorna stood. "I find I have no appetite when I think of those poor sick cats, Lieutenant Commander Macostut. Please forgive me, but I wonder if perhaps Mulzar Kando might provide an escort to take me to them so I may begin treating them at once."

Miw-Sher jumped and scooted her chair back from the table, but Acorna saw Bulaybub tap the air with one finger, cautioning patience.

"If you are certain you do not wish to eat?" Macostut said in a tone that was both disappointed and surprised.

Acorna looked at the foods that had been placed on the table-various platters of meats, breads, and sweets, none of them particularly appetizing to her friends either, if she was reading her human companions well. As a vegetarian with a strong preference for uncooked greens, she wasn't qualified to judge. The aromas were synthetically produced, the food itself clearly reconstituted or heavily processed. Under the circumstances, this was not surprising. If the planet's animals were suffering from some type of plague, meat from any beast that could possibly be harboring such illnesses could not be served.

Acorna shook her head apologetically. "While I thank you for offering this bounty, my people are grazers, sir. We eat only grasses, vegetables, and occasionally fruits. The foods here would not agree with my digestion, I fear."

"I could provide -" Macostut began, genuinely distressed to have failed to take her diet into account when planning his dinner. She was an alien ambassador, after all.

Acorna smiled gently and placed her hand on his shoulder when he started to rise. "Please don't bother. You have been an excellent host, but all of my instincts are telling me I must go now to my patients. Please continue eating in my absence. I have a little hydroponics garden aboard our ship. Perhaps if your local diet does not include food such as I've described, Captain Becker and Nadhari would be good enough to harvest a small meal for me from my garden later before coming to the Temple?"

"Oh, we have grasses and vegetables here," Nadhari's cousin assured her. "Of a poor quality this season, to be sure, but we can provide food for you of the best sort at the Temple." He clapped his hands and Miw-Sher almost knocked her chair over in her haste to escape it, while Bulaybub stood up with a smile, patting his mouth with a napkin he then laid upon his plate.

Kando said, "You see, Little Sister, you have your wish. The ambassador has graciously offered her help. Now you must escort her to the Temple and the infirmary where our sacred ones are being treated."

"Your Holiness, I beg your permission to accompany Miw-Sher and the honored ambassador so that I may oversee preparations for the arrival of our guests this evening," Bulaybub said.

Acorna received the distinct impression that he was as glad as Miw-Sher to leave the table, though not for the same reasons.

"Very considerate of you to anticipate my wishes as always, Brother Bulaybub. You have my leave."

Both acolytes bowed from the waist. When Kando turned away to the table again, the girl shot Acorna a quick, intense glance under heavy lashes. The sprinkle of freckles across her nose and cheeks seemed much too frivolous to match the red-rimmed green eyes above them.

In those eyes Acorna saw despair turn to a tentative hope. Miw-Sher's hands were clenched so tightly Acorna thought they might bleed, but her stride was purposeful as she led the way from the hall. The girl was having trouble containing herself enough to keep from running.

The force of her personality reminded Acorna of Maati. Thoughts of Maati brought thoughts of Maati's brother and a fresh stab of pain to Acorna's heart. Almost involuntarily, her fingers flew to the neck of her tunic, beneath which was Aari's birth disk.

The guards nodded to Brother Bulaybub and Miw-Sher and allowed them to pass through the gate, but they asked Acorna to show them her authorization to leave the post, which Macostut had provided. They pointedly did not look at her horn, even though she distinctly caught the thought (What kind of an alien is this, anyway?) before the other guard, with a roll of his eyes at his comrade's lack of worldliness, then directed her to pass slowly through the gate, which as Macostut had promised, contained a scanner for forbidden devices.

A red-draped box on wheels waited outside the Federation post and spaceport, hitched to two hornless beasts that bore a striking resemblance to Linyaari Ancestors.

"We should take the carriage," Miw-Sher urged, heading for it.

"His Eminence did not grant us permission to do so,"

Bulaybub replied, and Acorna again received the impression that he was trying to temper his tone.

"It would save time," the girl pointed out. "She might save a sacred one by its use."

"Perhaps," Bulaybub said reasonably, "but the Mulzar is aware of this concern and yet did not suggest that we had his permission to use his conveyance. If he chooses to leave and we have taken the carriage without permission, the ambassador will not be able to save us."

Acorna didn't think he was entirely serious about the consequences of taking the wagon, but he was senior to Miw-Sher in rank and he clearly did not want to take the carriage. He shot a glance into the twilit streets of the city, as if looking for something or sensing something. Acorna reached out to see if she could sense a bit about his thoughts-that would be very rude, and not honorable, without asking his permission. She sensed that he was waiting, expecting something… someone. And it had nothing to do with their mission. Her probe was not mind reading exactly, just ordinary sensitivity to the movements of body and eye and the expressions of other people. She considered asking him about it, but rejected the thought.

Whatever he was up to could not be nearly as important as the lives of the Temple cats, who needed her so badly that RK had diverted the Condor to get her here. And RK wasn't the only one worried. Miw-Sher was beside herself with impatience. Acorna said lightly, "I'm quite a swift runner. Lead the way at your fastest pace, please."

"If you are indeed swift of foot, there is no need for me to lead you," Miw-Sher replied eagerly. "You can see the Temple very clearly from here. It is not far." She pointed. The Temple was three stories high, and above the highest floor of the Temple rose a spire, a dome, and two conical towers. The structure dwarfed the low homes, shacks, and shops of the city. "Let's go!" Then they were all sprinting toward the Temple.

The Linyaari ambassador, like other Linyaari, was an extremely fast runner, so she paced herself so she would not outrun her guide. However, Miw-Sher was so swift that Acorna needed to slow only slightly to stay behind her. The run through the city was exhilarating after being cooped up on the Condor for so long. It also kept her from absorbing too quickly the noise of this strange place full of unshielded mouths and minds which otherwise could have overwhelmed her senses. Thousands of conversations, laughing, weeping, screaming, soothing, screaming again - she blocked it all out, focusing on her run and preparing herself for the task ahead.

The girl's heels flashed before her. Brother Bulaybub's trudging footfalls fell behind quickly, fading so completely into the general dm that it was as if the priest had taken a different direction.

Rounding a corner, Acorna found herself facing the Temple 's main gate, where the girl stood beckoning impatiently. Now the building's uppermost embellishments made sense. The Temple was in the shape of a gigantic cat with one paw raised aloft. The dome was the head of the cat, and the conical towers rising from it the ears. The open mouth of the muzzle formed a covered balcony. The main part of the building was molded to resemble a cat's haunches; the outer protective wall, the tail. RK would probably want to fight the whole building when he saw it.

Darkness was closing in now, the third sun setting, but it was still very hot. Once she ran into the open gate, Acorna saw that the courtyard was positioned to catch the most sun possible. The building's outer walls were a good six feet thick. Between the first and second story, they were laced with thin planks leading into holes in the walls.

Up the cat's chest a similarly flimsy pair of ladders rose on either side to the balcony in the muzzle. Long galleries of columns supported a shaded cloister inside the tail and along the lower body of the Temple. Though the main structure of the Temple was of a red and brown stone, the columns supporting the cloisters were white and oddly striped down their length.

"This way," the girl said, and led Acorna inside the Temple, pausing for a few words with a sentry who allowed them to pass, though with a long wondering glance at the alien stranger.

"Back here," the girl called over her shoulder. They came at last to a room lit by a gaseous light. The interior, although it looked clean, stank of illness, of the pungency of male cats, of blood, urine, and dead fish.

Five people looked up when the girl entered.

"Miw-Sher, you've returned too late," a woman the right age to be the girl's mother said. "Grimla has left us. She went into convulsions a few minutes ago. She was so weak her dear body could not sustain them."

"No!" the girl cried. "Where are the others? I've brought a doctor, someone from off-planet who can help them."

"I can cure your cats," Acorna said, praying it was true. "If I may I examine them now, please?"

Two feeble squeaks intended to be mews issued from very thin, bony-looking cats no more than half RK's own splendid size. The one with the jaundiced-looking yellow coat wobbled forward on trembling paws and stared at her. His eyes were half clouded with the third eyelid.

She walked to him, and his caretaker stepped in front of him. "No alien hands will touch my Pash," the man declared stoutly. As Acorna started to muster an argument, the man suddenly said, "Aiee!" He jumped wildly, then rubbed his behind.

Miw-Sher said, "Pash seems to think otherwise. Step aside. Let the doctor work."

The man reluctantly stepped aside.

"First I must reassure the cat and let him get to know me," Acorna said, to explain why she picked up Pash. The poor animal felt like bones webbed together with silk, and he smelled as if he had turned himself inside out just recently. But he stroked his face against her hands.

With great care, Acorna stroked and petted him, held him up to her face, rubbing her cheek in his fur and urging him silently to touch her horn. He did, grabbing it with paws still velvet to lever himself upward and rub his jaw against it. The frail shudders running through his skeletal body took a while to be recognizable as purrs, but that's what they were.

She continued to stroke him.

(Don't take forever.)

She glanced up. Two coin-bright eyes stared down at her from one of the holes above her head. RK glared down at her. (There are three others that I can see, besides the dead queen. Can't you revive her? These other toms aren't going to do me a bit of good.)

Acorna tried to release Pash, but he clung to her with all his claws. She sent him a message to desist, but he snuggled his great head deeper under her armpit.

RK made some low sounds that could have come from any of the cats and Pash abruptly disengaged, hopped onto the counter, and with a flip of his tail, went to his personal food dish to see what was in it. Satisfied crunching and slurping sounds came from the direction of the dish as Acorna moved on to the next stricken cat.

"It's a miracle!" one of the priests cried.

"The Star Cat has sent us a miracle!" another agreed.

The third said, "This stranger is a great doctor indeed, Miw-Sher. Where did you get her?"

Acorna didn't listen to the answer. She was busy communing with a lovely golden-and-rust-colored fellow who appeared to be huge and fluffy. When she lifted him, however, he was as light as if he were in zero G. She cooed and crooned the most awful drivel to him, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact he seemed to like it.

"What is his name?" she asked Miw-Sher, who was bending over another of the cats.

"Haji," the girl said in a voice unsteady with weeping.

Haji was very weak. Like Pash, his eyes were only half open. Drool dribbled from his mouth and raw sores pierced the pink of his gums. The cat did not even have the strength to reach for her. He lay limp as a discarded velvet scarf against her shoulder. She lay her cheek in his fur, bringing the horn into contact with him almost as if by accident. "Poor Haji, where does it hurt, darling boy?"

(Ugh. I think I'm going to be sick myself now,) RK said. He accompanied his statement with a mental image involving a hair-ball.

(Shhh,) Acorna said to him mentally, then turned the thought into a "Shush, shush, poor little kitty, poor dear boy, are you beginning to notice, hmmm? It doesn't hurt anymore, does it?"

She inclined her head to stare into his face and brought her horn in contact with his mouth. The sores disappeared. The nictating membranes of the third eyelid retracted so that his eyes were fully open and bright as the highest caliber peridots.

With a voice rusty from disuse, Haji suddenly said, "Ryow!" and flew out of Acorna's arms as if hurricane winds blew in the direction of his food dish.

Miw-Sher's tear-ravaged face was both frightened and hopeful as she advanced toward Acorna with a limp and spiky-furred tortoiseshell cat in her arms. "This is our Grimla. She is still warm, doctor ambassador. Not stiff. M-maybe I feel a little breath. M-maybe she is not entirely gone yet. J-just very tired? Could you please just look at her?"

Acorna stroked the fur and felt a very faint sigh of breath beneath it. Grimla hadn't used up all of her lives yet, but it was fortunate for her that the Condor had arrived as soon as it had or she would have been lost. The life in the old queen was faint and flickering, but life nevertheless lingered. Acorna could see the essence of it trying to flee, clinging only to the tips of the cat's whiskers, the very ends of her fur, moving them very slightly.

"Poor sweet girl," Acorna said, and bent to stroke the once-beautiful cat while she lay still against Miw-Sher's chest. The acolyte's own heart was beating hard, as if trying to encourage the cat's.

Again, as if by accident, Acorna touched the Temple cat with her horn while seeming to examine her elsewhere. Grimla gave a deep sigh and a cough, and blinked twice. Then she stretched.

"You were faking, weren't you?" Acorna teased. "You scared your friend very badly, you naughty cat!"

As she said these silly words, she waggled her lowered head, encouraging Grimla to play with her horn. Instead, with another sigh, the old queen stretched up and put the velvets of her paws carefully, one behind the other, on the top of Acorna's horn, then stretched up and with a dry and raspy tongue, licked the tip once, and started down. Acorna caught her and kissed the top of her head. Then the cat took her leave of both Acorna and Miw-Sher to seek her own food dish. But she paused once and looked back at them Math a serene expression. They could hear her purr from three feet away. Turning a contentedly waving tail on them, she stuck her nose in her dish.

After Acorna had cured Sher-Paw, the last of the remaining Temple cats, she said, "This room should be cleaned. I suggest that you discard everything that can't be washed in disinfectant and very hot water, then wipe down all of the scrubbable surfaces. Though your sacred cats are cured, the disease could still be spread by vectors from the sick cats."

"Vectors? What are these, Doctor?" asked the male priest. "Tell me what this is that has killed so many of our guardian felines and I will slay it with my bare hands. My revered companion, Pedibastet, was the first of the holy creatures to succumb. Are these vector beasts demons, or perhaps some evil magic spell cast by the shaman of an enemy clan?"

"I was thinking more in terms of mutant nano-viruses." The people around her looked even more bewildered than before. She tried to explain. "I don't actually know what causes this illness, but the causes of most sicknesses are organisms rather like animals but very, very small, too small to see. They are so small that they can go right inside a person or beast without anyone noticing, and attack healthy beings and make them sick. If you want to keep from spreading the sickness or getting the cats reinfected, you should do as I suggest. Clean everything thoroughly, including rugs, pillows, countertops, walkways, and the insides of those holes your cats climb through. If they become reinfected or if perhaps new cats are introduced to this group and become infected by organisms still living in the environment, I will not be here to cure them."

"Aiee," Miw-Sher said, "I could not bear this again. Is there no medicine you could leave us, none of your knowledge or spells?"

Acorna pondered this. Even if she sacrificed a slice of her horn, as she had once done on Rushima, it could not serve all of the stricken for all of their illnesses. For that reason and many others, the Linyaari tried not to allow others to realize that it was their horns that healed and purified water and air. But until she analyzed the causative agent of the disease that had decimated Temple cats all over Makahomia, she couldn't hope to vanquish the illness merely by curing these few victims of it.

"I will do what I can before I leave," she said finally. "Meanwhile, introduce no other cats -"

At that point, RK half jumped, half fell among them. At first Acorna thought the big fellow was faking it to gain access to Grimla, but he did not spring back up when he landed, even though Pash was growling menacingly at him. He gave the smallest, saddest mew Acorna had ever heard him utter. In case she hadn't got the point, he sent her a feeble transmission, along with a pitiful vocalized mew.

(I don't feel so good,) he said.

(I did warn you,) she told him silently. By now the other cats hopped up to surround him.

"What Temple is guarded by this one?" Miw-Sher asked. "Is he from the steppes?"

"No," Acorna said, lifting RK's considerable bulk. Since he had acquired the disease apparently between one breath and the next, he had had no time to lose weight and was his usual hefty self. She didn't elaborate. She didn't wish to have anyone seek to execute her or Becker or anyone else for being in RK's company. "He is my friend and Captain Becker's, who came with us on our spaceship. Not a very wise cat, but a friend nevertheless."

Rubbing her face against his furry sides so that her horn as well as her cheek and nose pressed against him, she murmured what sounded like coos to the other people but what she was actually saying was, (I told you so! I knew you would catch this disease, you stubborn beast.)

RK wriggled free and with a smug purr and eyes wide and bright again, said, (And I told you that you would heal me if I did.)

"He certainly looks like a Temple cat to me," one of the priests who seemed unaffiliated with any particular feline said. "In fact he looks more like the real thing than any of ours at the moment, tatty as they are from undereating and all of that noisy puking they've been doing."

"With all respect, Your Reverence, the ambassador is not only our guest, she has laid healing hands upon our sacred guardians and saved them from certain death," the woman in the priestly robes said. "I think we must give her the benefit of the doubt."

"Oh, of course," the man said with false joviality. "No offense meant, Your Excellency." But his smile was oily and his eyes were shifty. Acorna imagined he would be giving a report to Nadhari's cousin before long, and would not neglect to mention RK's entrance.

"None taken," Acorna said lightly. "But now, if you'll forgive me, the healing process is very draining to me. I need to rest."

"You're welcome to leave your guardian here with ours if you wish, Excellency," the woman grooming Sher-Paw said with genuine concern.

RK had been doing reconnaissance among the Temple cats, hut apparently found them still too weak to be stimulating companions. He hopped up on Acorna's shoulders and made himself comfortable around her neck, letting his head and front paws drape to her waist on her left side, while his back paws dangled on her right side to the middle of her arm.

Acorna laughed. "I believe he has spoken."

"I will show you to our guest quarters," Miw-Sher said, leading them from the room. As the girl began to turn down a hallway that appeared to penetrate deeper into the Temple 's interior, Acorna said, "Please tell your high priest that RK and I must return to our vessel. I can examine the tiny animals that cause this illness there, and perhaps discover a means to combat the sickness. If I am successful, I will be able to leave with you a medicine you can use in case of further outbreaks of the disease. I may also be able to teach your people how to prepare this medicine themselves."

Acorna thought she might be able to prepare a vaccine for the illness using a blood sample from RK, but the Temple would lack the necessary laboratory facilities to purify and test it. And, given the Federation proscription on introducing new technology to these people, she'd better do any research she wanted to do aboard ship.

Miw-Sher said, "Perhaps your friend should stay aboard your vessel until you go. I fear he may not be allowed to return with you unless you keep him out of sight. Especially with the number of our own guardians so sadly depleted. You may find him missing when you are ready to leave."

That provided Acorna with an opening to discuss her ambassadorial role with someone she felt instinctively was trustworthy.

"This cat is very important to my people." That would give her a further justification for RK's presence with her. "You must understand that my people have had their world destroyed twice just within my lifetime and have already suffered many losses."

The girl nodded as if they were discussing the weather. "Makahomia wasn't destroyed, but my family and home have been," she said. "We allied ourselves with the Kandos and sent warriors to fight beside them. So when our village was attacked, our men were away fighting for them, and no one was around to protect us from our enemies. My mother and brothers were all slain and I alone of all my family remained to greet our allies when they finally arrived. Among them was Brother Bulaybub, who is my mother's steppe-cousin, and he persuaded the Mulzar that I would be good with the cats, particularly Grimla, whose special friend was killed in the battle. But I'm interrupting you!" the girl said, her hand flying to her mouth as if to shush herself. "I'm sorry. I'm very rude. Please go on."

Acorna continued. "During the first attack, my people left their original homeworld. They took what they could with them in one great evacuation. They intended to take with them cats they called pahaantiyirs. I know this only through the stories of my people. I myself was not born on our homeworld, but was orphaned in space. I've only just returned to my people recently."

"You have? But I thought you must be from an important family, and very well known to have achieved your high office so young!" She saw that Acorna was patiently waiting, and once more her knuckles flew to her lips. "Oh, there I go doing it again. Pardon me, please, and continue."

Acorna smiled. "You could say my status has something to do with having been adopted by an important family-several of them, in fact." There were Gil, Calum, and Rafik, the asteroid miners who were her original adoptive fathers. Then there was Rafik's uncle, the wily and wealthy Hafiz, who had adopted her instead of collecting her when he learned she was part of an alien race and not a freak of human physiology.

And there was her dear friend, Mr. Li, who had also adopted her and helped her rid the planet Kezdet of child slavery and prostitution before he finally succumbed to the illness that had crippled his body for so many years.

Then she had been found by her mother's sister, Neeva, and returned to narhii-Vhiliinyar, where she was adopted by Grandam Naadiina and Maati.

Captain Becker, too, had been like another uncle to her, and had saved the life of her beloved Aari. Finally there was Aari himself, her lifemate and other self-well, there was Aari for a short time at least, before he disappeared during the exploration of Vhiliinyar. In the meantime, she had the support and love of his family - his mother Miiri, his father Kaarlye, and his sister, Maati.

She had to admit upon reflection that even though she did not have Aari's company at present, she had been very lucky in her adoptive families.

"At any rate, I am told that when the time came for my people to evacuate, their pahaantiyirs were nowhere to be found. They disappeared entirely and have not been seen, alive or dead, since. They all say RK bears an incredible resemblance to the pahaantiyirs. Nadhari Kando, who as you saw is with us, tells us that RK also looks very much like a Makahomian Temple cat. So my mission is, now that I'm here, to learn if there is kinship between these two species, and if so, how close that kinship might be."

Miw-Sher looked thoughtful, staring first at RK, then back to Acorna's face. "It is possible, though I know little of worlds beyond our own. You're not likely to learn much here. His holiness is very good at… delegating… matters of doctrine and history to others. But please, we have tarried here too long. The others will be coming soon and somehow I feel your plans may not meet with His Holiness's approval."

"Then I would rather not meet His Holiness right now. It sounds as if this may be my best opportunity to return to the ship. Is there a back way out of here?"

"There is another way," the girl said, hesitating, then saying, as if arguing with herself, "It can be frightening - but then, you must be very brave to have come so far from home through space. And you have a guardian with you. Just remember he will protect you, and do not be afraid, no matter what."

"I won't," Acorna promised.

Miw-Sher made up her mind and motioned Acorna to follow her. "Come quickly, then, and I will show you the way."

They passed through a maze of corridors and back out of the main Temple building, across a much narrower courtyard. This contained a lush garden, a central well, and enough fountains to make Hafiz happy. Rows of cloisters enclosed the garden. Miw-Sher pulled Acorna and RK back between the columns and the wall. As they came to the join where the tail-shaped wing of the building met the body, Miw-Sher pressed her finger against a stone in the wall and it opened. The opening was not nearly tall enough for Acorna, and even Miw-Sher had to stoop to show her the way. "Just keep going straight through here. It's only about sixteen feet to the end of the passage. It opens into an abandoned dwelling. Be careful not to be seen as you leave or someone may misunderstand. You'd best cover your head as you go. You are - conspicuous." Miw-Sher gave Acorna a large scarf such as some of the Temple 's inhabitants wore for a head covering.

"Yes," Acorna said, "I will return as soon as I can."

"Remember," Miw-Sher said, "don't be afraid. Nothing can hurt you, and even if it could, your guardian will protect you."

Acorna ducked low into the wall. Once she was past the entrance, the opening grew taller so she could walk upright. Miw-Sher waved from the opening, then started. "Someone is coming. Safe journey."

With that the door shut behind her, the darkness deepened, and the sounds of the courtyard were snuffed out like a candle flame. RK stiffened in her arms. His fur bristled and his claws pricked her arm. When she touched his head to quiet him, his curs were laid back. A low growl leaked through his teeth.

And then she heard it, too. Coming from inside the surrounding walls, there was a whisper like blowing sand or a serpent's hissing. As she listened more intently, the whisper rose to a mumble and she thought she could make out separate words.

She stroked RK soothingly and listened with her mind as well as her ears. The words were incomprehensible but the feelings behind them were anxious, angry, frustrated, and also fear.

The emotional storm they created enveloped her and RK. The cat's tail switched back and forth, back and forth, faster and harder. He puffed to twice his size, but Acorna was the only recipient of his bared claws.

His growl grew in his throat, and as it grew, a corresponding growl entered the words until they ended in a hollow, reverberating roar Acorna was sure would bring everyone running. Just as she stepped forward, however, the roar was replaced by a calmer sound, a deep and throaty purr. RK's tail no longer switched, and his ears, when she touched them, were pricked forward, alert but calm. The hair on the cat's back gradually settled down sleekly along his spine. RK was sending no thoughts at that point for her to receive, nor had he from the beginning, but now the cat settled into a relieved purr that seemed to be echoed by whatever it was that lived inside the walls of this Temple.

Miw-Sher's skin twitched as she listened to the noise within the wall. Grimla mewed plaintively. Miw-Sher was glad the occasion had arisen to introduce Acorna to the wall's resident. There was so much to explain, so much to ask, but she sensed a firm ally in Acorna if only she could enlist the ambassador's help without alerting her enemies.

When the roar came, Miw-Sher had already reached the cattery and deposited Grimla within it. Her beloved friend could not help just now. The cat needed to gain strength. Miw-Sher was loath to leave Grimla and the other cats, even for a short time, but she could not stay inside the Temple without knowing what was happening. When she was once more in the darkness of the back courtyard, she changed quickly and leaped to the top of the wall and over.