First Warning: Acorna's Children

Chapter 5

Elviiz didn't get to fly the shuttle manually because nothing went wrong with the autopilot. Uncle Job. had made it of "the best components culled from the finest scrap heaps in the multiverse, where castoffs of the very latest obsolete designs" were abandoned by their owners or manufacturers in favor of more cutting-edge but, as uncle never failed to add, not necessarily superior, equipment. At any rate, the shuttle landed and docked itself perfectly, then self-activated its com screen so Khorii, Khiindi, and Elviiz could assure their family members on the Condor that their arrival had been safe and uneventful.

"In that case, sweetheart, we'd better head for Paloduro so your folks can heal the stricken and we can return and all of us have the vacation this was supposed to be. You mind"-She was going to scream if Uncle Joh told her to mind Elviiz but instead he said- "that your pussycat doesn't get into too much trouble. He's a chip off the old cat."

"I will send messages of our progress through Elviiz's com screen," Uncle Maak said. "You must do the same."

Father's eyes glistened with tears. He had not wanted to let go of her during the good-bye hug. Mother patted his shoulder, and said, "Khorii, I have every confidence in your good sense and flexibility. The school on Maganos Moonbase is a great place to brush up on your interplanetary social skills. The young people there are from every human and humanoid species in the sector. By the time we return, you will probably have so many friends you won't want to leave."

Khorii nodded as if she agreed, but she didn't, and she hoped her parents weren't reading her just then because they had enough on their own minds already, without the burden of what she had on hers. What if these human and humanoid younglings didn't like her?

A new face appeared on the com screen. The boy had a roundish fair-skinned face and hair almost as white as Khorii's mane. "You're Lady Acorna's kid? Cool! I'm Hap Hellstrom. Come on out and I'll show you around. Is that a real Makahomian Temple Cat you have with you? I've never seen one of those before. I had a dog at home before-well, you know, before the place blew up. His name was Boomer and he was a pretty amazing dog. Everyone said so. People I didn't even know asked me about him after he died. I don't mind too much though. I know it's all the balance of nature- well, funny in a way. Not ha-ha funny but strange funny. Boomer died, and our planet went boom! But hey, that's how it goes sometimes, and you just have to roll with it, you know what I mean? How do you say your name again? And who's the other kid?"

"Khorii," she said. "My mother, whom you know as Acorns., is called Khornya among our people so my name is between hers and my father's, which is Aari. This is my foster brother, Elviiz."

"Cool sideburns, little brother," Hap said. "And I like the white suit with the studs on it."

"Thank you. My father made me so I resemble a Linyaari version of my namesake, the king of olden times."

But Hap was plunging along. Khorii had unsealed the hatch and opened it, and the boy came right inside, although there wasn't much room. He was as tall as an adult Linyaari and with his white hair and fair skin lacked only a horn in the middle of his head to make the resemblance at least superficially complete.

"Can I pet your cat? Would that be all right? I like cats. Boomer liked cats, too. Cats all liked him most of the time. Except when he tried to herd them. He was a Lothland herd dog. Hi, kitty. I brought you something. I heard there was going to be a cat coming down, so I made this just for you. Don't rat on me to Tab, though. She runs the 'ponies garden, and she's very strict, but I figured, hey, cats are entitled to catmint, so I sewed it up in this little packet. Ow! Wow! I guess he likes it. I almost lost a finger."

"Makahomian Temple Cats are like that," Khorii said. She leaned over to touch her horn to the welts Khiindi had slashed across Hap's knuckles but Elviiz pulled her back in time. This was going to be hard to get used to. When her cat hurt someone who was just being nice to them, it was only natural to want to heal his wound; but the humans weren't supposed to know exactly how Linyaari did it. Though from what she had been told about her mother's exploits in freeing the slave children who were the alumni of Maganos Moonbase, it didn't sound like she had concealed her powers very well, so surely some of these people knew what she could do already?

Elviiz put himself between her and Hap and extruded his bio-wash attachment to cleanse the wound, afterward sealing it with a cello-patch. "Removing the fingers of human benefactors is a traditional ritual with Makahomian Temple Cats," he informed Hap. "Khiindi's sire, the first mate of the Condor, Roadkill, or RK as we call him, removed two fingers from Captain Becker when they first became acquainted. The fingers grew back along with other appendages on both the cat and the captain, and now, of course, they are the best of friends."

"Hey, you are a droid, aren't you? Panko said you were-he was the one on com duty when your ship was in orbit-but you sure didn't look it to me. What's with the screw in the middle of your forehead?"

"I am a Linyaari, like my father, so of course I have a horn," Elviiz said, with wounded dignity.

"Oh, golly, I'm sorry, fella, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I think it's cool. And Khorii introduced you as her brother, too. That's really great that you two are bonded like that. Good pals and all that."

"We are not merely friends or foster sibs," Elviiz said. "I am her tutor and her guardian as well to make sure the child does not blunder into harm's way."

"That's great. Really. I have seven brothers and three sisters . . . somewhere. We got split up during the rescue operation. I don't know where they were taken, but I'm trying to find out. Come on, and I'll show you where you're bunking."

Khorii started to protest that she had to get Khiindi, but the cat jumped up onto Hap's shoulders and marched back and forth as he led them forward. He didn't seem to notice. Aside from a friendly tug at Khiindi's tail, he ignored the cat's preference as if it happened to him all the time. Well, at least someone was making friends.

Like MOO, the moonbase was a series of bubbles encompassing an environment that would sustain the lives of the people enclosed within it. Unlike MOO, the environment was not especially luxurious or fancy.

Hap showed them to a small cubicle containing a pair of bunks and a couple of lockers for belongings. She and Elviiz sat on the bed.

"No, sport, your room is over in the boys' section with me."

"But I must be here to protect her," Elviiz protested. "If she comes to harm here, my father will be very unhappy with me, as will my foster parents. I prefer that does not happen. So I will stay with Khorii."

"Sorry," Hap said. "She's already got another bunk mate. If you stayed here, too, it might freak out the other girls."

"I am not a freak, Hap. In many ways, I am more useful than a human male of my age."

"I wasn't calling you a freak. I just meant the girls would get silly and maybe be a little inhibited, even when they know you're a droid."

"The way some fully organic beings behave, I am very happy to be a droid," Elviiz replied. He didn't sniff disdainfully, but he might as well have. The sniff was implicit in his tone. Still, he followed obediently as Hap led him away, promising to return soon to show them both where the dining room and classrooms were located. As they left, at the last minute Khiindi jumped down from Hap's shoulders. The little cat's claws skittered back down the slick-tiled hallway, and he barely caught himself from sliding by the doorway to Khorii's quarters. She scooped him up and sat on the lower bunk petting him, trying to calm him. "It will be all right, Khiindi. You'll see. Mother and Father will stop the plague, the grandfathers will come back, and, meanwhile, you and I will make lots of new friends."

As if on cue, a beautiful young girl entered the room followed by an adult woman.

Before Khorii could introduce herself, the girl spoke. "Get that beast off my bed! And what are you doing in my room?"

The dark-haired girl advanced into the room. Khorii tried to hold Khiindi back. After all, he was a Makahomian Temple Cat, and fierce protectiveness was bred into his bones.

He wriggled from her hands and leaped toward the girl. Before Khorii could utter a warning, Khiindi twined himself around the girl's feet and ankles, purring loudly, weaving figure eights in and out between her feet until she stumbled over him and fell. "It attacked me!" she screeched, and started brushing at her ankles, as if trying to divest them of cat fur. "I am very allergic. If I swell up and die, it will be your fault!"

"Here now, what's the problem? What's wrong with you, Shoshisha?" the woman asked. "Who said anything about your dying?"

"This person is in my room, and she brought a tiger with her. It tried to eat me!"

"You are mistaken," Khorii told her. "Khiindi did not attack you. He was expressing how much he liked you and he probably expected you to feed him. He expects everyone to feed him."

Khiindi sat over to the side, washing his right front paw unconcernedly. He paused only to look up at her, squeezing his eyes shut and opening them again, his mouth hanging open as if he were laughing. The little wretch had known exactly what he was doing when he tripped Shoshisha.

"Oh, my goodness!" the lady said. "You're Lady Acorna Harakamian-Li's daughter, aren't you? I was on my way to greet you, but I didn't realize you were staying here. Naturally I assumed you'd stay at the chancellor's quarters, where Mr. Giloglie and Mr. Baird and their families live."

"Yes, ma'am, I'm Khorii, and this is Khiindi. My brother Elviiz was taken to the boys' quarters by that nice boy who met us, Hap."

"Him!" Shoshisha said, tossing her glossy black hair so it rippled and settled back down around her shoulders. "That explains it. He put you here so he'd have an excuse to see me. He likes me, and he thinks if he spends enough time around me, I'll get used to him, I suppose."

"He seemed very friendly and kind to me," Khorii said. "And since my grandfathers Calum and Gill are not at home, he probably thought I would rather stay with students closer to my own stage of development. It was a thoughtful gesture, but since we are not welcome here, perhaps it would be better if we did stay in grandfathers' quarters until they or my parents return."

Shoshisha's brown eyes, which had been squinched in temper, widened suddenly as she smiled. "Oh, no, that won't be necessary. I didn't realize you were related to our beloved chancellors, and of course I see now that you have the horn and look just like the holo of Lady Acorna gracing our assembly hall. I am sorry I overreacted. You startled me and, well, I am quite allergic to most animals."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It's kind of you to say that I may stay, but Khiindi is my friend, and he must be with me," Khorii said. She turned her attention to the woman who had greeted her before. A teacher, surely, the woman was comfortably built, had feathery fair hair and very shrewd blue eyes. "Actually, it would probably be better at the grandfathers' because Elviiz could come, too. You know my name. May I ask yours?" she asked the lady.

"I'm Calla Kaczmarek. I'm the psychologist and psychology/ sociology instructor. I also act as the school's guidance counselor. Dr. Al y Cassidro, our headmaster and dean of the mining engineering school, has classes all day long and couldn't make it to greet you himself, so he asked me to do it. Your grandpas are old friends of mine, but I only met your mother after she began working with Mr. Li. I'm really pleased to meet you. Things have been a little strange around here since the plague scare began, which was unfortunately right after Gill and Calum and the Kendoro sisters landed on Kezdet. But we'll all be fine, and so will you. Come on, I'll show you where to go."

As they were leaving over Shoshisha's protestations, they were nearly knocked down by Hap and Elviiz. Most people thought droids didn't get excited or any other strong emotion, but Elviiz was an exception. Maak had programmed him to behave pretty much like a Linyaari boy and now he acted like a very excited one.

"Where are you going, Khorii?" Elviiz asked. "Are you on your way to our classes? Hap says both he and I are far too advanced for the programming the younglings receive in them, but that we are expected to acquire something called 'socialization' by attending them anyway. I wonder why my father did not program socialization into me on our journey, so that I could in turn impart it to you? As a part of this aspect of our programming, we are to compete in contests of physical athletic skill called sports and attend gatherings where some aspects of mating are performed in a vertical position. This is known as dancing."

Khorii smiled. "We have dances on Vhiliinyar, too, you know, Elviiz."

"We do? But I have never seen one. Is that because I cannot mate with totally organic females?"

"No. I think it's because you are with me most of the time, and since we've been old enough to attend them, we have been elsewhere when dances occurred."

"Who's this?" Shoshisha asked, coming out into the hall and widening her eyes at Elviiz. Elviiz, always ready to assimilate, had removed the horn attachment from his forehead. Khorii wondered if she would wish to do the same as time went on. Without the horn, Elviiz's brow was smooth, and he could have passed for Haps brother instead of hers. Map's hair was straight and Elviiz's Linyaari-like mane, although as pale as Hap's, curled over his forehead and down in front of his ears, extending slightly onto his jawline. He was now slightly taller than Khorii, as a Linyaari boy her age would be. Except for his hands and feet, he looked quite human and apparently, from the expression on Shoshisha's face, at least one human female found his appearance appealing.

"I am Elviiz," he said, extending a three-fingered single-knuckled hand made to resemble Khorii's own.

"Oh?" Shoshisha touched his hand experimentally. "Are you a mutant of some sort? I thought you were human, but-"

"I would not advise taking his hand, Shoshisha," Khorii said. "Uncle Joh and Mother have tried to teach him to shake hands, but he does not realize how strong he is. He would never intentionally crush your fingers but …"

"That only happened once, Khorii, and I was able to adjust my pressure gauges immediately to compensate," Elviiz protested. "Shoshisha is perfectly safe engaging in ritual greeting gestures with me, as you very well know."

"Pressure gauges?" Shoshisha asked with a frown.

"Elviiz is an android, Shoshisha," Hap said. "You should see all the cool attachments he has."

"Thanks, but I'll pass this time." She turned to Khorii and smiled sweetly. "You know, I really am allergic to most animals, but apparently your space cat is different enough that he doesn't bother me. So I wish you two would stay and room with me. I would be so interested to learn all about your planet and your people and what it's like to have a mother like Acorna."

Khorii did not need to be psychic to know that Shoshisha's reasons for wishing her to remain as a roommate were not as innocent as the human girl said. However, there seemed to be no diplomatic way to decline, and Khorii had been trained from earliest childhood to be tactful in dealing with other beings. Especially when adults were watching. She looked at Calla Kaczmarek, whose mouth twitched with amusement.

"Because I was thinking," Shoshisha said, "that if you want to make friends here, it wouldn't be good to look as though you think you're above staying in the dorms with us just because your relatives run this place."

Khorii suspected that Shoshisha was also thinking that if Khorii chose to stay in her grandparents' quarters, Shoshisha would make sure everyone did believe that Khorii thought herself superior to them.

Calla Kaczmarek coughed. "Staying in the dorms would help with the socialization programming your friend just mentioned."

"Very well, then, we accept," Khorii said. "Only, could you show us now to the hydroponics gardens. I am hungry, and Khiindi will require soil of some sort for his excretory functions."

"No litter boxes in the room, puh-leeze!" Shoshisha said. "Can't he use the lavatory like everybody else?"

"I don't know. Aboard the Condor part of the garden was reserved for his use." She did not mention that Khiindi had not always-or even usually-been scrupulous about sticking to his assigned area.

"I can show her where it is," Hap volunteered eagerly.

"Thank you, Hap. If you'd show Khorii and Elviiz the general layout, where the classrooms are, and the other important stuff, I'd appreciate it," Calla said, then turned apologetically to Khorii. "I have a class in a few minutes, but I just wanted to say hi and make sure you two-three-were settling in okay. Hap, if you would also show them the curriculum and help them get registered?"

Khorii started to protest that they wouldn't be there long enough to take courses like the other students, but thought better of it. Saying so might give rise to Shoshisha accusing her of being elitist again and of failing to exhibit the proper attitude for assimilation.

The girl needs a few lessons in assimilation herself Khorii thought, as she followed Hap down the passageway.