Through Alien Eyes

Five

Sohelia AND Analin were there to meet them when they arrived at Snyder. They introduced Juna and the Tendu to Ayub Martin, the Snyder Station security chief.

“Welcome to Snyder Station,” Chief Martin said. “We’re honored to have you here. I’ve assigned our best security team to look after the three of you. You shouldn’t have any worries about your safety here.”

They might not have any security worries, Juna thought as she thanked him, but there were plenty of other things to worry about. Her Pop Con hearing was only a few days off. After the hearing there was a long-term-planning meeting with the Survey officials. Hopefully, they could arrange a diplomatic visit to Earth sometime in the next four or five months, before her pregnancy made travel difficult.

Then there was their work at Snyder Research Hospital. The doctors had agreed to a two-week initial assignment in order to study the Tendu’s abilities. If things worked out, the assignment would be extended. But there were so many things that could go wrong.

“How is the baby doing?” Sohelia inquired.

“She’s fine,” Juna said, putting her hand on her belly. “But she doesn’t seem to approve of space travel very much. I was a little spacesick.”

“How are you feeling now?”

“A little tired, but otherwise fine.”

“There’s a mob of press outside the terminal,” Analin informed her. “Are you up to facing them?”

Juna shook her head. “Not really.”

“I can take you through the service tunnels to the hospital,” Chief Martin offered.

“That would be wonderful,” Juna said.

Martin called for a couple of service carts, then opened a small service panel in the wall and inserted an electronic key. A wide section of wall swung back, exposing a bare grey concrete tunnel lined with conduit and piping for air, water, heating, cooling, electricity, comm lines, and sewage. They waited in the corridor, listening to the pipes gurgle and hiss, until the service carts arrived to take them and their escort to the hospital.

“They’re expecting you up at the hospital,” Martin said when the carts arrived. “After that, the guards will take you to your quarters.”

He handed Juna a card. “Here’s my comm code. Let me know if we can be of any help, or if there are any problems with your security detail.”

“Thank you Chief Martin,” Juna said. “You’ve been very kind.”

He nodded, winked at Moki, and then vanished back into the access tunnels.

The hospital staff were polite, but guarded. Clearly they doubted that the Tendu had anything to offer them. Juna decided that it was not worth getting angry about. She was rather looking forward to their surprise when they discovered what Moki and Ukatonen were capable of.

Their quarters were near the hospital, just down the broad corridor from a park with a grove of large banyan trees. The security team checked out the apartment and then let them inside. The unit was small, but comfortable, with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a small living room, and a tiny kitchen. Juna had stayed in much smaller places. She freshened up, and then joined the others in the living room, where Analin and Sohelia had set out tea, sweet biscuits, and sandwiches. Ukatonen vanished into the bathroom for a shower.

Juna’s fragile stomach was not quite ready for sandwiches, but she sipped the tea and nibbled gratefully on the biscuits. The sweetened tea and biscuits settled her queasy stomach.

“Thank you so much for this,” Juna told the women. “I needed it.”

“Good,” Sohelia said. She pulled her comm and a sheaf of paper out of her briefcase. “If you’re ready, we should discuss the hearing.”

“Go ahead,” Juna said. She would have preferred to have a good night’s sleep before this discussion, but there wasn’t time. The hearing would start tomorrow afternoon.

“You’ve gotten Judge Matthesen,” Sohelia told her. “She’s tough, but fair. I’d say our chances were decent.”

“Only decent?” Juna asked worriedly.

“It’s a difficult case, Juna. In this situation, decent is the best we can hope for. Usually both parents get permanently sterilized or transported to Mars. We’ll have to convince the judge that this was an accident, then hope for the best. Judge Matthesen has been kind to other women with extenuating circumstances. Hopefully, she’ll be kind to you.”

“I see,” Juna said. She placed one hand on her stomach, and closed her eyes. She had refused to think about the possibility of losing the baby. But now she could no longer ignore it.

“I was planning on calling Ukatonen as a witness. Do you think he’ll have a problem with that?”

Juna took a deep breath and opened her eyes. “You’ll have to ask Ukatonen.”

“Ask me about what?” Ukatonen said, emerging from the bathroom, still wet, his kilt stained with moisture. He laid a towel over an upholstered chair and sat down on it.

“We would like you to testify on Juna’s behalf.”

Ukatonen listened intently as Sohelia explained what that involved.

“Yes, I can do that. I will render a formal judgment that what I say will be the truth.”

“A-all right, en. Thank you.”

“It will be easy to tell the truth here,” Ukatonen said. “The facts are plain.”

“The difficulty will be in being believed,” Sohelia said. She lifted a hand to forestall his protest. “Humans do not know or understand you yet, Ukatonen. And almost all the information that we have about the Tendu comes from Juna. It will necessarily be suspect. I will be calling a few other witnesses to testify to your abilities.”

“Excuse me,” Analin broke in, “but will the case be open to the press?”

“Usually these hearings are closed. If criminal culpability is determined, then the subsequent trial is open to the press.”

“Good.” Analin said. “Most of the research reports on the Tendu are still classified. If word of what they can do gets out, then the press will be all over Ukatonen and Moki. I’ve also encouraged the hospital to keep a tight lid on the Tendu’s work.”

Sohelia made a note on her comm. “I’ll request that the judge enjoin all witnesses to silence on this.”

“Thank you,” Juna said. “I appreciate that. Sometimes I feel as if I’m living in a goldfish bowl.”

“It is hard,” her lawyer agreed. “Now, let’s go over the details of your testimony.”

Juna sat in the courtroom with Sohelia, waiting for the hearing to begin. Security Chief Martin had arranged for them to go through the service tunnels to the courthouse, avoiding the mob of reporters waiting outside. Analin was out there now, issuing a statement. Juna looked at Ukatonen and smiled nervously. Moki reached forward from his seat just behind the defendant’s table, and brushed her shoulders with his knuckles. Juna glanced back at him. “Thanks,” she whispered.

He turned a clear, reassuring shade of blue and nodded at her.

At that moment, the clerk came in from the judge’s chambers. “All rise,” he said as the judge, a severe-looking woman with greying hair and long black robes, came in and sat down. She convened the court, and the prosecutor, a plump, deceptively friendly-looking man named Parker, got up to make his opening remarks.

“Your Honor, the defendant is illegally pregnant. She plans to burden our solar system with another mouth to feed, another set of lungs that will need air. This illegal pregnancy has been on the top screens of all the news nets. If she is allowed to keep this child without punishment, then others will be encouraged to follow her example and flout the laws that humanity has created to save itself from itself. Each new child adds to the burden our solar system must support, during a time when we can ill afford it. I strongly suggest the maximum punishment for this high-profile case.”

The prosecutor returned to his seat. Sohelia rose gracefully from her seat.

“Your Honor, if, as my esteemed colleague implies, my client intentionally flouted the population laws, then I agree that she should be sentenced accordingly. Dr. Juna Saari is pregnant without approval from the Population Control Board, but there is compelling evidence that this pregnancy was accidental. Dr. Saari underwent a harrowing physical transformation when she was marooned on the planet Tiangi. The alien responsible for this transformation also undid her contraception, without fully understanding the consequences of his action. When my client was rescued, the Interstellar Survey failed to check her contraceptive status. My client assumed that her contraception was still intact. She had the misfortune to sleep with a man who had never been given a contraceptive shot. Dr. Saari’s accidental pregnancy was due to an incredible series of circumstances. The odds of its happening again are astronomical. Punishing my client as an example to others is completely pointless.

“I further state that my client has made great sacrifices, and endured much hardship in order to further humanity’s scientific and diplomatic goals. Penalizing her for an accidental pregnancy that occurred as a result of her discoveries would be a shameful thing to do. The remarkable circumstances of Dr. Saari’s pregnancy must be taken into account when deciding this case. Thank you, Your Honor.”

There were a great many witnesses called to establish the facts of the case. Perhaps the most telling was Dr. Engle. Sohelia quizzed him about how long he had known Juna, and the particulars of her contraceptive shot. Then she asked him about the pregnancy test.

“Dr. Saari complained of symptoms that were very characteristic of pregnancy. So I decided to test her to rule that out.”

“Did you consider it a likely possibility, Dr. Engle?”

“Objection!” called the prosecutor. “Counsel is asking for opinion rather than fact.”

“Counselor Gheisar?” the judge inquired.

“I have already established that the witness has known the defendant since her childhood. Further questions will reveal a factual basis to this line of inquiry.”

“Objection overruled,” the judge said. “Please answer Counselor Gheisar’s question, Doctor.”

“No, I did not.”

“While you were giving her the test, did anything happen to support your opinion that this was not an illegal pregnancy?”

“Yes, indeed.”

“Please tell us, Dr. Engle, what that was.”

“I asked Juna if she was planning on starting a family. She told me that she was considering selling her child-rights, since it looked like she wasn’t going to be using them.”

“And did she know that you were doing a pregnancy test at the time?”

“No. In cases where there is no pregnancy permit, I do not inform the patient of the nature of the test. Juna didn’t know that I was performing a pregnancy test until I told her the results. Actually, I was so surprised, I performed the test a second time.”

“And how did Dr. Saari react?”

“She was extremely surprised. She told me several times that it was impossible. She told me that she had been on a Survey ship for the last six months, and before that on another planet. Then she realized what had happened. I saw her face. I believe that her astonishment was completely genuine.”

“What did she say then?”

“She told me that the Tendu must have reversed her contraception shot.”

“I see. And what did you think of this?”

“I was amazed,” Dr. Engle told her.

“Did you believe her?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why?”

“Because she was so completely surprised by it all. She blamed herself for not getting her status checked. I told her that she had done nothing wrong, and that the Survey doctors were the ones who were at fault.”

“Objection, Your Honor,” said the prosecutor. “The witness is not in a position to determine liability.”

“Sustained,” the judge said.

“Dr. Engle, did you see anything to convince you that the Tendu could have reversed her contraception?”

“Not then, but later I witnessed something that made me believe that the Tendu could have done it.”

“Would you tell the court what happened to convince you?”

“Juna’s brother, Toivo Fortunati, was in a spinball accident about a year and a half ago. He was paralyzed from the waist down. There was nothing more the doctors could do for him. The Tendu healed him. I examined him just before I left Berry Station to come here. Feeling had returned to his lower body again, all the way down to his toes. He was able to wiggle his toes, and move his legs.” Dr. Engle spread his hands in a gesture of amazement. “It was a miracle, but it happened. If they can do such a thing, then reversing a contraceptive shot would be easy.”

“Thank you, Dr. Engle. Your Honor, I have no more questions, but I would like to submit as evidence the following documents on Toivo Fortunati’s medical condition following his accident, and Dr. Engle’s report on his present medical condition.”

“Thank you, Counselor Gheisar,” the judge said.

The prosecutor got up and did his best to try to pick holes in Dr. Engle’s testimony. But the doctor refused to be rattled despite the unbelievable claims that he was making about the Tendu. Dr. Engle smiled through his beard at Juna as he left the stand. Juna smiled back.

Her smile vanished when the next witness was called. It was Bruce. He gave her a dark, angry glance as he was sworn in, then refused to look at Her while he testified.

Sohelia questioned him about his role in the case, most of which had already been established. She quizzed him about his contraceptive status, and he admitted that he had never had the shot.

“My father filed for a religious exemption,” he explained. “He was afraid that the shot would permanently affect my fertility. As long as the girls were all getting them, it didn’t really matter. Or, at least, I didn’t expect it to matter,” he added, his skin darkening with embarrassment.

“I see,” Counselor Gheisar said. “And has this predicament changed your view of things?”

“Yes,” he said. “I got the shot. It was shortly after visiting your client.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bowles. No further questions. Your witness, Counselor Parker.”

The prosecutor rose, smiling. Juna glanced at her lawyer, who was frowning nervously.

“Mr. Bowles, were you surprised when you heard that you were going to be a father?”

“Very much so, yes,” Bruce answered.

“Are you pleased?”

Bruce frowned. “Not really, sir.”

“Could you tell the court why you’re not pleased at the prospect of being a father?”

Bruce glanced past Juna, at the two Tendu sitting behind her. “I don’t agree with how she wants to raise the child.”

“Could you please explain?”

“First, I think she’s going to be too busy with the aliens to do an adequate job of parenting. Second, she’s going to be a single mother. Who is going to be there for the child when she’s too tired? And lastly”—Bruce paused, licking his lips nervously—“I want my daughter to be raised by humans, not aliens. Who knows what strange ideas they might teach my daughter?”

“Objection!” Sohelia said. “Witness is stating personal belief, not facts.”

The judge looked over at the prosecutor. “Counselor Parker?”

“I believe it’s important to hear both sides of this issue, Your Honor. This is Mr. Bowles’s daughter we’re talking about here.”

“This is not a custody hearing, Counselor. In the future please confine yourself to the Population Control regulations in question.”

“Yes, Your Honor. No further questions.”

The judge adjourned the hearing until the following morning.

Juna watched Bruce gather up his things. Finally she found the courage to approach him. He steadfastly refused to look at her.

“Bruce,” Juna said, “I’m sorry you’re unhappy about my decision to keep the baby, but you’re her father. I hope someday you’ll be there for her. She’s going to want you in her life too.”

He finally looked up at her, his eyes dark with anger. “Juna, the child is more important than those aliens. Let someone else take care of them. You take care of the baby.”

“You know I can’t do that, Bruce,” she said.

“Then I hope you lose. You shouldn’t be allowed to have the child.” He tucked his pad of notes under his arm and stalked off.

Juna watched the door swing shut behind him. Her lips tightened in sudden anger. “Well, to hell with you, then,” she muttered to herself.

Sohelia laid a hand on her arm. “Come on,” she said. “You’ve got more important things to worry about. Let’s go get some dinner. Tomorrow I’m putting Ukatonen on the stand. I need you to help get him ready to testify.”

The prosecutor objected when Sohelia called Ukatonen to the stand. Juna leaned back in her seat, and watched the two attorneys battle over the enkar.

“Your Honor,” the prosecutor said, “calling this witness is highly irregular. We know very httle about these aliens. Do they even understand what testifying in court means? How do we know if we can rely on his testimony? What kind of precedents will this be setting?”

“Your Honor,” Sohelia responded, “Ukatonen is an unusual witness, but he can provide us with facts and information that no one else can. He knew the accused during her time on Tiangi. He understands what is required of him as a witness. Ukatonen holds a position of great responsibility among his own people. The Tendu hold their officials to an even higher level of responsibility than our own. If he violates his word, he is expected to take his own life.”

“That will not be necessary, Mr. Ukatonen,” the judge said. “Objection overruled. The witness may take the stand. This court will hold you only to the standards of a human court.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Sohelia said.

“Excuse me, Your Honor,” Ukatonen broke in. “Even though you do not hold me to the Tendu standard, I wish you to know that I must hold myself to the standards of my people.” He straightened, and speaking formally in both Tendu skin speech and human Standard declared a judgment. “My life is forfeit if I lie.”

The judge raised one eyebrow. “If you insist, then so be it. Only I entreat you not to lie in this court. I don’t want your death on my conscience.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Ukatonen said. The bailiff approached the enkar and instructed him in the human oath, and he raised his right hand and swore it also.

First, Counselor Gheisar asked him to explain to the judge who he was, and what his status was on Tiangi. Then she had him tell the court about the circumstances surrounding Toivo’s healing. The judge listened raptly and even the prosecutor left off objecting.

“Ukatonen,” Sohelia went on, “would you please tell us the circumstances under which you met the defendant?”

“I met her while I was traveling through the forest. I was on my way to a coastal village to investigate word of strange creatures that had burned part of the forest. She was traveling with Anito, an elder of the village Nar-molom. They were also on their way to the coast.”

“And when did you first link with Dr. Saari?”

“The night I met her. She was asleep at the time, and didn’t know what I was doing.”

“And what did you notice?”

“She was very strange. Her metabolism was unlike any living creature I had ever seen on Tiangi.”

“Was she fertile?”

Ukatonen said. “I did not notice the presence of the antibodies that would have interfered with pregnancy. In fact, I did not know of their existence until I linked with other humans.”

“How difficult would it be for you to undo contraception of this type?”

“It would be extremely easy.”

“Would it be easy for most Tendu?”

“Yes. Moki could do it, and he is not yet an elder.”

“Would the person know it was happening? Could they tell you were undoing their contraception?”

“Not unless they were told. It is as easy for a Tendu as turning a switch on or off.”

“I see.”

“Did Dr. Saari ever mention her contraception to you?”

“No.”

“Did she ever say anything about wanting children?”

“Not until she knew she was pregnant.”

“When you first saw Dr. Saari, did she look like she does now?”

“No. She had been physically transformed.”

Counselor Gheisar asked Ukatonen to explain the nature of Juna’s physical transformation. He told them about the symbiotic skin that Ilto had grown over her own, and the changes to her immune system that he had made, enabling her to live on Tiangi without being allergic to its foreign proteins.

“Was this transformation a difficult thing for a Tendu to do?”

“Yes, it was. It required an expert healer.”

“In your opinion, could the Tendu who performed this transformation have reversed Dr. Saari’s contraception?”

“Easily. And he would want to do so.”

“I see. Why would that be?”

“He had just captured an extremely strange new animal. He would want it to be able to breed if he found a male of the species.”

“Objection! Witness is speculating.”

“Sustained,” the judge ruled. “Mr. Ukatonen, please speak only to those things that you know to be true from your direct observation.”

Juna sat forward, a look of concern on her face. If Ukatonen believed that this was an accusation that he had been lying, then his life would be forfeit.

Ukatonen turned brown with embarrassment. “Please excuse me. I did not mean to speak that which was not true.”

“You are not in violation of the truth, Ukatonen,” the judge reassured him. “But here we ask only what people know directly.”

“I understand,” Ukatonen said. “Thank you, Your Honor.” His color lightened, going back to a neutral celadon.

Juna sat back with a sigh of relief. She was glad that the judge understood how dangerous Ukatonen’s vow could be.

“Ukatonen,” Counselor Gheisar asked, “do you know how or when Dr. Saari’s contraception was reversed? Do you know who did it?”

“There is no way of knowing,” he replied. “I am sorry.”

“Thank you, Ukatonen,” Sohelia said. “No further questions, Your Honor.”

The prosecutor rose. “Mr. Ukatonen. You say that you do not know when Dr. Saari’s contraception was reversed.”

“I do not,” Ukatonen said.

“Is it possible that it could have been reversed before she arrived on the planet?”

“Objection!” Sohelia Gheisar cried. “He is asking the witness to speculate about matters beyond his direct experience.”

“Sustained.”

’^Mr. Ukatonen, how do you feel about Dr. Saari’s pregnancy?”

“I’m happy she’s having a baby.”

“Why?”

“Because she wants this child, and because I look forward to watching her daughter grow up.”

“And do you have any long-term goals for this child?”

Sohelia sat up and began taking notes. Juna leaned forward, intent on this new line of questioning. What kind of trap was the prosecutor setting up?

“I hope that she will serve as a bridge between my people and yours.” He looked up at the judge. “The future is not something I have had direct experience with,” he told her. “Am I permitted to testify on this matter?”

Juna looked down at the desk, hiding a smile.

“Your Honor,” the prosecutor said, “I am trying to establish what the future relationship of these aliens to this unborn child will be.”

“Go ahead,” said the judge to Ukatonen…

“Dr. Saari will determine that relationship,” the enkar said. “She is the baby’s parent.”

“Yes, but what do you want your relationship to be?”

Ukatonen shrugged, a remarkably human gesture. “I would like to be one of the child’s teachers. I would like to teach her about our people, as she will teach me about humans. I value the opportunity to watch a human child grow to be an adult. I am sure that she will teach me a great deal about human nature.”

The prosecutor paused, and consulted his notes. “Yes, but did you not say that ‘When she is grown, Juna’s daughter will help provide a link between our two peoples. There is too much to gain for us to want to hurt her.’?”

“I believe I did,” Ukatonen confirmed.

“What did you mean by ‘a link between our two peoples,’ Mr. Ukatonen?”

The enkar looked down. “I hope that she will occupy the same place between the humans and the Tendu as Juna does.”

“What if she doesn’t want that?”

“That will be up to her,” Ukatonen said. “I hope that she will. We need people who understand both cultures.”

“I understand that your people eat their young.”

“Yes, that is true, immature tadpoles are part of our diet, but in that same conversation that you mentioned, I also made a formal judgment that no Tendu would harm Dr. Saari’s daughter. My life rests on that judgment. Juna’s daughter is in no danger of being eaten. Nor is any other human child. Moki and I understand the difference between a tadpole and a human baby.”

“Excuse me, Ukatonen, but you are only supposed to answer the question that the prosecutor asks you,” the judge said.

“I am sorry,” the enkar said, turning brown again.

“Please continue, Counselor.”

“No further questions, Your Honor.”

Juna felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. Ukatonen had made it off the stand safely.

There were several more witnesses. Survey personnel testified to Juna’s medical condition before and after she left for Tiangi. Her medical records established that her contraceptive vaccine was intact when she left on the Survey mission, and that nothing had happened on the trip to Tiangi to change that. After those witnesses finished their testimony, they adjourned for lunch.

“How are we doing?” Juna asked as they settled into an empty conference room with some limp sandwiches and cold coffee.

“So far, pretty good,” Sohelia said. “None of our witnesses’ statements have fallen apart under questioning. Ukatonen did a wonderful job up there. But— ” she paused for emphasis, “it all depends on what the judge decides, and I haven’t the slightest idea what she’s thinking.”

“Would it help if we linked with her?” Moki asked.

“I suppose it would, bai,” Juna said, “but we can’t do that.”

“I wish it were that easy,” Sohelia said fervently. “You know, this is always the hardest part of the hearing for me. I always get nervous at this point in a hearing, no matter how it’s going.”

“We could link with you and help you relax,” Moki offered.

“I’d be honored, Moki,” Sohelia said. “But we should wait until after the trial. I’m used to being nervous, it helps me pay attention. Linking might throw me off my stride.”

“You really would link with them?” Juna asked, surprised. “Most people are afraid.”

“Why should I be afraid? They’ve done much good and no harm at all.”

“May I link with my sitik now?” Moki asked. “I think it would help both of us.”

Sohelia glanced at her watch. “We only have a few minutes. Can you do it that quickly?” the lawyer inquired.

Juna linked with the Tendu. They soothed away her fear and nervousness. She emerged from the link feeling relaxed and ready to face the hearing. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Sohelia was watching her intently, her face alight with wonder.

“That was fascinating. I could see the worry lines smooth out,” she said. “You look much more relaxed.”

“I am,” Juna said.

“Good.” Sohelia checked her watch. “It’s time to go.”

Juna finished her coffee, grimacing at the taste. “This is almost as bad as Survey coffee,” she said. “Let’s go.”

The judge brought the hearing to order. “Please call in the next witness.”

The doors opened and Toivo rolled into the courtroom. He smiled at Juna as he passed by her. A fresh breeze seemed to have blown in with him.

Sohelia had him describe the accident and his subsequent hospitalization. Juna stared at the scarred metal table-top, unable to watch as Toivo answered her lawyer’s questions in a calm, level tone of voice.

Then Sohelia had him describe what occurred while the Tendu were healing him. Toivo’s dark face lit up as he described the first signs of life in^his formerly paralyzed body.

“And now, Mr. Fortunati, how would you describe the extent of your recovery?” Sohelia asked.

Toivo grasped the arms of his wheelchair, and with a look of fierce concentration and determination, pushed himself onto his feet. He stood on his own two feet, and looked at the judge. “Your Honor, this is how I describe my recovery. I’m weak, but every day I get stronger, every day I have more control over my body. I think I’ll be able to walk again soon. It was all because of the Tendu. Without them, I’d still be paralyzed.”

He lowered himself carefully back down into his chair.

“I have no further questions, Your Honor,” Sohelia said. “Thank you, Mr. Fortunati.”

The prosecutor rose. “That was a most remarkable display, Mr. Fortunati. I’m sure that you’re very grateful to the Tendu for their work.”

Toivo remained silent, waiting for the prosecutor’s question. Juna saw Sohelia smile approvingly.

“When did you first realize that your sister wanted children?”

“She’s wanted children for a long time. I remember her telling me how much she wanted children back when she first got married.”

“How long ago was that?”

“About fifteen years ago.”

Startled, Juna did the calculations in her head. It really had been that long since her marriage. That meant that it was almost eight years since her divorce. It was a long time to be alone.

“Why didn’t she have children during her marriage?” the prosecutor asked.

“Her marriage fell apart.”

“Why?”

“Objection, Your Honor,” Sohelia said. “Speculation.”

“Sustained.”

“Did she tell you why her marriage fell apart?”

“Yes. She said it was because she was away so much on long Survey missions.”

“After her marriage fell apart, how did she act?”

“She seemed sad.”

“Do you know why she didn’t leave the Survey when she got married?”

“She loved her job. She loved being on the edge of known space.”

“Even though it meant sacrificing her marriage?”

“Objection!” Sohelia cried.

“Sustained.”

“Do you know if she still wanted children when she left on her last Survey mission?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t talk about it much after her divorce,” Toivo explained.

“Did she do anything that might lead you to believe— ”

“Objection!” Sohelia protested.

The judge looked down from the bench. “Counselor Parker, if you continue to ask the witness such speculative questions, I’m going to have to ask you to abandon this line of questioning.”

“Yes, Your Honor. No further questions.”

Sohelia touched Juna’s arm. “I’m going to call you next. Are you ready, or do you want me to ask for a recess first?”

Juna swallowed with a throat suddenly gone dry. “Let’s get this over with.”

Sohelia nodded. She rose. “Your Honor, I would like to call the defendant, Dr. Juna Saari, to the stand.”

Juna rose, and was sworn in, and seated herself in the witness chair beside the bench. The safe comfort of her seat at the defendant’s table looked a long way away. Moki, sitting in the front row, was dark green with reassurance. Toivo, on his way out of the courtroom, turned and smiled, his teeth white in his dark face. He gave her a thumbs-up as he went out the door. Juna tried to smile, but her face seemed frozen. So much was at stake here. The calmness she’d felt after linking had vanished.

“Dr. Saari, could you tell us your side of the story, please?”

Hesitantly, Juna began telling what happened. At first, Sohelia had to prompt her about details of the story, but eventually she relaxed a bit and the story fell into place.

When she was through, Sohelia asked a few questions underlining details and re-examining certain key events. Juna’s nervousness had almost vanished when Sohelia turned her over to the prosecutor.

Juna watched the prosecutor pace in front of her as she sat in the witness box. It was hard to believe that this plump, friendly-looking man was out to get her. He looked like somebody’s favorite grandfather.

“Dr. Saari, have you heard of the BirthRight organization?”

“Yes, sir, on the news,” Juna replied. He was going to try to link her with the pronatalist movement. Sohelia had warned her that he might try this tactic.

“What about Pro-Child?”

“Also on the news.”

“And what about the Parents’ Union?”

Juna frowned, searching her memory. “No I have not.”

“Do you know Aaron Elijah Miller?”

“Yes, sir, I do. We went to school together. His family stayed behind when the other Amish left,” Juna said, wary and puzzled by this seemingly innocuous question.

“Are you aware that he is a member of BirthRight?”

“No, sir.”

“Were you aware of his political beliefs?”

“I never really thought much about it,” Juna said. “They helped our family prune the vines, and we helped them plow and plant their barley.”

“Didn’t you ever wonder how he and his wife managed to have five children?”

“I just assumed that he had saved up enough money for the child-rights. They lived very frugally. It was none of our business. We were just glad for the extra hands his family provided.”

“And he didn’t try to help you get pregnant?”

“No, not in any way.”

“Didn’t he visit you after word of your pregnancy got out?”

“He came by the house. My father saw him. I was asleep.”

“Your father didn’t discuss the nature of their conversation with you?”

“No,” Juna said.

“Objection, Your Honor,” Sohelia broke in. “What is the point of this line of questioning?”

“That’s a good question. Counselor Parker?”

The prosecutor frowned down at a sheaf of papers. “It appears my informant was mistaken.” He turned back to Juna. “Do you have connections to any pronatalist organizations?”

“Of course not. I do not share their political sympathies.”

“Yet you are illegally pregnant.”

“Yes, by accident.”

“And you wish to keep the baby.”

Juna rested her hand on her abdomen. “Very much so. But only with a legally purchased child-right. I didn’t plan on being pregnant, but now that I am, I don’t want to lose my daughter.” She felt tears of longing beginning to form behind her eyelids. Juna looked at the judge, trying to tell her what was in her heart. “I’m not part of any political or religious movement. I just want a child.”

“No further questions, Your Honor.”

Juna got up slowly, feeling almost giddy with relief at getting off the stand. Sohelia helped her sit down.

“You did great, Juna! That was wonderful!” Sohelia whispered in her ear.

Juna nodded, too nervous to speak. She felt tears sliding down her nose. Her lawyer handed her a handkerchief.

“Are there any further witnesses?” the judge asked. Both attorneys said no. “Well, then, I think we have just enough time for closing statements. Counselor Parker, are you ready?”

“Yes, Your Honor. I am.”

“Your Honor, we have a population regulation system that works. Since Population Control was imposed a century ago, our numbers have declined slowly and steadily. There are a billion less people on Earth now than there were when the population regulations were put in place. In space, our numbers are growing at a steady, but sustainable pace. In the next century, Terra Nova will be opened up for colonization, giving us yet another world to expand into. We are making progress, but it is still a precarious balance. Every year, over ten million illegal pregnancies occur on Earth. And over a million illegal babies are born. Each illegal child slows our return to a greener, healthier planet.

“This is a high-profile case. If we let this case go, will we have twenty million illegal pregnancies to contend with next year? And forty million the year after that? We must draw the line here and now. Or once again we will be awash in people, once again we will be the victims of our own fertility. Regardless of our feelings for Dr. Saari, we must take a stand against the tide of fecundity that threatens to overwhelm us. We must not make an exception for even one case. The future of our planet is at stake.”

“Thank you, Counselor Parker. Counselor Gheisar?”

Sohelia got up to speak. She approached the judge’s bench, turned, and stood looking at Juna for a long, thoughtful moment. Then she turned again and looked up at the judge.

“Your Honor,” she said, “our system of population control is inherently coercive. We must never forget this. We render almost every person on Earth infertile when they reach puberty. Each pregnancy must be approved by Population Control. Punishment for evading the law is harsh and absolute.

“And yet, despite this coercion, Population Control is successful. It even has widespread public support. If the Pop Con program did not enjoy this support, it would not work. There would be hundreds of millions of illegal pregnancies, and tens of millions of unauthorized babies.

“Why then, does Pop Con work? Why does it enjoy this wide support? The ecological and social devastation of the Slump convinced most of humanity that a drastic solution was necessary. But more importantly, Pop Con is viewed as harsh, but fair. A family that can afford more children can have them. A poor family can have one child and sell off the remaining fractional child-right to ensure a future for that child. The system is rarely abused, and when such abuse is discovered, punishment is severe and reparations to the injured parties are swift.

“But before the contraceptive vaccine was perfected, Pop Con made exceptions for contraceptive failure. Those regulations are still on the books, even if they have not been used in decades. Dr. Saari’s case is truly an accident, improbable as it may seem. If we treat this one accident as a crime, then will people view the Population Control system as fair? I don’t think so. How many illegal pregnancies will occur if people begin to rebel against the population regulations?

“But there is another reason for leniency. As you have seen, we have a great deal to gain from good relations with the Tendu. But in order to do that, we need to better understand them. Dr. Saari’s child may be an important bridge between the Tendu and humans. Humanity has little to lose and everything to gain from this experiment. A decision to terminate Dr. Saari’s pregnancy would also terminate this experiment in Human-Tendu relations.

“Can we afford to throw this chance away?” Sohelia asked. “Your Honor, I urge you to allow this accidental pregnancy, in the name of fairness and decency, and for the sake of the future of Human-Tendu relations. Thank you, Your Honor.”

“Court is adjourned until I have a verdict,” the judge said. “I hope to be ready sometime tomorrow.” She banged her gavel down, gathered her papers, and vanished into her chambers.

“Well, all that’s left is the waiting,” Sohelia said.

“Let’s go home,” Juna said. What she really wanted was to open a door and magically be back at her family’s house on Berry. She wanted the warmth and solidity and familiarity of home. Instead, she was going back to another one of the anonymous rooms she’d lived in for most of her adult life.

Toivo, Analin, and Dr. Engle were waiting for them outside the courtroom. They swept Juna and the others off to a private room in one of Snyder Station’s finest restaurants. The conversation was lively and the food excellent. Toivo praised the wine, flown up from France.

“I traded them three mixed cases of our reserve wines for this dinner,” Toivo confided. “I told them that you and the Tendu would autograph the labels after dessert.”

“Toivo, you’re awful!” Juna laughed.

“Will you do it?” he asked.

“Only if you’ll autograph them too,” she said. “You had more to do with making the wine than I did. Actually, hi is the person who should sign the labels. You just grow the grapes. He’s the artist who crafts the wine.”

Toivo sighed. “I know. I wish I had his gift for it.”

“Well, he’s only been doing it for fifty years. You’ll get better over time.” Juna sipped at her glass of water. “How is he doing?”

“Since you left, he’s been running around like a man half his age. I’d worry, but he looks so good.” Toivo glanced over at the Tendu. “I’ve been wondering if one of those two worked on him,” he confided in Amharic, his voice low. “When word of what those two can do gets out— ” Toivo shook his head. “Be careful, Juna.”

“We will be,” she assured him. “We’re keeping this stuff under wraps, and we have security escorts.”

“Still— ” he began.

Just then the manager of the restaurant came over and asked if he could take a picture of Juna and the Tendu, and the subject was dropped.

Juna lay down on the bed, exhausted. Toivo and the others had kept her too busy to think about the verdict, but now, alone in the dark, the buoyant mood of relief that had sustained her all through dinner had evaporated. She rested a sheltering hand on her rounded abdomen. What if the verdict went against her? How could she live without her daughter?

“Oh, little one,” she murmured into the darkness. She lay there, feeling tears stream from her eyes into her hair, and then trickle down onto the pillow. Finally she could remain silent no longer. She rolled over, buried her face in the pillow and keened into its muffling softness until there were no tears left in her body, and she fell into an exhausted doze.

She was dreaming that she was holding the baby. Her daughter had reached up a small brown starfish hand to touch her cheek. Juna woke to find Moki gently pushing a strand of hair away from her face.

She smiled sleepily up at her bami for a moment. Then she realized that today the judge would render a decision. She closed her eyes, and turned her face into the pillow.

“Siti, Sohelia just called. She’s on her way over with breakfast.”

“Mmm,” Juna murmured. She wanted to go back to sleep and wake up to find that this day was all a dream.

“Siti, you need to wake up,” Moki insisted.

“Mmmph,” Juna managed. “All right, bai.” She rolled over and opened her eyes.

“You were crying last night, siti. Can I help?”

Juna turned to look at him. “How did you know that, bai? You slept in Ukatonen’s room last night.”

“I could smell your tears when I came in. Please, siti, let me help.” He held his hands out for allu-a.

Juna pushed herself upright. “Okay, bai. Show me the baby. I— We may not have her anymore after today.”

For the last few weeks, whenever they linked, Moki would include the baby in the link. Juna could just barely sense the baby’s quiet presence, its metabolism ticking away like a fast watch. Recently, she had felt the baby responding to the link. It was nothing more than a vague flutter of sensation, but it happened consistently whenever she or Moki reached inward to sense the child.

Juna grasped Mold’s arms, and they linked. She felt him enfold her and reach for the baby. She felt the fluttering sensation of the baby. Juna reached deeper into the link, striving to get as close to the little one as possible.

To her surprise, she felt a faint tickle of awareness in response, a feather-brush against her own presence. Juna sent a gentle surge of warmth and love in reply. The baby responded with another, more focused brush of awareness that touched both Moki and Juna. Juna felt a surge of fierce happiness that carried all three of them soaring sweetly into harmony.

Juna clung to that precarious balance of happiness as long as she could. Then the baby began to tire, and the link was over. Juna opened her eyes, and began to weep.

“Siti, what’s the matter? What can I do?”

Juna just shook her head, unable to speak. Moki left, returning with Ukatonen.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“The baby, I— ” and she started crying again.

Just then the doorbell rang. Moki went to answer it, and came back with Sohelia.

“It’s the baby, isn’t it?” she said squatting beside the bed. “You’re afraid you’re going to lose the baby.”

Juna nodded, and took the handkerchief that Sohelia handed her.

“I won’t lie to you, Juna, it could happen. But you have a greater chance for keeping this child than any other client I’ve ever represented, and I’ve won a few of those cases as well.”

“Really?” Juna asked.

“Of course,” Sohelia reassured her. “Don’t give up hope until it’s ripped out of your hands. Now, put on a robe and come eat breakfast. You need to eat.”

Juna nodded and began to pull herself together. Breakfast helped make her feel a little less despairing. Moki had even managed to make her laugh a time or two by the time she’d finished eating. The comm rang as they were clearing the table. Moki answered it and handed it to Sohelia. Everyone stood watching as Sohelia listened.

“All right,” she said. “We’ll be there in forty-five minutes.” She put the comm down. “Judge Matthesen has her verdict.”

“Oh,” Juna said, her mood suddenly deflated. She returned to her room and got dressed, fighting back her fears and doubts.

Juna sat in the defendant’s chair and stared at the scratched plastic table, suppressing the urge to flee. She jumped like a startled cat when the clerk came in and announced the judge. She stood, eyes still anchored to the desk, unable to look up, afraid to hope.

“Please sit,” the judge said, arranging her black robes with magisterial grace as she settled into her chair.

“The purpose of this hearing is to decide whether or not criminal culpability was involved in this pregnancy, and to determine the future of the fetus involved. I find that there was no criminal intent in this pregnancy. It was an accidental pregnancy.”

Juna looked up from the table in amazement. Sohelia clutched her shoulder.

“However,” the judge added, and Juna felt her spirits catch in their soaring. “Due to the unconventional nature of Dr. Saari’s alien companions, I feel it is important that there are other human parents to counterbalance the influence of the Tendu. If Juna is not married by the time the child is four months old, she will have to give the child up for adoption. Congratulations, Dr. Saari, you get to have your child. Case dismissed.”

Juna looked around, stunned by the decision. It was hard for her to wrap her mind around the good news. Moki and Ukatonen’s skins were a riot of celebratory blues and greens.

“Congratulations, Juna,” Sohelia said. “You get to keep the baby.

“But— ” Juna said. “The marriage.”

“Juna, you won!” Sohelia said. “Worry about everything else tomorrow.”

“But who will marry me?” Juna said.

“It will work out, you’ll see,” Sohelia assured her. “There are many families who would love to have you.”

“And the Tendu as well?” Juna asked.

Sohelia’s dark eyes looked thoughtful for a moment. “The Tendu will make it harder, but you’ll find someone, I’m sure of it. But for now, let’s celebrate the victory we have rather than worrying about the next battle. At least your daughter will be born. You have over a year to worry about finding her a family.”

Juna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You’re right,” she said. “I’ve just gotten so used to worrying that it’s hard to stop.”

Analin came in. “Is it good news?”

“Yes,” Juna said.

“Hooray!” Analin cheered.

“But there’s a catch,” Juna added. “I have to be married by the time my daughter’s four months old, or give her up for adoption.”

“Don’t worry,” Analin reassured her. “It’ll happen. Are you ready to make a statement to the press?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to talk about having to get married. It’s going to be hard enough without everyone in the world knowing about it.”

“I understand,” Analin told her. “I’ll set up a press conference in an hour, outside the courthouse. Your brother and Dr. Engle are waiting outside the courtroom for you.”

Juna headed for the door. “We won!” she announced when she saw Toivo and the doctor. “We won!”

“Juna that’s great news!” Dr. Engle said. He hugged her tightly.

Toivo pushed himself up out of his wheelchair to hug her. “I’m so glad, Juna!”

Juna felt tears of joy gather at the corner of her eyes. “So am I!” she said. “So am I!”

The press conference went well. Juna still had the sympathy of the press, and she was able to get away with a simple statement, and five minutes of questions about the baby. She dodged a couple of questions about her pending lawsuit against the Survey.

Then after a couple of light, fluffy questions about the baby’s name, and whether it was a boy or a girl, Juna brought the press conference to a close with a huge sense of relief. No one had asked her about their work at the hospital.

“They’re going to find out what the Tendu can do someday, Juna,” her brother remarked as they headed for a quiet lunch.

“I know,” she said, “but I’d rather keep people in the dark as long as possible. My life is going to be complicated enough just trying to find a family to marry.”

“You’ll find someone, Juna,” he told her. “I know you will.”

Juna shrugged.

“Seriously, keep me posted. If there’s anything I can do, I want to help.” Toivo’s dark, solemn face was intent. For a moment Juna saw their mother’s face reflected in his.

“Thank you, little brother. I’ll keep you posted.” She grinned. “You can come stand by my door and beat the suitors away with a stick when there are too many of them,” she said sardonically. “I’m sure there’ll be suitors lined up around the block, just waiting to marry a pregnant woman who lives with two aliens.”

“Come on, Juna,” Toivo said. “It’s not that bad. I’ll bet you get some great offers.”

“Maybe,” Juna said doubtfully.

“Give yourself a few days before you start worrying,” Toivo advised. “You’re starting at the hospital tomorrow, and that’s enough to worry about.”

“I know,” Juna said. “They didn’t seem to be too eager to see us when we stopped in the other day. I don’t think that they know what to do with us.”

Dr. Engle grinned wolfishly. “That’ll change once they understand the Tendu and their capabilities.”

“I hope so,” she said.

“It will be all right,” Ukatonen assured her. “They are healers. It should be easy to achieve harmony.”

“Yes, en, but they are also humans. They don’t understand you.”

“But they will, Eerin,” Ukatonen told her. “Moki and I will teach them, as we have taught others.”

“I hope so, en. I hope so.”