sullen funk had seemed too wide to broach. Now Ling met
his eyes frankly, as if anxious to make up for lost time.
"I'd say a collision's already happened," he commented.
"True. But it's wrong to blame your entire Commons for
the deeds of a minority, acting without authority or—"
He barked a bitter laugh. "Even when you're trying to be
She stared for a moment, then nodded. "All right. Your
sages effectively sanctioned the zealots' attack, post facto,
by keeping us prisoner and threatening blackmail. It's fair
"At war. True, dear ex-employer. But you leave out our
own casus belli." Lark knew the grammar must be wrong,
but he liked showing that even a savage could also drop a
Latin phrase. "We're fighting for our lives. And now we
increasing amounts of nauseating fluid from the air vents of
a qheuen, squatting unconscious at the back of the shelter.
She had worked alongside Uthen for months, evaluating
local species for possible uplift. The gray's illness was no
"Believe me, Lark. I know nothing of this disease. Nor
the trick Ro-kenn allegedly pulled, trying to broadcast psi-
"Allegedly? You suggest we might have the technology
Ling sighed, "I don't dismiss the idea entirely. From the
start you Jijoans played on our preconceptions. Our will-
ingness to see you as ignorant barbarians. It took weeks to
learn that you were still literate! Only lately did we realize