SKENE: CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

(Another two-chapter post today because they make a complete set.) This is draft one of my sci-fi novel Skene. To read earlier chapters, go to LABELS in the right-hand column on this page, scroll down to the Skene tags and click on the one you want to read. Skene is set on a human-habitable planet in the Alhena star system at least 500 years in the future. There's a considerable amount of appendix material and diagrams also available here as needed:
NEW: Map of Yagi and Adjacent Flings
Map of Riesig (the main island)
Map of The Manage on Riesig
Skene Glossary (Skenish to English)
Skene Cast of Characters
Skene Culture, Calendar, Clothing, and Islands
Map of All Skene
Map of The Lofthall on Riesig

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

On Shmonah, the band of travelers burst in the front door, instantly filling the Manage with noise and bustle. Dinner preparation was halted long enough for the abbas to collect kisses and wonderful gifts from the children. The vacationers looked sun-bathed and bright-eyed. Ng noticed that Halling and Bux were kissing again, and quietly pointed it out to Qen.

Finally the children were sent to unpack and wash their hands. Their emmas jumped in to help with the work of this large meal, as their guests trailed in. With six extra at the table, the children had to be relegated to clothes' chests arranged in a square in the living room. One of the gifts, a round of lacy cheese from Yagi, was immediately sliced and placed on the table with dinner.

As it turned out, the children spent the meal traveling back and forth from their plates to stand beside some adult as stories about the weekend's events were told. Speranz climbed onto on a chair and acted out falling from the ronyang wall into the wild woods of Bosco, and Halling obligingly leaped to rescue her again while Yoj made wild pig noises in the background that made the children's eyes go huge -- a sound effect that actually had not occurred in the real incident.

Ndege leaned against Veida to hold the battered herb guide Veida had loaned her for the trip and point out which plants they had located on Ziza and Selva Secanos. Mill demonstrated the swimming stroke she had perfected at Sziklas Beach, and Dodd did her hilarious imitations of goat calls heard in the hills above Riada. When Prl was pressed to share her favorite part of the trip, she whispered to the other children for a minute. They gathered around her, their arms held over their heads, fluttering their fingers likes leaves as they blew breeze sounds through their lips. She stood raptly, gazing up at the imaginary green canopy above her, then closed her eyes and sighed, hugging herself. Qen led the applause that followed.

After the main meal, an oilcloth was spread on the damp grass out back and the children were sent to watch this weekend's meteor showers, the grandest all year, with a cookie apiece. The back door was left open, despite the cool night, so the adults drinking tea at the table could hear the frequent "Ooohs!" as a comet streaked across the clear sky. Yoj kept leaning over to check on katt presence until Petunia came and settled on Dodd's belly. Petunia was now the oldest of their katts, and a powerful hunter who had trained all the kittens added during her time. If Petunia was on watch, everything was fine.

During the first long lull in conversation, Halling leaned forward, both hands wrapped around her mug of tea, and looked around the table with an intriguing smile. She said "You'll be the first to know: I'm running for Sheng Zhang of the Lofthall."

The resultant chorus of exclamations were so loud that two of the children sat up in the yard and asked "What?" Yoj called the news out to them -- which was not news for them, they'd heard it the night before after dinner -- and they settled back down. Whoever spotted a streaking star first got to make a wish on it, far more significant to them than adult politics. Even for Mill -- of course Halling was going to be Sheng Zhang, it was way past time for that to occur.

Which was the concensus sentiment of the adults inside as well. Once the questions started, Halling got up to retrieve Yoj's notebook, where Halling had made several pages of notes. She began going through her planned changes one by one, listening attentively to the reactions and advice of her family and friends. It was 10:00 before they were done, they realized with a jolt when the muted voice of Sigrist radio announced the hour and signed off for the night, except for emergencies.

"Tomorrow's a school day and none of them have had baths" worried Yoj.

"We'll get them up fifteen minutes early and take turns sponging them down" said Bux. "But the pilots among us need to go to bed."

"When are you going to talk with Igoz?" asked Qala as she got to her feet.

"Not tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll just return to work and get my wings back under me" said Halling. "By the end of the week, though; the children won't be able to keep from spilling the secret very long. I'll give you a heads-up the day before."

Lawa and Qala left by the front door, their neighbors by the back. Halling, at Bux's insistence, went to the privy and then straight to bed. Bux, Yoj and three of the emmas carried sleeping children into the house and got them into schmattas. Ng seemed especially glad to have Prl and Speranz back. Yoj dropped extra fisk into the katt's bowls, murmuring to Petunia "You are so good to us, yes, you are".

The next day after work, Halling wrote letters to Moasi and Tu, as well as to Szebel's manage. Bux wrote a long thank-you letter to Culisa and let her in on the secret, then wrote Paha and Tlochin. Yerush stole an hour at lunch to sneak to Raisa's and share the news with her, and they swapped fragments of strategy while making hurried love.

After dinner, Yoj began the grumbling children on a round of baths and resumed chores while she changed sheets and did two loads of laundry for overnight drying on racks in front of the hearth. Halling was kept at the table by Yerush, Veida and Ng, adding their latest thoughts to her notes. Bux and Qen took up the rest of the table with piles of fabric from this half-year allotment, collected by Qen over the weekend, considering which family garments needing replacing. Veida and Ng were now on the sewing roster -- even with hand-me-downs, the children went through garments rapidly -- but Bux and Qen were the original designers.

At one point when the Sheng Zhang cabal mentioned the Vote next winter, Bux jumped in to say "I think at the half-year election after that, I'd like to run for Sheng Zhang of Rahat. I think my Sheng Zhang is about ready to move on, and I've got a good shot at it."

Halling looked at her speculatively, but Yerush's reaction was immediate: "Out of the question. Halling will be up for re-election then as well, and we have to pool all our resources behind her for the time being. With Qen head teacher at the school now, my influence at the U and Yoj being the dichter, we'll have a hard time keeping even one additional member of this Manage in public office until she's proved herself for a couple of years. People will be afraid of concentrating too much power in one family. You'll have to wait."

Bux's anger was also immediately apparent on her face. Yoj, passing through with Speranz and Prl draped in towels, said "I have to agree. Halling's election will save lives, hers and -- others in the future." She nodded her head in the direction of Mill, who was doing the last of the dishes at the sink.

Bux couldn't argue with that, although her expression indicated she'd like to try. Halling added "Plus, Yoj has been waiting for years to apprentice as the Archivist. I'm worried her window of opportunity is going to close, and it's her life dream."

Bux turned on Yoj. "I thought your life dream was to write. You're already dichter."

"It is. I mean, I do love writing and I intend to keep on no matter what" said Yoj, flustered by the tone of Bux's voice.

"She can have more than one dream" said Veida. "She's also an emma and a partner, which for some folks is a full-time proposition." Yerush concluded with "All three of you are ambitious, and that's to the good. We just have to do things in order as the opportunity arises."

Yoj followed the youngest children into their room, escaping the sudden tension in the room. When Prl and Speranz emerged in schmattas, smelling clean, to brush their teeth and get goodnight kisses, Yoj occupied herself with running a second bath for the twins and rinsing the first load of laundry. She stayed out of all adult discussions the rest of the evening.

Qala told Halling that the sinner who had replaced her during her week off, Yalewa, had performed rather poorly. After multiple complaints from the sinner and lighter crew, Igoz had agreed to give her additional training and place her on strict commercial work in safe corridors. The new sinner on the kelp crew was likewise shaky, but promised to get better. Emboldened by Igoz's need for her, Halling opted to tell Igoz her decision about running for Sheng Zhang on Empat, a day of hard rain when sinning over the depths was canceled.

Igoz reacted with utter shock. Qala, sitting in the office with them, stayed very busy with the radio for several minutes. When Igoz was finally able to demand "Why?", Halling replied evenly "It's not personal. I just think it's time for someone with extensive pilot experience to be making life-or-death decisions for us."

This enraged Igoz, as Halling had anticipated it would. "It takes more than being able to fly loop-de-loops to run the Lofthall!" snarled Igoz. "This is about commerce as well -- "

Halling cut her off. "I'm well aware of that end, too. I've helped draw up the budget for eight years now. And I've heard a great deal from the various Skene industries about what's working for them and what's not, in terms of the service we provide."

Igoz's red flush drained away. "What have you heard?" she yelled.

"I think our information exchange will be public and thorough over the next few months. I just wanted to tell you myself about my decision, and that's enough for the time being" said Halling. She turned to leave the office, winking at Qala as she did.

She went to the canteen for lunch, where word had already leaked out -- either from Rark and Danaan, or some other source, she didn't know and wished she did. She was deluged with whispered questions, but waved them off, saying "When we're not officially on the clock any more -- at dinner -- if we have privacy, we can all talk then."

Thus, she returned to the Lofthall for dinner with them instead of her family, carrying her notes, now typed in a crisp, edited format and copied for sharing. Rark, Danaan and Iro went with her. Mill had been left behind, protesting and finally erupting into tears on Ng's shoulder. Halling was gratified to see every pilot in the Lofthall present, although she was savvy enough to guess that some of them had not yet made up their minds about her.

She was also gratified to notice that almost none of her proposals for change came as a surprise to the pilots. She thought grimly Things are this long overdue. The only idea that brought a startled response was the creation of parachutes. Yoj had done the research for her from ancient records and Bux had created a beautiful full-color schematic of their appearance, how they worked, with Halling's additional notion of snagging the chute and dangling pilot mid-air by lighters with grapples before it became lev bait.

Halling said "I have to be honest, this reform will mean more work for you all. And no increase in pay."

To which Lmape drawled, "Well, strictly speaking, getting to live out our full years at our current pay will be an income hike. Aside from the not being eaten aspect." There was a roar of laughter, and several voices chorused "Count me in."

Finally someone asked "What's in the tube?" Halling made sure the table was clean, then unrolled a copy of the Sector 53 map where the islands had been inked in by Bux. The crush to look at it was intense. After a couple of minutes, Lmape looked up at Halling, standing next to Qala, and said "Where in the lev has been this all these decades?"

"Not sure" said Halling. "It's possible there's a copy locked in the Lofthall safe." Qala nodded confirmation.

"This needs to be posted in the main hall" continued Lmape in a fierce tone.

"It'll just get ripped down. For now" said another pilot meaningfully.

Halling said "Daylight's on its way for us here, I promise you. I can't leave this with you yet, but study it for the next hour, memorize what you can, and any time you need to consult it, feel free to drop by my Manage."

Iro said "I don't know if this is out of line, but -- could you get copies made, now, for every open-water faryaste? And people who work the cortices?"

"That's a great idea" said Halling. She thought silently And a brilliant campaign tool. She said aloud "I'll get the printing done tomorrow."

Over the next few months, Halling's campaign gathered momentum. Dinnertime conversation was so often dominated by it that the children complained, even Mill, so Halling changed her strategy sessions to after dinner. Which placed an additional load on Yoj and Bux, but Yoj, at least, did not mind, and Bux didn't complain. Halling promised them, more than once, that if she was elected, she'd set a predictable schedule with at least one day off a week for herself. Yoj wasn't sure this was a promise she could keep. It didn't matter, anyhow -- Halling needed to do this.

Yerush was thoroughly in her element, cheerful and rushing home after work. This put Qen in good spirits as well. Halling made sure to spend time with Ng alone in her studio, parsing Yerush's advice with a critical eye together. Halling's busyness kept her from making even a brief visit to Yanja. Bux, however, kept track of the weekly letters Halling received from Szebel, thick and addressed in a sprawling red ink. She asked Halling, tight-lipped, if Halling was answering them, and Halling said "Of course." Halling then offered for Bux to read some of them, and Bux declined. Yoj secretly took Halling up on the offer and read one letter before stopping, saying it brought up insecurity she didn't need to have.

Igoz's time at the Lofthall was briefer than ever, mostly to oversee the weekly schedule, and to administer the budget which she increasingly kept hidden from even Qala. Qala and Halling strongly suspected Igoz was trading commerce favors for election support, but there was no way they could prove it until the past budget came up for review, which would only happen after the Vote.

As Vote Day approached, only Yerush remained certain about Halling's election. Halling knew she had the support of some key segments of Skene, but not all. She began to wish it were all over. She was tired of wondering whether people liked and trusted her.

The Lofthall Sheng Zhang speeches were scheduled for 2 p.m. on Vote Day, which Yerush said was excellent timing for last minute persuasion. Privately, Yoj worried that people would be distracted by anticipating the tasting, which was to occur immediately after. She was relieved to see the main room at the Lofthall, where the speeches were to take place, so crowded that she and her family had trouble threading their way to the front. A temporary stage had been erected, and Halling was already up there on one side, Igoz on the other.

A neutral party, agreed to by both Halling and Igoz, kicked things off by reading their basic platforms out loud in a dispassionate tone. This was followed by alternating advocates for each candidate, chosen by them, a total of five for each side, who were given one minute to speak their support. Halling had asked Yoj to be one of her five, along with Qen, a friend of Ktiva's who headed the biggest guild on Seda, Veida's cousin who headed the Ricegrower's Guild on Beras, and the manager of the fish docks who had surprised Halling with her backing.

Qen went first. She was sweet and eloquent, and clearly devoted to Halling, which persuaded no one who wasn't already convinced, Yoj thought. Distracted by this, and by the presence of clusters of people who looked at her stonily, her own turn at speaking was also lackluster. In the back of her mind, she was thinking with disbelief How could anyone not see Halling was a gift to Skene? Yoj linked her role as dichter, serving the Lofthall, to the need for Halling's expanded service. She received polite applause and left the stage bitterly disappointed in herself. She took Speranz from Bux, drawing comfort from the imperturable love of her youngest.

Ktiva's friend did a much better job, making the crowd laugh often. The mood picked up steadily, and the fish dock manager concluded to enthusiastic applause.

But Igoz's roster was very impressive, and their speeches were biting. Yoj tried not to hate every one of those women forever after.

The floor was now open for spontaneous speeches from those present. As a result of a coin toss, Halling had won the right to go last. Consequently, there was a long string of business managers and solid citizens streaming up the steps to speak on Igoz's behalf. They were brief and frequently dull, but they carried weight. Two of Skene's sitting Sheng Zhangs also expressed their solidarity with Igoz, though not Bux's, Yoj was glad to note. Yoj didn't know if any of the other Sheng Zhangs would come forward to speak on Halling's behalf.

Mill slipped away from her family and suddenly Yoj saw her on stage, having reached Halling. She started up the steps after her, but Halling took Mill's hand and Yoj suddenly thought maybe Halling was glad to have company up there. Yoj went to join them, standing behind Halling and breathing reminders into Speranz's ear to keep her silent. She was still there when Igoz came to the middle of the stage to make her case for why she should remain Sheng Zhang.

Igoz's tone was often mocking or condescending when she referred to "the pilot running against me". Bux, who had considered joining Yoj on stage, was now glad her own face was not visible to the throng behind her because she was sure she looked furious. Yoj showed no expression at all.

Before Igoz had reached her conclusion, Bux slowly became aware of a restiveness in the crowd around her. She sensed movement, and eventually it reached all the way to the front as the jammed room squeezed itself in just a little more in order to make passage for a large group of women pushing their way politely to the front. Bux saw Yoj's face register amazement. A few seconds later, Halling looked up and began grinning hugely. Bux turned and tried to see who they were looking at.

As the newcomers passed by her to the steps, single-file, murmuring "Please excuse us, thanks ever so", her first impression was simply of bulk -- every single woman in this group of a dozen was taller and wider than Halling. The woman leading the line had bright red hair in a thick braid, majestic breasts and a wide taut ass. Several of those behind her had on the ochre coveralls of yanjangers, and as Bux realized what that meant, Igoz began fumbling for her words, too distracted to remember her arguments.

At the steps, an electric signal passed between the red-haired woman and Halling, but they did not touch or speak. Yoj raised her eyebrows at Halling, then came to join Bux. Ng, in the chair next to Bux, motioned to Yoj and breathed "That must be Szebel." Yoj nodded.

Ng said "She's a giant." Bux said "They're all giants."

Speranz looked seriously worried, and Yoj whispered in her ear "The giants are friends of your emmas, they're here to help her, isn't that wonderful?"

Igoz finally gave up, but despite a poor finish, the applause for her was still too enthusiastic to Bux's ears. Szebel stood to one side at the top of the steps and made a graceful "After you" motion down the steps to Igoz, thus neatly persuading her off the platform. Szebel then strode to the center of the platform, and her cohort spread out behind her. Two of the women were holding sheafs of paper. Szebel looked out over the crowd, and an extraordinary grin lit up her face. Bux sucked in her breath -- this woman was enchantingly beautiful.

When she spoke, her voice was clear and rich. "Hello, gathered citizens of Skene. My name is Szebel, and I am a mathematician on Yanja. I am also secretary for the Vetriste Guild of Yanja, and they have sent me here to speak on their behalf concerning leadership of the Lofthall. As you know, our trade depends entirely on the Lofthall for distribution of our goods. As I am also sure you know, there have been many rumors that we of Yanja would prefer to create our own fleet of aircraft and remove distribution of our essential products from the hands of any but our own."

A loud hubbub broke out. No one had ever given public voice to these rumors before. It was a shocking admission. Szebel kept grinning, and when she had silence and attention once more, she said "My sibaste wishes to convey to all others on Skene, we support the candidacy of Halling for Sheng Zhang of the Lofthall, and with her handling our deliveries, we would never see a need to alter things as they are now."

The reaction was tumultuous. Her charm and ease were all that kept it from being a clear threat. Yoj heard Yerush chuckling appreciatively nearby. Szebel turned and took one of the papers from the woman behind her. She held it up into the air and yelled "So say we, the Vetriste Guild of Skene, and here are our signatures attesting to our oath!" She blew the crowd a kiss, which caused a wave of laughter, and during this, she melted back into her group and the woman holding the papers stepped forward.

When there was enough silence to be heard, she said "I am Wiaki of Yanja, secretary of Yanjanger Guild Primus. I, too, have been sent by my colleagues to indicate our unanimous support for Halling as Sheng Zhang. I, too, have seen asked to convey to you our intention to remain in contract with the Lofthall as it would operate under Halling."

The tension the room now as almost incendiary. Was this or was this not talk of revolution? The shock on Halling's face was genuine, and helped her cause. Wiaki waved the papers in her hand and said "I have here the signatures of not only my guild, but that of Yanjanger Guild Secundus as well. I have testimonials from owners of every olive oil press on Yanja, of the Rongyanger Sibaste, of every qi gong, and of the Director of Funerals for All Skene -- every one of these voters believe a Lofthall lead by Halling would be the right choice for Yanja."

Yoj had turned to look at Bux when the qi gongs were mentioned: That meant Nilma and Owera. Bux was now pressed against Yoj. How had Halling won the hearts of so many people so far away?

Szebel assumed the lead again. She took one last paper from the second woman and held it up, showing ornate calligraphy and a glittering seal. "It is my great honor, finally, to speak on behalf of the Confederated Mining Guilds of Chloddia and Exploit, a total of 17 different mining organizations. Their representatives sent this to our Guild by mail yesterday. This petition states their intention to support the candidacy of Halling. Between their islands and ours, the entirety of heavy industry and commerce for the far edge of the East Tendril have thrown their support to Halling. This is not revolution -- far from it. This is just a glad step toward management that best understands how to foster balance and neighborly respect."

This last was a brilliant stroke. By naming the fear in everyone's heads, and using the Skene code words of "balance" and "neighborly", she had plunged the room into relief -- a relief necessary only because of her earlier bluntness, but no one was going to notice that now. Thunderous applause erupted.

The group began making their way down the steps. As each passed by Halling, they shook her hand. Szebel was the last, and upon taking Halling's hand, she made the same gesture to Halling she'd made to Igoz, only this time it was to motion her toward the center of the platform. Halling, red-cheeked, did as she suggested. The Yanja crowd found places to stand along the side wall. Mill remained on the platform, leaning against the wall with her hands folded behind her back, her face aglow as she gazed at her emma. Her brightness drew many of the eyes in the room.

Halling glanced down at Yoj, Bux and the rest of her family and gave them a slow wink. Speranz erupted into burbling laughter and reached her arms up toward Halling. Yoj whispered to her "Not yet, she needs to talk to the crowd first, sweet baby love."

Halling took her measure of the crowd, her blush fading, and finally said "Well, then. I'm Halling. I've been a pilot since I was 16, first as a lighter, then a sinner for the last 15 years. There's no aspect of Lofthall function I've not done, including budgetary and contract work." This caused a ripple of sound -- why would a Sheng Zhang give that kind of duty to a pilot? "I have gladly accepted every responsibility asked of me, and I consider myself to have a commitment to every person on Skene. It is my job to feed you. It's a good job. I sleep well at night."

Her simple phrases and earnest tone were welcome to all the ordinary workers listening to her. As Halling paused between sentences, Speranz reached up her arms again and said "Emma!"

Giggles ran through the crowd, and Yoj whispered to Speranz it was still time to wait. Speranz wriggled in her arms, beginning to feel warm and confined by the mass of people. Yoj sang a barely breathed tune in her ear, hoping it would last long enough to give Halling time for her speech.

"I'm moved, and honored, by the pledges of support just offered me. I -- I didn't know they'd be coming my way. But I always try to deal with folks honestly and decently. I do my share, and I don't lie. I think that's what Skeners expect of each other, and if that's appreciated, well, that's only right." Halling was not one for false modesty. Again, this went over well.

"When I became head of my sinning crew, we went six years without a death. Before that, the average for the Lofthall was four or five deaths a year. More than anything else I do as a pilot, that's what I'm proudest of: The saving of lives. You all know I lost my partner when I was 19. It's a hard loss at that age, but it's a hard loss any time, any where. On my crew, we do the job without taking undue risks. As Sheng Zhang, that would be true for the entire Lofthall. My goal is to stop the loss of human life while we feed Skene."

Halling paused again, and again Speranz shouted "Emma!", trying to launch herself forward from Yoj's arms. Yoj turned, looking for a path out of the room, and Speranz, sensing her intent, began saying "No, emma, I want emma, I need to talk to emma!"

Halling stepped to the front of the platform and squatted down, saying "It's okay, hand her to me." Yoj complied, and Speranz clutched at Halling joyfully. As Halling stood back up, her face was alight, looking into the eyes of her youngest. Speranz patted Halling's cheek and said "Where did them giants go, emma?"

It took a second for the meaning to sink in. The room roared with laughter, startling Speranz who turned to look at the throng and screwed her face up to cry. Halling whispered in her ear, and the upset transformed into Speranz's gorgeous giggles. Halling was completely relaxed now: She was never happier than with one of her children in her arms.

Turning Speranz so her ears were not near Halling's mouth, Halling said "So, my intention as Sheng Zhang will begin with safety. Not just for pilots, but for all the people who live under our flight paths. I have lots of ideas which I'd like to see implemented, things that will increase efficiency without undoing the budget or compromising safety. I have a point by point plan which I can hand out to those of you interested in details -- "

Prl, being held by Qen by the steps, now raised her voice and said "I want to go see emma, too!" Yoj began moving their way. As Prl kept complaining loudly, the crowd was not quite as amused until Prl said emphatically "I am her baby too, don't say I'm four because she still tells me I am her darling baby!" Yoj had Prl in her arms by now, and Prl said "Emma, please take me to emma, I'll be quiet, I just need for her to hold me a minute." Amid the laughter, Halling began walking down the platform toward them, shifting Speranz to one hip. Yoj climbed the steps and handed Prl to her, and Prl clamped herself into Halling's other hip. Speranz put her fingers in her mouth, then pulled them out briefly to lean over and give Prl a light kiss on her cheek. Prl said "Fank you" sweetly, then shushed herself and leaned her head against Halling's neck, looking out at the crowd with her big blue eyes. The contentment on her face created an audible sigh in the audience.

Someone at the back of the room, in the area where Igoz had treated, called out belligerently "How are you going to handle the responsibilities of Sheng Zhang when you have so many other commitments?" Halling looked like she couldn't believe the question. Yoj stepped to the center of the platform and said "Same way she does now. She gets up before light and flies out to face monsters. When she's done with a grueling shift, she comes home and helps our children with their homework, helps make dinner, does her share of keeping our tillage fecund, and makes her partners extremely happy." There was a titter through the room. "We have a vibrant family life, four abbas in our Manage as well as the three of us. We make sure Halling's work get the attention it deserves; as a family, we're committed to her commitment. And, let me say -- I really hope you're not suggesting that only single, childless people should have positions of responsibility on Skene, because if we followed that ideology, we'd be in deep trouble."

Dodd and Ndege had sidled up the steps and were now standing on either side of Mill, who had looped her arms over each of their shoulders. They were not drawing attention to themselves, but they were getting it all the same -- not just because they were twins, but because all five of Halling's children were on full view. Bux, taking them all in, thought they were unusually beautiful, intelligent, and healthy-looking, what any emma would hope for in a child.

Another voice from the same back region said belligerently "You've already spoken, we know what you think." Yoj saw Bux's jaw set and she swung around, trying to track down the source of the voice.

Yoj grinned and said "You know what I think as Dichter. And you can guess what I think as Halling's partner, I'll spare you my gush there. But I do have one more thing you've not heard. And that's from me as an emma. Even if Halling's children were not my own, I'd want a Lofthall Sheng Zhang who treasured my children first and foremost. It's true, we have 500 years of sinning tradition on Skene and so far we've not starved. I've heard here today what I hear often all over Skene: If it's working, it's working. But the piloting tradition we have at the moment, which is working, I admit, works because built into it are a certain number of deaths each year. The Lofthall attracts our children, our brilliant, brave, big-hearted children, the best among us. It sends them out to horror, and every year except when Halling has her way, a certain number of those precious children don't come home. It's not simply that we have to bury them: It's that they don't come back at all." She paused to let the implication of that assert itself.

"I adore Skene. I write a new song about life here every week, and almost every song is a love song. So I'm not asking to abandon what has worked. But as an emma, with five children I don't ever want to have to face -- " Her voice abandoned her for a minute. Swallowing hard, she continued "I want a piloting tradition that is not afraid to make change if the change means my child will come back home, when she grows up and joins the Lofthall. None of us wants our children to become pilots. Ask Halling's emma, she's right down there: She pitched a fit when Halling first mentioned the idea. As have any one of you who now has a child in the Lofthall, and as will any of you whose darling comes to you at some point in the future and says 'Emma, I want to fly.' Your heart will stop for a few beats and your vision will go dim. So, as an emma who shares that reaction with you, and who knows firsthand that Halling feels the same way: Who do you want protecting the life of your children? Whose Lofthall do you want them to enter, when that time comes?"

Yoj stopped, her heart pounding. Two beats went by, then the room exploded. She could see Bux's face, then Ng's, and both were wet with tears. Through the clamor, she heard Prl saying "I go to emma, now, please" and Halling was beside her, Prl transferring herself into Yoj's arms. Yoj squeezed her tight and said "You always smell so good to me, Prl, like caramel." Prl answered, "I know." Yoj found her way down from the platform, Halling behind her and the three older children in her wake.

Forswearing the now-crowded steps, Qala vaulted onto the platform and waited for the cheering to die down. She took off her cap, folded it crisply and tucked it into the laces of her gilet. When she could be heard, she said "I'm Qala, dispatcher for the Lofthall, and first off, I'd like to say I talk with many of you here over the radio every week. Here I am -- here's what I look like, unruly curls and all. So, if you get a chance, come look me up later and let me set eyes on you. That way, when we're on the radio next week, we'll have a face to put to the name."

Several voices called out greeting. Qala laughed and said "I'm better one on one. Now, the second reason I'm up here -- I'd like to ask any pilot in the Lofthall who's decided to vote for Halling, to please join me up here. Just so we have an idea of how it's leaning."

Motion broke out in every section of the room. Robin's-blue and mustard-yellow uniforms began streaming through the mass of people, and a long line entered from the entryway as well. At least half of them didn't bother with the steps at the side, instead jumping easily up with a thud of otos onto the platform. As the platform filled, a murmur began. The crush in the room became eased, because so many of their number had been pilots, now up on the platform. Yoj saw Iro climb the steps, and behind her were a long stream of jigongs. Behind them were the canteen workers. She began crying, and Prl said "You okay, emma?"

"Very okay, sweetheart" she choked out.

With the ability to turn and move now available, people in the crowd began looking to see if there were any pilots not on the platform. None could be found. The only two people not up there were Igoz, conspiciously in dress silks instead of a uniform, and Halling, still holding Speranz. Qala beckoned to Halling, and Speranz allowed herself to be handed off to Yerush. As Halling walked self-consciously up the steps, Mill ran up behind her and took her hand. They were pulled into the mass of uniforms between Rark and Danaan. Just before the room would have begun cheering, Qala closed her eyes and sang the first bar of the Going Home song, the lilting ballad every pilot knew best and often sang together over the radio as they approached Skene by air. Within seconds, each voice on the platform had joined in, and the sound literally shook the walls. Yoj, Bux, Veida and Dodd also sang along. It was a community sharing beyond what Yoj had ever experienced.


Copyright 2007 Maggie Jochild.

Read More...

Summary only...

SKENE: CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

(Brass tile on the door of Szebel's Manage, Yanja)

(Double chapter post tonight, because it's a bit of a cliffhanger otherwise -- Chapter 33 is below, start there.) This is draft one of my sci-fi novel Skene. To read earlier chapters, go to LABELS in the right-hand column on this page, scroll down to the Skene tags and click on the one you want to read. Skene is set on a human-habitable planet in the Alhena star system at least 500 years in the future. There's a considerable amount of appendix material and diagrams also available here as needed:
Map of Riesig (the main island)
Map of The Manage on Riesig
Skene Glossary (Skenish to English)
Skene Cast of Characters
Skene Culture, Calendar, Clothing, and Islands
Map of All Skene
Map of The Lofthall on Riesig

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

San on Yanja

The next day, Halling slept in while Szebel got up and worked on her commission until lunch. It was completely silent in the Manage. When Halling finally woke up, Szebel opened her curtains and they looked through a telescope at the Wasa South for a while, Halling locating levis and kelp fields to show Szebel. Because of the clarity of the day, they also had a view of Peisuo. Halling told her about the dinner they had with Z'bef when Danaan was rescued. Z'bef out there, unimaginably alone at this instant, and Halling felt a wrench inside her, thinking about it.

After lunch, Halling wrote another letter to Yoj and Bux, and she walked with Szebel to post it. Then they walked the road around Yanja's outer perimeter, Szebel acting as tour guide. When they reached the ferry landing that led to Isola Fling, they sat on a bench for a while, looking over the water at it, now a flat expanse of wheat, and Halling talked about Yoj's childhood. It made her miss Yoj intensely. Later, as they walked by the Qi Gong Center, Szebel asked her if she wanted to go in and say hello to Nilma and Owera. Halling hesitated, then said "No."

"Because you're with me, and you think they might not approve?" asked Szebel.

"That's part of it. Although I can't imagine Yoj caring. No, it's more -- they just don't treat me like kin, and worse, they don't treat Yoj like kin. I feel loyal to her, not them."

The manages on the rest of Yanja, away from Szebel's ridge, looked like those on Riesig. It was nice to have a paved road around the island, however. Several times Halling saw electric carts hauling loads or carrying people who had trouble walking. She expressed her wish that Riesig have this kind of road and transport.

"As I understand it", said Szebel, "Riesig was settled first of all the islands, with regard to Manages and families go. And land was so tight, they decided on narrow lanes to conserve territory, instead of covering over tillable soil with hard surfaces. Plus, we had to pave the area between our industry and the jichang because what we ship out tends to be heavy and huge, too much for humans to carry."

Halling insisted on leading the dinner-making efforts again that night, passing on techniques for seasoning and for keeping vegetables fresh to the palate. She made Qen's egg dressing for their salad but sidestepped a direct question about how it came together -- some secrets needed to stay in the family. Amya was watching her closely, however, and Halling suspected she understood the chemical principles well enough to sort it out on her own. It was all right with her if it became Amya's secret, too.

After dinner, the elder women went to the living room to visit with friends who had stopped by. All of Szebel's partners, however, after greeting the visitors politely, returned to the dining room with cups of tea and notebooks, settling in around Halling.

"We talked to various folks all day" began Wiaki. "Rongyangers, fadians, chemistes -- "

Amya interrupted her: "One of the vetristes on my crew used to work in a silkseaming factory on Verzin, and she was extremely helpful."

Wiaki continued "I also talked privately with the koukei." The vetristes looked startled. Halling said "I don't know who that is."

Szebel explained "Where our magma emerges from its vent in the earth is through a long chamber. We prefer to call it magma, by the way, instead of lava which is technically what it is once it reaches the surface. We call it magma until it's been killed into stillness. Anyhow, in the natural course of events, the vent would slowly clog up with cooling plugs of magma, until the flow stopped and it would have to find another route up through the crust. But we can't allow that -- not just our industry, but the safety of Yanja depends on localizing the vent. So, when it starts looking sluggish, the koukei reams out the tunnel again."

"How in the world does she do that?" asked Halling.

The partners looked at each other. "People outside Yanja don't really know about this" said Szebel. "Except for the Ethicist, and a couple of the Sheng Zhangs."

"All right" said Halling somberly. "I won't tell anyone except my partners. They're as trustworthy as I am, and I don't keep anything relevant from them."

The partners looked at each other again. Amya nodded, which confirmed Halling's suspicion about her leadership in this group.

Wiaki said quietly "We wait until the work shift is over and the district is quiet. In particular, we make sure there are no flights nearby. And no visitors. We clear the district, not just for privacy but also as a safety measure. Someone drives in our loader that has a telescoping lift, extends 20 meters into the air."

"Wow" said Halling. "Didn't know we had such things on Skene."

"We have one" said Wiaki with a wry grin. "The koukei is lifted in that basket, with all the shielding we can give her, and she has a -- modified laser."

There was a long silence. "How big is this laser?" said Halling softly.

"It's one of a kind" answered Wiaki. Halling realized it must be like the weapons mentioned in ancient Skene history, the kinds of terrible tools used during the Troubles by human beings warring with each other.

"She has special readouts of the condition of the vent, and a scope where she can see into it, more or less. I mean, it still takes a skill I don't possess" said Wiaki. "And -- she fires into the vent."

Amya said "If she were to make an error, it could send the whole southern end of the island into eruption, either immediately or slowly. As you can imagine, it's a nerve-wracking time, waiting to see how it plays out."

"So far so good" said Szebel, and they all laughed tensely.

"Anyhow...the koukei is a rongyanger most of the time, who just has this special duty once every so often. We don't bandy her identity about. We trust her with our lives, and she lives up to that trust. She's inviolate" said Wiaki.

"But you went to her today -- on my behalf?" said Halling, cold inside.

"I talked to her, yeah. And I didn't get any promises, per se, but I didn't get a flat no, either" said Wiaki. Which again startled her partners.

"Now, where's that list of your obstacles from last night?" asked Amya. Szebel pulled it from her notebook and handed it to Amya. All of the women leaned toward Amya and Halling, and the discussion began in earnest, in hushed tones because of visitors in the next room. Halling was bowled over by not just the technical expertise but the willingness of these women to consider any idea, however outlandish or controversial. Szebel was taking detailed notes.

By the end, Halling had a slight headache. She said "I need more tea" and went to the kitchen to refill her mug. When she returned, she said "I can't believe all this -- you're -- we're talking about reshaping the world as we know it."

Amya grinned. "What we do every day on Yanja."

"No wonder everyone is afraid of you" Halling blurted out. The women roared and pounded on the table.

"We love Skene, too" said Szebel. Halling was still uneasy. She thought of Yerush, and how Yerush would insist her machinations and meddling were motivated by love.

Wiaki said "Looks to me like one thing that would really help is finding some unused land, and the only quick route I can see is the Exploit Lagoon proposal."

One of her partners snorted and said "Everyone on Yanja votes against that, just from spite."

"Yeah, well, we'll have to figure out a way to turn that around" said Wiaki. "Through the guilds first. We can scheme on that later, it'll take months."

Szebel had a fresh piece of paper and began covering it with math symbols. "I've been thinking about this all day, too, as an equation. If we assign symbols to the variables here -- " She began naming them off and arbitrarily coding them to symbols, until suddenly there was a long equation most of which Halling understood. One symbol, however, looked irresistably to Halling like a puckered anus, and she pointed to it, "I don't know what that one is."

Szebel said "That's Igoz", and the women broke out into raucous laughter. Szebel said "You can see that she's on both sides of the equation, and she's an unknown quantity. We can't solve for her. But you know what we do in that instance?"

Second grade math with Nan Qen flashed before Halling, the bright math student who was given extra work to do with Xaya. She had a sensory flood of Xaya at that moment, sitting next to her as children, chasing each other's minds. "You deduct it from both sides of the equation, and solve without it" she whispered.

Szebel kissed her exuberantly. Halling was too thunderstruck to enjoy it completely, however.

"You're saying, we have to get rid of her as Sheng Zhang?" she said slowly.

Amya crowed "Not just get rid of her -- replace her with the perfect woman for the job!"

Halling looked around the table. "You mean me, don't you?"

They couldn't seem to stop laughing at her. Halling wished she were home, at the kitchen table with her whole family there. She couldn't sort this through without them.

Szebel said "Stay one more day, Halling. You need to meet people here, let them have a face to put to the name. They'll like you, and it will make a huge difference later on. I'll introduce you around." She turned to Wiaki and said "Any chance of her meeting the koukei?"

Wiaki considered. "She can meet her, as part of the rongyangers, but not specifically as the koukei, she'd not appreciate being unveiled like that."

Szebel said "Well, let's start with initial contacts. And Halling's going to need time to consider this, right?"

"With Bux and Yoj" said Halling, her throat dry.

"So -- one more day?" grinned Szebel.

"You keep saying that" answered Halling, smiling weakly.

"It's your vacation, you get to do what you want" said Amya. Halling looked at her appreciatively, then said "Okay, one more day."

Szebel handed her the notes, including the sheet with the equation on it. "You need to write another letter home?" she asked.

"Not yet" said Halling. "I don't know what I want to put into the mails."

"Ready for bed, then?"

That Halling was sure about. "Yes."

Empat on Yanja

The next day, Halling walked the length of Yanja again, this time going into shop after shop, meeting dozens of smart, capable women who almost invariably said "Halling of the ballad?" It was unnerving, how popular Yoj's song was. After each visit, Szebel made quiet notes and explained to Halling what influence each woman had, putting that down beside her name in the notes. Halling was naturally gregarious, but by the time they got home for dinner, she was worn out.

The meal was being set on the table. Halling washed her hands quickly and sat down. Amya said "Oh, you got a letter today" and shambled to the living room to bring it back.

Halling's appetite disappeared. "I think I need to read this in private" she said, and went to Szebel's bedroom. She didn't know what to make of how thick the envelope was.

When the drawings poured out onto Szebel's quilt, Halling began crying. She looked at each of the pictures twice, being careful not to drip tears onto the bright colors. Then, taking a deep breath, she read Yoj's letter.

It was worse than she had thought it might be. Nothing from Bux, or any of the other emmas, especially not her own. And Yoj was clearly struggling to be fair. Oh, lev, what had she done?

She put the letter in her bag and returned to the dinner table. They all looked at her silently, noting her tear-stained cheeks. She sat down and said "I need to go home. Tomorrow."

"Of course" said Szebel softly.

"My children sent me some drawings" she said, holding out the envelope. Amya grabbed it excitedly and said "Me first!"

Halling managed to eat a little. Szebel, who was left-handed, ate with her right arm draped around the back of Halling's chair, which was comforting. After dessert, Amya said "Some of us play musical instruments -- do you need to be alone, or would you like to walk down to the cafe and listen to our band?"

Halling looked at Szebel, who said "Whatever you need."

"Music would be grand" said Halling. And it was. It reminded her, shatteringly, of dances with Bux and Yoj, especially of Yoj, but she was headed home, she could just bear it.

When she put Yoj's letter back into the envelope that night, as she packed, she opened her box of photographs. The one of the three of them after partnering was now on top, and she lifted it to kiss their faces. Szebel was watching, and said "I can't wait to meet them."

Halling laughed warily and said "You will have to wait on that. At least until Bux stops wanting to murder you."

"You got a letter from them, then, not just the drawings?" said Szebel.

"Only Yoj" said Halling.

"Ah. Well, I'm sorry for any trouble this has caused, but I'm not sorry for what I've had with you" said Szebel.

"Me either" said Halling, looking deep into her eyes.

"What time do you need to be at the jichang for the school sinner?" said Szebel, picking up her alarm.

Ot on Yanja

The next morning, just as all five children were putting on shoes to head for school, the front door opened and Halling stepped in. Screaming pandemonium ensued. Eventually Speranz was on Halling's shoulders, Prl was in her arms, and one twin was clinging to each side of her. Halling gazed at Mill, and they had on matching grins of wild delight. Halling finally restored quiet by saying "Listen, today is Ot and emma comes to teach singing, right? So I'll come with her, and wait around until school is out, we'll all meet up then. Okay? Now, you're going to have to run up the lane or you'll be late." She disentangled herself child by child, but before Mill went out the door, Halling pulled her back into a tight hug and whispered "I missed you something awful."

Her face buried in Halling's shoulder, Mill murmured back "Me, too." Halling walked outside and watched them sprint up the lane, Dodd holding Speranz's hand. When she came back in, Yoj was waiting with a long embrace and passionate kiss. Bux watched from the kitchen, smiling broadly but hurt in her eyes. Halling looked at her over Yoj's shoulder and said "You gonna keep your distance?"

"I don't know" said Bux. "Why are you back so early?"

"Couldn't stand to be away any more. And I got Yoj's letter" said Halling.

"But you had Szebel" said Bux, a wounded note creeping into her voice.

Halling corrected the pronunciation of Szebel's name automatically, and saw Bux stiffen at that. Yoj said "Hall, go say hi to your emma, she's in her studio. We'll finish the breakfast dishes and then you come back so we can all talk."

Halling agreed, walking by Bux and giving her a soft kiss on her forehead. Bux leaned into it a little but did not unbend. After Halling returned to the house, they all lay on the bed together until noon, sorting through pain and tripwires. Finally Bux, who had warmed up to the point where she had taken Halling's hand and was playing with it, said "Did you wear your ring while you were gone?"

"Of course I did" said Halling, surprised.

"I mean -- while you were -- you know, with her" said Bux, miserably.

"While we were making love? Of course I did, Bux" repeated Halling. "What, you'd rather I took it off? That would mean what I did with her meant I was somehow altering my commitment to you, which is unthinkable to me. When I said I was yours for all my days, that means no matter where I am or what I'm doing. No change, Bux."

"But you love her" pushed Bux.

"I do love her. I'm not in love with her -- I don't have room to be in love with anyone else. You and Yoj are my heart's desire, and I'm also in love with all our children, and our emmas, and this house..." Halling's voice grew thick. "She reminds me of Xaya, of what I had with Xaya, and I want to keep that in my life. But my promises are to you, the two of you. If there's room in my heart for both, that's a good thing."

"That's what Yoj kept saying." Bux ached to be in Halling's arms. As if sensing it, Halling finally reached out and offered an embrace, and Bux threw herself onto Halling, letting herself cry one more time. Afterward, Halling wiped her face clean, although Bux was still refusing to kiss her. They all lay in relieved silence for a while.

"So..." began Halling. "I still have three more days off. And we could use some vacation together, and time to talk more. And I missed those children like I'd lost my fingers. How about if tomorrow, after Market, we head to, say, Bosco? Let them run amok in the woods, stay at the hostel, then go on to Selva Secano the next day, none of us have ever explored it. In the afternoon, there's a legendary beach on Yagi Lagoon. We could stay the second night on Yagi, visit with Culisa, walk the hills and play with goats on Shmonah before heading home. Just us three emmas and the kids. Give the abbas a weekend home alone."

"It'll cost hard currency, all those hostel rooms and eating out" said Bux.

"But we'll remember it forever" said Yoj. "Count me in."

Bux hugged Halling again and said "All right. I'll have to use this evening, though, to finish up all the work I've not done this morning."

"And I've got a song to set" said Yoj.

"You do that. Let's get ahead on chores around here, too, for the abbas" said Halling. "I'll keep the kids busy until bedtime."

Yoj rolled over to look at the clock. "I could get in laundry and start bread before it's time to go to the school, finish baking it when I get home."

"I need to eat" said Halling, "I skipped breakfast to make sure I got on that sinner home."

They got up and began moving at a clip.

That night, Halling went with Yoj to the privy before bed. They settled onto the seats companionably side by side, and Halling said "You know, Szebel's Manage has indoor toilets."

"Wow, fancy" said Yoj.

"Yeah. But the truth is, I didn't enjoy looking down at my business after I'd done it. And the odor was a lot stronger, I guess because it's an interior room. She thought it was funny that when I went at night, I never turned the light on. But it's supposed to be dark in here, you know?"

Yoj laughed. Halling said, suddenly serious, "Yoj...I know I owe you. You carried me this last week on your shoulders."

"Not the way I wanted to" said Yoj softly. "I can tell, just by how your face looks, that you got what you needed there on Yanja. But it hurts that I couldn't be the one to help you."

"You did, though. I thought about you and Bux all the time. You're part of me, can't separate it out."

"Still, Hall..."

After a silence, Halling said "I did feel like a teenager again. In a good way."

"Is this going to be a regular need, then?" Yoj struggled to keep her voice away from anxiety.

"I want to keep Szebel in my life, yes, but haring off across Skene? No. This was one of those before and after events, I can tell" said Halling. Yoj reached for the waterjet wand to rinse herself, and asked "What's she like?"

"Szebel? Well, she's two inches taller than me and 40, maybe 50 pounds heavier."

"Thunder me down, Halling! What -- was it okay when she was on top of you?"

Halling laughed. "More than okay."

"What else?"

"She's got red hair, deep and dark red, not carrotty like Qen's. It's almost to her waist, and when it come out of the braid, it's like magma itself."

"Wow" said Yoj softly. Halling added "And her hair is red -- everywhere."

They were both giggling. Yoj said "Does it taste different?"

Halling gave her a shove. Yoj said "Best not to share those kinds of details with Bux for a while, even if she asks you."

"I'll give her all the time she needs. The truth is, though, I'm wild for you both. I wish we could go to bed for the next three days. I don't know what that says about my capacity, but there it is."

"Says your capacity matches mine. I want you too, Hall."

They were now walking back to the house. Halling said teasingly "We could sneak off to emma's studio and bring each other off in a jiffy."

"I want more than a jiffy, and besides which -- " They came back into the house laughing. As Halling passed through the living room, she looked up into the loft. Sure enough, Mill's face was peering down through the railing. Halling blew her a kiss and whispered "I am so glad to be home." Mill's face beamed.

The next morning, they were woken up by Prl and Speranz bursting into the bedroom just past dawn, yelling "It's time to get up! We have to catch the early ferry!" They crawled onto Halling, in the middle, and began chattering about all the adventures they had planned for the next few days.

Veida and Ng had breakfast ready. After a quick meal, Bux and Yoj did last minute packing while Halling starting getting children into travel clothes. Dodd and Mill were dressed first. Halling paused to write a couple of notes and sent them off to deliver them, Mill to Qala at the Lofthall and Dodd to Danaan and Rark's Manage -- invitations to a welcome home dinner on Shmonah.

Qen and Yerush got up in time to see them all off. "Buy us a surprise at Market!" said Ndege.

"No, you bring us back a surprise from your trip!" answered Qen. Halling had to keep shushing the children on the dash to the ferry -- lots of people were still in bed, she told them. They made the last ferry that would run to Bosco for several hours, and once on deck, the children believed their trip was actually occurring, no last minute changes, and gave themselves over to screams of happiness.


Copyright 2008 Maggie Jochild.

Read More...

Summary only...

SKENE: CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

(Olive Grove by Vincent Van Gogh)

(Double chapter post tonight, because otherwise it's a bit of a cliffhanger.) This is draft one of my sci-fi novel Skene. To read earlier chapters, go to LABELS in the right-hand column on this page, scroll down to the Skene tags and click on the one you want to read. Skene is set on a human-habitable planet in the Alhena star system at least 500 years in the future. There's a considerable amount of appendix material and diagrams also available here as needed:
NEW: Map of Yanja
Map of Riesig (the main island)
Map of The Manage on Riesig
Skene Glossary (Skenish to English)
Skene Cast of Characters
Skene Culture, Calendar, Clothing, and Islands
Map of All Skene
Map of The Lofthall on Riesig

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Iki on Riesig

The next day, it felt strange to Yoj to not be meeting Halling at the jichang as all the other pilots came in. For a split second, she thought This is what it would be like if she died, and instantly slammed the door on that possibility. She worked in her cubicle until it was time for the children to come home from school.

At home, Bux was setting a plate of creamed-tofu-filled celery stalks and a bowl of plums on the table for the children's snack. Small hands were already snatching at the food -- they tended to come home ravenous. Ng was sitting with them, asking them about their day. Yoj gave them each a kiss as she went to the sideboard and picked up the mail.

"We got a letter from Halling!" she called out.

"That was fast" said Bux. "Read it out to me as I start the rice for dinner."

Yoj untied the envelope and began: "My darling Bux and Yoj -- "

Mill interrupted, "Hey, what about us?"

"I'm sure she means all of you, too. Let me finish, okay?" said Yoj. "Okay: My darling blah blah, I have met a woman named Szebel here on Yanja and I am staying with her tonight and tomorrow. We have -- " Yoj stopped reading, her blood turned to ice.

"We have what?" prompted Ndege, her mouth full.

Yoj looked up at Bux, who stared back at her.

"Here, I can read it" said Ndege, grabbing for the letter.

Yoj held it over her head, then folded it and stuffed it into her gilet. A chorus of protests went up.

"It turns out, this is a letter just for emmas" said Yoj hoarsely. Bux now looked extremely concerned, and she said "Is she all right?" Mill immediately echoed "Is emma okay?"

"She's fine. It's not about -- her. It's about -- someone else" said Yoj, stammering. She turned to Ng and said "Bux and I need to talk, will you watch the children for a while?"

Ng also looked scared. "Yoj -- "

"Honest, Ng, she's all right. I'd tell you if she wasn't" Yoj said, a little more reality coming into her voice. Bux was already on the way to the bedroom. Yoj followed her and shut the door.

"Sit down" she told Bux.

"Give me that letter" counter-ordered Bux.

"I will, we'll read it together. But sit down here, I'll sit beside you" said Yoj.

She unfolded the letter, noticing that her hands were trembling badly.

Bux finished ahead of her, leaped to her feet and began pounding on the door. "I don't levvin' believe this, she's gone what, three hours, and she's buried herself in the crotch of some levvin' lava-eater? I'm getting on the radio and telling her to get her stinking ass home immediately!" she raged.

"Bux -- " said Yoj feebly.

"Don't you dare act like this is okay with you, you two always cover up for each other but this is not going to be tolerated, not by me in this house!" Bux wheeled on Yoj. The door opened behind her, and Qen stood there with large eyes, saying "What's happening in here?"

"Shut the door" said Yoj. Qen did, stepping inside. "Halling -- she's met someone and she's having an affair. We just got a letter from her."

"Already?" said Qen in exactly Bux's tone of voice. "What -- that doesn't make any sense."

Bux was pacing back and forth in a three-foot space, saying "Lev" over and over again. Yoj handed Qen the letter to read. When Qen was done, she looked quite pale.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I have no idea yet" said Yoj. "But we need to figure it out. Will you get the children out of the house?"

"Yes" said Qen. Then, before she opened the door, "They're afraid you're fighting."

"We're not, are we, Bux?" Yoj said pointedly.

Bux looked at her fiercely, then at Qen, and said "No. I'm not fighting with Yoj."

"We'll walk to the fish docks and get something for dinner. Will that give you enough time?" asked Qen.

"We'll make it enough time" said Yoj. "Thanks, emma."

After Qen left, shooing Mill away from the door where she'd been trying to eavesdrop, Yoj unfolded the letter and read it once again. Bux had flung herself down on a clothes chest and glared at Yoj.

"All right, Bux. Some of it's starting to sink in. She says here that they are not in love and have agreed not to fall in love -- that they've made it clear they are committed elsewhere. And this woman has six partners, which frankly boggles the mind -- "

"Why in the lev is she hitting on Halling when she's got all that ginny at home?" snarled Bux.

"Not a question I can answer yet, Bux. What else? She says she'll keep us updated, that she won't be any later coming home, and she gives us her address in case we want to write her."

Bux made an extremely rude noise.

"And she apologizes for how upsetting this will be for us, but she says, twice, she thought it better to tell us right away rather than have us wait until she sees us in person. I think she's right about that. I'd feel pretty betrayed if she was having a -- thing -- for a week that we didn't know about" said Yoj.

"I feel betrayed no matter what, because I am being betrayed!" shouted Bux.

"How so?" asked Yoj quietly.

"We don't sleep around, we're a closed unit -- " began Bux.

"We haven't agreed to that" said Yoj, anticipating an explosion.

"No, and you've levvin' well made sure of that, haven't you?" Bux screamed.

"It's not about me" said Yoj, starting to get angry back at Bux. "I'm the one who's right here, trying to remember how much I love Halling, how much she loves us, and the fact is, she'd never ever hurt us. Not deliberately."

"Well aren't you high and mighty, the justice-loving Yoj!" said Bux. "How wonderful, that this is just fine with you, and you can sit in judgment on me, the crazy one!"

"I'm not sitting in judgment on you -- well, I am getting pissed that you're hammering on me, when I've not done anything to deserve it, yes. But this is not just fine with me. I'm having a hard time, and I sure wish you and I could act like friends right now, at the very least, instead of me having to defend myself from you at the same time I'm scared shitless that I might lose Halling!" Yoj suddenly started crying, although she still couldn't sort out all of the emotions flooding her. She threw the letter on the floor and buried her face in her pillow.

After a minute, she felt Bux lie down next to her and put her arm over her back. Yoj rolled into Bux's arms and wailed "I've been so worried about her, and I'm glad she's found something that might help, but what does it mean that I wasn't the one who could help her?"

"I know, I know" soothed Bux.

"And we haven't promised to never sleep with anyone else, I'm not trying to imply anything by that, it's just the facts, but you're right that none of us ever has! Until now! Agghhh, I hate the idea of it, I hate thinking about her being with whatever her stupid name is!" Yoj's abandonment to grief led Bux to her own pain, underneath her anger, and she began crying with Yoj. Ten minutes later, the shock was still on them but the cofferdams had been released. They lay curled together on the bed, able to talk gently again.

"I see your point, Yoj, about her being honest as fast as she could, but it's going to be such a horrible week, not just waiting to find out if she's the same, but knowing what she's -- doing" said Bux.

"Her love for us will not change, that I do know" said Yoj.

"Yeah, but she could fall in love with someone else, in addition. I mean, you did" said Bux. "And you can't control that."

"I think you can" said Yoj. "More to the point, I think Halling can. And -- no matter what she feels, she won't change with us. She's steadfast."

"It doesn't feel like enough, right at the moment" said Bux.

Yoj paused, then said "It doesn't to me, either. But it is enough. We'll get through this."

"Don't you ever pull this on me" said Bux.

"I can't imagine ever wanting anyone else" said Yoj passionately. "So I can't clearly say what I'd do, 'cause I can't imagine it. But -- I think I'd wait until I talked with you first. Especially seeing how you reacted today." They began giggling.

Yoj said "If you really had gotten on Sigrist radio and ordered Halling back home -- well, Skene would never have stopped talking about it." They were laughing hard now.

After a minute, Bux said "Speaking of the public -- what are we going to tell the children? Mill is going to blow a gasket."

"Like aggie, like child" teased Yoj. Bux goosed her, then said "Well, Halling laid it out baldly in her letter, maybe we should tell the kids the same way."

"No, no, not without her here. They're gonna need to get reassurance directly from her, and making them wait a week would be mean. No, we have to lie without actually lying" said Yoj.

"You did say it was about someone else. Which is true enough" Bux thought out loud. "How about if we say we heard something upsetting from Halling about someone else, someone they don't know? And that Halling is fine, and having a lovely vacation, lev her, and all is okay now?"

"Sounds good, except for the 'lev her' part" agreed Yoj.

It wasn't completely convincing to the three older children, but Yoj finally said after Halling got home, they could all talk more. She and Bux put on a tender, united front. As did the older women, although Yoj could tell Qen was deeply upset and Ng asked to read the letter for herself.

After dinner, Bux got out her paints and suggested the children all paint a picture for emma on Yanja. Yoj went to her desk and wrote a frank letter, relaying her talk with Bux and their story for the children. She sealed it into the envelope with the children's drawings, addressed with an addendum that if Halling was no longer there, it should be returned, and walked out into the night to mail it.

At bedtime, Yoj asked Ng quietly if she'd like to have the night alone with Qen. Ng looked at her gratefully and said yes, so Yoj and Bux took Prl and Speranz in with them.

Iki on Yanja

The next morning, Halling made breakfast for Szebel. The elder women were elsewhere, and all of Szebel's partners were already at work. Amya had left a note repeating her invitation to come watch her make glass. Halling wondered if there was an ulterior motive, but Szebel said "No, she's being sweet, we should go."

The vetriste shop Szebel led her to was a smaller building nestled between the imposing glass factories along the eastern edge of the magma flow. It was so hot inside, Halling immediately pulled off her guibba. She looked around for a safe place to hang it, but found no area that didn't seem to be in the zone of sparks and drips, so she hugged it to her chest.

Four artglass vetristes were darting about, using a row of ovens and shaping stations except the end section, where the oven was a foot closer to the ground and the shaping area was set up with rolling stools. This is where they found Amya, hard at it. She gave only a raise of her eyebrows to Szebel. Her hands were in massive protective gloves, one of them clearly special made for her left hand, and she was somehow spinning a long pole one direction, then back again, while its tip was in a white-hot oven. After a minute she pulled it out and, scooting herself on one of the stools, swung it dangerously near another worker to lean it on a support where she kept whirling the incandescent blob at the end of the pole with her left hand and adroitly fluted it into a complicated shape with tools held in her right hand.

This continued for ten grueling minutes, back into the oven, then more shaping. Halling's shati was soaked through with sweat, she couldn't imagine what Amya was feeling. Then Amya called out someone's name, and a woman came from another part of the shop to dip lengths from another oven and lay it into Amya's piece. Halling could tell that the other woman was not controlling where the glass landed, Amya was. Another ten minutes of this went by, Halling began to feel like her eyeballs were singed from staring at the glowing glass. "What color is it going to be, when it cools?" she asked Szebel.

"Green, I think" said Szebel. "Is that right, Am?"

"Very good" grunted Amya. "Like new growth in the spring."

"However could you tell that?" marveled Halling.

Finally Amya was done fussing over details Halling couldn't comprehend. She looked at her helper, who took the pole from her, still keeping it in motion. Amya picked up a pair of metal tongs and adroitly snipped her creation from a bulb at the end of the pole. With swift grace, she set it in a separate chamber and closed the door. She gave out a hoarse cry of relief, and her helper smacked her on the shoulder with a massive gloved paw. Halling expected to see Amya drop to the ground from the blow, but being on the stool saved her. Amya shucked her cap and gloves, and rolled over to her visitors.

"Are you happy with how it came out?" asked Szebel, planting a kiss on Amya's damp brow.

"Can't tell yet. Form's okay, but I tried something different with one of the imbeds. We'll see when it cools."

"I'm impressed beyond words" said Halling with deep sincerity. "I'd love to bring my emma to watch you work sometime. She's a keramiker, and I wonder what she'd have to say about the similarities and differences in what you do."

"Oh yeah?" said Amya, with interest. "She live on Riesig?"

"With us, yes" said Halling, "Although most of her career was on Argile and Seda."

A flicker showed on Amya's face. "What's her name?"

"Ng. Ng la Hala na Vantu" Halling said proudly.

Amya smacked her forehead with her right palm. "Your emma is Ng? I adore her work, I have several pieces of it at home! Well, who'da guessed. By all means, bring her for a visit, any time."

Halling was grinning from ear to ear. "And you're invited to come see us. You need a lift on a lighter instead of that levvin' ferry commute, just ask me."

They chatted for a while, Amya showing her tools to a very curious Halling and introducing her to her coworkers as "a new lover of Szebel" without any hidden emotion that Halling could tell. Amya drank a large quantity of cold water, then wiped her mouth and asked "What're you two going to do next?"

"I thought I'd show her the olive groves" said Szebel. "Before it rains again."

"Sounds nice" said Amya. "Well, I got another piece to start before I knock off, so see you at dinner, I guess."

Szebel kissed her ardently, bending over and cupping Amya's cheek with her hand. Halling looked away before it trailed to an end.

On the way to the Maslina Ruck, Szebel stopped at a small store and bought jars of olive paste and fresh yogurt, along with a loaf of haidan and four golden apples. When they entered the mouth of the valley, Szebel put her arm through Halling's and directed them to the western edge, under black bluffs, away from the central road and all the workers' onlooking eyes. A foot-wide grassy trail snaked along under the cliffs. After ten minutes, Halling began to feel as if she had time-traveled into high summer. It was not just the warm, still air, but also the thick aroma of olives and the frequency of bees. She kept stopping to put her palms on the gnarled trunks with hips and knees sticking out of them. She rubbed the silver underside of leaves to see if the color would come off on her fingertips.

Szebel told her some trees took 30 years to become productive, but once they did, they could bear for a thousand years. Parts of the grove were over 400 years old.

"Older than the current Lofthall" said Halling. "It was built in 150."

"Yes, but the lava solidified to make those walls is as old as Skene itself" said Szebel.

They kissed often, sometimes leaning against a tree, sometimes lying down in the dry grass. Halling felt like a teenager again, and when she realized that, she thought of Mill, of Ndege and Dodd in a few years. Which brought on guilt -- how hard was her absence on them? What right did she have to leave their well-being to Bux and Halling?

Szebel noticed her shift in mood and said "You missing your family?"

"I'm worried they're missing me, more like."

"I'm sure they are, Halling."

"Why didn't any of you ever aggie, Szebel? I mean, don't you have a high income? Couldn't you get leave?"

Szebel rubbed Halling's belly under her shati. "Yanjangers make a ridiculous income, likely for the same reasons as pilots, because their mortality and disability rate is high. Vetristes are also well-paid. But we, the seven of us, never asked to aggie. We are all alike in that we prefer our freedom. Children take over your time. As well you know."

Halling's temptation toward romance with Szebel diminished after that. Her desire was still there, and a growing liking, but freedom wasn't meaningful to Halling unless it was coupled with responsibility. It was an intriguing thing to discover about herself.

After a couple of hours, they came to a natural spring bubbling up from a ring of rocks. They sat down and ate lunch, drinking from the cold clear water and using it for various indecencies. The sky had begun to cloud over as Halling cut slices of apple for them with her clasp knife. When drops began to fall, Szebel jumped to her feet and said "Over there, behind that outcropping, is a workers' shed carved from the cliff." They ran for it, and found the door unlocked. Laughing with exhiliration, they began kissing, toward a purpose now but there was no room in the crammed shed to lie down.

Szebel closed the door, plunging them into startling dark, and pushed Halling against it. As she began unbuttoning Halling's pants, Halling said "I don't know if I can remain standing when -- you know."

"I can easily hold you up" said Szebel, demonstrating her strength, and Halling gasped and laughed at the same time.

"But -- what about your turn?" Halling got out. "I can't hold you up -- "

"We'll think of something" murmured Szebel, and Halling stopped trying to think altogether.

The rain stopped in an hour, and venturing back out into the sodden grove was a jolt of light and aroma. They began returning the way they had come, but after a couple of steps, Szebel stopped Halling and said "Where you leaned against the door -- here, you've got dust on your shoulders and hips." She brushed Halling off, and when Halling turned to face her, Szebel bent to look at the knees of her pants, saying "Now that's ground in, I won't be able to get that off."

Halling, grinning, pulled her back up to kiss her, and they continued on.

When they got home, Halling checked out their tillage -- nothing near as good as what the emmas had planted at home, she noted -- and pulled vegetables for dinner. She insisted on cooking, but accepted any help that was offered. At Wiaki's urging, she used expensive or rare items as if it were a holiday. "What do you barter for all these delicacies?" she asked.

Szebel laughed. "We don't, mostly. We pay cash."

When they began eating, the household exclaimed at Halling's cooking. She had rifled the best recipes of her Manage that she could remember, and she had to admit, it had come off rather well.

"Where did a sinner learn to cook like this?" said Szebel, rubbing her calf under the table with a bare foot.

"Wasn't always a sinner" said Halling. "My emmas raised the four of us to pitch in. Plus, our Manage, well, one thing we do is eat well. I get fresh fish every day I sin, still flopping around fresh. And we grow -- " She began listing the output of their tillage, and longing for home again gripped her.

"Waves and ripples" said Amya. "Who designed your tillage, your emma?"

"Bux's emmas, but mine now" said Halling.

"And who are they, besides the famous Ng? Which reminds me -- " Amya got up and opened a door of the sideboard, pulling out very familiar bowls and plates. Halling fingered them and could even tell them what year one of them was made -- it had been before she left home.

"She's got severe rheumatism, you know" Halling told Amya. "Can barely walk now, and her hand joints are all akimbo, but when she touches clay, it's plain magic." Amya's eyes were a large, soft brown, reminding her of Yoj. They shared a look of understanding, then Halling continued.

"Besides my emma, there's Qen -- "

"The leraar?" said Szebel. "We all had her as our teacher! She was my favorite, out of all the grades I had."

"Mine, too" said Halling. "And she's even better as an emma. Her partners are Yerush, a gakusha at the U, and Veida, the comadrona." She saw these names recognized by those at the table as well.

"So, the Dichter, the wandmaler, Ng, the most respected leraar and comadrona on Skene, plus not just a gakusha but a former Ethicist -- all under one roof. And the famous Halling, of course" said Szebel softly. Halling's pride had shifted over to embarrassment with this listing.

"We don't think of each other that way" she said shyly. "And our Manage is bigger than most on our lane, but it's tiny compared to this one. Even though there's 12 of us, we have one bath room, and an outdoor privy. But that's typical for Riesig."

"It's typical for here, too" said Szebel. "We inherited this Manage from a multiple partnership in Wiaki's line."

Wiaki's emma said "Do you have photographs with you, Halling?"

Halling stood and almost ran to Szebel's room. She returned with a flat wooden box Yoj had given her for their first anniversary, now filled with photos. She'd stuck it into her bag at the last minute. She told everybody to wipe their hands well, sounding just like an emma, before she began handing them around, explaining who it was or what angle of the house or yard it represented. Her voice resonated with delight whenever she talked about any of her children.

"My word, Mill is a duplicate of you!" said Szebel. "But you're not the aggie?"

"Nope. Just -- meant to be, I guess" grinned Halling.

"And Speranz bears a striking resemblance too. But Prl, she's a second Bux, isn't she?"

"She is. And, they say, Yerush in her day." Halling had reached the bottom of the box, to the photo of her, Yoj and Bux taken in their partnership ceremony finery just before they left at dawn to catch the ferry for Pomar. It was her favorite picture of the three of them -- she stood in the middle, her arms linked joyfully around their necks, and all of them beamed into the lens with no trace of exhaustion or trepidation. She remembered that each her new partners had a hand cupping one of her ass-cheeks, unaware of the other one's matching embrace, and it made her laugh now to remember it.

"What?" asked Szebel.

"Private joke" said Halling gently. She handed the photo on and began putting the rest away. "Thank you all, for letting me ramble on about my family."

After dessert -- Yerush's recipe for apricot flan and Veida's blackberry crumble -- four of the partners cleared and began cleaning the kitchen. Amya and Wiaki stayed at the table with Szebel and Halling, because Wiaki had bluntly turned to Halling and asked "Can you explain to me just why it would be so terrible for Yanja to have their own aircraft for deliveries?"

Halling blinked, then said "I can tell you the arguments I've heard, but I won't back them up with my own conviction. I don't see why it would be a problem to let that happen."

Wiaki and Amya looked amazed and instantly interested. Halling went through the cons, which centered around fear of outfitting conflict such as had occurred during the Troubles. So many strictures on Skene dated back to that. There was a visceral reaction to the notion of islands being in any kind of open competition with one another, or of air power being decentralized from Riesig and the Ethicist's presence.

"Still" said Halling, "The Lofthall oversees two main functions. First and foremost is feeding Skene, and that's deep water work. That's where the traditions and training are essential, because any error means death. Nobody is allowed to refer to leviathans as the enemy, but that's what they are. They don't simply compete with us for the same food -- there's plenty out there, a supply we'll never diminish -- their intent is to eliminate us from Skene. I'm convinced of it."

This kind of talk was heresy, and she astounded herself by engaging in it here, away from the safety of her family or her close allies at the Lofthall. It was received as obvious truth by her new acquaintances, she was relieved to see. She went on, "The other work of the Lofthall is assisting in the industry and commerce of Skene. And you know, I just don't see the need for us to have those controls held tight in our hands. We could come up with some other set of checks and balances to insure aircraft was used strictly for hauling and maybe as an adjunct to ferries. I mean, I'd want the Lofthall to retain the work of transporting schoolchildren, because diligence and safety is our hallmark. Otherwise..."

"Do you have any ability to influence this issue, then, there in the Lofthall?" said Wiaki, leaning toward her.

Halling laughed grimly. "No, the Sheng Zhang thinks all of my ideas are dangerous, unless Qala has made it sound like it was Igoz's to begin with. She's a politician, mainly. She was never a lighter, went straight into kelp sinning from pilot training -- " They could all hear the faint negative emphasis on kelp -- "And she only sinned for one year before the old Sheng Zhang retired and she had a chance to run. Her emmas were all well-connected, and her opponent had no connection at all to the Lofthall -- pilots don't give up flying until they either die or have their spirits broken, generally -- so she got elected and she's made sure nothing has changed since."

She could see the disappointment on their faces. She sat up straighter and said "Here, though, let's look at it from another angle. You got paper and pencil?"

Szebel got it for her, and two of the yanjangers from the kitchen joined them when Wiaki said "You'll want to be part of this, I bet."

Halling began writing down the costs of building and maintaining a fleet of hauling sinners. She knew every detail of upkeep and equipment loss, what kind of rates were charged for each haul, and could even speculate about the feasability of Yanja teaming up with the mining islands to share the outlay. She filled several sheets with neat tables of figures and considerations, then asked Wiaki and her colleagues a series of incisive questions to determine Yanja's needs and schedules. When she was done, the totals for each proposal were lined up next to each other at the bottom of a page, and the difference between them was very small.

"So, honestly, it probably wouldn't be worth your while. The shift of labor from Riesig and the Lofthall to Yanja and other islands would require some matching shift of people from here over to Riesig, too." Halling sat back, and saw that Szebel was looking at her with what seemed to be fierce desire.

"You're mighty good with a spreadsheet" said Szebel softly.

Wiaki glanced at her knowingly, then said to Halling "Can I keep these pages? I'd love to share them with our guild."

"Just don't attach my name to it so it gets back to Igoz" asked Halling. "And -- what is your beef with the current setup, anyhow? In particular?"

Another yanjanger was able to explain how, whenever they asked for a schedule or loading change, it was granted by Igoz for a very small raise in fees, but at the half-year accounting review, they'd discover whatever they'd gained would have been offset by a sly change elsewhere with no matching rebate. Thus, over time, service had remained exactly the same but even those small fee hikes had added up. "And we have the opportunity to expand our business over Skene -- not a lot, but some, enough to make the extra costs worthwhile, yet expansion is blocked by our hauling limitations."

Halling's face had grown very angry as this sunk in on her. "That's contrary to the ethics of the Lofthall" she said heatedly. "We exist for the good of all Skene. Our expenses are paid for by taxes, mainly, and we have no business meddling with profit." She tapped her fingers on the table. "Lev, I wish I could get around her -- there are so levvin' many obstacles, that's why I went on vacation, to clear my head so maybe I could think of something." Her entire body was tense.

Szebel took the pad and pencil, saying "Tell me the obstacles. What is it that's wrong?"

Halling began slowly, a little cautiously, at first. "Interference from baby levs. No clear information given to the rest of Skene about what we contend with. No way of saving pilots who go down. No scheduled days off. No encouragement for pilots to have families and tillages. No acknowledgement that levs live a very long time, that they learn over time, that they plan and act cooperatively, that they communicate not just effectively but over distance and with memory."

She saw the others reacting strongly to what she was saying, but Szebel's eyes were encouraging her and she went on. "I have a map that indicates underwater terrain and currents, but I can't share it. There used to be underwater sensors to monitor lev movements in and around Skene, but I can't even refer to it, much less find someone to create new ones. There's a rumor that another, older map shows other land on Skene, somewhere beyond our current flying range, but if the Sheng Zhang has it, she won't admit it."

Amya broke in. "I've heard that rumor, too. My habibi was from Riesig and knew the Archivist, said there was such a map." The atmosphere in the room was now electric.

Halling's voice had gotten very high. "I want us to be able to say that we're being hunted, every time we go out to sin, they're after us, the levs, they connive to pull us down and when they do, they swallow us whole. They swallowed Xaya, and I'll never know if she was still alive when -- ". Halling dropped her face into her hands and began sobbing. "And Schla, I didn't like her much, she was one of Bux's exes and a self-serving jerk, but nobody should die like she just died! We live like shu in a roomful of katts, and when I try to talk about it, I get told I'm being militaristic and threatening the well-being of Skene! But I love Skene, I feed Skene, and I just don't want to have to choose between your survival and my own any more!"

Szebel pulled Halling into her lap, and Halling let her fear and anger pour out. After a while, she felt another hand stroking her back, and realized it must be Amya. Embarrassed, she wiped her face and scooted back to her chair. Amya kept patting her, however. When she could focus on those around the table, she saw only empathy there.

Amya said quietly "Stay with us another day, Halling. Let us think about your problem. It's my problem now, too. We're a smart bunch, and we're Yanja, we do the impossible every day." Her partners laughed appreciatively, and they all urged Halling to stay on.

Halling looked at Szebel, who grinned and said "Oh, absolutely, I want you as long as I can have you."

"All right" said Halling. "Thanks -- I can't tell you how much -- "

Wiaki gave her a shove and said "Aw, stow it. We're all the same here."

Szebel took the pad with her when they went to bed and set it on her desk. "I'm working on an equation for this" she said. "That's how I like to approach things. Well, not all things" she qualified, grinning at Halling. "I'm going to take another bath, care to join me?"

"Does your hair need washing?" offered Halling.


Copyright 2008 Maggie Jochild.

Read More...

Summary only...