“Here we are, Daughter.” Aunt Senejess stopped in front of a door. “Open it for us, please.”
Res laid her thumb on the register and let her print and eye be scanned. The door recognized her, and the lock clicked open. She swung the door open and stumbled inside. There were sleeping mats on the floor, chairs and tables, bottled water and packaged food on the serving tables. A comm station stood in one corner.
Aunt Senejess dragged the door shut, crossed the room to the climate controls, and set the fans going. She checked the window to make sure it was securely fastened and drew the curtains over it. Res sat down in one of the chairs and opened a water bottle. She gulped it thirstily. The straining inside her eased, and she began to breathe normally again.
“Well, this explains why they're all out in the halls,” said Res, setting the bottle down. “The Humans have made the rooms too small. They always do that.”
Aunt Senejess glanced up at the ceiling. “Are we observed?”
Res looked around. “I don't think so. I heard Mother say the policy for Human structures was going to be to monitor the common areas, halls, and so on, but not the private quarters.” Her voice shook a little, but her control was, thankfully, returning.
Aunt Senejess was giving her a hard stare. The skin on Res's back and belly trembled.
“Daughter, I recognized that your mother raised you decently and properly. It is all I would expect from her, but you must control yourself.” She paused and her gaze softened. “I felt it, too, Resaime. It is perfectly natural.”
Res laced her fingers together. “I know. I know. And it's not as if I've never …” She broke off. “It was just a lot of them, fathers, all at once, and out in the open like that …”
“I know.” Aunt Senejess rubbed Res's scalp thoughtfully. “And you are just now ready for motherhood.” She paused. “You could take one to you,” she suggested. “It would not be a bad way to begin. Rescue a soul from the ‘Esaph and bring her the blood and will of the family.”
Res twisted her hands. “I … I don't feel ready yet, Aunt.”
Aunt Senejess touched her shoulder. “Then it is not time yet.” She tugged gently on Res's ear. “You don't have to be afraid of me, Daughter. I am not your enemy. The enemy waits out there.” She turned her ears toward the windows.
Then, she ready noticed the comm station. “The information about them, however, waits in here.” Her skin rippled up and down her arms. “Daughter, what information can you get out of this station?”
Res picked the introductory sheets up off the counter and flipped through them. “Just about anything, it looks like. Addresses, schedules, Human contacts. There's even a whole database with information on the city-ships.”
“Which I'm sure the ’Esaph have made good use of,” muttered Aunt Senejess. “Are there passenger lists?”
“Yes. Sure. That's practically the first here. on here.” She looked up and saw that her aunt's face had gone taut. “Why?”
“Don't tell me we could have stayed home and discovered all.” Her eyes shone with an icy glitter, and her ears pressed flat against her scalp.
Res shook her head. “I don't think so. This is probably an isolated network. You wouldn't be able to access its information except through a dedicated terminal.” She nodded toward the comm station. “That means one that's wired into the system here on the island, probably right here in the port.”
“How very convenient.” Senejess bared her teeth. “It means we have to spend less time out in plain view.” She drew a chair up to the terminal. “The first thing we need to know is who will be on the first flights to the Ur. Come, Daughter. Show your old aunt what to do.”
Lynn was not surprised to find Arron waiting at her door when she arrived at the Human dormitories in Getesaph Port 1.
In fact, she realized, she would have been both surprised and disappointed if he hadn't been there. It was not like Arron to leave a conversation or an argument unfinished.
“Hi,” she said casually, as she stood in front of her reddish, ceramic door, waiting for it to scan her and unlock.
“Hi,” he answered, almost shyly. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.” The door clicked open with its weird, swinging motion, and Lynn walked into her temporary quarters.
She felt Arron follow her inside. The room was square, white with burgundy carpet, and filled with functional, squared-off furniture, a locker for clean-suits, a work/comm station, and a stationary food jobber. All standard, all generic. Through the open door, the bedroom looked much the same.