Arron blinked. “Why?”
Both ovrth stared at him in disbelief. The wind blew cold against Lynn's bare scalp, bringing with it all the smells of the damp forest.
Entsh made a strangled noise in her throat. “Because we have to.”
“Why, Ovrth Entsh?” Arron spread his hands again. “If it's not the Parliament holding us, who is it? What are they trying to do to the evacuation?”
Entsh's ears waved uncertainly. Balt touched her shoulder, whether in comfort or in warning, Lynn couldn't tell.
Arron shook his head. “I've sat in your house and recorded the words of your family. You have shown me hospitality and kindness and remembered my name and station well. The World Mothers know I never expected you to treat me like this.”
Balt drew her lips back until just a hint of white showed between them. Lynn stood stock-still and tried not to breathe. She willed Res to remain quiet.
Balt kicked at a stand of weeds that spat water out of their tips. “It's not worth it to stand here discussing the idiocies of the officeholders.”
“If you think it's idiotic, why are you helping?”
Entsh's skin rippled uneasily. “Scholar Arron, it is complicated. The Defenders are in revolt. You stumbled across it. You have to be held until events are in motion. You'll be let go. It is already planned.”
“They tried to kill the ally of my sister,” said Arron quietly. “I will not go back there, and I will not let you take her back.”
Entsh's gaze raked over Lynn. “This is your sister?”
One careful step at a time, Arron stepped sideways until he stood directly in front of Lynn. “Yes, she is, and I will stand before her and her ally.”
“Scholar Arron,” said Balt. “Don't do this.”
“Don't do what?” Arron threw up his hands. “Don't refuse to be illegally arrested? Don't protect my sister and her allies? Then tell me why!”
The silence stretched out for more heartbeats than Lynn could count. Clouds scudded across the sun, turning the shadowed light grey. Arron stayed where he was, hands in the air. Resaime fidgeted badly. Her nostrils closed and flared open again behind her filter mask like they had a life of their own. The ovrth stood still, with Balt's hand on Entsh's shoulder, communing in the silent, almost telepathic way Dedelphi shared with their sisters.
Finally, Entsh said, “All we truly know is that the Defenders are going to take hold of the city-ship called Ur.”
Lynn felt all the blood drain out of her face. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “David.”
Balt's face tightened. “What did she say?”
“She has, we have, family aboard the Ur.” Arron lowered his hands. “What else are they planning?”
Balt waved her ears. “We don't know. We're helping them because of favors our family owes to the employers of employers, and we haven't been asking questions. We think it's ridiculous. How can our people hope to know where to start to take over these ships? All it will do is anger the Humans.”
A look of hope spread across Arron's face. “If you think this is ridiculous, help us. Take us to a Human outpost. Or near one. We can warn Bioverse and stop the whole insanity before it starts.”
Balt bared her teeth. “Didn't you hear us say we are doing this because of family obligation?”
“Yes.” Arron clenched his hands into fists. “But I also heard you say it couldn't accomplish anything, and that you didn't know who this wounded. Now you know, and now you can accomplish something. You can prevent Bioverse from leaving.”
The folds of Entsh's face sagged. “We cannot, Scholar Arron.”
Lynn licked her lips. “How many of your family have you lost to plague?”
Balt and Entsh turned eyes and ears to her. “What?” asked Entsh in a quiet, dangerous voice.
Lynn stepped around Arron and stood next to him. “How many family have you lost to plague?” Her voice sounded harsh and shaky like the wind in the tree branches. “How many daughters? Which of your mothers? How many sisters and cousins?”
Balt turned her ears away. “The Humans have no cure. That is known.”
“No,” said Lynn. “But we can keep the sick alive longer. We can help their bodies fight off the illnesses with greater success. We can save lives by keeping the body strong and preventing reinfection during the course of the illness.”
Entsh's ears wavered. “Is this true, Scholar Arron? Have the Humans saved lives?”
Arron nodded once. “The medical technology Bioverse brings is greater than anything in the Hundred Isles of Home. It has already saved lives.” Lynn wasn't sure if Arron knew that for a fact, but all that mattered right now was that Balt and Entsh believed it.