Again, T’sha whistled, this time genuinely impressed. Tr’es was no child when it came to skill. To not only propagate an alien life but to make a useful tool of it with only a few years of study, that was a feat indeed.
Unfortunately, it did not change the reason T’sha had come. “They are delicate things, the New People,” she said. “Ambassador D’seun must have moved very quickly.”
Tr’es hesitated, but then dipped her muzzle. “That is my understanding,” she said softly.
T’sha thrust her muzzle closer. “Did no new people arrive to claim the raw materials of their own?”
“They may have, later, but”—Tr’es rattled her wings uneasily—“raw materials are raw materials. They belong to whoever claims them first.”
“True.” T’sha dipped her muzzle. “We are fortunate Ambassador D’seun was so alert. The translations would be going much more slowly if you had not had anything to work with.”
Tr’es’s relaxation vanished. She pulled herself inward, minutely, just a couple of bones at a time, as if she were hoping T’sha wouldn’t notice. “I believe he was waiting for such an occurrence.”
“Waiting?” T’sha pushed closer.
Tr’es’s skin trembled as she deflated. “I have work to do, Ambassador. Is there anything else I can share with you?”
T’sha let go of her perches and glided forward until the tip of her muzzle just brushed Tr’es’s bright-blue crest. “How quickly did D’seun move to obtain the raw materials, Tr’es?”
Tr’es jerked away and turned to face her simulator again. She spoke a few words in a command language T’sha didn’t know, and the diaphanous patterns were replaced by a more familiar wind grid.
“Tr’es,” said T’sha, although the engineer was no longer looking at her. “What has D’seun made you do?”
“He made me do nothing,” said Tr’es without taking her gaze off the simulator. “I have made promises.”
T’sha moved up next to her until they hovered wingtip to wingtip. T’sha did not overfly her, not yet. Tr’es still might talk without overt intimidation. “This is not about promises. I was sent here by the High Law Meet, just like you were. We’re here to do what’s right for the People.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” Tr’es said miserably, huddling in on herself.
“Tr’es.”
T’sha turned her head, her muzzle still open to speak. Br’sei glided through the doorway.
“D’tak needs some help in the surveying chamber,” he said, brushing a forehand against Tr’es’s wing. “There’s an unpredicted mutation in the preparers we seeded in Highland 98. We need to find out where it came from.”
“Yes, Engineer Br’sei.” Tr’es swelled instantly with relief. She flew away without giving T’sha a second glance.
Br’sei faced T’sha, saying nothing, waiting for her. It was a remarkably discomforting tactic.
“Excellent timing, Engineer,” remarked T’sha at last.
“Forgive me, Ambassador T’sha.” Br’sei sank a little with a humility T’sha was certain he did not feel. “But if you’re going to make trouble for someone, it really should be for someone who can handle that trouble.”
“I am making trouble?” T’sha pulled her muzzle back. “I thought I was doing my job.”
“That is what everyone here thinks.” Br’sei’s wings fluttered, bobbing him dangerously close to some of the carefully aligned microcosms. “Unfortunately, everyone has conflicting ideas as to what that job is.”
“I see.” T’sha dropped until she was level with him. “And what do you think your job is?”
“I was brought here to establish a life base on this world, one that could form the foundation for a canopy, for our lives,” said Br’sei without flinching or hesitation. “I’ve done that.”
T’sha moved in closer. She wanted to breathe him, taste him thoroughly. She wanted there to be no chance of misunderstanding even one word. “There is more in you,” she said.
“Yes.”
Closer. Make him aware of you. Let him be unable to escape the touch and taste of you. “Is it some promise to D’seun that keeps you from telling me?”
“In truth, no, it’s…” He inflated suddenly. “Ambassador T’sha, have you seen the New People yet?”
The question caught T’sha off guard and she backed away. “In truth, I haven’t. I have been busy going over reports and trying to understand—”