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NAG
s. There s a lot of structure in there. And animals.
If you can t get them out fast
, you ll have to sacrifice the animals, Thornekan said sharply.
The extrusions are a weak point. Is there any way you can cut
the contents loose without disassembling?
Not really, sir. The structural stresses
Never mind, then. Let s do what we can do. Thornekan out. He looked up
painfully at
Len. So where s the pattern? Why just those people on that bridge and the
Im kek?
Well, the safety under the bridge was a levitation field, which after all
is
Not an n-space field.
Not precisely. But close enough, maybe. It s consistent with the Im kek
getting grabbed at the same time. He was in a medical lev field.
Thornekan rubbed the back of his neck. If lev fields were the danger, then
what about the ship s grav fields? Would they be next? He couldn t very well
turn them off.
Captain, he heard, the parents are here.
He sighed. Send them in.
Four people entered the oval briefing room: Rafe Hendu, a
puzzled-looking man with brown, dusty-appearing skin who walked with a
slight stoop; John and Audrey Melnik, a couple who seemed not so much
puzzled as frightened; and a tall blond woman whose face was reddened
and streaked with tears. Her name was Holly Garelin, and she was the mother of
the girl who had been lost. Her right arm was in a sling.
Captain Thornekan got right to the point. Thank you for coming. I
know you have questions, and so do I. Many distressing things have happened
in the last hour, and one way or another, your children are all involved.
Mr. Hendu and Mr. and Mrs. Melnik, your son and your daughter are
unharmed and on their way here right now. Mrs. Garelin and his voice
dropped I m sorry, I have no word on your daughter. Perhaps it would help if
you could tell us exactly what you saw.
I already told your officer, she said, choking out the words. She rubbed at
her eyes with a trembling hand.
I know, Mrs. Garelin, he said softly. I know it s hard for you to repeat.
But every bit of information that we can get
Mrs. Garelin nodded shakily. We were just & going through the environment
room when there was this &
thunder
, and this &
thing flew by. And in stammers, she told her story.
She and her daughter, with three other people, had been crossing a suspension
footbridge in the forest when the attack came. The bridge had started shaking.
They d tried to run, but it was nearly impossible, with horrible shadow-things
flying everywhere. The man ahead of them had tried to jump over the ropes,
into the safety field but in his panic he d flipped the whole thing over,
dumping all of them. Mrs. Garelin s arm had gotten caught in the ropes, and
she d hung helpless. I tried to grab to grab Her voice failed and she
looked away.
Your daughter?
Mrs. Garelin nodded, struggling to control her voice. I
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couldn t reach her. She fell so quickly and then the shadow
Did everyone fall?
She nodded again. Except one woman. She grabbed the rope and hung, like me.
And then ?
The shadow thing Every word now was a terrible effort for her. It took
swallowed
them She cleared her throat, and suddenly her voice was husky and
dry. And then it was gone. Just like that. And so was my girl. Gone. And
the others.
And someone came eventually and helped you down?
She nodded, her face darkened with grief. But they were gone, she
whispered. My daughter was just &
gone
.
Thornekan felt a stabbing pain in his chest. I m sorry, Mrs. Garelin. I m
truly sorry.
Can t you do anything?
I wish I could, he said hoarsely. But it would seem we have
been attacked by &
something we can t control.
Mr. Hendu spoke in a murmur. That s terrible. Captain, you said that our
children were involved, too? He peered at the Melniks. My son and
your daughter are friends. I ve met
Claudi. She s a very nice young lady. He looked back at the captain. Can you
tell us what
Mrs. Garelin burst out, You said we were going to leave
, to stay away from the Throgs!
You said you were being careful
!
Thornekan drew a sharp breath. I know. I know I did. But you see And
finally he tried to explain why they had no choice but to stay in
the starstream. His words were scant consolation to Mrs. Garelin. To
the other parents, he described what he knew of their children s
involvement. Something is going on that we don t understand. But I m hoping
that by talking to Sheki and Claudi
He was interrupted by word that the children were outside. He gestured with a
hand. The kids appeared in the door, saw their parents, and raced into their
arms. Both looked worn but unhurt.
Thornekan waited until they got settled. Claudi hello again. And you must be
Sheki. He noticed a tall man with an enormous shock of gray hair and a
tangled beard standing near the door. Forgive me. You are Lanker? You re with
the circus?
The man nodded.
You were with the children during the attack? He gestured to Lanker to
approach the table, which the man did with some reluctance.
Yes, Lanker answered in a gravelly voice. He seemed ill at ease,
especially with Mrs.
Garelin struggling to control her weeping.
Perhaps you could start by telling us what you saw.
Suze
? Claudi cried, as Thornekan winced.
It was Suze who fell
? Her voice was torn with pain. Her eyes filled with tears, as her mother
tried futilely to comfort her. Suze is gone? She wept, burying her face
against her mother.
Thornekan felt paralyzed as he witnessed the girl s anguish. How
could he have been so stupid, letting it come out like that? It just
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hadn t occurred to him to find out if Claudi and
Suze Garelin had known each other, much less been friends. Mrs. Garelin was
staring at Claudi with blurry eyes, as though unsure whether to hate her for
surviving in place of her daughter, or to hug her to share the grief.
I m very sorry, Claudi, Thornekan said, knowing how hollow his comfort
sounded.
It seemed that just about everything had been said. Both children were
crying. Sheki had burst into tears upon describing how his pet
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