But she was right. Nothing from Gran-Gran. Farther out, I could feel our taynix still in our ships, but no other cytonics.
But there was something, a vibration coming from the cliffs behind us. Not the concentrated frequency of a cytonic mind, but more like a…cloud of something.
“Do you feel that?” I asked. “The strange buzzing from behind the cliffs?”
Alanik frowned. “No,” she said. “I’m not finding any cytonic presence here.”
That was odd, and I had no idea what it meant. I moved past Winnow to Gran-Gran’s bed and brushed the blanket off her hand on one side and then the other, checking for hologram bracelets.
There weren’t any. And if the Superiority were trying to trick us, where was the spring for the trap? I reached up and brushed Gran-Gran’s hair with my hand. It moved exactly as I expected it to.
“I think that’s her,” I said. “But you’re right, her cytonic abilities seem to be gone. What happened to them? And why did they end up here?”
“Gran-Gran was behaving strangely before she hyperjumped,” Alanik said. “She told me she could tell where Cobb was on the ship, which doesn’t make sense. He’s not cytonic, so she shouldn’t have been able to find him through the negative realm.”
That was strange. “But you knew it was her then,” I said. “Because you were familiar with her mind. So was I. She wasn’t a Superiority fake.”
“She also said she was hearing voices calling to her, asking her for help,” Alanik said. “She asked if they were my people.”
I narrowed my eyes. That could have been the Superiority interfering with her cytonics. Like what happened to Spensa’s father.
I looked at the medtechs. “What is their condition?”
“They seem stable,” Kel said.
“We’ve focused on keeping them nourished and hydrated,” Kauri added. “Our lorekeepers have some records of what nutrients your people need.”
“Cuna said that your people don’t have cytonics,” I said, “but that you still have information about them.”
“Yes,” Kauri said. “Our lorekeepers have preserved the records, and they study and understand them, but we have not had kitsen cytonics for centuries. Some of my people believe it’s a curse, that we haven’t proven ourselves worthy to regain the powers.”
That was unfortunate. Still, detailed records of cytonic powers would be useful. “We would love to speak to your lorekeepers,” I said.
“Of course,” Kauri said. “I will send a message saying that you’ve requested an audience with them.”
“In the meantime, we can load Cobb and Gran-Gran into the transport ship.” Something strange was happening with Gran-Gran, possibly with both of them, and they needed better medical care than our medtechs could give here in the field.
“I think you should meet with our senators first,” Kauri said. “If you remove your people from the planet before the meeting, Goro may try to use that as evidence that you’re trying to sneak away, or that you’re preparing to attack.”
I hesitated, looking to Winnow.
“I don’t think a few hours are going to make a difference,” Winnow said. “Unless their conditions worsen.”
That was fair. I looked at Cobb one more time. His face was pale, but he was breathing. He was alive.
We’d wake him up. We had to.
He had to find us a way out of this mess.
Seven
When we returned to the feast area, we found FM sitting cross-legged at one of the tables, rolling melons the size of her head through a machine with many coordinated blades that cut them into precise slices. Nedd and Arturo sat behind her, loading citrus fruits onto small spindles that spun around a sharp blade, which removed the peel in a long, thin strip. Nedd deposited the peels into very small waste canisters, which two kitsen replaced with empty canisters and then scurried away to offer the full canisters to a pen filled with miniature goats, about the right size for a kitsen to ride as a mount. Kimmalyn and Sadie were seasoning fish with very small seasoning shakers, while Catnip and T-Stall knelt next to the ovens, using handheld controls to remove the fish from the conveyors with acclivity-empowered spatulas.
“I’m sorry,” Kauri said to me. “You are our guests. Your people shouldn’t have been asked to prepare the food.”
Hana ran up, sitting at my feet. “We didn’t ask them,” she said. “They volunteered. In fact, FM insisted.”
FM raised her eyebrows at me from across the sandy pavilion.
“We take no offense,” I said. “Thank you for allowing us to serve you.”
FM smiled.
This was kind of brilliant of her. We were trying to convince them that we weren’t invaders. I bet the humans who’d marched in and declared them a colony didn’t offer to help them with food preparation.
“What can I do to help?” I asked.
Alanik and I were brought to rotating spits where squashes roasted over a fire. We were instructed to use miniscule spray bottles to hydrate the turning vegetables with a brownish liquid that smelled both sweet and spicy.
I sprayed a bit on my finger and tasted it. Stars, it was delicious.
Not long after, Goro arrived. His champion rode on the saucer beside him, her sword tucked into a sheath and strapped across her back.
Goro didn’t look happy to see us all helping prepare the food. He gave me an especially affronted glare. I was supposed to be the enemy, the invader he was here to defeat.
Putting FM in charge of diplomacy had clearly been the right decision.
When we finished the food preparation, several kitsen carried away the remaining waste and cooking implements, and Kauri returned with another kitsen riding a second, smaller saucer.
“This is Juno,” she told me. “One of our lorekeepers. He has offered to dine with you, though he will wait until after the senate meeting to impart knowledge.”
“I am sorry this is necessary,” Juno said, “but there are some among us who find our lorekeeping to be superfluous or even threatening. It was only the will and continued patronage of the Most Honored One Who Was Not King that sustained our order. We do not wish to go against the will of the senate or attract the ire of—”
“Humans!” Goro bellowed from the head of one of the large tables. “It is time to begin to feast. I will not offer you welcome! You come as invaders, and so we give you the greeting fit for those who dare think to conquer the Den of Everlasting Light Which Laps Gently upon the Shores of Time! A full belly to make you sluggish, so that my champion may more easily pierce you with the sword!”