"Hoku's been snapping at us for over seventeen years. I think we'd feel neglected if she stopped."

"Perhaps," Ozchan said. "But your father is my patient, and I'd be happier if this was clear to everyone."

Quilla straightened and looked at him as he came through the bushes toward her. Young man, perhaps twenty-six standard, thereabouts. First job.

Dark, gleaming skin, dark, gleaming eyes. A self-assured cast of face, a cocky stance. Why did he look so vulnerable, then? There was no resemblance at all, but he reminded her of Jes.

"Hoku's not taking over," she said. "You're the specialist in this, and she knows that. But when it comes to the state of Jason's mind, she's the expert, not you. Can you live with that?"

"I suppose I'll have to. If she can get him out of bed and moving around, I guess it will be worth it."

Quilla grinned and delved into a bush. "She bit you, right?"

Ozchan laughed.

The leaves gave off a sweet, musty scent as she moved through them, and they left streaks of green and orange dust on her hands and clothing. Sunlight trailed through the bushes, creating a warm, dappled shade, and a small lizard skittered from the ground, sped up the trunk of a plant, and chattered at her.

Sap dripped into the buckets.

"What are these called?" Ozchan said.

"'Zimania rubiflora'." The bush before her held an almost-empty bucket.

She frowned and ran her fingers over the bark of its trunk, then turned some leaves over. Patches of scale clung to their undersides.

"What do they do? Besides grow, I mean?"

She took white tape from her pocket and tagged the plant. "The sap is processed and used to make electronic parts. The fruit's inedible, but it makes good fertilizer."

"Electronic parts? From sap?"

"Sure. That small monitor you've got Jason hooked to -- the pulse/respiration/blood pressure thing -- uses parts made from the sap. The trade name is Z-line. They make it over on Shipwright."

"I didn't know that."

Quilla looked at him, surprised.

He shrugged. "I'm a doctor, not an electrician. They make them, I use them."

"And if it breaks down?"

"Send it off to be fixed. That's what repair techs are for, right?"

"Not here," Quilla said. She dusted her hands. "We're a colony world, Dr. M'Kale. A world of generalists. Not enough people and too many jobs to be done, so everyone knows more than one field. I doctor plants and sometimes people when Hoku needs me, fix machinery, repair electrical problems, service the generator, farm, weave, but not too well -- other stuff. It's necessary."

She glanced upward. The sun was an area of brightness near the horizon. "It's about dinner time. Coming?"

They walked together through the meadow. Tilled fields stretched in curving rows toward the distant woods. Kasirene workers had gathered under the kaedos, talking and pulling food from their pouches. Quilla spotted Palen and waved, and the kasir waved back. A pup rushed over, grabbed Quilla around the knees, and chattered in kasiri. Quilla listened, replied, and sent the young one bounding toward the trees again.

"Were you born here?" Ozchan said.

"No, on Terra. But my brothers and sister were. And you? Where're you from?"

"Planet called Hogarth's Landing, in North Wing. I left when I was sixteen to go to school, and haven't been back."

"Why not?"

"Too busy, I guess. And it's not a pleasure planet, Hogarth's. It's a dome world. Bad atmosphere, cold, cramped. Mining world. I didn't like it while I was growing up, and I don't like it now. Not like this place at all.

This is very idyllic."

Quilla smiled but said nothing. Overhead, a shuttle crossed the sky toward the port.

"That'll be Hetch," Quilla said. "Just in time for a meal, as always."

She lengthened her stride. Meya rushed out of the Tor and down the hill, the twins trailing after her. Mim shouted after them.

"It's a big event when a shuttle comes in, isn't it?"

"Yes. We're quite bucolic here," Quilla said. He looked at her as though suspecting sarcasm. She bit the inside of her cheek, repressing a smile.

The kitchen smelled of bread and stew. Quilla and Ozchan washed at the sink, then took the plates that Mim handed to them and carried them into the dining room. A cook came down the stairs, holding Jason's dinner tray. Most of the food was untouched.

Quilla talked for a moment with the carpenter and came into the dining room. "The ramp's almost finished," she said. "Perhaps tomorrow he'll have dinner down here with us."

"I wouldn't count on it."

Meya rushed in through the front door and grabbed Quilla's arm. Quilla laughed and turned around, then saw Meya's face.

"What is it, Meya? What's wrong?"

"Hetch came," Meya said, panting, "and he's got Hart with him."

The twins came into the room, looking frightened.

"I want to eat upstairs," Decca said.

"You will not," Quilla said. "There's nothing to fuss about."

"But Hart killed Laur," Jared whispered.

"He did not. He's your uncle, and your brother, Meya. He's not going to hurt you. You're all going to be polite to him, understand?"

"But -- "

"Understand?"

Meya and the twins nodded unhappily. Quilla sent Decca to fetch Tabor, and Jared to wash his face.

"Is Hoku still here?" she said to Meya.

"Yes. She's going to stay to dinner."

"Can you find her and tell her I want to talk with her? I'll be in the living room."

Meya left the room, still looking troubled.

Ozchan looked baffled. "Something wrong?"

Quilla shook her head. "Shit," she muttered. "You'd better come along while I talk with Hoku. It'll affect Jason, and I guess you'll have to know sooner or later. But this is confidential, okay? You're not to speak about this to anyone -- just me, or Hoku, or my father. Understand?"

Ozchan nodded and followed her into the living room. Hoku marched in a moment later, dropped her case on a chair, sat, and glowered at Quilla.

"Meya's terrified. What's going on?"

Quilla closed and locked the door. "Hart's back. Meya saw him come in with Hetch."

"She was only ten when he left. She could be mistaken."

"Hoku," Quilla said.

The doctor grimaced. "I suppose. Only Kennerins look like Kennerins.

Why'd he come?"

"Jason?"

"Possibly. He could have heard." Hoku stared at the empty fireplace.

"He'll want to see his father."

"Can we keep him away?"

"That's a dumb idea," Hoku said. "Better not to, I'd guess. Might shake Jason up, though. You, M'Kale. How strong is he?"

"It depends," Ozchan said. "Do you mean emotional stress -- that sort of thing? If I'm there, if it's controlled, he can take just about anything.

Question of medication. But why all the fuss? Hart's his son, right? It's natural that a parent should want to see a son who's been gone for a while.

You make it sound as though Hart's some kind of monster."

Quilla and Hoku looked at him in silence.

The table was crowded with people. Quilla and Tabor with their two children seated between them, Meya on Quilla's other side, Captain Hetch looking fat and unhappy, Doctor Hoku, then Hart Kennerin and a friend he had brought with him from Kroeber, a man named Tev Drake. Ozchan sat beside Tabor, watching the faces and emotions that filled the room.

Hart was charming. He kissed Quilla and laughed when Meya and the twins shied away from him. He admired the growth of the young ones, who stared at him with solemn fascination. He shook Ozchan's hand and paid sly compliments to Hoku, and did not seem to notice when the doctor glared at him. He introduced Drake, who smiled at everyone but particularly at Quilla. She treated him with cold courtesy and turned her attention to Captain Hetch.

Ozchan saw Hetch spread his hands to her, palms upward, while Hart's back was turned. Drake noticed and frowned. Mim came in bearing a pitcher of beer and the cooks followed carrying the steaming pot of stew.

"I'm from NewHome," the housekeeper muttered in response to Hart's flatteries. "We don't forget."

Quilla looked startled, and Hart laughed.

"I spilled a cup of juice on her the first day she came to us," he explained to Ozchan. "She's not forgiven me since." He turned to Quilla and smiled. "Just juice, Quil. Nothing else."

Quilla stared at him, then turned to fill Decca's plate. Ozchan wondered what it was that everyone seemed intent on not forgiving nor forgetting, but the conversation around the table gave him no clue. Hart talked about the trip from Kroeber and of Kroeber itself, told wicked stories about the faculty and his fellow students, mentioned an award, his advanced courses of studies, offers of teaching positions waiting for him when he finished his education. Ozchan caught Quilla's glance and raised an eyebrow, and she nodded. Hart was telling the truth. Ozchan warmed to him as the young man sat in the frosty welcome of his family, trying to lighten and brighten the leaden atmosphere.

Meya spilled her cup of juice and looked on the edge of tears. Ozchan was surprised. He hadn't noticed her very much before: a pretty, cheerful adolescent, self-assured and intelligent. Not the type of girl to spill her drink at table, let alone cry over it. She was more than pretty, and her hands shook as Mim helped her mop things up. Quilla squeezed Meya's hands. The twins looked like identical studies in seriousness. Quilla let them all leave the room.

Tabor sighed and pushed his empty plate aside. His hands fell to his lap, and he fingered his flute.

Hart, still smiling, stood and stretched.

"I'd like to see my father now," he said, "if Dr. M'Kale thinks it would be all right."

Hoku pressed her lips together. Ozchan glanced at Quilla's expressionless face.

"I'd like to tell him that you're here first," he said. "He's not in good condition for sudden surprises, and..."

"Take him up," Quilla said. "Jason will be disturbed one way or another. You might as well get it over with now."

Hart seemed about to speak, then closed his lips and turned toward the door.

"Hart!" his sister called. He paused with a hand on the doorframe and looked at her over his shoulder.

"If you upset him, you'll leave Aerie tonight and not come back."

Hart's smile didn't change. He gestured to Ozchan and moved up the stairs. Baffled, Ozchan followed him.

Quilla tapped on the door, then pushed it open and slipped inside.

Ozchan sat shirtless on the bed, a chip reader in his hands. He dropped the reader and pulled his shirt on. She looked away from his dark chest, closed the door, and leaned on it, her hands behind her back.

"What did my brother say to Jason?"

"Why do you want to know?"

She moved her shoulders against the wood of the door.

"I don't believe Hart when he says he came here just to visit. There's a reason that he's not telling me, and I think it has to do with Jason. I need to find out."

"I don't understand all the fuss," Ozchan said. He touched the front seam of his shirt, then put his hands in his lap.

"You're new here. Can't you just accept that I have to know what's going on?"