Free Spherical Harmonic by Catherine Asaro Page B

offworld."
     
     
J'chabi answered. "No ships."
     
     
I glanced at him. "Then I must send a message."
     
     
"No communications."
     
     
My unease deepened. "Why not?"
     
     
"Psiberspace gone."
     
     
So my impression of a collapse had been right. Gods, it must have been an interstellar catastrophe. "How did it happen? Why?"
     
     
He tilted his head to the right. "Nothing yet do we know."
     
     
This sounded worse and worse. With neither a port nor communications, I had no way to call in help. But I might have another option. To escape the roots Hajune had used to confine me, I had operated in Kyle space without technological support. By myself, I had too little control to contact anyone offworld, but with the support of a console I might achieve more.
     
     
"The comm equipment may still help," I told J'chabi. "Will you take me to it?"
     
     
He responded in a guarded tone. "Test, I must."
     
     
That blasted test again. If I wanted his help, I had to prove my claim. I didn't like it, but he had good reason for his refusal. If I was an imposter and he took my word, he could create a lot of trouble for himself and ISC.
     
     
I spoke stiffly. "Very well. Do the test."
     
     
He bowed from the waist, another behavior never seen among the Shay, but familiar in the Imperial court and Assembly. Then he strode to a staircase that spiraled around the living area. When he reached the balcony above us, he walked halfway around it and went through a rounded doorway.
     
     
Hajune turned to me. "Why does he speak your language?"
     
     
"I'm not sure." I rubbed my hands on my arms, my palms sliding over the leathery jacket. I felt at risk here, open to attack.
     
     
J'chabi soon came back down. He held a black box about two hand-spans long. It stirred my memories: the medics who monitored my health had those boxes. I took good care of myself, but they were always checking me anyway. At the slightest hint of a problem, they became agitated and put me on a strict regimen until whatever had perturbed them came back into balance. It irked me no end. But if I sent them away, ISC Security sent them back. Security reacted the same when I tried to send away my human bodyguards. I had mechanical guards too, but it was easier to deal with their constant presence. They had no emotions.
     
     
I sat again on the mossy ridge. Hajune stood guard while J'chabi set down his box. The silence in the trunk house settled over us. Everything seemed muted.
     
     
From his box, J'chabi removed a spatula the size of his index finger. Knowing what he wanted, I opened my mouth. He scraped the inside my cheek. A person's cells all had the same DNA, but modern disguise artists found it easier to mask the DNA of skin and hair cells than those inside of the mouth.
     
     
He slid the spatula into a slot in the box and watched data flow across its screens. Holos of a woman's body formed above the box. My body.
     
     
The test took only a few moments. When it finished, J'chabi continued to stare at the screens, his face strained, his gaze averted. I feared something had gone wrong. Then I realized he was struggling to control himself. His mental turmoil broke past his barriers and saturated the room. Shock. Disbelief.
     
     
Hope.
     
     
J'chabi shifted position, bending on one knee in front of me. He rested his elbow across his other knee and bowed his head. Then he spoke in Iotic, with a reverence that bordered on awe. "It is my honor to serve you, esteemed Pharaoh Dyhianna."
     
     
I touched his shoulder. "Do not kneel, Jaichabi Na."
     
     
He raised his head, then stood. His voice shook. "Rumor claims you died."
     
     
I smiled. "Rumor is wrong, I think."
     
     
As his wariness eased, his mental defenses lowered. His mind revealed nothing about him having a a link to my difficulties here. Nor did he hide his joy that I lived. Although the Shay spoke little, they seemed to show their emotions easily, without guile or hidden agendas. It