Free Plague of Memory by S. L. Viehl Page B

work. Why should they murder the one who may help them live? I am told that I cannot be killed so easily, should they try." I addressed Xonea again. "You will take me to Vtaga now."
    "I cannot do this, Cherijo," he told me. "You do not appreciate the—"
    I looked at Salo. "How do I remove him from command? Do I simply say the words?" Salo nodded. To Xonea, I said, "You will take me to Vtaga or I will remove you from command and make another serve in your place." I was not sure who I would make captain, but surely Salo would advise me.
    Xonea's hands curled. "You do not have command of this ship."
    "As a member of the Ruling Council, she does, Captain." Salo made a very formal-looking gesture. "She has the full support of the rest of the council."
    "She has never spoken to ... " Xonea gave Salo a furious glare. "You permitted her to send an unmonitored signal?"
    "I did so without his aid or his permission." I regarded the captain steadily. "Will you take me to Vtaga or not?"
    Xonea glanced from me to my husband, and then gave me a very reluctant nod.
    "No. I won't let you." Reever latched onto me with a hard grip. "You've wasted enough of your life. You don't have to go. You no longer serve Teulon."
    "As you have said, Husband, I no longer serve anyone." I glanced down at his hand, and he released me. To the captain, I said, "How long will it take for the ship to make the journey there?"
    "If we use transition," Xonea said, "three days." "Use transition." I walked out of the command center.
    I knew Reever had every reason to be furious with me, so I did not return to his—our—quarters. Instead, I went to the deck where a great many members of the crew gathered to obtain wall food and share their meal intervals. I looked around, but I did not see the talking cat. The beast might be considered a person, but I was not going to eat near it. It might favor a bite of me over those pretend vegetables. I selected something my former self had kept programmed on the wall machine, and carried it to an empty table.
    A big, muscular Jorenian female came over to me before I sat down. Like me, she held a tray of the wall food. "My name is Darea Torin. I am Salo's bondmate."
    Fasala's ClanMother, I thought as I looked up at her. Like all the other females on the Sunlace, she was black-haired and blue-skinned, but she had the same direct, piercing gaze as an experienced hunter. She also wore her hair coiled and knotted in what Reever called a warrior's knot. "I am Jam."
    She knew me—Cherijo had written several times of her friendship with this woman—but she showed no surprise at the name I offered. "May I share my meal with you, Healer Jam?"
    Fasala had told me that her ClanMother and ClanFather preferred to eat in their quarters, which made Darea's presence and request a little suspicious. Still, the woman seemed not as joyously friendly as some of the other females on this ship, and I had no reason to dine alone.
    "Yes." I sat down and regarded my selections. Broth, bread, and some chopped, cooked pretend vegetables. I knew from past experience that I could not stomach anything from the submenu Cherijo had designated "dessert" as the dishes were all too sweet for my palate. Beverages had also been tricky in the beginning, but through trial and error I had learned which teas would not turn my stomach.
    Darea ignored her own selections to watch me tear the bread into chunks.
    "You wish to speak with me about something?" I had not bothered with utensils; I always spilled and dropped things when I tried to use them. If my eating with my hands and fingers offended her, she could move to sit with someone else.
    Her shoulders lifted slightly. "You do not seem very interested in having conversations."
    "My people—the Iisleg—do not indulge in much casual talk. Here on the ship I have had more practice with listening." I tried to think of an interesting topic. "Your mate did a favor for me but refused my offer to couple with him. Did you