The bed-table stopped moving. "Then who?"
Nicole held out her hand. "Ambassador Rafiki, can you wait for a moment?"
"Yes."
Nicole’s hand touched Tora Soam’s arm. "Send for your child. Between them. Ana Rafiki and Tora Kia know."
Minutes later, freshly medicated and in her bed, Nicole listened as Tora Soam, Kia, and Ambassador Rafiki arranged themselves on couches and chairs. Jetah Indeva stood beside the compartment’s door. Tora Soam spoke. "Very well, Nicole. Begin."
Nicole nodded slightly. "Ambassador Rafiki?"
"Yes?"
"Explain your relationship with Heliot Vant."
"Explain?"
"What was it like? How did you feel?"
Ambassador Rafiki was silent for a long moment. "At first we could not communicate. There were too many hostilities and false issues. But as we fought over these issues, the hostility, I think, was replaced by a degree of mutual respect. I… I admired Heliot very much."
"And describe what happened the night Heliot died."
"I have given that information to Major Haridashi; and I have authorized the information exchange you requested through Colonel Moore."
"Please describe it. I am more interested in the feelings than in the events."
"Very well. It had been a long, hard struggle working out the terms of the treaty. At one point in the negotiations, Heliot suggested that the two of us meet informally to allow us to discuss and settle upon several points without our respective negotiating teams screaming charges and counter-charges at each other. The meeting was very productive."
"There were more meetings, Ambassador?"
"Yes. We managed to get more done that way."
"And your affection for Heliot grew?"
"I wouldn’t call it affection… Admiration. Respect"
A haunted tone came into the ambassador’s voice. "Perhaps it was affection. I think the feeling was mutual. Just before Heliot died, it told me that it respected me. Heliot was so proud-not only of what had been accomplished, but that we had accomplished it. A Drac and a human. Heliot… was proud of us."
Nicole heard Tora Soam stand and walk toward the ambassador. "You cry. You cry for Heliot Vant?"
"Is that so odd?"
"Yes, that is odd."
Nicole turned her head toward Tora Kia. "Kia, explain to them what happened."
"How should I know?"
"You know."
There was an embarrassed silence, then Kia spoke. "Yes… I suppose I do. Ambassador Rafiki?"
"Yes?"
"Just before it died, Heliot Vant became very emotional."
"Perhaps. As I said, Heliot was very proud of what we had done." She uttered a sad little laugh. "Heliot .. Heliot even blushed."
The direction of Kia’s voice changed. "My parent, it is possible to feel love… sexual toward a human."
Jetah Indeva snorted. "Preposterous!"
"But possible just the same, Jetah."
Tora Soam spoke. "Continue, Kia."
"Heliot Vant loved her, but did not think in such terms. After all, Ambassador Rafiki is a human. There was no reason for Heliot to think that there was cause for guarding its emotions."
"Kia, do you mean that Heliot’s feelings for this woman caused it to… conceive?"
"Yes."
"How can such a thing be possible? And at Heliot’s age it…"
"At Heliot’s age, the act of conception would result in Heliot’s death. And the empathy, love, sexual feelings… a Drac can have for a human."
"How do you know?"
"It… has happened before."
"How do you know, my child?"
"It has happened to me."
"Kia…" The Ovjetah seemed stunned. "Nicole? You and Nicole?"
"It was a strange moment, my parent. It was dark… and I had no reason to guard my feelings. My mind was burdened by my nightmares, and this creature in the dark offered to listen-to allow me to unburden myself. Later, she… thought of me as her mate, seeking her own comfort."
"But you conceived?"
"Yes. The Tora line continues."
Ambassador Rafiki stood. "Nicole, you are saying that I killed Heliot?"
"No, Ambassador. Circumstance, misunderstanding, age… love killed Heliot Vant."
Tora Soam spoke. "Nicole, what of the poison?"
"Ovjetah, Heliot Vant’s death was an accident. An accident that threw an enormous random factor into Hissied 'do Timan’s carefully, balanced equation. The poison, I think, was a desperate attempt to salvage the equation. Perhaps Londu Peg is a Timan agent. More likely, the poison was introduced later. There are enough secret corridors on the orbiter to enable the Timans to contaminate the evidence at will. The new autopsy, you ordered should confirm what Kia said."
Ambassador Rafiki stood next to Nicole’s bed. "The treaty Heliot and I worked out; why does it play into the hands of Hissied 'do Timan?"
"The treaty locks all sides into the problem of Amadeen. And the treaty does not resolve the problem of Amadeen. Therefore it assures the resumption of the war and that both sides will regard future treaty negotiations as closed paths-unproductive. A continued full-scale war between the USE and the Dracon Chamber is vital to Hissied 'do Timan’s plan."
Ambassador Rafiki stood silently for a long moment, then she spoke to Tora Soam. "There are many things I do not understand. However, I will go now to obtain the powers Nicole thinks are necessary." The direction of the ambassador’s voice changed. "Jetah Indeva, I will keep you informed."
Nicole heard the ambassador leave the compartment. Jetah Indeva grunted and followed the human."
Tora Soam spoke. "Nicole, I feel that I should say something."
"About what?"
"So many things… For one, you and Kia…"
Kia’s voice. "Yes, my parent. It is true."
"Then, my child… then you must be transported back to Draco. There is too much risk here, if what Nicole says is true. The line-"
"If there is risk, my parent, it is not to me but to Joanne Nicole. I think it is clear now that the Timan understands her function here. I will remain here to lessen that risk."
"Do you… love the human?"
Tora Kia was silent for a long time. "No. Things are different in the light. But I-we-owe her the Tora line. To you and I she should be more than just a talma to solve a problem."
Nicole listened as Tora Kia walked from the compartment. Tora Soam stood silently for a moment, then spoke. "Joanne Nicole?"
"Yes, Ovjetah?"
"This thing Kia says. How… how can a human and a Drac…
"Love?"
"Yes. Even for a moment."
"Ovjetah, Cohneret in the Koda Talmeda once asked which is the stronger: love of form, or love of being."
"You lecture the Ovjetah of the Talman Kovah?"
"Remember, Ovjetah, that what your mind says is true, and what your feelings confirm as truth, are different creatures."
"Emmmm."
She closed her eyes and settled into her bed. "And now I lay me down to sleep, a pit of vipers at my feet. And if I die before I wake-"
"Joanne Nicole."
"Yes, Ovjetah?"
"I do not have your insight. But I see this much. Knowledge of the Timan’s plan will serve the plan. How do we buy the silence of Hissied 'do Timan?" Tora Soam paused, then continued in a grave voice. "And there is more. If the Timan has planned as thoroughly as you think, then the orbiter is a bomb. Any solution that is devised can be countered by the simple expedient of blowing the orbiter and everyone in it to pieces and blaming the event on either the Mavedah, the Front, the USE Force, the Dracon Fleet, or the Ninth Quadrant."