Silent Songs Read Online Free PDF Page B

seen such a banquet--but then, Harkk'etts were never invited to such high-ranking functions.
    "Many people will be going into hibernation in the morning," Jib explained.
    "Captain's Night is their last opportunity for a good meal. Say . . . did you notice that group?"
    He nodded toward five mature Simiu males with elaborately styled manes and tails. K'heera certainly had noticed them and now could scarcely pull her eyes away. "They're the drum dancers who performed at StarBridge before we left," Jib told her, "the Hurrraahhhkk'aa Troupe. Maybe we'll get to meet them."
    K'heera's crest flattened anxiously. "Aren't you going to the protein table?"
    she asked when Jib began filling his plate.
    "I can eat that fare anytime," he told her. "What I'd really like is for you to tell me about these Simiu dishes."
    Now he's patronizing me, K'heera decided. With all our 23
    students on StarBridge, he wants me to believe he's never been exposed to our cuisine. She pointed at something colorful. "You might like that," she said casually. "We call it Pp'hhh'tttkkk. It's a delicacy made from a spice bush in our southern hemisphere." And it has enough acetic acid to burn the cilia off your simple tongue. Even as he put some on his plate, she knew he wouldn't touch it. She indicated three other dishes that he could eat, and as she expected, he sampled those first.
    "Simiu cuisine is known through the galaxy," a voice hissed in Mizari. A young, serpentlike alien sidled up to them, a halo of tentacles waving around the being's head like a nimbus cloud.
    "Unfortunately, my people cannot eat it," the Mizari female continued amiably, "but we enjoy it vicariously by reading their recipes. I am Rassizza.
    I saw your StarBridge uniforms and knew you would speak my language."
    Jib greeted the tall, limbless alien with the humans' version of the Mizari meeting gesture, tenting his hands over his head, then bowing low from the waist. "Greetings, Rassizza," the human said, smoothly slipping into Mizari.
    K'heera used her own people's honor greeting, touching her eyelids, muzzle, and chest, then holding her hand out, her fingers curled inward. The being bowed graciously to them.
    "It's too bad you can't enjoy Simiu food," Jib said. "I developed a taste for it at StarBridge, but cafeteria food may be the only cultural constant throughout the Known Worlds. Simiu students would talk wistfully about food from home that wasn't served there. I couldn't wait for this buffet."
    Oh, no, K'heera groaned inwardly. He really doesn't know those dishes! I can't let him taste that Pp'hhh'tttkkk! But how could she stop him without revealing her attempted sabotage? Her eyes widened as Jib's fork hovered over the sinister morsel.
    "I must confess," the Mizari said, distracting Jib from his plate, "I had an ulterior motive in speaking to you both. My voder is malfunctioning." The device appeared suddenly from the nest of prehensile tendrils surrounding the Mizari's head. "Without my voder I will be helpless. I thought you"--she nodded at Jib-- "might introduce me to the Captain, and ask if her engineer could look at it."
    "Why, certainly," Jib agreed amiably. "I'd be happy to."
    "Actually," K'heera interrupted in halting Mizari, "I might be able to fix it."
    The serpentlike lidless eyes held no expression, but K'heera imagined that she was shocked. Simiu females were not
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    supposed to be mechanically adept; it was beneath them. "I would be honored," the Mizari said graciously.
    K'heera put down her plate, picked up the small translator, and for a moment completely forgot about Jib's food or the opinions of others. Opening the device's casing, she peered at the interior. Pulling a few diagnostic tools from her StarBridge halter, she popped a small, high-powered magnifier, resembling a jeweler's loupe, into one eye.
    "I'm at a total loss when it comes to electronics and circuitry," Jib admitted casually. "I envy your ability."
    "Aren't you afraid of getting shocked?" the