The Legacy of Lehr Read Online Free PDF Page A

which was to have been the ship’s next destination before they diverted to B-Gem. The leader, a lai —or priest—called Muon, was a noted lecturer at several major universities both on and off his home planet and carried the reputation of a respected and stable individual—though one could never be really certain when evaluating aliens by human standards. She remembered meeting him briefly at the captain’s reception, their first night out, and being impressed.
    Squaring her shoulders, Shannon paused in front of the first Aludran cabin and thumbed the call buzzer several times. Neither that signal nor several more produced any response. Nor did she have any better luck at the second cabin.
    But as she approached the third, which was assigned to Muon and his mate, she could hear sounds of movement and an occasional sob or moan, even though the cabins were supposed to be relatively soundproofed. Pushing the buzzer this time produced sudden and complete silence but no acknowledgement from the intercom. When no one responded after several more buzzes, she took out an override key and inserted it in a slot beside the signal buzzer, pushing when it met resistance.
    A circuit relayed, the buzzer sounded again, and a green light came on in the buzzer button.
    â€œThis is Doctor Shannon, the ship’s surgeon,” she said in a low voice, speaking into the grille below the buzzer. “I’ve used a medical override because the captain asked me to be certain you were all right. I’m sorry to disturb you, but I understand that one of your party had an unpleasant experience a little while ago.”
    There was a short silence and then the scurry of feet and the sigh of a breath being drawn near the intercom.
    â€œPlease to go away, Doctor,” piped a thin, reedy voice, thickly accented. “You can nothing do.”
    Shannon peered at the grille and at the blank vid screen beside it, wishing her medical immunity permitted her to override visual as well as audio circuits. In an emergency, she could override the door itself, but she would have to justify her actions later on, if the occupant complained. Thus far, she had no evidence of any real emergency.
    â€œI don’t mean to contradict you,” she replied, “but if you won’t tell me what’s wrong, how do I know that there’s nothing I can do? I realize that you’re upset, but I have my orders. May I at least speak with Muon, your leader?”
    â€œNo!” came the emphatic reply. “ Lai Muon not wish speak to anyone. I speak for him. I am his laia . This not concern you, Doctor.”
    â€œAs a physician, it always concerns me if one of my passengers is in distress,” Shannon said gently. “May I please come in, just for a moment? I promise you, I’ll do nothing without your permission, and I’ll leave if you want me to, as soon as I’ve been inside and confirmed that everyone is all right.”
    She heard a faint twittering in the background, quickly muffled as someone apparently held something over the microphone pickup, and then: “You go away then?” the voice asked plaintively.
    â€œAfter I’ve been inside, of course I will.”
    She pulled out her override key as a faint click signaled the door circuit being activated. A puff of hot, moist air stirred her dark hair as the door slid back, and she felt her weight decrease slightly as she crossed the threshold. The Aludran atmosphere was oxygen-rich, tangy with some alien scent she could not identify, but she knew that nothing about the normal Aludran environment was harmful to humans. The thirty-degree temperature differential had her sweating immediately, though, and she hoped she would find no reason to stay in the Aludrans’ cabin overlong.
    â€œYou come this way, Doctor,” said the Aludran who had admitted her. “Muon over here.”
    The cabin was dim, but not so dim that Shannon could not see