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I said. “Or a complete fool.”
    “Alek is . . . complicated. Damaged, in some ways, by his experiences.” He paused. “I know it is difficult for you to trust strangers, but I once counted Alek as my closest friend.”
    Friendship was another ensleg concept that did not sit well with me, but I trusted my husband’s judgment. Unlike normal humans, Reever could not form emotional attachments, so his trust had to be earned.
    As for Davidov, I would reserve my opinion for now. “I look forward to knowing him.”
    Transport issued our launch slot, and we left Joren without incident. I felt a wave of panic sweep over me as the planet dwindled behind us and Moonfire left orbit, but I forced myself to look out at the night snow of stars spreading out before us.
    “Do you know, when I left Akkabarr for the first time,” I said, “I watched my world shrink, and panicked. I thought the heat from all the ensleg ships in orbit was melting it away. And then, on the Reever input something on the controls. “I never feared space as much as the worlds to which I sojourned, ” he admitted. “When I was very young, I suffered a great deal of anxiety at the prospect of meeting new species. Each time my parents initiated landing procedures, I would run to my quarters and hide in a different place, hoping it would be the one that they would not discover. Of course, they always found me. Then I would spend the next six months or year among whatever species inhabited that world while my parents performed their research.”
    What Reever’s parents had done to him revolted me. “Did you fear being left with the ensleg?”
    “Most of them were friendly and curious, but I hated them touching me. When they did, their languages invaded my head and made themselves plain to me.” He made an adjustment on the helm console. “You should have heard them, using translators to welcome my mother and father, all the while secretly hating them and thinking of ways to make them leave.”
    My heart ached for him. “Did you never speak of this to your parents?”
    He shrugged. “My mother did not believe in linguistic telepathy. She was like all Terran scientists, and put trust only in what could be seen, smelled, heard, and touched. What my father thought of me, I cannot say. He would not be distracted from his work by an anxious boy.”
    I reached out and placed my hand over his. “We cannot choose to whom we are born. We can only learn from their mistakes and try not to repeat them with our young ones.” My heart tightened as I thought of Marel’s little face.
    “I did not wish to leave her behind, Jarn,” Reever said bleakly, “any more than you did.”
    I curled my hand tightly around his. “I know.”
    According to the signal Reever had received from Alek Davidov, we were to rendezvous with his ship, the Renko , near a trade depot world at the very edge of the Varallan system.
    “There.” I saw the trader vessel stationed above Trellus, a dead world made habitable by the installation of a dome colony. Cargo ships passing through the system frequently stopped at the planet to refuel, pick up supplies, and enjoy the various amusements. Oddly there were no other ships in orbit at the moment. “Should I send a relay?”
    “That won’t be necessary.” Reever touched an emitter on the communications panel that glowed red. “It’s Alek. He’s signaling for permission to shuttle over.”
    There must have been a full crew on board the Renko , but my husband’s friend came alone in a launch to Moonfire . It had been part of their agreement about the meeting, that no one else know that I accompanied my husband.
    No matter how loyal Davidov’s crew were, four million stan credits would loosen any tongue.
    As the men connected the two vessels so that Davidov could climb into our ship, I went back to the galley and prepared food and drink. I did not know what the ensleg custom was, but among my people it was rude to welcome a friend