"I have on my purifier," Khorii said. "It's something our people know how to do. The same thing that lets us cure illness."
"A wonderful gift, to clean the ocean. Does your purifier make the dead fish and bodies drift to the beaches, too?"
"I don't think so. But if it cleans up the water enough, then you'll be able to see better what needs to be-uh-put to rest, will you not?"
As the water cleared, Khorii once more had the sense of many little things fleeing before her, then disappearing entirely. Were those the organisms causing the plague? Surely they must be, since she only experienced the sensation when she was trying to decontaminate something or someplace. It couldn't be all microorganisms her new awareness allowed her to "see," or she would be seeing spots before her eyes so much of the time that she might as well be blind. The universe was full of tiny things. Her new sense must have focused itself on the plague in the way that Mother's had once focused itself on the ore content of asteroids.
Though the water was wonderfully buoyant and had been refreshing at first, now, even though the LoiLoiKuans swam on the surface or just beneath it to accommodate Khorii's greater need for oxygen, she was overcome by a lassitude that increased the longer she swam. So tired. She felt as if the ocean was pulling the life out of her, and wondered if she could be catching the plague herself, but that was impossible. Still, the brighter and cleaner the ocean grew, the more tired she became.
"Don't know if I can go much farther," she said finally.
"We can pull you so you don't have to swim," the old woman said. "You just keep up here on the surface, put your hands on my shoulders, and I'll swim for you. A turtleback ride, like I used to give my little granddaughter, Likilekakua, before she was taken to that school you come from."
"I know her!" Khorii said.
"Tell her her grandmother, Nanahomea, misses her. How is she?"
"Well, the last time I saw her. The poopuus-/ mean, your grandchildren, have their own facility at the Moonbase with underwater computers, and they're doing really well. My cat Khiindi made friends with them first because they gave him fish."
"If you can help us here, your cat may have all the fish he wants."
"Are you hungry, with so many fish dying?"
"No, actually, we don't eat fish very often. Seaweed is more nourishing and easier to harvest. Are you still feeling tired?"
"Getting better, I think. Having my head out of the water helps."
A swell of water heaved toward them from the horizon.
"I'll leave you for a moment, my dear. I think my sister has come to meet us."
Khorii let go, and the lady dived beneath the glittering waters, which had become so clear that Khorii could see her through it, swimming away toward the swell. Khorii could not tell what, if anything, passed between the wave and Nanahomea.
In a few undulations Nanahomea paused, then flipped over and swam back to Khorii. Her smile was as broad as the horizon.
"My sister and all of her family come to greet you, KoriKori. In the past few hours since you slipped into our waters, the sick ones in her family have suddenly begun to feel better. No longer do they cough or bleed, or lose their food from their orifices. They feel well. They are happy. All wish to have a great celebration in your honor."
"That is very kind," Khorii said, "but actually, I am not feeling very well myself. I think I had better return to the shuttle."
Before I get any worse, she thought.
Chapter 23
So how bad is it down there?" Becker asked, as Aari and Acorna trudged from the shuttle onto the Condors lower deck.
"Joh, it is bad enough to make any Khleevi very happy," Aari told him.
Becker gave a low whistle. "Whew, that bad, huh? Sorry. You guys were down there for quite a long time. I tell ya, Mac and I have been getting kinda lonesome up here. Hell, we could have been to Vhiliinyar and back by the time you guys made it here."
"That would have been a good thing, Joh," Aari said wearily. "There are far too many sick people for just two Linyaari to take care of."
"What's worse," Acorna added, "is that in order to prevent others from getting sick or relapsing, we really should decontaminate the entire planet-any of the planets where the illness has run unchecked over the population." She sighed and stumbled as she stepped up onto the grated metal ramp.
Becker caught her as she started to fall. "I don't think I've ever seen you this tired. I wish I could tell you I've been able to get a message through to Hafiz on MOO telling him to send in the cavalry, but the relays are down. Everybody's relays. His, the Federation's, everybody's. I thought they might have sorted it out by now, but apparently not. The good news is we're not getting any more bad news. The bad news is we're not getting any news whatsoever."
"Urn," Acorna said, and she and Aari sleepwalked back to their quarters.
"They seem to have exhausted their fuel supplies," Maak observed.
"Yeah, well, if they don't wake up in about a day, we'd better wake them and make sure they refuel. Meanwhile we'll twirl around this planet a few more times."
When Aari and Acorna had not stirred exactly twenty-four hours later, Maak said, "I will go pick their favorite vegetable matter and grasses from the hydroponics garden now. Would you care for any, Captain?"
"No, but I want to talk to them if they're up to it, so let me take the salad in, okay?"
Maak returned with a Linyaari-woven basket stuffed with grasses, flowers, and vegetables. Becker knocked on the cabin door and when a sleep-muffled voice called for him to come in, he did, and was almost bowled over by a large furry body streaking to the berth of his Linyaari shipmates.
RK hopped onto Aari's lap and sniffed, then sniffed at Acorna, hopped down, and streaked off as fast as he could.
"I hope Riidkiiyi was not offended because I did not pet him," Aari said. "My mind is not working very efficiently, and my hands and legs still feel as if we are on a heavy-gravity world."
Acorna yawned and stretched, then slumped back against her mate. "Yes. My thoughts exactly."
"We just thought you kids ought to eat something," Becker said, holding out the basket. "Your horns are looking a little perkier, and I can't see the wall through them anymore, but you've got a ways to go before you're one hundred percent."
"Very kind," Acorna murmured.
"Thanks, Joh," Aari said, before stuffing succulent purple bean sprouts into his mouth.
"Look, guys, this mission really took it out of you. From what you said and the way you look, I think this is a bigger problem than the two of you can deal with. I say we head back to MOO and get reinforcements. It's going to take a whole bunch of Linyaari to stop this bug that's going around."
"Yes, Joh, but we would need to go back and get Khorii and Elviiz," Acorna said.
"And Khiindi," Aari reminded her, in their daughter's tone.
"Of course. Khiindi. That trip alone requires several days, during which more people may sicken and die when we could save them. Not to mention that even with your shortcuts, it is a long trip back to MOO. By the time we returned with other Linyaari, the entire Federation could be infected and much of it depopulated."
"Yeah, but maybe not. There were a lot of folks down there on Paloduro still alive."
"And many many dead," Aari pointed out. "It is a very strange disease. Some seem to die almost immediately, others appear to have a very high resistance, while still others take a longer period to sicken with the same exposure as those who have already died. Most of those who are left on Paloduro are elders and children."