Prologue

Aleytys lifted her head. Standing in the doorway of her cell-like room on board the ship, the kipu stared at her a minute then stepped back to let another nayid slide past her, white velvet tunic scraping schupschup against the naked metal.

Black rod advancing. A sting in her arm. Black lenticular eyes slid back from over her. The white tunic flicked out of her sight as the drug-induced fog beat her toward insensibility. She fought but the psi-damper crashed on, sending her brain shattering into fragments.…

Black multi-faceted eyes glittered above her. Two nayids vague, blurred, twisting like something seen through moving water.

“She’s coming out of the drug.” Dull red antennas twitched irritably. “I thought you said it’d keep her under till we touched down on Irsud.”

“Rab’ Kipu.” The white-clad nayid fidgeted with a short black rod. “It should have. It’s what I!kuk told me to use.”

“He said she’s a healer. The psi-damper is supposed to suppress those talents. Was he wrong about that, too?”

“No. The readings say she can’t be using her psi talents.” Her short stubby antennas wobbled uncertainly. “Unless she’s incredibly powerful or.…” The doctor shrugged. “I’ll trust the readings.”

“Hunh. Put her under again.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“Will it kill her?”

“No. But it might burn out her mind.”

The kipu turned away. “I don’t give a damn about her mind. That’s not what we bought her for.”