Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [62]
Admiral Willis had cautioned her about getting too close to the captives. “I don’t want to find you strung up with your throat slit just because the Roamers question the wisdom of your career choice.”
“They aren’t like that.” Tasia hoped her assessment was right. She’d been isolated from the clans for almost eight years now, out of touch since she’d joined the Earth Defense Forces.
She did not let herself show anxiety as she and EA stepped out to stand on the landing field. The crowds turned toward her. Tasia looked just like any other Eddy officer with her close-cropped hair and her clean formal uniform. No one would ever recognize her as a Roamer, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to point it out.
Though the EDF had issued the refugees standard jumpsuits and toiletry items, most of the new prisoners still clung to their rumpled old clothes with clan markings embroidered on pockets and along seams. Tasia didn’t blame them.
The prisoners looked disoriented, some disappointed and others relieved, as they gazed around the open landscape. One man, whom she recognized as Crim Tylar from long-ago clan gatherings, kept glancing at Tasia as if on the verge of remembering something. He stared at EA, then back at Tasia. She met his eyes and waited, not willing to volunteer the information. Finally he said, “You’ve got a Tamblyn look about you.”
“Tasia Tamblyn, daughter of Bram.”
“I thought so.” Tylar scowled. “You joined the Eddies after Blue Sky Mine was destroyed.”
“I joined them to fight hydrogues.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” He gave her a mocking look. “What do your uncles have to say about all this? They must be so proud.”
The sarcasm bit deep, but she did not flinch. “I haven’t had a chance to see them. It’s not as if the EDF lets me go off to visit hidden Roamer settlements.”
“I bet they’d like that...with a nice tracer on your ship? Or did you tell them where our greenhouses were, and Hurricane Depot, and Rendezvous—”
Tasia’s eyes flashed. “I did no such thing.”
Marla Chan stood beside her husband. “Were you part of the raid that wrecked Rendezvous? Were you on the ships that attacked Hhrenni?”
“I don’t agree with that policy, and I had no part in any action against Roamers. My superiors have pulled me from the theater. I accepted this assignment so that I could help Roamer detainees. It’s the best I can do.”
Crim Tylar sniffed. “You could steal a ship and just go. Any Roamer could figure out how.”
“Then how would I help all the people here? And how would I ever fight the hydrogues? I have to believe the Big Goose will come to its senses soon—”
“Sure, as soon as we’re all exterminated!”
The other crowded Roamers were beginning to grumble. Tasia squared her shoulders and raised her voice. “I am not your enemy. I plan to do everything within my authority to make your time here on Llaro bearable. I know it’s a lot to ask, but if you knew my father, my brothers, and my uncles, then I hope you’ll give me the benefit of the doubt.”
Tylar glanced pointedly at her crisp EDF uniform, her rank insignia. “There doesn’t seem to be much doubt.”
“I’ll see to it that you’re settled here with the other Roamers. You’ll be safe and comfortable until this whole mess is resolved. I hope it’s over swiftly.”
“It won’t be over soon,” Marla said. “Not the way the Eddies keep stomping on us. Rendezvous and Hurricane Depot are destroyed, the clans are scattered across the Spiral Arm. Nobody even knows where the Speaker is.”
Feeling uneasy and awkward, Tasia didn’t know how to answer. Finally, she turned to her compy. “EA, see to it that my crew helps get these people set up in barracks or camps, whichever they prefer.”
“Yes, Master Tasia. I will talk to them and let them tell me their needs.”
She watched as the first groups of Roamer captives from the existing encampment came forward to meet the new arrivals. The merciful glare