To Storm Heaven - Esther Friesner [33]
“Er,” A distant sigh fluttered through the room before Udar Kishrit said, “Perhaps it might be better if one of your colleagues accompanied Captain Picard, honored Ambassador. You see, when one takes the pilgrim’s way, it is not accepted custom for males and females to travel togeth—” “Very well, very well, let it be according to your customs.” Lelys looked at her legate. “Valdor, will it please you to accept—” “Ambassador Lelys, please, do not send my father!” Hara’el’s unexpected exclamation took everyone by surprise. The younger Orakisan male blushed at the sudden attention he had drawn to himself, but went on doggedly, “If the road to Bovridash is as rigorous as Udar Kishrit claims, I am the better suited to stand its hardships.” He cast a nervous glance at the stone-faced legate and added: “That is, if you do not mind, Father.” “Mind?” Valdor repeated. “Why should I mind? If these keepers would insult us by refusing to receive our senior official, then we ought to send them you.” “Uh, thank you, Father.” Hara’el sounded as if he were not entirely sure whether he had just been praised or slapped.
“Excellent, excellent!” Udar Kishrit exclaimed. “I will dispatch messengers to Bovridash at once, Captain Picard, so that you may receive the finest of welcomes. And of course you know that our invitation to your crew still stands.” “Thank you, Udar Kishrit. They have been enjoying your hospitality. We are grateful. Picard out.” He cut off communication with the Ne’elatian leader, then addressed Ambassador Lelys: “I hope that you’re not too upset by these developments?” “Rest assured, Captain Picard, if it meant the difference between the success and failure of our mission, I would allow these Ne’elatians to do far worse to me than a simple snub. Besides,” she looked at the three members of the Away Team, “I am sure that while you and Hara’el are looking after our interests on Ne’elat, I can find something equally important to occupy my time.”
Chapter Six
“Do you THINK that is Ma’adrys’s native village?” Ambassador Lelys asked as the Away Team trudged up the steep mountain road.
“The possibility is excellent, based on the information she gave us,” Mr. Data replied. “This mountain range lies in the heart of the settled areas on Ashkaar, this peak in particular is the tallest, and the village we are now approaching is the settlement closest to the summit. There would also appear to be a modest complex of buildings located even higher up the mountain, which most likely form the shrine of which Ma’adrys spoke.” “At least she is no liar,” Ambassador Lelys said bitterly. “Prisons! Military bases! Those Ne’elatians must have taken us all for fools. When they apply for membership in the Federation, I will make it a point to be there to warn our fellow members against them.” “With all due respect, Ambassador, there may be a perfectly legitimate reason for why the Ne’elatians tried to mislead us about life on Ashkaar,” RAker pointed out.
“I do not see what it could be.” “Nor do I, yet. Whatever it is, it is something we all hope to learn, in time,” Counsellor Troi told her. “But be aware that even after we discover it, we still might not be able to understand it.” “How could we fail to understand?” “Often the motivations of an alien culture are not fully—” “Alien culture? That is no alien culture! Ne’elat is our sisterworld!” “A long-lost sister, in terms of time as well as space,” Troi said. “Both are factors that can change much about a people.” “Some things are too much a part of us to change.
There is nothing Orakisans despise so much as