Where the Ships Die Read Free

the last time you heard from your parents?"
    Dorn felt a sudden queasiness in the pit of his stomach. "My parents? Gee, I don't know, six, maybe seven months ago?"
    Tull nodded. "Is that unusual?"
    Dorn became defensive. "A little. They usually send a package of stuff every couple of months, but they're busy."
    Tull stood and looked out the window. His hands were clasped behind his back. "Yes, Milford parents are busy people." There was silence for a moment before the headmaster turned. He looked concerned, almost kindly. "Look, Mr. Voss, I'm terribly sorry to trouble you with what may be a false alarm, but we haven't heard from your parents in a long time. Simply put, that means the last installment of your tuition wasn't paid, and no deposit was made to your personal expense account."
    Dorn frowned and tried to square the words with reality as he knew it. "But that's impossible... I bought some school supplies yesterday."
    "Yes," Tull replied sympathetically. "I took the liberty of loaning you some of my funds. After all, your father was a student here, as was his father, and it's the least I could do."
    Momentarily speechless, Dorn was numb with shock. His parents were worth millions, maybe billions, since they owned their own company, a fleet of ships, and a wormhole. One of only four gaps in the space-time continuum through which most of the Confederacy's fast freight was forced to go. That meant his tuition and expenses were little more than pocket change. Unless something awful had happened, and his parents were what? Dead? The teenager remembered his anger at being dumped on New Hope and felt a sudden sense of guilt.
    In spite of the fact that lots of sentients had tried, no means of faster than ship communication had been discovered yet. If Dorn wanted to find out what, in fact, had happened, he had only one choice. "I need to find my parents, sir. I'll pack and leave on the next ship."
    Tull raised a hand in protest. "I understand how you feel, son, and I wish it were that easy, but there are laws that govern what minors can and can't do. It's impossible for you to lift without your parent's permission. Not to mention the fact that a deep-space ticket costs a great deal of money, more than I can afford to loan you. No, we'll wait. A number of ships are scheduled to land soon, and I wouldn't be surprised if we hear something during the next couple of weeks."
    Dorn tried to take comfort from the headmaster's words but found it hard to do. "And if we don't hear? What then?"
    Tull looked away, then back again. "Eventually, if I receive no answer to the urgent letters already sent, you'll be asked to leave the academy. But let's cross that bridge when we come to it. School is the most important thing right now ... and you're pulling a C in history."
    Dorn nodded, mumbled his thanks, and left the office. Little more than fifteen minutes had passed, and his whole life had changed.

2
    Tragedy, like good fortune, is little more than an illusion.
    La-Da
    Traa philosopher
    Standard year 2097
    The Planet La-Tri
    The Mountain of the Moons loomed black on blue as the sun set and three satellites rose in the east. The moons glowed yellow-white, and La-Ma touched forehead, chest, and abdomen, an action that symbolized the unity between mind, heart, and body.
    The priestess allowed her eyes to drift down along barely seen ridges, vertical cliffs, and hills of black volcanic rock to the high ground where ancient walls protected the Temple of Tranquility and the 3,333 altars within. It had been a fortress once, a place of comparative safety into which the priesthood could retreat, defending both themselves and the triune concepts of peace, harmony, and love. But that was hundreds of years ago, before the great reconciliation, and the unification of the Traa race.
    All these thoughts and more made their way through La-Ma's mind as she watched the grand processional wind its way down the mountainside and into the temple. Every celebrant