Tau Ceti (an Ell Donsaii story #6) Read Online Free Page A

first.”
    Norris frowned. “Confidentiality? About what?”
    “Well now, I can’t exactly tell you what it’s about until you sign.”
    “I think that would violate academic freedom. I’d want to be able to publish my findings…”
    “Oh, and we think you should. But we’d want to be able to delay publication for up to a year if we believed that something should be kept confidential for a while . And we’d want any methods you learned from us to be kept confidential for five years. I’ve sent you a Non-Disclosure Agreement that you can read on your HUD (Heads Up Display). If you don’t feel comfortable with its restrictions we’ll have to look elsewhere. Read through it at your leisure eit her here or back in your office. I f you can agree to it we’ll get started.”
    Norris glanced up at his HUD and saw the text of an agreement displayed. He didn’t want to leave without getting started so he said, “Let me look at it here. Maybe I can agree to it now and we can begin .”
    “OK, I’ll be with the team. Y ou can just come get me over there when you’re done.” Donsaii got up and walked back over to the other people from the Quantum Research team.
    Entranced by the simple grace of her actions , Norris’ eyes tracked her on her walk back over to her team. Reluctantly , he turned his eyes back up to his HUD.
     
    ***
     
    Dex dispiritedly watched Qes and Syrdian holding one another for a moment. Somehow h i e had thought that hi e s attack on the talor and the saving of Syrdian’s life might compensate for hi e s low status. Might even i mprove hi e s low status in the tribe? While h i e’d sutured Syrdian’s wings h i e’d imagined Syrdian looking at him r in a new light . Or at least noticing himr. Well, hie chuckled bitterly, Syrdian had actually spoken to himr . H i e shook hi e s head at hi e s own naiveté. Wings drooping , h i e turned back to the talor , wondering if the meat would be any good.
    Dex had hacked a couple of big chunks of meat out of the talor’s thigh. About as much as h i e thought h i e could carry back to the tribe. H i e looked up and saw Syrdian and Qes at the forest verge, Syrdian’s wings spread. Qes started inspecting the right one. Then Syrdian beat hies wings gently a couple of strokes. They drooped quivering down on to hies back. As Dex watched , Qes leaned close, reached for hies knife and brought it to Syrdian’s wing.
    Dex’s heart sank, what was Qes going to do?
    Qes’ wings rose in alarm and hie cried out. A beat of hies wings backed him r away from Syrdian. Then crying, “Dyatso!” Qes beat into the sky and up away from the meadow.
    “Dyatso!” Dex thought in horror. “Dyatso” was a term meaning “walking dead.” Doubly horrifying because it encompassed not only the inability to fly but also the approach of death that inevitably followed the loss of the ability to fly. How could hie say “dyatso” to Syrdian?! It might be true, but how… how could hie say it to beautiful Syrdian? The Syrdian that h i e says hie loves?
    Syrdian collapsed to the ground as Qes flew away. Dropping the meat h i e’d cut free from the talor , Dex flew back to Syrdian with a few powerful strokes , dropping to Syrdian’s side. H i e looked in horror at Syrdian’s wing where a few of Dex’s fiberlin sutures had been cut . They had pulled out , allowing the largest rip to pull open about a third of its length . Evidently traumatized by the realization that hies wing truly was ripped , Syrdian had fainted again. With a sigh and a shrug of hi e s wings Dex crouched , pulling out hi e s roll of fine fiberlin .
    Dex was tying the last knot in hi e s re- repair job when Syrdian’s eyes opened again. Syrdian lifted hies head, “Qes?” Seeing Dex, Syrdian said, “Where’s Qes?”
    Dex shrugged hi e s wings, “Gone.”
    Syrdian relaxed back down, “Hie must have gone for help from the tribe.”
    Wide eyed, Dex wanted to shake Syrdian. H i e thought, didn’t you hear