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and sloped into a drain in the floor opposite the sinks, something Elviiz had noticed immediately that seemed to have escaped Marl’s attention during all of the many months he had remained in the room. Once the liquid waste was disposed of, Elviiz used his laser on a low setting to turn the solid waste to dust, which he also washed down the drain.
    Which brought up an interesting question.
    “Khorii?” His inquiry took her by surprise. She had stopped her serious work to decontaminate a closet containing gowns in a rainbow of fabrics. Many of their components were embellished with embroidery, beadwork, crystals, sequins, even real gemstones, and trimmed with ribbons, fur, fringe, lace, and strips of other embroideries. Khorii had apparently done a very thorough job of decontaminating the contents of a jewel chest, too, as many glittering and sparkling items of personal adornment lay spread and heaped upon a mirrored dressing table.
    She looked up, her eyes shining in a way he had never seen any male’s shine. Their silvery color reflected the hues of the gowns and the sparkle of the trims and jewels. “The people these belonged to are dead, Elviiz. Do you think it would be wrong to take some of these beaded trims back to Captain Bates for her work? Not the valuable gems of course, just the beads and less precious things. Actually, perhaps it would be wise to collect the portable valuables and label them as coming from this place, then store them somewhere safe in the event that there are heirs wishing to claim them.”
    Elviiz said, “That is a job for policemen, Khorii, not for healers. What about the septic systems?”
    “What about them?” she asked, and then her face showed comprehension. “Oh.”
    “Yes, I was disposing of Marl’s waste when it occurred to me that some infected material may have invaded the septic system and quite probably nearby waterways. Instead of cataloging the material possessions of the deceased, perhaps since you have decided to decontaminate this place, it would be good to include the septic areas and the waterways and water table serving this home and others in the area.”
    He was no longer concerned that she would deplete her horn’s power. Although the horn’s cleansing powers required no conscious effort on the part of the Linyaari possessing it, Elviiz knew the postures Khorii assumed when she was deliberately performing the task, the facial expressions she assumed. So far, this house had not required her horn’s powers at all.
    Elviiz tapped his chest com unit and informed the Mana that he and Khorii would be delayed somewhat longer.

    U pon awakening in his new quarters aboard the Mana, Marl Fidd spewed obscenities along with the contents of his stomach at his captors. They had him penned inside a huge cargo net, bolted to the deck and the bulkhead as it was for heavier loads. The mesh was too fine to climb and it rose twelve meters or so where it was attached to the ceiling. They’d kenneled him good, they had. Marl expressed his opinion with another selection from the extensive linguistic cesspit portion of his vocabulary.
    The huge kid with the long black hair who was standing guard outside the net widened his eyes and shrugged. “ No hablo Standard, amigo, ” he said apologetically.
    Marl wound down after that, not wishing to waste his energy and his gift for shockingly creative verbal expression on this stupid git. Instead, he looked around, getting his bearings. They’d strung up cargo nets to isolate him, but he was in the larger cargo hold aboard the supply ship. It was empty. None of the drugs he’d made the others load from the docks of Rio Boca remained, nor the supplies that had been aboard when he first boarded. All that remained of the cargo were the boxes that formed the walls of the makeshift graveyard the Hellstrom kid and the android had created for the Mana ’s original crew. Hellstrom wanted to impress the girl, of course, but it wasn’t like she