“Father, I’ve managed to get our family prime quarters in the new worm hive discovered by Estarra.” She smiled as her parents gasped in disbelief. “You’ll have your choice of the largest chambers, as soon as you’re ready to move in.”

Astounded at their good fortune, Garris came forward to give his daughter an awkward hug. Her mother couldn’t believe what she had heard. “Thank you! Thank you!”

Embarrassed by their gratitude, her newly green skin flushed dark. Nira said, “I’m glad I could do one last thing for my family before I embark on my great adventure.”

46: JESS TAMBLYN

46JESS TAMBLYN

On Plumas, ancestral home of the Tamblyn clan, the Roamers gathered to hold a somber memorial. Bram Tamblyn looked gaunt and pale. The old man moved like a machine as he performed the formal duties of welcoming representatives of important families. Bram’s expression flickered from stony blankness to sudden waves of dismay as guests gave him their sympathy.

Jess, now the only son, stood beside his father, stunned but trying to be strong enough for both of them. He wore a warm parka, a fleece-lined hood wreathing his face. Steam rose with each breath he exhaled, but he felt numb rather than cold. It was his responsibility to be here, to remember his brother Ross. Four of his uncles, Bram’s brothers, had also come in their role as Tamblyn clan representatives; from now on, Jess knew they would take a more active role in running the family’s water mines.

As he spoke to other clan leaders, accepting their sincere words of consolation, Jess saw more than shared grief in the Roamers’ eyes. He also recognized a deep-seated fear. No one knew what had caused the disaster on Golgen. Neither could they guess what had provoked the attack on the Blue Sky Mine … or if such a thing would ever happen again.

Speaker Jhy Okiah did not come to Plumas for the funeral. She was too old, her body frail and her bones brittle from a lifetime in low gravity. In her place she sent her protégée, Cesca Peroni. Jess greeted her after she descended a shaft through the thick ice sheet. His already-distraught heart broke to see her, knowing the tragic reason she had come.

On Rendezvous, the two had shared speechless surprise after hearing the news from Del Kellum. Now Cesca came to Plumas wearing the formal grieving robes of a Roamer widow. Though she had only been betrothed to Ross, her choice of garments seemed appropriate: deep blue and purple embroidered with forest green. The normally vibrant colors were muted. Her long, warm dress and her fur-insulated boots bore the geometric embroidered design of the Roamer Chain, the symbols of all clans linked one after another to show the individuality but ultimate unity of their culture.