Skye Object 3270a by Linda Nagata Page A

right?”
    â€œOh. Sooth.” Buyu took a deep breath, then managed to grin his big, sloppy Buyu-grin. Skye sighed in heartfelt relief. Maybe he wouldn’t give them away after all?
    Buyu told Sensei Matilé, “This is the first time my friends have been down.”
    He introduced them, and a few pleasantries were exchanged. Then Matilé said, “You’ll have to take a warden with you today.”
    Again, Buyu lost his composure. “What? Why? Sensei, I’ve finished my training. I’ve been cleared for day tours—”
    Matilé raised her hand. “Buyu, I know. It’s just that everyone must be escorted today. An acid dragon has been seen hunting south of the valley. We don’t want to lose anyone. The warden will guide you if the dragon moves into your area. It’s policy. You know.”
    â€œBut—”
    But it would be impossible to secretly sample a communion mound if a warden accompanied them. Still, there was no point in getting involved in a useless argument they could not win. It would only draw suspicion. So Skye put her hand on Buyu’s arm. “Don’t worry about it,” she said softly. “We’ve all had babysitters before.” They would simply have to find a way around the warden.
    Buyu gave her a strange look, as if he knew there was some hidden plan behind her words, but couldn’t fathom what it might be. Skye only wished she knew.
    â€œSkye’s right,” Devi said. “What’s another babysitter? We’re only raw ados after all.”
    Matilé smiled, but it was a cold expression. Devi’s sarcasm had obviously annoyed her. “Have fun, then. And I promise, you’ll hardly see the warden—unless something goes wrong.” She said this last in a harsher tone, so that Skye felt sure she suspected them of something unsavory.
    What did Sensei Matilé remember of being an ado? If she were like most real people she would remember it badly, as if being an ado was all about raw passions and bad judgment. The term dumb ado wasn’t so much an insult as a description of expected behavior. And if ados really did act stupid from time to time, that proved the rule, didn’t it?

    They set out on foot along the road. One tour group had gone south, straight into the forest. To look for the acid dragon, perhaps? The rest had flown down to the coastal settlements. So the four of them were alone—except for the warden, of course.
    The little green-glass humanoid spy followed them as they left the terminal building. Skye saw it for only a few seconds before it disappeared among the trees, its surface transforming into a collage of green-brown shadows that let it blend into the vegetation. Ord’s tentacle tap-tapped at her throat. “Skye is angry,” it whispered. “Why?”
    â€œI’m okay.”
    No one else said anything.
    They hiked half a kilometer, and still no one talked.
    Skye stroked Ord’s long tentacle, thinking, What a miserable bunch we are . Zia was plodding along, gazing at her feet, her brow wrinkled with worry. Devi glared at nothing, still quietly furious. Buyu trudged in silence, a distraught expression on his face.
    Buyu had a right to worry. He was risking more than anyone else by being here. If they were caught violating rules, it was Buyu who would be held responsible. He might be suspended forever from the explorer corps.
    As Skye thought about this, she almost turned back . . . until she remembered, this isn ’ t about me . They were here to find a cure for Compassion, not for her sake, but for the other children from her great ship, lost somewhere in the void in lifeboats of their own.
    If it was only about me, Skye thought, I would check into the monkey house right now.
    Well. If they had to be here, if it was the only thing to do, then they might as well make the most of it. Right?
    She grinned mischievously. In the middle of the roadway she