He tucked his comm link away in his tunic pocket. His hand was shaking slightly. Ekaterin grasped his wrist and turned it over. The tremula increased. She raised her eyes, dark with worry, in silent question to his.

“No, dammit!” He jerked his arm away. “It’s not starting. I’m just a little tense. And tired. And hungry, so see if you can’t pull together a decent meal by the time we’re back. Your uncle may have prole tastes, but I can’t imagine they’re shared by a Vorbarr Sultana lordling.” He thrust his hands into his trouser pockets and looked away from her unhappy frown.

“You’re older now than your brother was then.”

“Variable onset, remember? We’ll go soon. I promise.”

“Tien… I wish you’d give up this galactic treatment plan. They have medical facilities here on Komarr that are almost as good as, as Beta Colony or anywhere. I thought, when you won this post here, that you would. Forget the secrecy, just go openly for help. Or go discreetly, if you insist. But don’t wait any longer!”

“They’re not discreet enough. My career is finally on course, finally paying off. I have no desire to be publicly branded a mutant now.”

If I don’t care, what does it matter what anyone else thinks? She hesitated. “Is that why you don’t want to see Uncle Vorthys? Tien, he’s the least likely of my relatives or yours, for that matter to care if your disease is genetic or not. He will care about you, and about Nikolai.”

“I have it under control,” he insisted. “Don’t you dare betray me to your uncle, this close to the real payoff. I have it under control. You’ll see.”

“Just don’t… take your brother’s way out. Promise me!” The lightflyer accident that hadn’t been quite an accident: that had ushered in these years of chronic, subclinical nightmare waiting and watching…

“I have no intention of doing anything like that. It’s all planned. I’ll finish out this year’s appointment, then we’ll take a long overdue galactic vacation, you and me and Nikolai. And it will all be fixed, and no one will ever know. If you don’t lose your head and panic at the last minute!” He grasped her hand, and grimaced an unfelt smile, and strode out the doors.