Solbidyum Wars Saga 7: Hunt for the Reduviids by Dale C. Musser Page A

Lunnie glared at him and stuck out her tongue.  Sticking out one's tongue seemed to be a universal sign of childhood contempt.
    “So can I go, Daddy?”
    “Go where?” I asked.  Lunnie’s abrupt change of subject caught me off guard, but in the back of my mind I knew there was something I was supposed to be remembering; I just couldn’t place it.
    DAD!  You and mother said you would tell me this morning if I could go to the estate for a while be with my friends – AND bond with Poccot.”
    “Oh yeah, right,” I said as it all came back to “me.  “I’m sorry Lunnie, but with the attack that happened yesterday and all that went on after, I haven’t been home to talk with your mother about it.”
    “Day before yesterday,” said Kala.
    “Huh?” I asked.
    “Dad!” Lunnie exclaimed in disappointment.
    “The attack was at dinner two nights ago, not yesterday.”
    “Dad!”
    “Oh yeah, right.”  I was beginning to feel like I was losing the plot and that maybe I should go back to bed.
    “Tib,” said Kala, “I’ve talked to Jenira and she says that she and a few of the Women with Swords are willing to accompany Lunnie to the estate for a while.  She says she will do her best to watch out for Lunnie while remaining as unobtrusive as possible, so she can associate with her friends freely.  I’m willing to let her go if you are.”
    “Seriously?” I asked, somewhat shocked at Kala’s decision.  Kala had been overly-protective of the twins ever since they got lost in the maintenance tunnels when they were three… and the later episode at the theater, where they nearly drowned on the anti-gravity stage inside the suspended pool of water didn’t help to quell those tendencies.  So to hear her say she was willing to allow Lunnie to travel to the estate for two weeks without her was the last thing I expected.  “What about Reidecor?  Is he going too?" 
    “If Lunnie gets to go to the estate, I want to go too!” Reidecor declared from his position around the corner.
    “What will you do there?” I asked.
    “I can go playing with Rory at the cove.”
    The cove was an area of the estate we had set aside years ago for orphans from Goo’Waddle.  Most of them were now grown and had moved away from the estate; but as they left, there were always new orphans to replace them.  Many were refugees from planets attacked or captured by the Brotherhood.  Rory was one of those orphans.  He was unusual, in that he was the first person I had encountered in the Federation who had Down Syndrome – a condition that was much more prevalent on Earth than anywhere I’d visited in the Federation.  Though it wasn’t unheard of, it was extremely rare.  Because of the advanced capabilities of the Federation scientists and medical professionals, this genetic anomaly could be corrected as late as the second trimester of fetal development by way of something they called migrated in vitro genetic splicing .  However, it wasn’t always caught in time. 
    Reide and Rory made a strange pair.  Rory idolized Reide and was fascinated by everything Reide did.  Reide liked Rory, because he was attentive to all he said and showed interest in what he was doing.  When we were at the estate, the two were inseparable.
    “What do you think, Kala?  Would you survive letting BOTH of your children out of your sight for that long?” I chided.
    “Oh Tib, I don’t care.  There’s no reason Lunnie should be the only one allowed to go.  Let them both go.  It’s only for two weeks.”
    “So we can go?” Lunnie asked eagerly.
    “Yes, you and Reide can go,” I said.  “But what about Mimic?  Who’s going to take care of him?”
    “But what about Mimic?  Who’s going to take care of him?” Mimic repeated.
    “I’ll take him with me.  It will do him good to get some fresh air and sunshine,” Lunnie said.  I had to suppress a grin at her attempt to sound grown-up by saying Mimic needed fresh air.  In truth, she