Mahmud smiled for the first time. "Oh, presently I will return among my people who fled in the face of all this terror from the sky. But it will not be the same."
"It will be the same," said Laniq. "They are your people."
"I say it will not be the same, but thank you, Miss. I will go among my people with my great sadness and remember yours forever."
"If I thought you would be happy, I would take you with me."
"Miss—" Mahmud looked at her hopefully.
"No, Mahmud. You won't understand this, not yet. But they are your people, your home and your world. You could not pick up the threads of a new life and a new way of life without sorrow. Your people did what anyone else would have done, including my people. They had their own homes to protect; they could not throw their lives away vainly in my people's defense."
Mahmud smiled again, then turned to go. "I was hoping you would say that, Miss Hadrien." He trotted off with head high and shoulders squared.
"He'll be all right, I think," Laniq said. "We'd better get to Nevada, Tedor."
Together they ran for the time-conveyor. It hurt her not to, but Laniq never looked back at the devastated community.