A human spaceship is becalmed in foldspace, hit by a vessel from the chasing Quurzod. Inside, one of the few survivors of a human delegation on the alien planet is struggling with what happened there. Her mind has blanked out what happened, and she has to confront horrific memories, either alone or as part of an investigation into the events, before she can also move forward.
There’s a xenolinguistic element, but this is part of an overall story about understanding cultures (and failing to understand them), about politics, and war, and a good conclusion to the issue.
