Triad

The crew of the Ann Bonny has no reason to suspect danger from the gentle natives of the planet they call Chameleon, except for the orbiting wreckage of the last ship to visit. Their purpose: declare the natives non-sentient and open Chameleon for exploitation. The only one who can stop them is novice xenolinguist Gia Kennedy, who suspects these aliens are more than they seem. And her only ally is the crew's one man, the disturbing and frightening artist, Zion Marit. A novel of alien language, alien intelligence, and a future human society alienated from its own nature, by a Nebula Award-winning author.