"Twice last year," Hilfy muttered, and punched in intraship com: "Your honor, how are you riding down there? Are you all right?"
A stsho muttering came back to her. "Oh, the unwieldiness, oh, the heaviness…” or some such. It was some planetary language.
"Your honor? We're at Kita. Is everything well with you?"
"With me? With us? With what creature? Oh, the misery. Oh, the discomfort and untidiness. We shall not be fit for viewing."
Gtstsounded normal enough. For a stsho. Gtst was alive. The Preciousness was on its perch and unbroken. And she hoped to all the gods respectable and otherwise that gtst excellency Atli-lyen-tlas of Urtur was here.
Ha'domarenwas here, already at dock. That showed on the station schema the buoy had handed them on arrival. Ha'domaren had started well behind them again, gods blast them, and gotten in first, figuring Ana-kehnandian had no mundane problems, like cargo or other such inconveniences.
The first over-jump, at Urtur, might have been one mother of a powerful merchant ship. Might have been just a courier, beating them in. Not twice, it wasn't a simple courier. "The devil," she said. "Berth 10. You notice?"
Chapter Ten
There were communications you could make in transit and business you could do in transit, even blind tired and frazzled; even collapsing face-down on the galley table between calls and drinking gfi to stay copacetic enough to do routine business.
inbound to Kita Point Station, to Kita Point Customs Authority… we have items under seal at Urtur customs, therefore internal to mahen space, we don't anticipate a need for prolonged procedure as we are not crossing international borders. Our trading license is in order and we are prepared to present papers. Note also this crew will be resting after dock, due to repairs necessary at Urtur.
...inbound to Kita Station, from captain Hilfy Chanur, her hand, toKo'juit, at dock at berth 14: we have an urgent personal message for one Atli-lyen-tlas, passenger on your ship according to records at Urtur. Please place us in vocal contact. Translation is available on board.
...inbound to Kita, from captain Hilfy Chanur, her hand, to Ha'domaren, attention Ana-kehnandian, chief scoundrel.
''We don't take kindly to being passed in jump. We have your position on record before and after. Be advised.''
…"Captain. Captain?"
Facedown on the galley table, fingers in the handle of the cup, and no memory of falling asleep.
"Sorry to wake you," Tarras said, "but we're heading in."
She grunted, disentangled her fingers from the cup and ran her claws through her mane, eyes shut.
"Couple of meaningful messages came in," Tarras said. "Nothing cheerful. The stsho we're looking for… disappeared."
"What, disappeared?"
Tarras laid a paper on the table. She blinked her eyes into focus.
Ko'juit, at dock at Kita Station, Me-sheirtajikun captain, to captain Hilfy Chanur, inbound.
Regret inform you not know passenger whereabouts.
Ha'domaren, at dock at Kita Station, Tahaisimandi Ana-kehnandian his hand, to captain Hilfy Chanur, why you so slow? You want know whereabout Atli-lyen-tlas, we find, you no worry.
"I'll kill him."
"Nobody's told our passenger,'‘ Tarras said. "Figured you'd want to do that. It's not official, though. We can ask station authorities, see if there are any stsho on station at all…"
"Do that," she murmured, resisted the urge to fall flat on her nose, and got up and wandered back to her quarters.
Should have taken the off-watch in her bed. Meras was asleep and harmless. Kita was going to be a disaster. They'd run as far as they could without rest. The crew had gotten half a watch of sleep before jump, but right now the drawstring waist of her trousers was loose, she'd dropped weight in jump, a pass of her hand across her chest turned up a palmful of loose fur, and if she were sane or fully conscious she would have a bath before she hit the mattress.
Wasn't near habitual that she slept through dock. But she was no use as she was. She fell into bed, dragged the safety net back over and locked it, and was unconscious for the next while.
Kita Point Customs Authority to captain Hilfy Chanur, in dock at Kita Point. We recognize Urtur customs seal, same good trade in mahen space. We clear all fine, only need stamp manifest which same you give at dock. All cooperation this office much appreciate.
Ha'domaren, at dock at Kita Station, Tahaisimandi Ana-kehnandian his hand, to captain Hilfy Chanur: You want talk? I got information you want. Make you good deal.
A nap, a shower, and clean clothes didn't make the message more cheerful. "I'm going to talk to the mahe," she said to the assembled crew, Meras excepted. "I'm going to find out what he knows. I'm not going to shoot him no matter what the provocation. We can off-load as soon as we get the customs stamp. Tiar, you see to that."
"The stsho's calling up to the bridge," Fala said. "We keep telling gtst you're asleep and nobody can decide. And ker Pyanfar's mail… is piling up again. Do you want to see it?"
"I'm not available. Tell gtst honor we're already aware of gtst request and we're out seeing to it, it's our top priority. Don't let gtst out of gtst quarters. Jam the lock if you have to. Drown gtst in tea.
Tarras, Chihin, I want the cargo out of here. I want the customs stamps clear. I want a list of what's available for transship to any port whatsoever, don't make any deals, we don't know where we're going…"
Troubled faces stared back at her. Not a one said to her: This contract is a disaster. Not a one said to her: We may end up in debt because of this. Not a one said: You're a damned fool, captain.
"Take care of it," she said, on her way to leaving.
"What about the kid?" Chihin asked.
Extraneous subject. It was not what she wanted to think about. She cast a glance about familiar surroundings and familiar jobs and the thousand and one things that regularly wanted doing. And thought about a young man who had worked through pre-jump, stayed through jump, arid was now, given a rest break, shut away again solo in the crew lounge. He wasn't a can of soup that you could stack on a shelf and forget about. He was an earnest stupid kid trying too hard-that was what she had read in their time together; and that enthusiasm was the biggest danger he posed. "He can have the run of the galley, he can do anything on this level he thinks he can do, but check it behind him and don't let him do anything stupid.
He doesn’t go off this level, he doesn't go near the lift, if the stsho gets loose… don't insult anybody, but get Meras under cover if you have to hide him in a locker. All right?"
"No problem," Tiar said.
"Gods rotted mess," Chihin said. "There's got to be a hani ship headed off to Kirdu or somewhere."
"Not likely. And I'm not sure he's safe at Kirdu." That came from the gut. From the knowledge of Ha'domaren out there wanting a conference.
From things that weren't by the gods right. And she couldn't believe she was taking that position, but in coldest terms, she thought as she headed for the lift, neither Nam nor Padur could have told the Personage of Urtur they weren't giving up a crewman, most hani ships didn't have the Personage of Personages for a relative…
Gods forbid they had to turn a hani kid over to mahen authorities, whose system of justice was nothing a hani boy was brought up to understand. He made mistakes? He was pampered by his sisters. He assumed and didn't ask? He hadn't been brought up to responsibility. He didn't think? He hadn't been encouraged to think. Thinking was what his sisters did. Consequences were what his sisters took.