But usually crews wanted to take a few days' rest and liberty on the docks. And the Legacy had urgent business, very urgent business, with two stsho aboard, now, one of them crazy and the other apt to go that way if gtst met him again.
He was absolutely, resolutely, positively resolved he was not going to make one single more mistake on this voyage and he was not going to do anything the captain would disapprove of…
Which meant not getting caught with Fala Anify in the crew lounge. The door opened. Fala put her head in. "You have the prettiest eyes," she said. And ducked out.
He dropped his head into his hands. His career in space hung by a thread, he had nothing to think about but stupid tape dramas and the aux boards manuals he was trying to din into his reflexes so he wouldn't foul up the next chance the captain gave him, and he had a junior and Chanur relative trying to get his attention.
Gods, please let the captain keep her busy.
Chapter Twelve
"Well, there's Ha'domaren."
That from Chihin, at scan. Four hours out from Kita docks and they were approaching jump.
"I don't think I'm surprised," Hilfy said, pursing her mouth. "I wonder what he made of the rocks."
"One real happy mane," Tarras said. "Karpygijenon, I mean. Not our Haisi-lad."
Laughter on the bridge. It was a good sound. Except it was a slightly off-color joke, involving Haisi's morals, and na Hallan was probably mortified.
Well, let him be. He could adjust. He would have to.
"You know," Tiar said, "whoever's backing him has got to wish he'd carry cargo."
"I wouldn't bet where his mass is. He's shorting his jumps. He probably could do Urtur-Kshshti direct."
"Unless he's carrying a mortal lot of armament," Tarras said — their own gunner… if, the gods forbid, they ever had to use what they carried.
Propulsion stuff, Tarras was implying. And that jogged a very bad thought. "Heavy stuff is all government issue."
"So they've got a permit?" Fala asked.
"If they're running with a heavy missile load."
"I wish," Hilfy said, "that we had a source for this Paehisna-ma-to that son claims he's with. I'd like to know if she's in the government."
"If she is," said Chihin, "she's a whole different kind of bad news."
"Probably he's just shorting the jumps," Hilfy said. "Doesn't want to show off to the locals."
"They've got to ask," Tiar said, "the local officials, that is… why this ship doesn't offload or on-load."
"Gods, no, they're not going to ask," Chihin said. "That son reeks of influence. That ship's probably real well known here and there."
"Suppose ker Pyanfar knows him?" Fala asked.
"Wish ker Pyanfar would come get him," Tarras said.
"I don't like the idea he's got government ties," Chihin said. "If the mahendo'sat go unstable… and the stsho already are… that's not good."
"We're out and away," Hilfy said, "and I'll tell you how I'm betting. We're bought into staples and strategics, and as soon as sell it, I'd rather warehouse it on Kshshti for a sale when the stsho do go crazed… or find some reseller I can talk into taking the whole lot at enough profit."
"Rocks and all?"
"Are we serious about the rocks?" Fala asked plaintively. People put jokes over on Fala. Long, elaborate and sober-faced ones. And Fala wasn't willing to fall for another one.
"They're tc'a eggs," Chihin said. "That's what they really are."
Wicked dig at na Hallan, that was. Hilfy looked in the reflection on a dark screen, and saw Hallan Meras trying to look as if he were utterly absorbed in the boards.
"No tc'a jokes!" Fala said.
"Was that a tc'a joke?" Chihin asked.
"KerChihin," Fala said sternly.
Getting serious, it was. And Fala hadn't the rank. "Chihin," Hilfy said.
"Aye, captain. No tc'a."
"NaHallan?"
"Aye, captain?"
Kept his temper, he had. She saw his reflection looking at her, ears at half mast, then pricked up respectfully as she delayed answering.
"You may hear about tc'a from time to time. Do you take jokes, na Hallan?"
"Yes, captain."
"Can you make them?"
"I — don't think of one, off-hand, captain, I'm sorry."
"Tc'a," Chihin said.
"Chihin!" Fala said.
"I was just suggesting."
"Chihin," Hilfy said, and saw Chihin dip her ears and lift them again. No gods-be way to stop her but an AP at point blank range. Or losing her temper, which didn't work with Chihin Anify, no more than it had with her cousins.
"Tc'a," Hallan said gravely, and Tarras sneezed, or laughed. Chihin scowled, and Fala grinned at her boards.
"I think that was a joke," Tiar said.
"You've got to tell me," Chihin said.
"That was a joke," Tarras said dryly.
Chihin's ears twitched. Chihin's mouth pursed into what might have been a smile. You could want to kill her. But Chihin was as ready to take it as give. Not from strange men, be it noted. Not from men in general, that she knew. Or most wouldn't try: definitely old school, Chihin was, and radiated her willingness to notch ears. Not unlike her cousins.
Fact was, Hilfy thought suddenly, and for no particular reason but many bits and tags, Chihin was pushing in a very odd way, for Chihin. Gods-be patient, she was.
And she knew the looks young Fala threw in na Hallan's direction.
It could get down to a sticky situation trying to get na Hallan's highly attractive self off the ship. Which by the gods she was twice determined to do. They had a smoothly functioning crew. They got along. The ship didn't need the scandal, Chanur didn't need the gossip, Meras didn't need it, and if she had her hands on ker Holy Righteousness Sahern at this moment she'd give her a lasting remembrance of Hilfy Chanur.
The crew was nattering at each other again. Quibbling over the jump, which was all right — exactitude saved fuel and saved money.
But they were coming up on the mark.
"Stow it. We're away, on the count. Are our passengers set, Fala?"
"Gtstexcellency says they are."
"On the mark. How's our shadow?"
"Just blazing right along. I wish that son'd give us more room. We don't need to bump him in the drop."
"That son or his pilot is probably just too gods-be good. He could jump that ship onto a dinner-plate, you want to lay odds? They don't give just any captain a hunter-ship. And that's by the gods what it is."
"I'd lay odds our stsho passenger might know more about that son than gtst is saying."
"I'd lay odds our other stsho passenger did know more than gtst is sane enough to say. But we've no guarantee gtstisi is going to sort out anything like the stsho that was."
"Spooky," Tarras said. "Spooky lot. / wouldn't want to go through jump with a crazy person."
"I wouldn't want to be a crazy person in jump," Tiar said. "Can you imagine?"
"I'd rather not," Hilfy said. "Are we watching where we're going, please? We're coming up…"
The coordinates blinked.
She punched the button. The Legacy…
… dropped out of Kita Point space…
… "Well, well," Pyanfar said.
"Go away," Hilfy said. She didn't want her aunt. It frightened her that it was her aunt who kept disturbing her dreams — and it was beyond any doubt a dream, it was that comfortable thing the mind did when it didn't want to handle space that wasn't space. Except her gods-rotted aunt wouldn't stay out of them lately. Maybe it was the political stench about the Legacy on this voyage. Maybe it was her good sense trying to tell her she'd made a mistake. She wasn't superstitious about the illusions.