"Not unless one was straight Whisperer bait or planning to ally himself permanently with the Patrol, which would amount to the same thing."
"You don't believe Rael Cofort's thinking along those lines?" the Cargo-Master asked.
"Who knows what that woman's thinking?" he responded wearily.
Van Rycke eyed him closely. "Craig mentioned that you had some serious reservations about her."
Jellico smiled. "I still do, but at least I think I know now why Cofort dumped her."
Jan's pale brows rose. "That's more than I can claim."
"Some perfectly capable people draw trouble. I believe Doctor Cofort is a prime example."
"A jinx?"
Miceal gave a short laugh. "Does the Cofort operation show much sign of any such influence? — No, but Rael appears to have an overdeveloped sense of what's right, or maybe the sight of the downtrodden just sparks a powerful protective response in her. Whatever the cause, the result can be pure headache for her Captain and shipmates, if not outright disaster.
"Look at her behavior in that alley, Van. The starlight was scared out of her, but she was all set to march in for that scrap of bone and then blast off to the Stellar Patrol at warp speed. She never gave a thought to our strained relations with that organization or a Trader's natural instinct to navigate clear of all brass as much as possible. Add to that the fact that she's admitted to dragging her brother into more than one scrape he'd have preferred to duck and you have the makings of a problem of no mean magnitude."
"Why court trouble ourselves? We'll be rid of her soon."
"Curiosity mostly," the other responded. "Besides, she's tied to us until we're ready to lift anyway. I'd like to see if she's any good in real Trade. The Queen might as well reap some benefit if she is."
"All right, I'll give her a shot at the market," the Cargo- Master promised willingly enough. "Come with us yourself. She'll know she's under observation anyway, and it'll be late enough now by the time we're ready to go that some of the big industrialists might be scouting around there. I understand they usually do when a new ship comes into port, and several have this past week. We could possibly pick up a charter."
Jellico nodded. "I'll do that," he said. "I'd intended waiting a bit longer before giving it a walk-through, but it won't hurt and might help to look the place over at once."
12
Ali Kamil quickened his pace until he came up beside Rael.
"I'm sorry," he told her quietly. "I was navigating right off the charts in there."
"So was I," she replied' bitterly. "Firing off my mouth like that was inexcusable. I knew what you all had been through."
"It was no more than you had."
He frowned and stepped aside to allow Dane and Rip to pass. Sometimes, he thought sourly, finding a place to have a private conversation aboard a starship was about as easy as netting an asteroid made of pure platinum, at least for lowly apprentices lacking the luxury of a private office or work cabin.
The Medic sensed that something more was weighing on him, but Kamil was the last person to broach it in the busy corridor. "I want to check on some seedlings," she said.
"You could lift out the germination trays for me if you've got the time and don't mind."
"I'm happy to assist, Doctor Cofort."
Hael breathed deeply of the rich air in the hydro. It was her favorite place here, even as the one on the Roving Star had been when she had been serving under her brother's command. All it needed was some lavender ...
The Engineer-apprentice walked over to the tall bank of germination trays. "Which one?" he inquired.
"The top two. You've got enough inches on me that we won't have to get out the ladder."
It took only a few seconds to carefully remove the trays and set them on the nearby work bench.
He peered at the closely spaced, neat rows of minute plants, each of which bore two leaves. "What are they?" he asked curiously. "There are a couple of different kinds, I think, though it's hard to be sure. They're so small."
"Most just put their heads up this morning, the others yesterday afternoon. They won't be readily identifiable for a while yet. — One box contains tarragon, the other gray pepper. Mr. Mura wants them for the galley. He'll be trying some new spices as well for more variety."
"That's always welcome."
Both fell silent while Rael checked the moisture and nutrient content of the growth medium and examined the seedlings themselves. The time to catch trouble was early, at the first sign, before it could develop into a full-blown problem that might sweep the whole little crop.
At last she stood up. "All our infants are doing well," she announced. "You may return them to their cradles, Mr. Kamil."
The man complied. When he was finished, he leaned back against the bank and studied her speculatively. "How is it that you're so good at everything. Doctor. Or so many things?" he amended. His own chief did not sing her praises the way Tau and Mura did, but then Johan Stotz rarely praised anyone. Just keeping one's position without having one's head verbally removed on a daily basis was compliment enough coming from him.
"I just sort of picked things up along the way. I was interested, of course, and I wanted to be of real use and not just so much inert cargo until I finally managed to officially qualify for something."
"Ah, yes. You were raised and trained in the comforting bosom of your clan."
"I was lucky," she agreed seriously, "especially since I love Trade." Her face clouded suddenly. "But, Alt, I've never been on my own, never once had the chance to see if I could pull it by myself. I was never even physically at Training Pool. All my classes, even my medical courses, were taped, with clinical experience gained at accredited hospitals wherever we planeted."
The apprentice gave her a sharp look. "That's allowed?"
"Aye, of course. The ongoing testing is stringent, with a ten percent higher grade required for passing."
"Which I presume was never a problem."
"No, not really. Don't forget, I had a shipload of captive tutors all eager to help out."
"What about the Psycho?"
"I never asked for a ship assignment since I was staying with my own clan, but classification was compulsory, of course. — Free Trader all the way."
"Not even a shot at the Companies?" he teased.
Rael laughed. "I wouldn't last twenty-four hours on a Company ship!"
Her expression darkened again, not pleasantly. "I didn't manage so marvelously on the Mermaid, did I?"
"You cut your losses and ran, which was as much as anyone could have done under the circumstances." His voice softened. She had not concealed that her failure to secure the berth cut her. "You'll make out. You know Trade work and don't mind doing it."
It was a new role for Kamil, offering comfort and support. He stopped speaking for a moment, not quite knowing where else to go with it.
Unless . . . Cofort had picked up on that incredible murder plot.
"Doctor," he said suddenly, before he could give himself a chance to back down, "can you keep your mouth shut?"
"I'm a Medic. That comes with the job. — I don't expect you to fasmit our recent conversation to the universe at large, either, you know."
"I won't." He eyed her gravely. "What do you think of Canuche of Halio?"
"I detest her," the woman replied in complete surprise.
"I like gloriously wild planets or else beautifully civilized ones with powerful conservation and anticruelty laws, all full of furry, feathered, and scaled creatures, not malodorous chemical stews."
"Maybe there's a galaxy more wrong with Canuche than that."
Rael Cofort's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, Alt?" she asked quietly. She had never seen him deadly serious before, but he was now with that softly voiced suggestion.