When they had finished the jakek, Jellico came to his feet and took the empty cups. He would drop them off in the galley on his way out. "You can keep Queex company and work in here if you want. Take your time, but if you do finish soon enough, see if you can't give Thorson a hand.
Bear in mind, though, that he's boss with respect to Cargo when Van's away." ,
"I was born a Free Trader," the woman responded irritably. "I think I know the protocol."
"Aye, but you've also managed to establish yourself as something of an authority in the kinds of goods he'll be cataloging. — Dane's good. I don't want him overawed into surrendering either his authority or his duties."
"He won't be," she promised.
Miceal studied her somberly. He was not quite sure that he believed her, or, rather, that he should believe her. That mixed-blood story was an old standby for gaining sympathy, although in this case there was a considerable body of apparent evidence to support the Medic's assertions. He could not press her further, either, not yet. Her frankness— or seeming frankness—had tied him. He had no facts or so much as a solid suspicion to lay against her, and if he pushed Rael now, it would have to be in a serious challenge that could only result in the termination of her association with the Solar Queen. He was not ready to force that. He did not want to force it.
Morally, he could not do so without significant cause.
Canuche Town was not Trewsworld, and it was most assuredly no place to abandon this particular woman. She
7
had done extremely well for Deke Tatarcoff out there in the market, but the method by which she accomplished that service might well have bought her a passage straight into disaster.
Jellico hesitated. More than restraint from initiating a clash between them was required of him. As long as Cofort remained part of the Queen's company, it was his duty to see to her safety, but apart from the two services, the Navy and Patrol, a starship's Captain could exert only so much control over the surplanetary off-duty activities of his crew.
Damn it, there was danger! It might be only potential, but it was quite real. "I don't know your plans for tonight, but
I don't want you, or any of the others for that matter,
wandering about Canuche Town alone or even in pairs. Go in at least fours or not at all, which is what I would prefer."
He braced himself. No independent-minded Free Trader, particularly one not even bound long-term to his ship, was likely to accept that remark or the imperious tone in which it had been uttered with any semblance of good grace.
Whatever her instinctive reaction, however, the
woman's temper held. Her eyes narrowed, and she studied j
him sharply. "What's the matter, Miceal?" she asked qui- } etiy.
He sighed. "Beauty's a commodity in Happy City. If any of its creatures happened to witness your work with that piece of Thornen silk, they'll set the value of a small river tear, and a prime stone at that, on you and maybe more depending on their specific interests. The most spineless vermin in the ultrasystem would try to grab a prize like that if they thought they could get away with it." Anger shot
Reillliie the Stars 151
through him, hot and sharp. "Whatever you do with your life, I won't see you slaving for those subbiotics!"
Rael's head lowered. "I'm aware of that possibility," she
told him. "I wasn't planning on taking chances. As for wandering around, after that business with the port rats, I don't find the idea of exploring Canuche Town after dark particularly appealing. Once the markets and shops close, there isn't much here apart from the restaurants to draw me away from the Queen anyway. I'll be happier and better occupied working on Doctor Tau's study."
The Captain's anger deepened. Aye, he thought bitterly, she would have to have recognized that peril. Comeliness was as a rule an asset in Trade, particularly when dealing with humans, who tended to respond favorably to those they considered to be attractive. Anything greatly beyond that was another matter. Too striking an appearance could be a decided disadvantage under a great many circumstances, and Rael Cofort would have been a potential target even as a very young girl.
Sympathy swept over him. He wanted to take her in his arms, hold and shield her . . .
Jellico resisted that impulse, but he did not want to leave the Medic with the gloom he had aroused weighing her down. He made himself smile, as if at himself. "I've wasted a lot of breath with that warning," he said. "You know, or should know, all of it as well as I do. — Space, I may have some years on you, but given the fact that you were born on a freighter, there probably isn't all that much disparity in the amount of time we've spent wandering around the starlanes."
Her eyes sparkled. "You've certainly put it to better use, 152
then, m. berth."
back onto writ' ifth ston
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are sitting t command c approximal welcome sc
1
afford to buy natural jewels. Synthetics could broaden the So7or Queen's potential customer base enormously, m fact, given their greater intensity of color, the cheaper article might actually prove the preferred item in some markets.
The credit outlay to get started would not be much, either, and the test stock would claim only a minute portion of their ever-precious cargo space.
The apprentice nodded to himself in satisfaction. He needed to do some more reading. Then he would put to-
gether the figures, outline probable good markets and a Trade strategy, and lay his proposal before his chief.
Van Rycke should go for it. Making a profit, not exposing obscure murder plots, was the Queen's function in life, and this looked like a fine chance to open up a brand-new subfield and effectively monopolize it, at least in this Sector, for a couple or maybe three years until the other Traders caught wise and could move on their own accounts.
"Dane! I thought you were still in the hold."
He looked up. Rip Shannon had just come into the crew's cabin and was looking at him in mild surprise. "I finished up there twenty minutes ago," he responded.
The other's dark face clouded. "I saw Rael go down nearly that long ago, and the hatch was still unfastened when I glanced at it just now."
Thorson straightened. "That calls for some investigation."
"Easy, friend," Rip said hastily. "She probably has a good reason ... "
"She's got no right to be there, not without the Cargo- Master's approval, or mine in Van Rycke's absence."
"You want some help?"
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That gave him pause. "No," he replied slowly. "I'm not accusing her of anything." Once more, his expression hardened. "Just stick around. If I'm not back reasonably fast, come looking for me, and be real careful when you do."
Dane grimaced at the melodramatic cast of his whole reaction to his shipmate's announcement. Blast Rael Cofort anyway, he thought irritably. Why was it that she seemed to bring out that in him, or managed to get them all involved in situations that demanded an oversized response?
On Ali Kamil, it might look good. He, on the other hand, made a ridiculous hero.
All the same, he did not stop. Cargo and Trade goods were his responsibility. He had no choice but to check out any interference with either. A sabotaged shipment had once given the Queen galaxy-class trouble, and he was not about to risk a replay of that. There was neither profit nor pleasure in the close proximity of extremely unpleasant death.
Cofort was still in the hold when the Cargo-apprentice reached it moments later. Everything looked to be in order, and there was nothing to indicate what she had been doing since her arrival, but she had the examination length of the silver fabric out and had unfolded a corner of it. This she was holding out from her so that she could view it against the gray background of the hold and against the warm, pale flesh of her other hand.