consequences. “Can’t risk it. Come on.” She seized Tully by the arm and dragged
him into motion, then abandoned the grip as she headed for the lift. “Get Tully
settled. Get his drugs for him and get up to the bridge.”
“Go?” Tully asked, close at her heels. “Pyanfar go Hoas?”
“Urtur,” she said, reaching the lift. She looked back as Chur and Hilfy took him
by the arms. Tirun punched the door and held it. “Going to Urtur. Going fast.
Take the drugs. Stay out of the way. Understand?”
“Got,” he said, and let them pull him off down the hall. She stepped into the
lift and Tirun got in and pushed the buttons.
One worried look from Tirun. That was all.
“I know,” she said, which summed it up. She pulled the presentation case from
the pocket where she had put it, opened it as the car shot upward.
A note. Beware Ismehanan-min, it said.
Meaning Goldtooth.
She handed it to Tirun.
The door opened on the upper corridor.
Chapter Five
There was quiet on the bridge, a great deal of calm and quiet, considering the
situation, Khym brimming with questions, and a handful of exhausted crew. No one
said a word. Six pairs of eyes were on her, expecting her to come up with
something remarkably clever.
1.2 billion credits. Hilfy still looked to be in shock.
“Got a few problems,” Pyanfar said, sinking into her chair, which was turned to
face the bridge at large. “I think we’d better take that docking clearance the
stsho promised and get ourselves our of here before they change their minds.
Chur, Hilfy, you sure Tully’s set, got his drugs, knows to stay put.”
“Aye,” Chur said.
“I don’t promise we get a calm ride out of here. And we’re going to push it
hard. We’re headed for Urtur. We’re stripped. We can one-jump it. When we come
in there we keep our ears pricked and get the news. Gods send it isn’t kif. —
Questions?”
Dead quiet.
She picked up a courier cylinder from the document pocket on the side of the
chair. “Chur.”
“Aye.”
“Get one of the docking crew to shoot that through the pneumat. Fast.”
Chur took it, whirled and headed out of the bridge with a scrape of claws. So
that was seen to. If Stle sties stlen did not have all their messages
intercepted, rot his pearly hide.
“Crew to stations. — Khym–” She stood up and in the general mill of crew
taking seats she took Khym’s arm and took him into the small nook of quiet in
the corridor outside.
“For this one I recommend the tranquilizer,” she said. “Tully takes it. Topside
med kit still has it.”
“I don’t need it,” he muttered, his ears gone down. “I don’t need–”
“Listen to me. Old hands lose their stomachs in this kind of thing. G like
planetary lift; we’ll be cycling the vanes–”
“I’m not going to my cabin. Look, you wanted me on the bridge, work, you said–”
“You’re not staying on the bridge.”
“There’s the observers’ seats.”
“No.”
“Please, Py.” His voice sank to its lowest pitch. His amber eyes were quick and
large. “Captain. Win a ring, you said. In front of them, for the gods’ sake, Py.
I won’t make trouble. Won’t.”
Her ears fell; her heart went over. “Gods rot it, this isn’t a simple hop from
port to port.”
“Part of the crew. Isn’t that what you meant?”
“This isn’t a question–”
“Pride’s pride, Py. You put me there; you by the gods leave me there. Or do you
think the crew won’t have it?”
Soft-headed, that was what.
“You take number one observer,” she said. “You watch Geran watch scan and if you
get sick in the cycles you by the gods reach the bags undercabinet, I don’t care
what else is going on. If you haven’t ridden through a high-v vector change with
someone heaving up you haven’t seen a mess. Got it?” She jabbed him with one
sharp claw, saw him go tight around the nose. “Besides, it fogs the screens.”
Without a word he ducked back into the bridge.
She went back behind him, while he set himself into the first of the three