observer posts, at Geran’s elbow: Geran gave him a look, betraying no dismay,
but a look all the same. He fumbled after belts and began fastening them-not
nervous, no. He only missed the insert twice.
She slipped into her own place, snapped the restraint one-handed and powered the
chair about all in one smooth sequence, because she could, and failed to realize
why she did it until she had.
She argued him onto the bridge for one reason and turned surly when he put
himself there. And knew it. Gods.
“Ready to disengage the probe,” Haral said. “Chur’s still down there. Hilfy,
advise Vigilance they’ve got a message coming.”
“Aye.” A small delay. “They acknowledge. That’s all.”
She gave Rhif Ehrran that, she was not prone to destructive chatter.
Advise you, that couriered message said, kif on our trail. Stop at nothing, even
attack on han deputy. Do not attract interest. Station at hazard. Ours more. We
take evasive measures, best possible. No explanation possible.
Well to be out of port when that hit Ehrran’s lap.
A series of thumps rang up from the bow, The Pride’s own language of clangs and
bumps, reliable as her telltales: docking probes had retracted; vents were
sealed. Outside the station hull, the grapples disengaged.
“Gantry’s clear,” Haral said, busy with the prep sequences.
“Where’s Chur? She make it?”
Com relayed. “She’s coming,” Tirun said. “All clear.”
“Give me out-schedule.”
“Up,” Tirun said, and: “Huh.”
Banny Ayhar’s Prosperity was on the list, outbound for Urtur via Hoas Point. So
was Marrar’s Golden Sun.
There went gossip on its way to Anuurn, fast as a loaded merchant ship could
travel and carry an Ehrran message.
Likewise a stsho ship had gone outbound half an hour ago, one E Mnestsist, Rhus
flisth’ ess commanding. Hoas-bound for Urtur.
So every ship bound from Meetpoint to mahen-hani space had to go to Urtur via
Hoas. Unless they were doing it cargo-stripped, to make Urtur in a single jump.
The Pride’s own course showed Urtur-via-Hoas, which was a lie.
There were other possibilities from Meetpoint: Nsthen in stsho space, where only
stsho and methane-breathers were allowed. The tc’a border-port of V’n’n’u; the
tc’a port of Tt’a’va’o: methane-breather/stsho again. The kif port of Kefk, the
one kifish corridor to Meetpoint; Kshshti in the Disputed Territories. Messages
could go a great many ways from Meetpoint, that being the nature of Meetpoint in
its conception.
And a tight-beamed lightspeed message could get to an outbound ship like E
Mnestsist before it had time to jump. It could still do a vector change … if
one Stle sties stlen had something gtst wanted relayed.
Conniving bastard.
The Pride of Chanur was listed departure —–, without a time. They had been
bumped up ahead of Prosperity and Golden Sun.
That would not sweeten Barmy Ayhar’s mood, no question at all.
And there was not a single kif listed.
“No telling what’s been delayed off that list,” she muttered. “Could have a raft
of kif leaving ten minutes behind us. Station that can’t keep its registry
boards running dockside, gods know what it does with out-schedules when money
changes hands- Power up, Haral: keep us null for outbound.”
“Up,” Haral said; she heard the distant sound of the pumps delivering their
load; the electric whump! of startup normally followed by the louder crash of
cylinder-lock going off; but it stayed locked. They would have no G but
after-thrust on this system transit. Safer that way. It made sudden moves safer.
She heard the sound of running feet scramble into the bridge at her back; heard
a body hit a seat.
“Chur’s in.”
“Message went,” Chur said over the com, above the noise. “Saw it go into the
slot.”
“Helm to one.” Helm to her own board. She pushed buttons, let the auto-interlock
stay in during the undock, the computer reckoning their mass and how hard to
push to stay inside legal parameters. The holds were empty. The thrust-indicator
was way down. The ordinary mark would have hit The Pride like a hard kick at an
empty can.
“Aunt.” That was Hilfy at com one. “Question.”
“Ask it.”
“That bill–”
“What about that bill?”
“Mahendo’sat paying that?”