“There’s something else,” Hilfy said. And took up a piece of paper and got up and brought it to her. It trembled in Hilfy’s hand. “Comp broke the code. Maybe he meant us to break it. I don’t know.”
She hesitated in the dim doorway of sickbay, with that paper in her pocket; Jik was awake, Tirun had said.
He was. She saw the slitted glitter of Jik’s eyes, saw them open full as she walked in, quiet as she was. She went and laid her hand on his shoulder, above the restraint webbing. Tirun had put a pillow under his head and a blanket over his lower body.
His eyes tracked on her quite clearly now, gazed up at her sane and lucid. “Come let me go, a? Damn stubborn, you crew.”
But she did not hear the edge of annoyance that might have been there. It was all too quiet for Jik, too wary, too washed of strength. It was-gods knew what it was.
Apprehension, comprehension-that he might not be among friends?
That for some reason she might be truly siding with the kif-or that she was operating under some other driving motive, in which they were no longer allies?
He had for one moment, in that kifish place, drugged and on the fading edge of his resources, answered questions he had held out against for days, answered because she got through his defenses with a warning his mind had been in no
shape to deal with, and because she had signaled him that he had to do this.
Now he was clear-headed. Now he knew where he was, and perhaps he recalled, too late, what he had done. That was what came through that faint voice, that failing attempt at humor.
“Hey,” she said, and tightened her hand. “You got nowhere to go, do you?”
“Aja Jin.”
“Told you about that. Kif’ll shoot your head off. We’re clear. Got it all patched up with Sikkukkut. You passed out on me. Missed the good part. I need to talk to you.”
“I got talk to my ship.”
“That can wait. You’ll fall on your nose if you try to get up. Don’t want you trying it, hear? Tirun fill you in?”
“Not say.”
“Your ship’s fine; the dock’s patched; I got you clear and got everything fixed up with Sikkukkut: he’s a gods-be bastard, but he does listen. He’s still suspicious, but he’s put you aboard The Pride, says you’ve got to ride out the next move aboard my ship and let Kesurinan handle Aja Jin. That was all I could get. We’ve got to live with that.”
“I got damn itch on nose, Pyanfar.”
She reached and rubbed the bridge of it. “Got it?”
“Let me go. I walk fine.”
“Haven’t got time. We’re moving. Going to Meetpoint. You’re going to have to ride it out where you are. I’m sorry about that, but we haven’t got another cabin we can reach till we undock. And then things are going to go pretty fast.”
He was quiet a heartbeat or two. Then: “Pyanfar-”
“I got a question for you. I want to know what we’re headed into. What did Goldtooth tell you before he left us, huh?”
A silent panic crept into his eyes. He lifted his head and let it fall back against the pillow, still staring at her. “Not funny.”
“/ need to know, friend. For your sake, for that ship of yours, gods know, for mine. What are we headed for? What’s he doing?”
“We talk on bridge.”
Bluff called, she stared at him and he at her and there was a knot at her gut. “You know how it is,” she said.
“A,” he said. “Sure.”
“I got this thing to ask you. I want to know the truth. You understand me.”
He ran his tongue over his lips. “What this deal with humans?”
“Tully told me-told me flatly not to trust them. You know Tully; he’s not too clear. But what he said, the way he said it-I think they’re going to doublecross your partner. I think they’re not the fools Goldtooth thinks they are. And they’re not taking his orders.”
“Maybe you do better talk to Tully.”