Chanur’s Homecoming by CJ Cherryh

He had also told her nothing, for all his talking.

That in itself said something worrisome.

They went down to the lift; and down to the lower level; and as far as Tully’s cabin, far forward. Next to Skkukuk’s.

Tully was not there. That meant he was in crew quarters. That did not surprise her.

“Get some sleep,” she said.

“A,” he said. And parked his wide shoulders against the door frame, leaned there reeking of parini and looking as if he might fall on his face before he reached the bed.

“And don’t forget the safety, huh?”

The next door opened. Skkukuk was there, bright-eyed and anxious to serve.

“You don’t be fool,” Jik said to her. “Friend.”

And spun aside into the room and shut the door between them.

She locked it. And turned and looked at Skkukuk. This man is valuable,” she said. Kifish logic.

“Dangerous,” Skkukuk said.

She walked off and left him there. Took out the pocket-com and used it and not the intercom-stations along the way. “Tirun, we got it all secure down here.”

“Kif are pounding each other hard. We got approach contact from Meetpoint. Stsho are being extra polite, we got no trouble if the poor bastards don’t Phase on us in mid-dock, I got no confidence I’m talking to the same stsho from minute to minute. Scared. Real scared. I got the feeling kif-com isn’t being polite at all. Ships inbound are Ikkhoitr and Khafukkin.”

”Gods. Wonderful. Sikkukkut’s chief axe. You could figure.”

“You going on break?”

“I’m coming up there.” No way to rest. Not till they had an answer. Even if her knees were wobbling under her. She envied Jik the pills. But not the rest of his situation.

Tirun caught her eye as she walked onto the bridge and looked a further worried question at her. Tirun, who looked deathly tired herself. “No change,” Tirun said. “Except bad news. Goldtooth’s bunch had two chasers on his tail when he went out. Akkhtimakt’s got to jump any minute now. Got to. He’s getting his tail shot up. Some of those ships may not make it otherside. They got to clear out of here.” Pyanfar looked. Everyone was still running for jump. The last of Goldtooth’s company was gone. And a flock of stsho, fortunate in being out of range of all disasters and not being tied up dead-V at station. Not a sign of a methane-breather. Anywhere.

No hani was moving. They were caught at dock. And there was not a way in a mahen hell to get out vectored for hani space with the angle and the V Sikkukkut’s two station-aimed ships had on them. Ikkhoitr and Khafukkin were going to make it in before their own three ships. Kif were going to have control of that dock, and gods help the hani who took exception to it.

“We got one more ship ID: a Faha. Starwind.”

“Munur.” That was a youngish captain. A very small ship. And a distant cousin of Hilfy’s on her mother’s side. ”Ehrran?”

“Not a sign.”

“With Goldtooth or kited out of here home a long time ago. Want to lay odds which?” Exhaustion and nerves added up on her. She shivered, and a great deal of it was depletion. “Yeah. Stay on it.” She indicated the direction of the galley and marshaled a steady voice. “Jik’s going to rest a bit. He’s plenty mad. And crazy-tired. I hope to the gods he takes those pills and settles down, but I don’t think he’ll do it. Pass out awhile, maybe. Maybe come to with a clearer head. Right now he’s real trouble. He’s not thinking real clear. Me, I’m not, either. We put his quarters on ops-com when he wakes up. Maybe let him up here, I don’t know yet. It’s my judgment I don’t trust. I’m going to clean up, pass out a few minutes. How are you holding?”

“I’m all right,” Tirun said. It was usual sequence: Haral first on the cleanup; Haral first to snatch a little rest, Haral the one whose wits had to be sharpest and reflexes quickest, their switcher; and Haral generally shorted herself on rest-time to pay her sister for it. “‘Bout time, though.” And before she could leave the chair she was leaning on: “Captain, Chur’s wanting a bit of something hot. Geran went to the lowerdecks to fix it.”

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