“What’s up?” Chihin asked.
“Captain’s downside, talking to the mahendo’sat.”
“What, talking to the mahendo’sat? What have we got to say to the mahendo’sat? Blow their—“
“That’s what they’re doing,” Tiar said. “Fala’s got ops lowerdeck, Tarras is with the captain, and, well, we know where you two were.”
“Don’t give me that! What in a mahen hell’s going on?”
“Main ops channel,” Tiar said.
“Well, well, now we got make deal.” Haisi stood, arms folded, on the dockside, at the bottom of the Legacy’s ramp, and blew smoke into the frosty air. “You give oji, we give you clear undock, go home, safe, no trouble … small difficulty with kif, same we fix.”
“Fix like you fixed things at Kshshti.” “Not us, hani, you got bad information. You got real close experience with kif. You forget?” “No. But it doesn’t matter to the bottom line.” “What matter?” Another puff of smoke, green and blue against the neon of some shop along the Rows. “What make matter? You in one damn bad mess, hani. You look bad, Pyanfar Chanur look bad. You got find way out , . . because if that kif out there attack this station, who bring same here? If you start shoot, who got trouble? You got.”
“You say. Looks to me like we’re both here.” “Wrong.” With hand on large expanse of dark-furred chest. “We here with invitation stsho government. We got word maybe kif problem, stsho from Llyene ask us come in here, toss out kif guard on account of no good deal No’shto-shti-stlen make with marry Atli-lyen-tlas. Atli-lyen-tlas got too many ‘so-ciations with kif. Llyene government have got embarrass’ by No’shto-shti-stlen, official come here, examine record, got prepare replace gtst, maybe severe reprimand. Meanwhile here come kif. Damn right here come kif. Want old job back. Want commit little piracy, a? You been number one suckered, hani.”
She laid her ears back. “If you’re so friendly with the stsho, how come you had to come ask me about the oji. How come that? A?”
“You know stsho. Three sex. Gtst do politic, gtste and gtsto very private, do sex, no public. No’shto-shti-stlen and Atli-lyen-tlas both gtst. So somebody got to step down from politic. Stsho at Llyene don’t like Atli-lyen-tlas, long time want gtst come back stsho space, long time No’shto-shti-stlen protect same, now want marry gtst. So what sex No’shto-shti-stlen be? Gtst propose same in the oji. Maybe if No’shto-shti-stlen stay gtst, stsho at Llyene not upset enough come here make new government. But stupid hani won’t answer question, so they come. They say you give them the oji, all fine.”
“So where are they?”
“They watch. I promise same. Not worry.”
“Where’s No’shto-shti-stlen?”
“With stsho. We not touch. I tell you, you give oji, everybody go away happy. ‘Cept maybe kif. You no worry. We fix kif.”
“Vikktakkht’s a friend of my aunt.”
A laugh. A long draw at the smoke-stick and a slow exhale. “Vikktakkht kif. Nobody friend. Don’t got word, ‘friend.’ Just ‘advantage.’ Just stab in you back when you no more scare him. Why he not come in station, a? He wait. Let stupid hani fight the mane. Tell you what. You give oji, stsho at Llyene happy, we happy, no problem.”
“I don’t give anything, mahe. I’m not a charity. I got it, I keep it. Maybe I take it to my aunt.”
“Make big mess. Meanwhile you got go out there tell kif sorry you make mistake. You look real bad, hani. You look like dessert. Maybe like hos-tage, a? Kif go make deal Pyanfar, hey, you want? You pay. You got experience that game.”
Trying to shake her nerve, he was. She wrinkled her nose, not a friendly gesture. Or a patient one. “Maybe I get along with them just fine.”
“Then you two time fool. You got chance win big here. Pyanfar got lot commitment No’shto-shti-stlen. You make new deal, be friend new gov’ment, all fine, easy new gov’ment be friend Pyanfar. You big important. Lot good deal for you.”
She stared at him, thought about the directions power would run in the Compact, asked herself what was in it for Paehisna-ma-to, and came up with: “double-cross.” Not quite a coup for Paehisna-ma-to, but no prosecution for the explosion at Kshshti, they’d blame that one on the kif; no absolute gain of power but no stop to the Momentum of Paehisna-ma-to either. Net gain, no loss, No’shto-shti-stlen out of the way, net gain there, too, putting Meetpoint in the hands of someone more attuned to other voices.