“Fine job,” she said to Tiar.
“We’re in a little closer than I wanted.”
“Still,” she said. First class equipment, first class navigator in Chihin and first-class pilot in Tiar. It wasn’t any run of the lot ship could single-jump as they’d done. The older pilots, the navigators of Chihin’s age … they’d done it in the war years, they’d the kind of reflexes and system-awareness that could come out of it with a critical sense where they were.
So, most clearly, did Ha’domaren’s crew. That told you something. That told you, at least, the quality of that crew and equipment, that it carried no cargo, and that whoever was at the helm had done this before.
That they were overjumped, that somebody had actually overhauled and passed them in hyperspace, that said that was one bastard who didn’t mind the navigation rules or care about the dust hazard in Urtur system.
Chapter Five
Urtur was a smaller port than Meetpoint—heavily industrial. Its star was veiled in murk and dust, a ringed star, with gas giant planets sweeping the veil into bands of crepe and gas and ice; with miner-craft both crewed and otherwise running the dusty lanes in the ecliptic; with refineries and mills and shipyards operating at the collection points—
And the main station, under mahendo’sat governance, devoted itself to manufacture, shipping, and entertainment for the miners and makers of goods. You wanted culture? Go to Idunspol. You wanted religion? Go to forbidden, god-crazed Iji. You wanted iron and heavy metals, you wanted sheet and plate and hydrogen, you wanted a raucous good time and a headache in the morning? Urtur was the place for it.
You said Chanur here, and certain authorities’ ears pricked up and twitched—by an irony of things as they were, there were outstanding warrants here that could not quite be forgotten, by mahen law: every situation was subject to change and every administration could be succeeded by some new power diametrically opposed to the last. So charges stayed on the books, something like reckless endangerment, public hazard, speeding, unlawful dumping, and damage to public property. The Pride of Chanur had had its less popular moments.
And supposedly the charges included the name of Hilfy Chanur, crewwoman. But she paid no more attention to them than aunt Py did, coming and going as she pleased these days in regal empowerment.
So she ordered the Legacy shut down and the hatch opened to Urtur; and she completed the formalities with station control, signing this and signing that—advised station control of the existence of their full-scale dataload and its date of provenance from Meetpoint; and got a bid of 3000, which wouldn’t go higher-counting that rag-eared son of a mahen outlaw had beaten them in by eight hours.
But with their fragile passenger and gtst fragile object, they couldn’t have made it in at anything like that speed.
“That’s five thousand that son Haisi’s cost us,” she muttered. “Maybe eight.”
“Couldn’t have done better,” Tiar said. “Better take it.”
“Out of his hide,” she said, signaled acceptance, and switched channels to gtst honor Tlisi-tlas-tin. “Honorable, we’re ready to make contact with your party on Urtur. We’re pleased to announce arrival and opening of station business. We will have the distinction to contact the excellency immediately and advise gtst of your presence and mission.”
“We acknowledge. We are in preparation. We would like our meal now, if your honor will instruct her aides,”
“We will, honorable. Stand by.” A sigh as she cut the connection.
“Gtstcould have eaten it when we fixed it,” Tarras muttered.
“Gtstmission is to be a pain,” Hilfy said. “Check on the other passenger while you’re at it. Make sure he didn’t crack his head.”
They’d been up and about for hours. They had had their lunch, but the stsho had been too exhausted and too sick to, as the stsho put it, ‘burden the stomach with uncertain and foreign preparations.’
Hell.
Meanwhile she had been putting together a message to advise gtst excellency Atli-lyen-tlas to contact her on an urgent basis.
To the most excellent Atli-lyen-tlas, emissaryo/gtst excellency No’shto-shti-stlen, the honorable Hilfy Chanur, captain of the hani ship Chanur’s Legacy , head of the ancient and honorable Chanur clan, sends her respectful greetings and has the distinction and honor to advise and inform your excellency that she has a message of extreme importance for the attention of your excellency personally, which can only reflect well upon the achievement and elegance of your excellency for the future.