Chanur’s Legacy by C.J. Cherryh

“Immediately! I cannot abide this! Oh, the injustice, oh, the cruelty, oh, the perfidy!”

“ What perfidy, honorable?”

“I demand to see the next highest stsho authority, I demand to have access to this individual!”

“Honorable, —“

“I am wronged, oh, predecessors and antecedents, I am wronged, most grievously!”

Fala made a glance toward the overhead. But in space there was no direction for heaven.

And the gods were probably busy with aunt Pyanfar.

Chapter Six

Potential spies everywhere, Haisi blackmailing them for access to the stsho they had contracted to protect, and the stsho in question wailing and moaning and lamenting betrayals on the part of the stsho ambassador to Urtur, and of the staff of said ambassador, who did not return calls.

Andthe honorable Tlisi-tlas-tin’s quarters were a shambles, gtst person was a shambles, gtst affairs were a shambles, and in a species that Phased under stress, into new and unpredictable psychological configurations…

The Preciousness might end up in the hands of a completely different individual, for which—Hilfy hesitated even to send the legal program on another search through the contract and the handbook of Compact law looking for legal responsibility. Gtst honor was tottering on the edge of dissolution and gtst wanted the damage to gtst quarters repaired, gtst wanted the colors changed, gtst wanted new clothing, and a better diet, and entertainments and amenities.

Which meant scouring the market for stsho items, checking through what they had in cargo cans; and dealing with customs one more time.

“You got problem?” a mahen voice said; and Hilfy turned to find the scoundrel on her track— followingher, gods rot him. Maybe not even doing the watching himself … just have some underling do it, and call him for the intercept.

“What do you want?”

“Want make deal. Hear you look for stsho stuff. Hear you want make buy stuff like deck tile, like ‘vuli cloth, like …”

“How nice you got all these things to sell me! Good price, huh?”

“You funny. Amuse stsho?”

She started to walk away. He got in front of her.

“Hear you try talk stsho embas-sy. Not possible. Stsho shut down. Some go Meetpoint. Some Kita.”

“You’ve had yourself a main proper disaster here, haven’t you? You try to break off trade with the stsho? Try to screw up politic for my aunt?”

“I friendPyanfar.” Hand on chest. “My personage friend with Pyanfar, number one try do good for you.” Haisi Ana-kehnandian glanced about as casual traffic passed, and he made an unwelcome catch at her elbow. “You want stsho stuff, I get for you. Easy done. Stuff all over embassy. Nice stuff, number one stsho furniture.”

“Breaking and entering? Pirated goods?”

“Shush, shush, don’t make noise ever’body hear. You come. I fix, you get.”

“You drove the whole gods-forsaken stsho embassy off Urtur, and you want to help me? No thanks! Go talk to the kif, they appreciate a pirate!”

“Don’t be fool. You want clear customs? You want get stuff on ship, same deal you got get customs stamp. Customs don’t let you trade till you cleared, hani, you got figure how things are.”

One could figure how things were. One could figure somebody was in tight with the officials at some level.

“You want stop whole deal for redecorate stsho cabin?” Haisi asked. “That funny.”

“Who said?”

“Funny thing you got real white shopping list. Stsho emissary not happy with decor? Maybe lot stress on this person?”

“Go to hell,” she said.

And walked off, walked and took a lift and a transport bus to the dockside customs office.

And got the official no. No onloading if there was a hold on offloading.

“So what if a ship pulls in here and doesn’t want to sell to you? You’re not going to let them buy?”

Her fist landed on the counter. “I don’t believe that!”

“Not same. Not same. You got hold on you cargo. Not same legal situation. You want deal, you let custom inspector see contraband.”

“It’s not contraband! It’s stsho diplomatic property!”

“Make you appeal stsho mission.”

“There is no stsho mission on Urtur! You scared it off!”

“Not us scare off. Maybe this object you got scare them.”

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