“A matter of delicacy. A member of your species is stranded here at Meetpoint—clearly an oversight on the part of the ship in question. But we are most anxious to see this resolved.”
“They left her.”
No’shto-shti-stlen took a sip of tea, and fluttered eyelashes. “Him, if I may be so entirely forward.”
Him. Gods. Hilfy did a rapid resorting, with a distinct sense of alarm. “A hani ship? Left a crewman?”
“There was—your honor will please be understanding—a slight intoxication, a breakage of insignificant items of extremely bad taste— most of all— an altercation with a foreign national of— em— higher status— which I assure your honor had been harmlessly resolved.”
“The nationality offended, excellency?”
“Kif.”
Gods.
“A simple misunderstanding, a few hours detention and filling out of forms … but through some inadvertency, his ship— simply claimed a cargo priority and left without our office— em— aware of the oversight. We are excruciatingly embarrassed. We believe that perhaps they believed he was already back aboard, as did—em—an individual in traffic management, who cleared the undock.”
“Did no one advise them?”
“They were unalarmed. They sent back word that it was unfortunate, but they had a contractual commitment and they urged us to send him along by the first hani ship that might consent. Your esteemed aunt, of course, had already left. Handur’s Rainbow, which came in afterward and preceded you out … did not have a berth available.”
A contractual commitment?
Read that Rainbow had refused to burden itself. Damn their down-the-nose attitude.
But— gods— hit a kif of rank? Did one want to take aboard a hani with that kind of grudge?
“Can we prevail upon your extreme generosity? His presence here is an embarrassment. How do we care for him? How do we lodge him?”
“I quite understand.” Think fast, Hilfy Chanur. “What was his ship’s course?” Fifty-fifty it was …
“Hoas, as happens. But everything passes through Urtur.”
“In any case—“ Gods, how did I get into this? But, damn it to a mahen hell … you don’t even ask his clan. He’s hani. He’s lost. He’s been dumped here, gods rot them— if the kif claim him, the stsho can’t resist that pressure. Small wonder they want him out of here before there’s an incident.
“We can pay his passage,” No’shto-shti-stlen said.
“No. No. Forgive my unseemly distress. I could not possibly accept payment. This is a question of …” Stsho had no equivalent for species-honor. “… Elegance.”
“Another case of tea.”
“Please.” On the other hand. At three thousand the case. “On the other hand—“
A flutter of distress.
No’shto-shti-stlen wanted this lad gone very badly. Very badly. And feared he would have to pay heavily for it.
Which he might deserve to do … except Hilfy Chanur was not dealing in hani hides, under any circumstances.
“Your esteemed and wise influence might clear any legal obstacles, any defect in his documents, that sort of thing. That would expedite matters.”
“We are delighted to assist. There will be no impediments.”
“No entanglements. No pending charges.”
“You have my word. I have so enjoyed this meeting. Please give my regards to your esteemed relative. Advise her that No’shto-shti-stlen admires her exceedingly.”
“I shall.” There was a civilized way and a barbaric one to quit a bowl-chair: the left foot on the unpadded line, the right onto the rim, no trick at all. She made a small bow, the datacube in hand, and No’shto-shti-stlen nodded with a graceful swaying of gtst white center-crest and gtst feathery, cosmetically augmented brows.
“Most, most pleasant,” No’shto-shti-stlen said.
“A memorable hour, most memorable.”
Never underestimate a stsho.
So, so, she had a passenger—but he was an inconsequence; the other question, what was in the contract, took momentary second place to the heady thoughts of a million credit haulage fee for some trinket she could juggle one-handed, and with the hold, after discharging their cargo, altogether free for what she could buy outright at Meetpoint for resale in a port whose fairly recent futures and shortages list Legacy had in file?
Far too good to be true, was what it was. She had gotten too far into this. Her disclaimer that she might not sign had not been early enough or forceful enough, and it needed no kifish guards to upset her stomach on the way out.