The Kif Strike Back by CJ Cherryh

The kif hastened past the others. Sikkukkut turned his head.

“Ksstit,” it hissed. “Kkotkot ktun.”

Message. Hilfy drew a breath and felt Tully shiver against her. The interloper bent its hooded head near its captain’s and whispered shortly. Sikkukkut rested with his hands upon his knees. His shoulders moved with a long, long breath and his jaw lifted.

“Kkkt! Kktkhi ukkik skutti fikkti knkkuri. Ktikkikt!”

All about them the room rustled with kif. Take them from here. Hilfy knew that much kifish. But not the inflections. Not why, or what had happened, or what happened next.

Kif closed about them: Tully let out an unaccustomed sound as they tore him from her side.

“Claws in,” she yelled at the kif, “you stupid clot!”-She raked a kifish shin with a bare-clawed foot. A returned blow jolted her teeth and claws bit into her shoulders. There was nothing, with her hands tied, that she could do. They were enough to carry her. They seized her about both knees and did that at the end, despite her twisting and turning.

“Bastard!” she yelled past kifish bodies. She saw Sikkukkut still sitting there like some graven image in the dark, flanked by other kif.

“They are here,” Sikkukkut said.

The door came between and closed.

Mkks station was a wall in front of them as The Pride homed in: the berth Mkks had assigned her glowed with the comeaheads on the number two screen while the closing numbers ticked off.

-“Please you wait,” mahen authority had protested via com during the last part of their approach, a much, much more conciliatory tone. “Got already advise Harukk, same want conference, repeat, want conference. Request reply^-”

And closer still, in their silence: “We make request you delay dock, Pride of Chanur, you got problem, please, we negotiate-”

Because there was no way a station like Mkks had to stop any ship from coming in. And worse, there were fifteen vulnerable kifish ships dead-vee at dock, attached to Mkks’ very vulnerable side. Mkks would have sounded alarms by now and thrown the section-seals on its docks, fearing projectiles launched, fearing kif; and riot.

-“Please,” the protest went on from Mkks authority: “You stop this make negotiate the kif: We forbid you carry quarrel here.”

But they had the berth they demanded, a clear spot with

nothing directly next them on either side. There were kif at hand. Harukk was in the sixth berth down, within the section. Two mahen traders were docked far over on the other side of Mkks’ torus. Kif ships lined the adjacent section’s docks. There were more mahen ships beyond. The solitary stsho. And tc’a and chi on methane-side.

-“We meet you at dockside. We bring security. Make negotiate this matter. We appeal-”

Clank-thump. The grapples took, from their side and from station’s; the hookup routines started. They had a docking crew waiting. And security. So Mkks Central said.

“They’ve stopped talking,” Khym said anxiously, meaning he had done nothing to cut them off by accident, in his inexperience. “They just went quiet.”

But half a heartbeat later, another call came through.

“This is kif port authority,” said a clicking voice.” You are clear. Welcome to Mkks, Pride of Chanur. You may even bring your arms. The hakkikt extends safeconduct. You will have guides. Welcome, again, to Mkks.”

“Gods rot those bastards!” Geran cried.

“They’ve got their own personnel inside Central for sure,” Tirun said. “That was a valid code.”

“Move. We’ve got no choice.” Pyanfar powered her chair about and hurled herself out of it, slapped the back of Haral’s seat. “Get that linkup made.”

“Rifles or APs?” Tirun was already on her feet; Haral’s sister, tall, full-maned and bearded, with gold rings winking from her ear. There was Geran, slight and fairer: slight indeed against the size of Khym nef Mahn who climbed out of his seat and towered there, wider and taller and dead grim.

“APs,” Pyanfar said with a tautness about the mouth, a drawing-down of her mustaches. “But I’ll take a rifle; want you with one, too. Might want a distance weapon on those docks-might-want a lot of distance, huh? And I don’t think we have to worry about the law here.”

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