“Hello, Mr. Cade.” Luodine extended a hand. “Hetch,” Cade knew, was a Hyadean form of female address, something like “Ms.”—not part of the name. It was appropriate for Nyarl to use it when referring to his boss. She had traveled to most parts of Earth, putting together what she described as stories about “more interesting and unusual” sides of Terran life for Hyadean consumption. The blue-and-yellow flyer outside was hers and Nyarl’s.
Cade indicated Marie. “This is Marie . . .” He looked at her uncertainly, realizing he didn’t know. “Cade?” She nodded. “My, er . . . a very good friend.” Marie and they exchanged greetings.
The remaining Hyadean had meanwhile stood up from an armchair—embroidered Queen Anne, fitted with tasseled silk cushions that looked Chinese—where he had been sitting when they entered. He was broad, with curly brown hair, which was unusual, and an exceptionally Hyadean face composed of solid horizontal lines, looking as if it had come out of a press. He wore a loose, dark shirtlike garment tucked into baggy black trousers secured by a belt, which carried a hand-weapon in a gray, holsterlike pouch.
“This is Brezc Hudro,” Tevlak informed them. “He is with the—”
“Military,” Marie supplied.
Tevlak looked surprised. “How did you know? He is out of uniform.”
“I can tell,” Marie said.
Cade looked the Hyadean up and down again. He could picture him as one of the Hyadeans they had seen on duty at the air terminal the day before.
“You are from CounterAction,” Luodine said to Marie. “Are soldiers so much alike everywhere?”
“Something like that. You develop a radar.”
Hudro seemed unperturbed, simply spreading his hands in a gesture that asked what he could add to that.
Tevlak fussed around, finding seats and clearing chairs of trinket boxes and framed prints. An Indian housekeeper appeared, and went away again with orders from Tevlak for refreshments and drinks. Vrel opened the warm-up talk. “You have a genuine native dwelling,” he remarked to Tevlak. “Most Hyadeans that I know prefer our own prefabs, even away from the bases. Does it go with the Terran art, somehow?”
“We were just asking the same thing when you arrived,” Luodine said.
Tevlak, who hadn’t sat down himself but continued moving around the room, made an expansive gesture that could have meant anything. “I like native Terran surroundings. They create a stratosphere that helps me think.”
“Atmosphere,” his veebee corrected from somewhere beneath the poncho, which Tevlak had left on.
“Whatever. You don’t have to talk and be prattled back at all the time. We back home have forgotten it.”
“Do you feel safe out here, away from the bases?” Thryase asked. “With the trouble that’s going on among the Terrans? A lot of them don’t like us. I’ve seen it myself in the U.S. Did you know that we’re training their police and military?”
Tevlak guffawed loudly. Cade suspected it was an acquired mannerism. Hyadeans didn’t laugh much, tending more just to smile when amused. When they did, it usually signified embarrassment. “It’s different here. I am a threat to nobody. Everyone here is aware of it. Do you know what the prices I can get mean to them?” He gestured in the direction of the window. “Did you see those people outside? They travel miles to bring me their work. I am the big father-number.”
“Figure.”
“Figure.” Tevlak laughed again. This time it seemed Hyadean. Hudro seemed to have reservations but chose not to press them at this point.
Vrel, who Cade gathered was the organizer of the meeting, looked at Luodine. “Let’s get started. It’s your show now. How do you want to do it?”
“I’ve got a list of things to cover. We go through a dummy run first.” Luodine nodded at Roland and Marie. “That’ll give you a chance to familiarize and get your lines together. Then we do it again live, a bit more formally. Don’t worry about getting it perfect. We do a lot of editing.”
“Wait a minute,” Cade said. “What are we talking about here, `live’?” He remembered the direct communications to Chryse that he had seen in the Hyadean offices in LA. “Is this going out over your network back home?”