Chanur's Homecoming (41 page)

"Gods." She shut her eyes with force and opened them again, trying to focus. Fiar looked exhausted, ears flagging in a curious, lopsided way that made her look younger than she was. Stable at dock. Other ships having had time to make it in. Anfy and Ehrran in standoff. She reached and took the offered cup. Biggest they had. Full of savory soup, steam going up like a wish to the gods. "Unnnhh." She took a sip. Blinked the kid back into focus. "Ayhar. Where in a mahen hell's Ayhar?"

The ears sank. "They still got them hostage, captain."

"Where?"

"Up in station. Ker Rhean and Harun and my captain, they're working on it, but there's some holdup, and they got fighting at the shuttleports downworld, some on our side and some on theirs, and they can't launch, except a couple got away-The Llun are mediating that, captain says, trying to get the shuttles clear to launch, and some of the Immunes onworld, they're trying to negotiate-"

"A mahen hell with that."

"Meanwhile your crew is coming on, captain said they should take their orders from ker Haral, and ker Haral said-"

"The kif. Where's the kif?"

"They're just staying out there. That kif Skkukuk wanted to talk to them. My captain said no. Ker Haral said no."

"No," she said, and took a careful mouthful of soup as Khym moaned and rolled over and lifted himself on his elbows. "Food," she said. "Khym." The soup was hot as Ahr's fires. Instant stuff. Wonderful stuff. They were still alive and the cabin was staying still and the worst things were far from as bad as they might be. No major confrontations. Kif staying where they belonged. Everybody where they belonged. Excepting Ehrran and a set-to at the shuttle-dock. And Ayhar; and gods knew where Sikkukkut was. Alarm bells kept going off all down her nerves. That bastard Sikkukkut pulled a surprise arrival at Meetpoint. Does he need originality? She shivered convulsively, blinked and guarded herself as Khym shook the mattress getting himself propped up. "Here." She gave him her cup and took the other, the tray more convenient for her, then glanced up at Fiar's anxious, dutiful lace. "Llun's fending rocks, is she?"

"Lots of rocks," Fiar said. And dipped her ears in nervous respect. Embarrassed, now that Khym was awake. She was young. "But my captain told them on station lines, about the* kif, about the methane-breather we saw. About all those stations shut down. About the humans and the mahendo'sat. Everything. Figuring they might not have had time to sort the log out, they better know."

"Good. Thank her. I'll be there fast as I can."

"Yes, captain. You want anything-"

"You want to turn that monitor there on, on your way?"

"Aye, captain." Fiar hugged her tray under her arm, flipped the switch on the wall monitor mounted next the bath and dived out again. The door shut.

"Uhhhn," Khym moaned around a swallow of soup.

The system schema on the monitor showed what the young spacer had said: a lot of hani ships within spit of Gaohn station and a lot of kif and hani and a scatter of mahendo'sat staring at each other farther out on the fringes. All at relative stop.

No Jik. Not showing himself. He wouldn't.

Not dead, not dead, gods rot it. He jumped and got himself after those bastards or he's out there calling the moves and waiting for Sikkukkut. Has to be. We got too many mahendo'sat in this system just sitting there cooperating. He's going to use my whole by the gods solar system for a mahen battlezone.

She reached to the console and punched the com. The tick and chatter of bridge operations invaded the cabin. Quiet talk. Reassuring in its monotony. Llun clan was in charge of the station, fair and sane: trouble in the corridors, but Llun had central, and sanity was making progress out there. Against Ehrran's best efforts.

"We're all right," she said.

All right. My gods, Pyanfar. Where's Kohan? What's happening out on dock, onworld, what are we going to do?

"Uhhn," Khym said again. Drinking soup in constant little sips as if it was going straight to the veins, direct transfusion. They had both shed all over the sheets. Fright. Exhaustion. Depletion.

"Bath," she said. It was the thing she wanted most, more than food, more than sleep. She set the cup down on the table console, crawled out of bed and left her breeches on the floor on her way.

Straight into the shower cabinet and on with the water and the soap. Lots of soap. A deluge of soap and hot water.

A shadow showed up against the transparent door, tall and wide and hani. She opened the door and let him in.

Both of them then, soaked, soaped, and by the gods clean, just standing propped against each other under the warm water jets until she found her eyes shut. Falling asleep again. "Gods. We got to go, husband."

"Uhhhn." Like mornings downworld. Incoherent for half an hour at best.

She got out, cleaned her teeth, dodging sore spots, dried halfheartedly with a towel and hunted up the last pair of clean breeches in the drawer.

And the pocket pistol. Gods, yes, that.

Out into the chill of the corridor still tying the cords, the deck cold under her feet.

"Captain," she said.

Sirany was still at her post, on a mostly deserted bridge, just herself and her First. The place smelled of unwashed hani. And Sirany's face as she swung the chair about, was marked with fatigue and strain. "Ker Pyanfar." The voice was hoarse. "We're doing all right, but we have a lot of questions backed up. Whole lot of people want to talk to you. / want to talk to you. What do we expect?"

"We expect another wave of kif in here. Meanwhile I'm wondering where in a mahen hell a certain pair of mahen hunter ships have got to and where we misplaced about half a hundred human ships that are doubtless armed and meaning things we don't want to think about."

It was maybe more than Sirany wanted to think about. Her face had that kind of look.

"Yeah," she said. "I've been wondering these things. Maybe I've been hoping you didn't. But in a way I wish you did."

"Different truth once we got to dock, once we threw Akkhtimakt on to the mahen side of the line?"

"I don't mean I thought you were lying." Ears lowered in apology and rolled flatter as the jaw took on a harder line. "That's a lie. I still don't know. But I don't think so. I'm betting everything on it. But what choice have I got? There

aren't any sure things out here. I tell you something, ker Pyanfar. They tell all kinds of stories about you. Since Gaohn. Since you took out the way you did and kept-" Ear-twitch. "-kept na Khym and all. And wouldn't lickfoot to the han. I heard a lot more stories on Meetpoint, while we were stuck there. Stsho are scared of you. They call you changeable, the stsho do."

"They'll call me worse than that. I figured a crew that had the nerve to come aboard this ship had the nerve to handle the boards under fire. Way we'll have to yet, maybe. Even against hani, if you had to. I'm telling you the truth now. I'm working only our side. The mahendo'sat have doublecrossed us so many times you need a chart to track it. But they're the best allies we've got all the same, and I'm hoping that conniving friend of mine is still alive out there beyond system edge."

"Waiting for the rest of the kif?"

"I think b'gods sure he is. That ship's equipped. Lots of com equipment. I've never been onto that bridge, but I got the idea it's not a small place. Lot of crew and techs. Ability to short-jump. Goldtooth's Mahijiru has a lot more facilities, but I don't think it gives much to Aja Jin in abilities. We lost track of more than one ship in that flurry out there, and I'm not sure any of 'em are dead. Kif have this concept. Pukkukkta. Revenge. Destruction. That kif Sikkukkut has launched ships down all the lanes. Into all sorts of space. He's prepared to take civilization out. He says. He gives the impression it's no use to him. I think otherwise and I think he knows it, but I don't want to put it to the proof. We've lost track of kifish ships too and it worries me. I want a count if anyone can get it."

"Maybe they met each other out there. Maybe that's where Aja Jin is."

"If we were lucky." She tightened her mouth. Headache still bothered her. "If we were real lucky. But whatever happens we've got to handle what's coming in from Meetpoint, whoever survived that set-to back there. If it's the kif we're dealing with it's got to be one voice talking here. One."

"I understand you." Sirany's hand trembled on the arm of

the chair, jerked in a small tic. She gripped the chair arm till the tendons stood out.

"You want to bring the captains aboard?"

"We got no room in dock. Have to stack 'em in lower main. No. I'm going outside and hope to all the gods I live through this. I'd be expensive to lose. Real expensive. / can talk to that kif. My kif can talk to those bastards out there. Where is he?"

"Lowerdecks. Well-fed, I might add. I wonder he can move."

"Gods." She walked over to the com console and punched in the number. "Skkukuk. What's this you want to tell those kif out there?"

"Is this you, hakt'?'

Hani voices. Different voices. "Godsrotted sure it is, skku of mine."

"Kkkkt! I am delighted!"

"Worried about me, were you?" Gods, a change of captains aboard, possibility of mutiny in the air, the kif like a lit fuse and she had never picked it up. "I told you hani are a peculiar lot. You asked contact with the kif out there. What were you going to do, in particular?"

"Call them in, hakt', to take this ship."

Gods, gods, and gods. Perfectly logical. Her own crew exhausted, in his eyes perhaps acquiescing to this threatening change of authority on the bridge. Ships were moving and threatening everywhere. And here was one little constant light of kifish loyalty, a kif who knew no other hani would tolerate him and who planned to serve her interests through his.

"I'm in command here. No problems. What do you think ought to be done, regarding those kif out there?"

"Kkkt. Put me in command over them. That is your best action, hakt'. I am a formidable ally."

"Skkukuk. What rank did you hold? Is it proper to ask that?"

"Kkkkt. Kkkkt."

"Not proper. All right. Let me point out something to you, Skkukuk. Sikkukkut is a bastard, a real bastard, with a sense of humor. I think if he ever did get his hands on you again you might never get out with a whole hide. Despite your

cleverness. He's too clever not to know you're clever. Do you understand me?"

"Hakt, you are completely correct. What will you do?"

"Why, I'm going to give you all those kifish ships out there, and a treaty with the mahendo'sat and the hani, skku of mine, and tell you that if you will take my orders very closely you may fare very well. But first you have to take those ships and hold them."

"You will see, you will see, mekt-hakt'."

She leaned over the First's panel and unlocked doors. "There you are. You can just go down to ops, down to the auxiliary command right down the corridor to your left, and you can use com in there. You call yourself one of those ships for transport, and you pack up your Dinner and any weapons you think you need, and you get yourself out there and remember how far you are from kifish territory, and who your friends are. Hear me?"

"Kkkkt. Kkkkt. I will give you Sikkukkut's heart!"

"You take orders! Hear me?"

"What you will, what you will, Chanur-hakkikt."

Promoted, by the gods.

There was a deep, gnawing cold at her gut. Raw terror.

Just made my will and testament. To Sikkukkut, should some fool stationer pick me off out there. To my beloved enemy: a new and kifish problem.

Enjoy it, bastard.

She looked at Sirany, who was staring at her in dismay. "One thing about the kif. When they're on your side they're on it. And they're on it as long as they're profiting by it. That's a real happy kif down there."

"I hope to the gods you know what you're doing."

"I'll tell you. If something happens to me, if you have to take charge of this mess, rely on my crew and threaten Skkukuk within fear of death, then turn him loose. Best insurance in the world. He'll respect you for it.'' She had an impulse toward the weapons locker, for one of the APs, remembered it was Gaohn out there, civilized, home; and then went and did it anyway, pulled the heavy piece out and belted it on. "Tell my crew meet me belowdecks. Tell the captains I'll see them in dock offices."

Off the open docks, out of the way of snipers. She had gotten wary in her new profession. Learned the hard way, like any fool. "Khym stays aboard. So does Chur. You can tell them that in the appropriate quarters, too. Tell 'em it's an order. Skkukuk's calling a kifish ship in. We don't want any more hani ships sitting at dock than we can help."

"Relay that," Sirany said to her First. And glanced back again. "Take care, for godssakes."

"Huh." She leaned over the com console, punched in on station. "Llun. Want to talk to you."

"Chanur. Pyanfar." The station-Immune's voice was calm and quiet. "It's a trap, Pyanfar, it's a-".

Something hit the mike at the other end. And silence, then.

Sirany rose from her seat. The First turned in hers.

She stood there paralyzed a moment, then turned and started punching codes. "Rhean! Fortune, are you hearing me?"

"Com's dead," the First said; she could see that, the telltale not lit: the dockside com relay was cut off. Pyanfar half-knelt in the seat, reached and put in the ship-to-ship as her incoming com board lit and the First started taking calls. Other ships had gotten that sudden cutoff. "Pride of Chanur to Chanur's Fortune, Chanur's Light, Harun's Industry-all ships relay: trouble in central com, we've got troubles-"

"Pyanfar!" A familiar voice, her own sister's, out of two years' absence. "This is Rhean, they got somebody into central, that's what they've done, they've cut Llun off-"

"I know that! Bail out of there! Get 'em out!"

And in the same heartbeat: Gods, the kif. Pull off, Pyanfar, let the station stew in its own troubles, deal with it later, we got kif incoming.

No, gods, no, if there's no control here, Sikkukkut will take it himself, he'll come in shooting. We've got to get Gaohn in hand, get our ships repositioned if we can.