"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.
"Pyanfar." It was another voice, coming from the speakers, deep enough to shake the speakers. A male voice. Off Chanur's Fortune.
"Kohan? My gods! Is that Kohan?"
"Pyruun sent me. Llun just called Immune Sanction, did she not? I distinctly heard it."
Hani answers. Hani matters. From a voice she had never looked to hear again.
"My gods."
"Pyanfar?"
"Immune Sanction. Yes. By gods, yes. Tell Rhean I'll see her out there."
"Ehrran," said Tauran's First, impeccably and crisis-wise serene at her post, "has just called Sanction from her side against Chanur and taken possession of the station in the name of the han. She says we are all under arrest. They have taken Llun clan under Ehrran protection."
"In a mahen hell they have! Message: transmit: Spacer-clans! Get to the docks and get to central! Arm and out!"
Acknowledgments came back, some mere static sputter. Gods knew how many were following. Or who would.
"Pyanfar," came another voice, clear and familiar and cold. "Anfy, on the Light: we're positioning ourselves over station zenith: any ship fires, we'll blow it to blazes. Go for "em!"
"We're going!" she said back, and grabbed Tauran's First by the shoulder, cast a desperate look at Sirany Tauran's dazed face. "Take care of my ship, hear me!" And dazed and aching as she was, she ran for it.
Chapter Twelve
She was wobbling when she reached belowdecks, staggering with the weight of the gun; she ran face-on into the others as she came off the lift and into the corridor-regular crew, with Tully and Khym. "I sent orders," she said to them both. "No. Stay here."
"It's changed out there," Khym said. "Py, for godssakes-"