Peters shook his head. “That option is permanently closed. For me to even consider it would be such an offense against the custom of my people as to be loathesome; carrying it out would be an act of insupportable vileness.”
Dhzeenis sighed in the growing gloom. “In any case I would have no such inducement to offer. Come, Khurs. We have intruded upon ze Peteris’s attention far beyond the bounds of necessity; I wonder that he is so patient. In addition, I note that it is growing dark and cold. We should leave ze Peteris to go about his affairs, and seek shelter and sustenance for ourselves before our bodies take on the same attributes.”
“You have the right of it,” said Khurs, regret coloring her voice. She rose. “Depa’olze Peters, we thank you for your attention. You are kind and considerate, and a philosopher as well. May your affairs go as you desire.”
Peters grimaced. A gentleman and a scholar, is it? “Wait,” he said. “Please seat yourselves. There are matters we have not yet attended to.”
Chapter Forty-Four
“You’re very late,” Ander said, her voice muffled from having her face pressed against his chest. “We were beginning to worry.”
“Yes,” Alper breathed into his right ear. “We had visualized you abducted again, and it was hard to say which was worse: thinking of you undergoing horrid tortures, or imagining you winning free to return with another brace of females to compete with us for your affections.”
“I have everything I need or want in that regard,” he told them, and accompanied the words with a gentle squeeze.
“I should hope so.” Alper leaned back a little to look into his face. “You’re tired,” she commented. “Ander, it’s my turn; will you join us tonight? I feel the need for mutual comfort.”
“Thank you, Alper.” Ander pushed herself away a few millimeters and looked up. “Is that all right with you, John?”
“It’s exactly what I might have wished.” Peters had no idea how the two women allocated his time between them; the method seemed to satisfy them, and he had no complaint. The occasional sessions of ‘mutual comfort’ were happy and without pressure, a true joy. “First I must complete the resolution of the matter that delayed me,” he told them, and turned his head. “Dzheenis, Khurs, please enter.”
The two Grallt entered the room, to stand uncertainly before the door, and both women stiffened. “John, you are a duplicitous creature,” Alper Gor said accusingly. “First you tell us your requirements are entirely met, and then we find you’ve imported Khurs! Ander, let me modify my invitation. We can comfort one another, and leave this enterprising fellow to his new delights.”
“Your proposal seems sound,” Ander said, lifting her head to look at the two Grallt. “Ah, well, John is a vigorous man, and younger than Candor Zin; perhaps there will be some scraps left for us.”
“Calm yourselves,” Peters admonished. “Khurs is not here in that capacity. She has been discarded by Candor Zin, and comes to us as a refugee. She deserves compassion, not jealous accusations.” The girls relaxed somewhat, and he continued: “Here also is Dzheenis, who finds himself in the same state. Consider the two equivalent in my affections.”
“That does put a different complexion on the matter,” said Alper. “Hello, Khurs. I had thought never to see you again.”
“Hello,” said Khurs, evincing wariness. “I had the same thought. Your vanishing from the adult girls’ quarters in the company of an alien was a shock to us all. Little else is being discussed aboard ship.”
“It’s a wonder to us as well,” Alper told her. “I greet you, Dzheenis.”
“And I you,” the big man said with a nod.
“Good,” said Peters. “I’m glad to see amity restored. Dzheenis and Khurs need our help, but they will have to comfort one another.”
Ander and Alper relaxed somewhat but remained alert. “You must have done something remarkable to extract Khurs from the clutches of Candor Zin,” Alper said. “It’s a wonder you aren’t badly hurt. I don’t see so much as a broken fingernail.”
“Their suits have been blanked,” Ander noted. “It seems that Candor Zin has relinquished them voluntarily, for what reason I can’t imagine. Dzheenis was hardly lower in his regard than Khurs; he is young, but already a negotiator of some note.”
Alper Gor went rigid, and an Oh! of mingled astonishment and pleasure escaped her lips. She pushed herself back to half an arm-length and looked down at the other woman. “It’s no wonder we’re the talk of the ship, Ander! It’s the event of a lifetime. We are a pa’ol!”
Ander brought her head erect. “Pahp! How can three persons constitute a pa’ol?”
“We have a depa’olze, and one of great vigor and resource,” Alper said with a broad grin, and touched Peters gently at the base of his throat. “We have females of breeding age, you and me. Now we have Grallt, and the requirements are satisfied.”
“I suppose that’s true,” said Ander somewhat critically, “but it’s an incredibly sketchy version of a pa’ol. If the requirements are indeed met, it’s so minimally as to be almost a joke.”
“It’s not a joke, it’s wonderful! At some point John would have rejoined his own pa’ol, and where would you and I be then? Back with the adult girls, to idle ourselves in cold beds between occasional calls for our services, if we weren’t culled in favor of those already resident!” She sighed, eyes brimming, and sank against him once more. “It is beyond hope.”
“Easy,” Peters told them gently. “Your fears were groundless, Alper; I wish you had expressed them to me earlier, so that I might have dispelled them.” He gave them both a squeeze, a light flexing of his arms. “We must discuss in more detail the customs of the human ptith, but for the moment we should turn our attention to Dzheenis and Khurs. They are between one status and another, and fearful of their futures on that account. They should be fed, treated with consideration, and given such comfort as we can provide.” He smiled and gave another squeeze. “In other words, they are guests, and in a distressed condition. We should act accordingly.”
“I suppose so,” said Alper. She kissed him and broke away. “Welcome to our abode,” she said to the two Grallt.
Dzheenis nodded. “Thank you for your welcome. We are sorry to intrude.”
“Don’t apologize,” Ander told him, encompassing Khurs in the statement with a glance. “We were surprised to see you, but perhaps we should not have been. John is a remarkable individual, and we still can’t predict his actions with any reliability. Returning with a pair of Grallt is well within the scope of his potentialities.”
“Yes,” Alper agreed. “He might equally be expected to have the command keys of Trader 1049 in his pocket, or the Jewel of Ropta in fully functional condition.” She spread her arms and smiled. “You are guests,” she noted. “What do you require for your comfort?”
Dzheenis grimaced. “The use of a toilet facility would be greatly appreciated.”
“Through the door on your right,” Alper said economically. “Khurs, I see you’ve been crying. If you’d like to order yourself, there’s another facility inside that bedchamber and to the left.”