“Must we say yes or no immediately?”
“Immediately? No. But you should answer within a llor or so.”
Peters smiled, a little thinly. “We then await news of your success or failure in dealing with our superiors. If you are successful we will certainly accept the bribe, right, Todd?”
“Certainly.”
Prethuvenigis was smiling in return. “And what am I offered for that service?” he asked. Peters didn’t miss the wink he aimed at Preligotis.
There was a pregnant pause as Peters figured. “Half,” Todd said firmly.
The trader nodded, smiling more broadly. “I accept.”
“The amount not to be paid if you are unsuccessful,” Peters qualified.
“Kh kh kh! Of course not.” He suppressed his smile and regarded the humans from under lowered brows. “If I am not successful, you cannot accept it in the first place, am I not correct?”
“Yes, that’s right,” Peters admitted.
“Then I certainly have an incentive.” Prethuvenigis rose. “I believe we’re done here. Do you agree, Preligotis?”
“Yes, I think so,” the First judged. “We have not resolved all the issues, but some remain pending upon other events. Do you agree, Peters? Todd?”
Peters looked at Todd, who nodded. “Yes, I believe we have done what can be done in this session.”
“Yes,” the First agreed.
“Yes,” Prethuvenigis added cheerfully. “I’m on my way. I am, after all, a trader, and with such a handsome profit in view I should be eager and persistent, should I not?” “Cheerio,” he added in English, and departed without further ceremony.
Peters rose. “Thank you, Preligotis,” he said as Todd came to his feet as well.
The First of Llapaaloapalla smiled and nodded, and Peters and Todd turned and left. They didn’t even feel odd about it any more.
When they got down to the ops bay Todd looked around. “This is a big enough space to holler in,” he remarked.
“You probably oughta keep it down,” Peters advised.
“How so? We’re rich, dammit!”
Peters smiled. “Yeah. If Preligotis can convince one of the biggest assholes on the… well, any damn place, to lay off on us.”
“My money’s on the Grallt.”
“You’re forgettin’ somethin’.”
“How’s that?”
“We-ell, if Prethuvenigis don’t convince the Commander to let it lie we gotta tell all at the Court, and then we ain’t rich.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“And if our trader friend does get Bolton to back down we get the money, but the money’s for not tellin’ anybody, right?”
Todd frowned. “I think I see where this is going.”
“Yep. If we ain’t rich we got nothin’ to shout about. If we’re rich we can’t talk about it, and ain’t that gonna be fun if people find out anything?”
They took a few steps. “So you’re saying we ought not to be doing any shouting, whatever the outcome.”
Peters nodded. “That’s it. It ain’t that tough. You just gotta keep your mouth shut.”
“You say it.” Todd looked sidelong, then sighed. “You know, I hate it when you’re right about things like that.”
Once around the ops bay at an easy amble was just the right amount of time for the kathir suit to do whatever it did with the byproducts of strenuous exercise. Peters was just finishing such a stroll when he met Master Chief Joshua at the EM quarters hatch. “Howdy, Master Chief.”
“Hello, Peters.” Joshua was smiling. “I thought I’d come right down and tell you, you’re off the hook.”
“The Commander’s withdrawin’ the charges, then.”
“Oh, better than that. He’s putting you in for a Commendation Medal.”
“That’s a nice decoration for anybody’s 201, but I reckon it’s goin’ a bit far in the other direction, Master Chief.”
“Yeah, well, if the choice is fish or fins it’s easy to decide on the menu,” the Master Chief pointed out. He—not frowned, exactly, but the intensity of his beam diminished noticeably. “You don’t seem too enthusiastic about the news.”
Peters shook his head. “If I have gave that impression I do apologize, Master Chief,” he said, forcing a smile. “The news is a big load off my mind, and I do truly appreciate your comin’ down to give it to me.” Especially since this was only the fourth, possibly the third, certainly not the fifth time anything like that had happened. “I’m sure Todd feels the same, but the fact is, Master Chief, we done been asked not to talk about the whole mess with anybody, and I been settin’ myself to do it that way.”
“How long ‘til you can start telling sea stories?”
“I dunno, Master Chief.” He jerked a thumb in the general direction of the bridge. “The folks up yonder was pretty insistent about us keepin’ it under our hats. Could be a long time.”
“Well, when it gets to be possible you be sure and let me know. I’m wanting to hear that story as much as anybody.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks again, Master Chief.”
“Not a problem.” Joshua gave a little dismissive wave and disappeared back into the hatch.
Peters set foot on the hatch coaming and looked around the bay before entering. A truly satisfactory place to holler in. He sighed and carefully closed the hatch behind him. Todd would be happy to hear the news, he was sure.
Chapter Thirty
Human officers were filing aboard the liberty boat, spiffy in their dress whites, when Peters and Todd came out the EM quarters hatch. Gell was counting them off against a list on a clipboard. Several enlisted sailors were idling around, watching, waiting for their own transportation to arrive.
Todd wore a yellow shirt of soft knit stuff with the tail outside pale blue trousers, which went well with his stubby blonde figure, and Peters had chosen a blue monocolor outfit in the same style to set off his dark-haired lankiness. The clothes were moderately expensive, custom-made by an establishment not far from the suit room, but were in the style worn by those Grallt who preferred not to be in kathir suits all the time. Those were available at modest cost, and the sailors had chosen to be somewhat inconspicuous. Only a close examination of the fabric would reveal the differences.
They had on kathir suits underneath. Both had become so accustomed to the airsuits they would have felt undressed without them, and besides they were about to go on a dli ride. Further sartorial experiments could wait until they were Down and found out what the weather was like.
“There are extra seats,” said Gell.
“Hey?” Peters switched languages. “Were you speaking to us?”
“Yes. There are a square of seats in the main cabin of the dli, and only six eights and two of them are filled. Would you care to come on this trip?”
“Now, Gell,” Peters chided, “You know we haven’t the precedence to ride with this group. We’ll wait for the next dli.”
Gell shrugged. “As you like.”
Footsteps hurried up. “Is there a problem?” Commander Collins asked. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
“T’sorrite,” Gell told her.
She nodded and started up the wing step, and Peters remarked, “I see you’re learning a little English.”
“Ssth. I’ve heard that phrase many times from this group, and tried to copy the most common response,” Gell said with a smile. “I don’t really know what I’m saying.”
“You guessed well,” Peters approved. “Her phrase meant ‘I apologize for my tardiness’. What you told her was approximately ‘quite all right’. If you like I can give you some pointers.”
“Perhaps I’ll do that. It might be useful.”
Collins had stopped in the act of setting foot on the wing surface. “I know you, sailor,” she said. “You’re the one all the furore was about… Peters, isn’t that right?”