“Maybe Kim could fall in love with someone else?” Alex suggested tentatively. “Puck is out of the question, but what about our young engineer?”
“That would be nice. Let’s hope that her specialization as a fighter will distract her from the hetaera part of herself. But you made a very dangerous and painful step for everyone involved when you took the girl under your wing.”
“I realize that already.”
“Shall I issue the certificate?” asked Janet bluntly. “Or is it not worth it? You could still give her some money and let her fend for herself.”
“It’s too late for that. Go ahead and issue the papers.”
Janet nodded, as if she had never expected another answer.
“Pilot…”
Alex could not decide whether the word contained ridicule or pity, or was only the assertion of a simple fact.
Probably the latter. After all, he had never had a right to choose, ever. His parents had made the choice, nine months before he was born.
And he appreciated their decision.
Chapter 5
The courthouse was close to the spaceport. Alex sincerely hoped that the staff would refrain from asking too many questions.
And on the whole, his hopes were realized. Half of the short line in the cozy waiting room consisted of visitors from other planets. Even among this colorful crowd, one family group stood out. They were visitors from High Valley—two tall husband-clones, naked but for their small metalized loincloths, and their plump wife, wrapped in brocade and fir. Crowding around them was a large litter of half-naked children, still too small to tell their gender. Only the eldest had a white bow in its braided hair. That was the one for sale.
A little farther off stood two Zzygou. They really did resemble two adolescent girls. Only their airtight, transparent overalls with a sealed air circulation cycle gave these odorous creatures away. Alex wondered what they were doing there. Maybe they had decided to register a marriage under Imperial law? Not likely. Zzygou didn’t have the concept of family. More likely, they were there to finalize some business transaction with humans.
Five stalwart mercenaries from Baghdad-3, looking warlike in full battle garb, their skull crests fanned open, were probably also waiting to sign some kind of contract. After all, they had no labor union of their own to make sure their agreements were issued properly.
Looking around, Alex was pleased. In this company, he and Kim looked downright respectable. There was a good chance that they would attract no special attention at all.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a real Zzygou!” Kim whispered in his ear, getting on her tiptoes. “They are just like humans, aren’t they, Alex?”
“Only on the outside,” said Alex. He decided not to mention Janet’s recent suspicions. “Could you kill them?”
“Do you need me to?” asked Kim, businesslike. “Right now?”
Alex choked, grabbed her firmly by the arm. “No! No! It was a theoretical question. I just wanted to know if you were ready to fight with the Others.”
“I’m ready,” said Kim calmly. “If you ever need me to, just tell me.”
The girl looked at the pilot, and Alex saw that she wasn’t just ready. The thought filled her with enthusiasm. Not so much the thought of killing, but the opportunity to please him.
Janet was right. He had gotten himself into a very delicate situation.
“I’ll tell you,” he promised her. “But a fighter’s job is not just killing left and right.”
“What then?”
“Being ready to do it. Ideally, being ready every minute of your life.”
“All right.” Kim smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m ready!”
The two Zzygou, blissfully ignorant of their close call with fate, were talking to each other, pressing together their transparent head-shields. The line moved gradually forward. The big High Valley family left, and the mercenaries barged into one of the back rooms. The only ones left in front of them were the two Zzygou and a gloomy, well-dressed man with a large-headed, hunchbacked midget on a chain. The midget stared into space with a blank, stupid expression. A thin thread of drool hung from its half-opened mouth, and its left eye twitched repeatedly. Alex tried to remember which planet had a fashion of keeping freaks as pets, but couldn’t think of it and turned away. Wasn’t his business, after all. The galaxy was a big place.
The Zzygou got called in, and with a polite nod to the rest, they left the waiting room, holding hands. Then the little tag on the hand of the midget owner lit up. The man was apparently lost in thought, and he didn’t notice the signal. The midget darted an angry look up at him, yanked the chain, and hissed:
“Iven!”
The man started, looked down at the midget, and said wearily:
“You and your shenanigans, Miles…”
He stopped short and walked toward the door, above which a small light signal was flashing. He dragged the miserable midget behind him. The chain jingled, and the midget minced along, throwing its arms wide at every step.
“You remember your part?” said Alex quietly. Kim nodded, furrowing her brow.
“Yes. To say nothing and just smile.”
“Put all your charm into your smile, if the clerk is a man. Be shy and quiet, if it’s a woman.”
His little tag started blinking. Alex peeled it off, threw it on the floor, then got up and straightened his uniform.
The office they entered was tiny, apparently used to take care of lone visitors or couples. The older woman sitting behind the table had a small bundle of wires coming out of her temple. Another spider, making her living in the boundless web of data.
Kim demurely lowered her eyes.
“We would like to register a marriage contract,” said Alex, putting their spesh-certificates on the table.
“Duration?”
“Twenty-four hours.” Alex smiled.
The spider moved the certificates toward the center of the table. Apparently, that was where the scanner was located. She looked pensively up and to the left, where she alone could see her virtual screen. Then she asked:
“Your IDs?”
“Did you bring yours, Kim?”
The girl shook her head. Alex looked at the spider. “Are they really necessary, ma’am?”
The spider frowned, still looking up into space.
“No. No, but… Kim, you received your spesh-certificate an hour ago?”
The girl nodded.
“You see,” Alex felt it was high time to launch into an explanation, “she’s just had her metamorphosis. She was so excited when she finally got the certificate… we just couldn’t wait to try out its legal potential. Surely… she couldn’t get married with a minor’s card!”
The spider pursed her lips. The excuse sounded more or less reasonable… but something seemed to worry her.
“But why a twenty-four-hour marriage? To try out the certificate? Or do your religious beliefs require formal permission for sex?”
“Do you have to know these details?” asked Alex harshly. The whole plan was going to hell.
“I don’t,” agreed the spider. “But I have a right to put a hold of up to three days on a marriage contract. Because one of the people involved is young, for instance.”
Having seen a pair of happy teenagers, as young or even younger than Kim, leave this very room half an hour ago, Alex was barely able to suppress a harsh remark. Kim was the one to rescue the situation:
“Alex, dearest, show her your labor contract. Chapter eight, paragraph seventeen B.”
“I don’t have it with me,” Alex answered, trying to recall the text. What did she mean? Chapter eight… financial provisions. “Besides, I can’t show it to anyone without the company’s permission…”