"Pyanfar." He stood his ground. His mouth was set, his eyes showed panic. But he stood away from his wall and came as far as the observer seat—came further suddenly and flung his arms about her. She hated that. But it spoke more than Tully could. She patted his head, pushed him back and looked at him.
Trust. Gods knew he had no reason.
"You're a gods-be fool, Tully."
"Hilfy say you come."
"Hilfy's another." But it touched her all the same. And what had he thought when she left him with Sikkukkut? What had he believed then—not being hani, not being kin or anything but trouble to them? "You go rest, huh? We take care of you."
"I don't go kif."
"No. You don't go to the kif. Not to anybody. We keep you with us." She thought things over and poked him with a foreclaw to get his attention. "We got a kif aboard. Hilfy tell you that?"
"Kif—on The Pride?"
"Prisoner. Name's Skkukuk. Know him?"
A shake of his head. "No. # # prisoner?"
"Missed some of that. Sikkukkut gave him to us. That's where we got him. You don't be afraid, huh?"
A second shake of his head. "Hilfy—Hilfy—want # say— she # kif."
"Missed that too. She's not happy. I know that. But we take care of her."
"She's good. Good."
"I know that too." She cuffed him gently on the arm. "They get some food for you?"
"Not want."
"Not want. Come on." She took Tully by the arm and led him across the bridge. Stopped and looked at Haral and Tirun, whose eyes wept dark streams from exhaustion. Her own watered. She wiped at them. "Get-off duty."
"You," Haral said.
"Me," she said. "I am." She held Tully by the wrist and headed up the gentle curve to the galley. Behind them, chairs hummed and there were sounds of switches thrown.
There was activity in the galley: Geran and Khym had gone that way, and gods, she ought to have flinched at dragging Tully in there with Khym, but she was beyond it all. "Sit down," she said to Tully, and he did that, in the nearest spot, took the cup Geran put into his hands—Geran's own. He drank. "Going to have to take some food down to Hilfy," she said. "And Chur."
"I will," Geran said, and dumped more into the brewer as Haral and Tirun showed up and went over to haunt the counter and rummage the supplies.
"Here. You need it." Khym shoved a cup into Pyanfar's hands. "Sit down yourself."
"Huh." She subsided onto the bench and drank the steaming cup from both hands, set it down and wiped her mane back from her face.
Com beeped. .
"Gods rot," Haral said, and took it from pocket com. "Pride of Chanur: you got our recording; we're on shutdown. Is this an emergency?"
"/ have a personal message from the hakkikt. / am waiting at your dockside.''
"Gods and thunders," Pyanfar moaned. "Kif."
"Don't go," Khym said. "Send it away."
"You can end up regretting a thing like that." She swallowed a massive gulp of gfi. "Tell it come up. Tell Ehrran's guards let it pass. I'll deal with it below."
"Kif," Tully said softly. His alien eyes shifted this way and that in evident alarm. "Kif come—"
Pyanfar signed for quiet. Haral relayed the message.
"It's coming up," Haral said. And with a lifting of her jaw. "You know those gods-be Ehrran are going to report this business.
"I know." Pyanfar stood up. "You coming?"
"I'll come," Khym said.
"No sense all of us going. Just monitor from up .here. Wouldn't want to give the impression we were worried, would we?"
"Maybe Sikkukkut's sent to get that kif back," Haral said, when they were riding the lift to lowerdeck.
"It would solve a problem. I'd give it with ribbons on. But I don't have any hope."
The door whisked open. They walked out.
The kif was already in the corridor, a dark shadow against the lights, arms tucked out of sight in its capacious sleeves.
So was Pyanfar's hand in her pocket, finger curled about the trigger of her pistol. Haral's too, she reckoned.
The kif bowed as they approached. She neglected the courtesy.
"Well?"
Dark, thin hands came empty from the sleeves. It was a tall one, impressively tall. A silver medal glinted on its chest, multifaceted.
"You come from the hakkikt?"
"Hunter Pyanfar, you will never learn to tell us one from the other."
She looked more sharply. "Sikkukkut?"
The hakkikt spread his hands, palm outward. "Messengers are not to be trusted in this, hunter Pyanfar. And doubtless they would miss nuances. There will be a computer feed; are you getting it?''
"Relayed fromAja Jin. Yes."
Sikkukkut lifted his head to stare down a long, soft-skinned snout. Veins stood out about it. The eyes were bright. "You have confidence in your allies."
"Let's say our interests coincide."
"You have too much sfik to coincide with their interests."
"Is this a deal of some kind?"
"I have offered gold."
"Doesn't interest me."
"And you a merchant."
"Not in every kind of goods."
"Your human would not speak for me. Not a word."
"Huh." She drew a deep breath, ignoring the ammonia smell.
"I didn't try too hard. But doubtless his comrades on Ijir talked to Akkhtimakt when he took that ship. And what would they tell? That humans are determined on trade links . . . which will destroy the Compact? Annoy the methane breathers? Distress the stsho? Do you see the forces ranged against you, ker Pyanfar? Your own han is against you. You ally yourselves with mahendo'sat, and you know their motives."
"Tell me them."
"To diminish us. To bring in yet another species at our backs as they brought hani to shield their left Hand. On Ninan Hoi there are listening posts. Mahendo'sat turn their ears to space beyond Ninan Hoi; they send out probes constantly hoping for some other contact they might use. They have their hands in everything. Like my old friend Keia."
"Friend, huh?"
"Our interests coincide. He wants me to defeat Akkhtimakt, disliking Akkhtimakt's immediate objectives. I want the same, of course. So should you."
"Maybe I do."
Sikkukkut's snout wrinkled and unwrinkled. "Kkkt. Let us assume we are allies. Remember this at Kefk. Should things no amiss, come to me."
She stared at him a long, long moment. "That what you've come to say?"
"I find you of interest."
"Gods, thanks."
More wrinkles. "You are ingenuous. You have enemies at home."
Her ears sank. "What's that got to do with here and now?"
"Much to do with the future. Will you sell me this human?"
"No."
"What will you do with him? Tell me. I confess to curiosity."
"I don't know I'll do anything. He's crew."
"Hani perplex me. But you've promised, haven't you? You'll give me Kefk."
"Jik said as much. Does it take a private deal with me?"
"I offer you pukkukkta on all our enemies."
"Revenge I don't need."
"Do you not? Tc'a sing your name. I have heard it."
The hair stood up on her back. "Fine. I imagine they gossip a lot of things."
"Pukkukkta." The dark lips drew back and exposed keen incisors with their v-form gap; one arm flourished outward, with a flare of dark sleeve. "Hani, there will be a day you want it."
"What by the gods does that mean?"
But Sikkukkut had turned and walked away, a diminishing blot on the light. He stopped and turned half about, always graceful. "You'll have to let me out, of course. Friend."