'A favor… and a chance to appeal to your conscience.'
'Huh?'
'I'm in a spot, and I need your help.'
She frowned, puzzled, then shrugged. 'Come in, then,' she said, widening the hatch.
'First I want to show you something. Or rather someone.'
'Who?' she wanted to know. 'Hey, where're you going?'
'Want you to meet a friend of mine,' I said, walking down the hall. I stopped and beckoned. 'Come on.'
'I'm not sure I should,' she said sourly. 'Aren't you the one that was going to stick a torch up my behind?'
I was about to explain that I'd mistaken her for a man, but caught that faux pas by its ugly little tail before it scampered out. 'Sorry about that. I was jittery as hell. First time I ever parked inside a sea monster.'
This mollified her somewhat. She stepped out into the passageway. 'Okay, but any weird stuff and I scream rape. You won't like what happens to you after that.'
Probably not. She followed me at a good distance. I got to the closet, opened the door. This made Lorelei stop and eye me all the more distrustingly.
'Okay, Winnie,' I called.
When Winnie peeked around the bulkhead, Lorelei came out of her tough-cynical character like a fresh pea from a wrinkled pod, suddenly all girlish smile and looking even younger than I first thought her to be. The smile looked much better on her than her usual sullen pout.
'Oh, isn't she cute!' Lorelei beamed. 'It is a she, isn't it? Where'd she come from?'
'Winnie,' I said, pointing, 'this is Lorelei.'
'Hi, Winnie!'
'Hi! Hi!'
'Winnie comes from a planet named Hothouse. Ever hear of it?'
She came forward and stroked Winnie's head, feeling the thick glossy fur. 'No. Is that back in T-Maze?'
'Yes. Were you born here? I mean, in the Outworids?'
'Uh-huh. Look at those ears. Oh, she's darling. Is she yours?'
'Uh… Winnie's not a pet. She's a person ? but, yes, she's traveling with me and I'm responsible for her. How would you like to look after her for me?'
Lorelei giggled. Winnie seemed to be fascinated with the color and texture of Lorelei's robe, fingering and sniffing the cloth. 'Oh, I wouldn't mind….' she began, then bit her lip. 'Gee, I don't know. I'm pulling double-duty all this run. We're shorthanded, and I don't know when I'd get the time.'
'You won't need much. Winnie's able to take care of herself. Actually, I had something specific in mind.'
'What's that?' Then, remembering, she said, 'Didn't you say you were in trouble?'
'Winnie's the one who's in trouble.'
'She is?'
'Yes. I want you to hide her. You must know every nook and cranny of this ship, places where she could stay without anyone discovering her. Right?'
'Well, yeah, but why?'
'Lorelei, there are people on this boat who want to kidnap Winnie. Maybe worse. She's in great danger.'
She was shocked. 'Who'd want to hurt her? And why, for God's sake?'
'It's difficult to explain, but basically the situation is this. Winnie has some valuable information, and these people want it badly. And to get it, they need to get her.'
Lorelei put a protective arm around Winnie's shoulders. 'She has information? What could she know that anyone would??'
'Winnie's a very intelligent creature. Don't let her looks fool you. As I said, she's a person, not an animal.'
'Hm.' She looked at me skeptically, a little of the cynicism returning. 'How do I know you haven't kidnapped her?'
'Ask Winnie.'
She screwed up her face to make a snide retort, but thought better of it. She bent over toward Winnie and pointed to me. 'Is he your friend, Winnie? That man there. Friend?'
Winnie turned to me and smiled adoringly. 'Fwenn!' she said and reached over to clutch my hand. 'Jake fwenn!' She nuzzled my arm. 'Fwenn fwenn fwenn! Jake-fwenn!' I was only a little embarrassed.
Lorelei grinned sheepishly. 'I guess you're not fooling!'
She straightened up and stuck out a smudged hand. 'Glad to meet you, Jake.'
I took her hand, then heard voices in the adjoining corridor. 'Quick, in here,' I whispered. We piled into the closet.
When the two sailors had gone I said, 'What do you say, Lorelei? Will you help us out?'
'Sure. I know just the place, too. I can bring her food and water when I'm off-duty… but she'll have to keep quiet and not fuss.'
'Winnie doesn't fuss. She'll behave.' I thought of something. 'Food's going to be a problem, though. She needs food from her planet, special food, like all aliens. Like us, too.' I sighed and leaned against the bulkhead. 'No help for it, I guess. Unless…' Well, there was a slight possibility. 'Lorelei, is there any crewman who might be from Hothouse? He might know of substitute foods, things that are all right for Winnie to eat. Biochemistry is funny that way. Is everyone in the crew a native Outworlder?'
'No, there're plenty who lucked through, but I never heard anyone say they were from Hothouse.'
'Hm. How about Demeter? That's the fancy name for the place. No? Anyone ever mention they hailed from Mach City? It's the biggest city.'
'No, not that I…' In the bands of light coming through the louvered door I saw her massage her forehead with her palm. 'Mach City. Wait a minute. Where've I seen that before?'
'You've seen it?'
'Yeah, somewhere, written on something. Damn it, I can't remember where the punk it was.' She snapped her fingers. 'Oh, yeah! It was marked on a crate we brought up from belowdecks.'
'Cargo?'
'Yeah. We put it in a topside hold. Special class stuff. The crate wasn't marked, but some of the boards came off on one of them in the freight elevator. There were big bales of stuff inside, leaves and stuff, wrapped with plastic bands, and on the bands there was a name. Some company… don't remember what it was, something about chemicals, but it said Mach City. It was in System,
Well. Well, well, well. 'Lorelei, is there any way we can get at those crates?'
'Sure. The holds are locked, but that's no problem for me. Why?'
'Possibility that Winnie might be able to eat some of that stuff. It's also a good bet that…' A good bet? Sucker bet. I knew what the bales contained. 'Lorelei, look?'
'Call me Lori.'
'Lori. I might not be able to get down here again soon. Could you take Winnie into the hold tonight and open one of those crates? Let Winnie hunt around in there for a while. She may find something to eat. She'll know what she can or can't consume.'
'Uh-huh. I can do that.'
'Good. Now, can you get her into hiding right away?'
'Yeah, but I'll have to be careful.'
'Do you want to wait until tonight? Keep her in your cabin until then?'
'Not really. I have bunkmates, you know.'
'Can you trust them?'
'Two I can, but the other one's a blabbermouth.'
'Then you'd better take her now. And another thing,' I said, wondering if this decision was wise, 'don't tell me where you're keeping her.'
