I’m not going to eat for days after that,she told the other two, giving away a sense of rumbling pressure inside her belly. I’m bloated.
I often think we named this planet wrong,mosul said. It should have been Bounty.
You’re right,serina said. No Norfolk merchant is going to be able to resist this cargo.she was twenty-two, the only crew-member younger than Syrinx, slightly shorter than the Edenist norm, with black skin and a delicate face. She was watching Syrinx and Mosul with quiet amusement, enjoying the vaguely erotic overspill of their growing rapport.
Syrinx was delighted with her company, it was nice to have someone so unashamedly girlish on board. She’d chosen her original crew for their experience, and they were highly professional, but it was nice to have someone she could really let her hair down with. Serina added a sparkle to shipboard life which had been absent before.
We’re a pretty common choice,mosul said. But none the less successful for that. Nearly every first-time captain takes some of our produce. That’s if they’ve got any sense. You know, even the Saldanas send a ship here every couple of months to supply the palace kitchens.
Does Ione Saldana send one as well?serina asked interestedly.
I don’t think so.
Tranquillity doesn’t own any starships,syrinx said.
Have you been there?mosul asked.
Certainly not, it’s a blackhawk base.
Ah.
Serina looked up suddenly, her head swivelling round. At last! I’ve just worked out what’s missing.
What?syrinx asked.
Birds. There are always birds by the shore on normal terracompatible worlds. That’s why it’s so quiet here.
One of the larger cargo spaceplanes chose that moment to lift from its pad. The vertical-lift engines produced a strident metallic whine until it was a hundred metres in the air. It banked to starboard and slid off over the ocean, picking up speed rapidly.
Serina started laughing. Almost quiet!
Be a friend,syrinx said in singular engagement. Vanish!she pulled a wry face, and drained her wineglass. “Refill time. I’ll leave you two alone for a moment.” She sauntered off into the reception room with a suspicious wiggle.
Syrinx grinned. My loyal crew,she told mosul in singular engagement.
Your attractive crew,he replied on the same mode.
I’ll tell her you said that. Once we’re safely outsystem.
He came over and put his arm round her shoulder.
I have a small confession,she said. This isn’t all pleasure.
It looks that way to me.
I want to hire a boat and visit the whales. I’d also need someone who can navigate properly to take me. Is that possible?
Alone on a boat with you? That’s not merely possible, that’s a guaranteed certainty.
Are there any schools near here, or do we have to go from a different island? I’ve only got a week.
There was a school of blues a hundred kilometres south of here a day ago. Hang on, I’ll ask the dolphins if they’re still there.
Dolphins?
Yes. We use dolphins to help with the fishing.
I didn’t know you had servitor dolphins.
We don’t. They’re just plain ordinary dolphins with an affinity gene spliced in.
She followed his mind as he called. The answer was strange, more of a tune than phrases or emotions. A gentle harmony that quietened the soul. Accompanying senses flooded in. She was barrelling through solid greyness, seeing little, receiving sharp outlines of sound. Shapes moved around her like a galaxy of dark stars. She reached the surface and flashed through the ephemeral mirror into the dazzle and the emptiness where she hung with tingling skin stretched taut.
She felt her own body stretch luxuriously in tandem. The affinity link faded away, and she sighed in regret.
Dolphins are fun,
