There was a ripple of motion from the crowd, and some dropped their guise of disinterest to stare openly at the aliens. More specifically, at their weapons.
Talis put a hand out. A shoot-out between Cutter folk was one thing. But the aliens hadn’t attacked anyone since they arrived, and she didn’t want them to start on her account. “He was just leaving, friends.”
She turned back to Hankirk. Nodded her chin quickly at the passage behind him.
“We’ll see you later, won’t we?”
Hankirk’s eyes flashed with a sequence of silent reactions like the slides of a flicker show. His face twisted and he looked as anxious as he did angry. He backed up a few steps, turned, and stalked off. Tossed his tray of uneaten food atop an overflowing bin before he rounded the corner. The score she’d have to settle with him, one of these days, was growing.
Talis took a deep breath and turned back to the Yu’Nyun. What did it say about her that she would rather be alone in the recesses of Subrosa with four aliens than with Hankirk?
“All is as discussed,” said one of them, speaking through its flat device.
Talis listened as much to the alien’s vocalizations as she did the message its device passed along. The language structure was bizarre. But where it had been barely recognizable as speech earlier, she was starting to get a feeling for its patterns. It wouldn’t be as easily learned as the native Peridot languages she had picked up as a matter of professional courtesy, but those languages came from throats far more like her own than that of the Yu’Nyun. But given time.…
She blinked that idea free of its footing. No point in chasing a rabbit of a thought like spending enough time with the Yu’Nyun to learn their language, let alone to speak it. If she did her job right, they could leave Peridot’s thinnest atmo in a few weeks. Maybe less.
The alien was looking at her expectantly. Talis realized its last comment had been a question.
She pasted a smile on her face, not even sure if that would mean anything to them, and clapped her hands together. Made a point of speaking plainly. Last thing she wanted was for a misconstrued idiom to blow the whole deal.
“Yes, of course. That man is an old acquaintance of mine.”
“Ours as well.”
That was news to her. Had they spent more time together than the brief meeting of their two ships over the flotsam, before Wind Sabre’s hasty exit? The alien’s face was rigid, and the mechanical interpreter added no inflection to its translation.
“Previous, he agree audience what we seek. He delay, speak false words.”
She nodded. Kept up the smile, for what it was worth, though she felt one corner of her mouth twist wryly. “Ah, I see you do know him. As I said, he’s an old acquaintance. Not anyone I do any dealing with currently. We only met by accident in the alley.”
“Coincidence.”
She chuckled. “Not really. The food stall at the end of this passage has some of the best roasted meat you’ll ever taste. Not to be missed when visiting this port. Perhaps you’ll allow me to buy you dinner? My treat, in thanks.”
The aliens turned their heads to exchange looks. Talis wondered how that message got through. The guns moved. She twitched, but they were only being shouldered.
“Not eat food this,” said the veiled alien. The diplomat. It touched the side of its mandible with long fingers. She realized she probably didn’t want to see how they chewed their food. “But with gratitude.”
The first spoke again. “Company to your ship, Talis Captain. Safety for you.”
Anyone who was watching her already knew she was dealing with the aliens. The person she would least want to know had already run off, undoubtedly to start whatever trouble he could with that information. And wouldn’t it get the fools of Subrosa talking, to see her with an entourage of extraplanetary foreigners? Gods, the word might get back to Wind Sabre before she could.
“My gratitude to you,” she replied, bowing her head slightly. “If you’ll just be patient with me, while I buy dinner for my crew and myself?”
Her unusual company stood back a bit from the kiosk as she made her purchase. The herbs and spices wafting from the cooktop seemed to be making their eyes water.
She paid for enough food to feed a small army, and the restaurant owner pushed an open cardboard box into her arms. The scented steam enveloped her and she breathed deep. The carton was heavy, hot, and no doubt would soon be leaking grease out of the bottom flaps.
Chapter 15
True to their poorly translated words, the four Yu’Nyun saw Talis all the way to the berth where Wind Sabre was docked. She walked beside the veiled alien, with one of their entourage walking in front and the other two at their backs. The last time Talis had been escorted so formally, she’d been under arrest.
Attempting small talk with her new business partner didn’t go far. The translator pad worked well enough, but either a compulsive need to fill dead air with conversation was not a universal trait, or the alien didn’t relish their time together any more than she did. Somewhat relieved, Talis dropped the pretense and they walked the rest of the way in silence. She did her best not to seem too curious about her companions, keeping alert to the pulses of Subrosa instead of staring at the lead alien’s back and the fascinating pattern of carvings across the segmented plates of its neck and shoulders. In return, her escorts seemed to try not to be offended by the smells wafting from the dinner carton. Anyway, the rest of Subrosa had the staring amply covered.
Within sight of Wind Sabre, she saw Sophie gaping openly at them from the top of the gangway, a cigarette in danger of dropping from her parted lips.
