by Sharon Lee
"Excited is better. But I'm a salesman; I can sell things wherever I go, I can do things. You, I was so concerned for you, Beba, that they'd lock you in finally. You are sensitive and so connected to the world! You've been persistent though, and I admire you the more for it!"
Beba walked straight ahead, keeping her sight off his colors, trying not to pick up the excitement of others, the fear of others, the joy of others--and there were so many! Lights fluttered in front of her, but not the colors of someone's psyche. The lounge indicated that boarding would start on schedule for First Premium passengers on Vashtara.
That was them. Their ship, their release!
Derry had been positively amazed to hear that they were off so soon, but then she'd been willing to deal expediently. Joshu had signed the papers, wailing the while about the deal, while knowing the price was reasonable, if not good. At the last Derry made one more effort to recruit Joshu to her bed. He'd parried it, red-eared, able to say in good conscience that yes, he certainly would be in touch with her, when he returned.
Derry, of course, had not seen them at the emigration center, where Management, police, and debt-services had one last shot at their record and their money, before clearing them as Class D returnables--the least desirable rating.
"Yes,"she told the man without a trace of rancor, "I was the last planetary holder of the Sinners Rug of this court order dated two hundred Standards ago. That rug has been transferred to new ownership and taken off planet, I so attest."
She'd done that, knowing full well that Conrad Cash Sale had been away mere moments after she'd touched the container that held the rug.
He helped her pack and roll it, watching the care, concerned.
"This is not a theft," he said to her, "you do not do this under duress."
She'd managed to smile at him.
"Not duress. It is apparent that you need this rug more than I. Perhaps you and your friends will sport on it: certainly it deserves the attention and appreciation of people not afraid of joy. Perhaps," here she paused, on dangerous territory momentarily, "perhaps this can bring you some measure of relief to your grief, which must be a terrible thing to be so compelling. And for me, this is relief. This is a good thing."
And then they were at the door, she and Joshu, and the door woman nodded to them from behind her glasses, saying, "We're so glad you've joined us for your trip to Brulandia. Your baggage is on board and will be delivered to your stateroom before you board. We hope you will enjoy some cheese and wine while you wait. Brulandia is only five jumps away."
The door closed behind Beba as she vowed to never again live where ignorance was winning.
--END--
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are the celebrated co-authors of the best-selling Liaden Universe® series and have been writing together since the first "Kinzel" stories hit Fantasy Book in the early 1980s. They started the first Liaden story in 1984 and have published a dozen novels and several dozen short works in that series alone.
Along the way they've become fan favorites at SF conventions from California, USA to Fredericton, Canada, with Guest of Honor and Special Guest appearances at PenguiCon, COSine, AlbaCon, Trinoc*con, ConDuit, MarsCon, ShevaCon, BaltiCon, PortConMaine, SiliCon, Second Life Library, and elsewhere. Upcoming Guest of Honor apperances include Oasis 23 in Orlando, Florida in May 2010 and DucKon 19 in Napierville, Illinois in June 2010.
They count Baen, Del Rey, Meisha Merlin, Ace Books, Phobos, and Buzzy Multimedia among their English language publishers and have several foreign language publishers as well. Their short fiction, written both jointly and singly, has appeared in Absolute Magnitude, Catfantastic, Dreams of Decadence, Fantasy Book, Such a Pretty Face, 3SF, and several incarnations of Amazing.
Their work has enjoyed a number of award nominations, with Scout's Progress being selected for the Prism Award for Best Futuristic Romance of 2001 and Local Custom finishing second for the same award. Local Custom was published by Buzzy Multimedia as an audio book read by Michael Shanks --Stargate's Daniel. Balance of Trade, appeared in hardcover in February 2004 and hit Amazon.com genre bestseller lists before going on to win the Hal Clement Award as Best YA Science fiction for the year.
Their most recent Liaden novel is Fledgling, published in September of 2009, with Saltation (sequel to Fledgling) and Mouse and Dragon (sequel to Scout's Progress) due in 2010. Baen will also be reprinting the original ten Liaden novels in four omnibus editions starting in 2010. The authors have several other works in progress.
Steve was Founding Curator of Science Fiction for the University of Maryland's SF Research Collection as well as Vice Chair of the Baltimore in 80 WorldCon bid, while Sharon has been Executive Director, Vice President, and President of the Science Fiction Writers of America; together they were BPLAN Virtuals, an ebook publisher in the late 1980s. These backgrounds give them a unique perspective on the science fiction field.
