"I've flown with Mito Rralgu before," said Maikoe, "but I wouldn't say I really know her. Khay has, too."
Khay looked over at her in surprise. "I don't remember her," he said.
"Just take my word for it," Maikoe said.
"Well, see if you can get the chance to talk to her. The rest of you, see what gossip you can substantiate. Jakule," he said, turning to the only trooper in the room. "You see what you can find out from any of your cronies running ground patrol duties."
Jakule nodded. "I'll see if I can get down planetside to talk to some of the Terrans," he said.
"Just do as you're asked, Jakule," said Chyad, his tone sharp. "I don't want you drawing attention to yourself. Ask your friends in the smoke den, see what they know. They must have managed to set up some black market deals in new narcotics by now." His tone was full of contempt. "You'd better get on your way if you plan to make that meeting," he said, looking round the rest of them. "I'll be in touch. Remember, say nothing to anyone else at this mo-ment, and let me know if you hear anyone else talking out against the treaty or the Terrans."
He waited till they'd gone before getting up to fetch an-other mug of c'shar.
"What are you planning?" asked Maikoe, following him with her eyes. "You agreed far too readily with
Naisha."
"One or two of the others believe we're right, but they're all easily led," he said. "I meant what I said. If
we want to stop this treaty, we'll have to do it ourselves."
"You haven't answered my question. What do you plan to do?" she repeated.
"I'm thinking that the quickest way to stop the talks is for there to be a Terran death on the Khalossa."
Maikoe's mouth fell open in shock. "You plan to kill one of them?" Her voice came out almost as asqueak.
Chyad frowned. "These talks aren't going to take long. Can you think of a better or quicker way?"
"Aah, um. I haven't actually been thinking along those lines," she admitted.
"Then start thinking that way now, because I can't see any act more guaranteed to make the Terrans
back out of the talks."
"It sounds like a suicide mission, Chyad," she said. "I don't feel like departing this life yet, thank you."
He drained his mug. "I've no intention of getting us caught. That's why I told them to say nothing of howthey feel at this meeting. I'll get in touch with you tomorrow. There're one or two people I need to speakto. Try to find out where your friend Mito is and have a word with her. See what she thinks of the Terrans' relations with the Valtegans."
"Why are you so against the treaty?"
"Because I know the Terrans are in league with the Valtegans."
* * *
As the shuttle set down in the landing bay, Carrie woke, yawning and stretching.
"Why are my arms and legs never long enough when I want to stretch them?" she asked, stifling another
yawn.
Kusac opened his mouth in a grin, the outer edges of which were beginning to curve, Terran style. "Areyou sure you have no Sholan blood, cub?" he asked with a deep pun-as he sat up.
Maybe it's catching, she sent with a grin of her own. "Where do we go now?"
"You go with Rhian and Askad for the moment. I'll have to accompany Captain Garras and the others for
a debriefing. I'll join you as soon as I can."
The Sirroki crew left the shuttle last, accompanied by Rhian and Askad. Carrie hesitated briefly at thetop of the ramp, then Kusac's steadying hand was there to reassure her as they stepped out into the chilland glare of the landing bay. As the cold air struck her, she shivered, remembering the last time she'dbeen in a spaceship. It was as cold here as it had been on the cryo level on the Eureka.
This isn't the Eureka, Carrie, Kusac sent. We don't have
cryogenics on board. What happened to your mother can't happen here.
I know, she replied, giving herself a small shake. I'm all right.
It was with relief that she noted there was no sign of the Terrans. All around her was the hustle and bustle
of the var-ious craft being serviced and refueled. At the far end of the bay, through a group of
disembarking Sholans, she saw the retreating backs of Guynor and his guards.
We're holding the others up, he sent gently, his hand tight-ening on her arm briefly.
She nodded and made her way down the gangway with him. At the bottom of the ramp her meager bagof posses-sions lay waiting for her.
Vanna sniffed the air dramatically as they all headed across the bay to the main exit.
"Gods, but it's good to be home again!" she said. "The fa-miliar smells of reprocessed air, my own room, a shower, and a comfy bed! Shall we meet up for a meal in an hour or two?" she asked, looking first at Carrie then at Kusac.
"Sounds good," said Carrie.
Kusac nodded.
"Rec level mess?" asked Vanna, as they stopped outside the elevator, waiting for it to return to their level.
Reluctantly, Kusac nodded again.
The doors slid open and they stood back, waiting for those on it to leave. Carrie moved surreptitiouslybehind Kusac, trying to avoid the openly curious looks.
They piled into the lift, crowding toward the back of it to make space for the pilot and crew of one of theshuttles.
Sensing Carrie's need to orient herself, as well as her slowly rising tide of panic, Kusac leaned down tospeak to her. "We docked on the lower level bay, our main one. Now we're going up to the ship levelwhere we change elevators."
"Ship level?"
"The ship has two types of levels. The first thirteen are where our ground forces live and work, the levels above that are the ship levels, where all the officers, pilots and those in-volved in running the Khalossa live."
"Why separate levels? Aren't you allowed to mix?"
"Yes, of course, but apart from the main mess and the concourse where the supply store and the bars are, the troop-ers tend to stick to themselves. Being ground troops, they don't have a lot in common with us."
The doors opened, and Rhian touched Carrie gently on the arm, drawing her attention. "This is our level,"she said.
Panic welled up and she was unable to take that first step away from Kusac's side. She looked up at him.
"I'll join you as soon as I'm finished," he reassured her. "You'll be fine with Rhian and Askad."
"I'll see you later, too. You won't get rid of me that eas-ily!" joked Vanna as Carrie took a deep breath
and followed the Leska pair out.
The doors closed and they continued on up to the admin-istrative level.
"Is going to the rec level mess so soon a good idea?" Kusac asked, his voice low. "Wouldn't one of the
smaller mess areas be better?"
Vanna shook her head. "She'll have to mix with the rest of the ship's crew soon enough, Kusac. Now isas good a time as any."
"I think it's too soon," he said. "Everything we do is be-ing rushed. Too much too soon," he repeated.
Vanna shrugged. "The decision is yours, Kusac. You know her better."
"That's just it, I don't," he said tersely.
* * *
Though the rest were dismissed after only a few hours of grueling questioning, Kusac's continuedpresence was re-quested by the officiating member of the Alien Relations Guild. Half an hour later hemade his way to the nearest communicator booth with the official's words still ringing in his ears.
"Have you any idea of the political implications involved in your Link with this human girl? You have? Well, I'm glad to hear it, because I'll want a full explanation of why and how it happened from you and the Telepath Guild within the ¦ext few days! Her father is their equivalent of a planetary governor, and I'll wager he'll be none too impressed when he realizes the connotations of your association with his only daughter. Nor will he be overly pleased to discover she's now part of the Sholan Forces because of that association!"
That was the least of what he'd said. Even t
he memory of the interview made Kusac wince. He keyed inthe code for
Rhian's quarters but received a busy signal, then a message from Askad saying Rhian and Carrie werewaiting for him in his room.
Cursing, he headed downward. He should have arranged to meet them in their quarters rather than letthem assume she was moving in with him. With her human frontier colo-nist morals… Within five minuteshe was palming open the door.
Rhian rose as he entered. "You were quicker than we an-ticipated," she said. "I expected you to beanother couple of hours at least. I'll see you both later, once you've settled in."
"Isn't this your room?" asked Carrie, looking from Rhian to Kusac.
"Good gracious, no!" she said with a laugh. "This is a single room. You'll be moved to Leska quarters but
probably not till tomorrow."
"I thought I was staying with you," said Carrie, getting up from the chair. "No one said anything about me
living with Kusac. I can't do it. I won't." There was a rising note of panic in her voice.
Rhian hesitated, sending a puzzled look in Kusac's direc-tion.
"It's all right, Carrie," said Kusac, remaining where he was by the door. "There's no need for you to stay here. It was just assumed that you would. I'm sure Rhian wouldn't mind you living with them for a few days till we sort things out."
She's not ready for this yet. She needs a little time to get used to our ways, he sent to Rhian. Can'tshe stay with you?
"Of course you can stay with us," said Rhian, "if you're sure that's what you want?"
"Yes," said Carrie, grabbing her bag before the Sholan fe-male changed her mind. Then, as she realized
the implica-tions, she looked at Kusac. "It isn't that I don't…" she faltered.
Kusac made a dismissive gesture with his hand, tail flick-ing briefly. "It's all right, cub," he said. "Iunderstand. Stay a few days with Rhian and Askad till you know your own mind better."
"If we're going to meet up with your friends at the mess, we'd better hurry," said Rhian. "I'll have her
there in about an hour, Kusac."
Kusac shut the door behind them, tail twitching in annoy-ance as he walked over to the bathroom. Unfastening his belt, he pressed the seals on his jacket, taking it off and flinging it on his bed in passing. He was tired, mentally and physically tired, of trying to understand Carrie and keep pace with hermoods.
He'd studied the Touiban and Chemerian cultures and even worked with them for a while, but that hadbeen on Shola and those aliens had been experienced space travelers. She was not. He'd never beeninvolved in First Contact be-fore. Studied it, yes, but the reality was entirely different, es-pecially whenthe alien involved was his Leska.
Despite their Link, despite their closeness, every forward step he tried to take with her was like movingthrough a thornbush. He needed time to think through what he'd picked up about her culture during hisstay with her in Valleytown and compare it with the memories he had assim-ilated from her. Maybe thenhe could anticipate the problems before they appeared. At the moment they seemed to stum-ble fromone crisis to another and that was no way to build a relationship. Perhaps some time on his own waswhat he needed, too.
He stepped into the shower, turned on the water, and reached for the soap container. What was Carrie'sproblem anyway? They both knew how they felt about each other, so why the difficulty over theirpairing? Her people took one partner for life and though his didn't, he was offering her the same. Shewouldn't lose status among Sholans by being his Leska, quite the opposite. It was considered a mark offavor by the Gods, Vartra in particular, to have a Leska. But an alien Leska? How would that affect hislife?
He sighed, stopping that line of thought and letting the hot water sluice over him, washing the soap andgrime away and easing some of the tension from his muscles.
His mind began to drift again. Leskas. Now that he was back on board the Khalossa he could find outwhat a Leska link involved. Hurriedly, he switched off the water and, grabbing a towel, headed back intohis bedroom. Switching on the desk comm, he keyed in his ident and logged into the Telepath Guildlibrary for their files on Leskas.
He toweled himself absently as he scanned through the general information; then, as the subject dividedinto de-tailed topics, he found that certain files were sealed.
Damn! That boded ill. It was even more vital that he have access to those files. He sat down, weighingthe risk of dis-covery now against the certainty that his identity was going to come out into rhe openwithin a few days. Resolutely he punched in his own security code, opening up the remainder of the files. As he read further, he forgot everything else.
A chime sounded from the comm and he blinked, taken by surprise. Reaching out, he keyed in thevidiphone channel; Vanna's face came on the screen.
"Is everything all right, Kusac?" she asked, an ear twitch-ing in concern. "Carrie's already here with us.
Are you com-ing?"
Mentally he gave himself a shake. "Yes. I'll be there in ten minutes," he said. "Sorry."
She nodded. "See you."
The screen blanked, returning him to his files. He closed the channel and switched off, realizing with ashiver that he was still damp.
Picking up the discarded towel, he began to rub himself vigorously but it did nothing to dispel the chill hefelt inside.
* * *
Rhian and Askad lived on level 20. Their quarters were the more spacious ones reserved for Leska pairsand boasted a small lounge and two bedrooms. Carrie was shown to a room the same size as Kusac'shad been.
"You have the room with the bath," said Rhian, indicating a door to the rear of the bedroom.
"How come you have two bedrooms?" Carrie asked, dumping her bag on the floor.
"This is Askad's room, when he chooses to use it," Rhian said, stuffing the contents of a couple of drawers into a cup-board. "You can use these while you're here. I have the larger room, which we're both using at present."
She moved over to the wardrobe, clearing a space for her unexpected guest there, too. "Why should wewant separate rooms?" Rhian turned round to look at Carrie, cocking her head on one side, ears turningin her direction. "Why not? We have our own lives to lead, and occasionally one of us meets someonenice with whom we wish to spend a few days or weeks."
Misinterpreting her startled look, Rhian grinned in the openmouthed Sholan style. "We work for Alien Relations," she said. "I can pick up very little from you telepathically as yet, but the 'Why?' was so loud Ithink even the untalented could have heard you!"
She handed Carried a thick toweling robe. "Here, go and have a bath. After a month living rough, I'msure you're feeling itchy and uncomfortable. Admin will catch up with you in a day or two and make sureyou're issued with all the essentials. I'll lend you what you need till then." With that she was gone, leaving Carrie to her own devices.
The bathroom was easily navigated, and though there wasn't the time for a long soak, she emergedfeeling re-freshed and clean for the first time in several weeks. As she toweled her hair, she came backthrough to the bedroom.
An oval bed dominated the room. Gingerly, she sat on the edge of it, half afraid she would roll into thecentral bowl-shaped depression. Unbidden, an image of a curled-up sleep-ing Sholan sprang to mind. The memories from Kusac were blending into hers now as she began to experience life in his culture. Itwas unsettling.
She sensed Rhian outside the door before she heard the knock.
Carrie opened the door, admitting Rhian and an armful of brightly colored clothes.
"I have some clothes I can lend you until you have the time to buy your own," she said.
"I've brought some things with me, thanks," Carrie said.
"Let me show you anyway," said Rhian, depositing her bundle on the bed. "Certain plain colors denote the guilds and can't be worn by anyone other than guild members. As a telepath, you are entitled to wear purple like us and it would be wise to be seen wearing it from the first so every-one is aware of your status."
"What status?" asked Carrie, an edge to her voice. "Do I have to proclaim to the world I'm part of a
Leska team?"
"The color only tells others you are of the Telepath Guild," said Rhian calmly, her tail giving an involuntary twitch. "When the guild grades you, you'll wear a mark of rank on your uniform. Next to it will be the symbol 'L' to show you are part of a Leska pair. It is necessary," she said, her voice rising as Carrie opened her mouth to protest. "Should there be an accident, they'll know that you have a partner nearby who must also be found. You'll need to wear that badge on your leisure clothes, too. All this will be ex-plained to you later, not now."
Carrie subsided, muttering. "Kusac's already told me." She knew Rhian was not the one to argue withover this.
"Look," said the Sholan female, reaching out fleetingly to touch Carrie on the arm. "You are a new species. Do you re-ally think news of your telepathic abilities and your Link to one of our people hasn't already spread throughout the ship? We've been in space for seven months now. It has been bor-ing beyond belief until we arrived here. The events on Keiss, with you and Kusac as the central characters, will be the subject of gossip for a long time to come. What does a small insignia on your collar matter more or less? If you fight all our customs before you understand them, you'll wear your-self out to no purpose. Now, come on," she said persua-sively. "You're about to go and enjoy your first real Sholan meal with friends. Let's choose something nice for you to wear."
Despite her protests, Carrie let herself be persuaded into borrowing some of the less brightly coloredclothes to aug-ment her rather drab trousers. Those she refused to leave off. Finally she chose a long blueovertunic with panels split to mid thigh and a contrasting undertunic.
"Hm," said Rhian, regarding her critically. "It's longer on you because of your lack of height. Just as well you don't have a tail," she grinned, picking a purple sash off the bed and tying it round Carrie's waist. "That's better," she said. "It matches the edging on the tunic."
"Rhian, we're only meeting up for a meal," said Carrie, exasperated by the fuss the Sholan was making
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