Joat laughed, but before she could speak, Rand broke in.
"In fact, there is a party approaching Wyal Wyal now, Joat. I have them onscreen on the bridge. Come and have a look at them." now, Joat. I have them onscreen on the bridge. Come and have a look at them."
The day had dawned with the aching clarity of deep cold; the sky was a pale blue-green arch above, with both moons full and looking like translucent globes on the horizon. On the main screen was a view of a very expensive landcar just pulling to a stop at the base of the Wyal, Wyal, crisp snow squeaking under its wheels. Both front doors opened and from each a man with the squat, square build of a heavy-worlder emerged. They advanced with the economic efficiency of battle cruisers and their heads swung like gun turrets, ceaselessly examining their surroundings for any threat. crisp snow squeaking under its wheels. Both front doors opened and from each a man with the squat, square build of a heavy-worlder emerged. They advanced with the economic efficiency of battle cruisers and their heads swung like gun turrets, ceaselessly examining their surroundings for any threat.
One stumped over to the rear door of the glossy landcar and opened it. A woman emerged.
Alvec gave a long whistle. "Not my type," he said. "But that"s something." something."
"It is hard to believe she is of the same species as her guards," Joseph said seriously.
"All of that party are h.o.m.o sapiens," h.o.m.o sapiens," Rand said. Rand said.
Alvec snorted. "You wouldn"t understand."
Her long black hair lay in a thick, gla.s.sy braid on her shoulder, its color stark against the pale green of her exquisitely cut thermal suit. She moved towards the Wyal Wyal with the grace of flowing water. All three of them wore wraparound eye protection against Schwartztarr"s harsh sun. As one, they raised their heads to study with the grace of flowing water. All three of them wore wraparound eye protection against Schwartztarr"s harsh sun. As one, they raised their heads to study Wyal" Wyal"s height. height.
"A living cliche," Joat said, feeling an odd mixture of awe and amus.e.m.e.nt. "You fellas reel in your tongues, now."
She knew the woman. Her name was Silken-no known last name-she was Ciety"s second in command, his lover, according to CenSec. A gangster"s "moll" and her "torpedoes" in ancient Earth parlance.
"She"s a nice lookin" girl," Alvec said judiciously.
Joat grinned over her shoulder at him. "But she"s no Rose, am I right?"
"No, ma"am."
"She is no althea, either," Joseph said with a grim smile.
"Permission to board," the woman said, as though repeating a formula rather than making a request. Her voice was soft and pleasant. Her companions waited with a boulder patience that somehow had an edge of spring-steel readiness.
"This is Captain Simeon-Hap. May I ask your business?"
Silken took off her gla.s.ses and stared into the pickup. "I"m sure you know who I am, as well as why I"m here. I"d prefer to discuss our business in private-you know why, as well." her gla.s.ses and stared into the pickup. "I"m sure you know who I am, as well as why I"m here. I"d prefer to discuss our business in private-you know why, as well."
Well, Joat thought. Joat thought. Right to the point. Right to the point.
"And I"m sure that you"ll understand Ms. . . . ," Joat paused to allow the woman to introduce herself. After a moment of silence she continued: "Uh, that your companions make me nervous."
The beautiful face smiled. "If we were here to hijack you, Captain, I a.s.sure you, you wouldn"t be aware of us until we were on your bridge. However, there is a limit to how much openness I"d consider healthy for both of us. I repeat, we need to talk."
"I"m unwilling to allow either of your companions to board."
"Don"t be ridiculous. I"m not going up there alone!"
"We"re not about to kidnap you, lady, not so ... openly," Joat said sarcastically.
"You have two crewmen aboard," the woman said, her eyes flashing. "I"m not willing to be alone under those circ.u.mstances."
"My crew are trained to stand a watch, distribute cargo, fill out manifests and keep the ship functioning. Your friends appear to have benefited from . . . another land of training altogether." Like how to turn people"s heads around so they can look down between their shoulder blades. Like how to turn people"s heads around so they can look down between their shoulder blades. Aloud she said, "May I suggest a compromise?" Aloud she said, "May I suggest a compromise?"
"Please. Do."
"One of your people stays with your landcar, one stays by the lock with my crewmen, and you join me on the bridge for a private talk."
The woman considered it. Joat thought she was going to refuse, then she put her gla.s.ses back on decisively and nodded.
"All right. That"s acceptable."
Joat keyed the lift, raising her other hand to still the protests. "With you masters of self-defense on hand, what do I have to worry about?"
"Energy weapons, capture, torture, death," Joseph suggested.
"Masters!" Alvec said. "Oh, good. I would"ve been worried worried if I didn"t know that." if I didn"t know that."
"Go on and meet them," Joat said. She put a hand on each rocklike shoulder and shoved gently. "I"m a big girl now."
She should have been in the vids, Joat thought. Joat thought. That entrance was a masterpiece. That entrance was a masterpiece. As if Silken entering a room automatically made her the most important thing in it. As if Silken entering a room automatically made her the most important thing in it.
"Yes?" the Captain of the Wyal Wyal said after a moment"s silence. said after a moment"s silence.
Silken simply stood in the center of the room and held up the blue datahedron that Joat had transported. Her gaze stayed unfocused, only the tapping of one slim booted foot demanding attention.
It"s times like this I"m really really glad I"m a woman, glad I"m a woman, Joat thought complacently. Joat thought complacently.
Joat reclined in the pilot"s crash-couch, her legs crossed, hands loosely clasped on her stomach. She raised a brow and spoke again, with just a shade more emphasis: "Yes?"
After a moment Silken sighed in irritation. She put one hand on her hip and flicked the datahedron with one manicured nail.
"This," she said, "is garbage."
"No," Joat a.s.sured her, "it"s good."
Silken turned slowly towards her, between clenched teeth she asked, "Then why can"t I read it?"
"You can"t read it because it scrambles every time you try to access it." Joat blinked at her and beamed an innocent smile. "It can be fixed very easily."
"Then I suggest that you do so." Silken held the hedron out to her and walked towards the pilot"s station.
Hey, nice slink, Joat thought. Joat thought. Pity it"s wasted on me Pity it"s wasted on me- I wonder if I could learn to walk like that? I wonder if I could learn to walk like that?
"There is a problem," Joat said regretfully, ignoring Silken"s outstretched hand. "Your agents shortchanged me."
"I don"t see how that"s my concern," Silken told her, simply opening her fingers and dropping the data-hedron into Joat"s lap. Raising one exquisite brow she asked: "You"re not trying to shake me down for more credits, are you?" Then she leaned towards Joat until their faces were mere inches apart. "You couldn"t possibly be that stupid." Her green eyes narrowed dangerously. "Could you?"
Joat looked back at her. "Would you please get out of my face?" she asked politely.
Silken straightened in surprise. Then she laughed. "You must must be crazy! Don"t you know who I am?" be crazy! Don"t you know who I am?"
Joat felt an almost pleasant rush of nostalgia. Stationer kids on the docks used to act that way. Stationer kids on the docks used to act that way. Expecting you to know and genuflect to their little play hierarchy; and they didn"t know squat about the really important shipside ones. Expecting you to know and genuflect to their little play hierarchy; and they didn"t know squat about the really important shipside ones.
"Actually, no, I don"t know who you are, since you haven"t bothered to introduce yourself." Joat waved that aside. "Not that it matters. What matters is, I negotiated my fee for delivery of this little treasure right at the outset. When I arrived here I was due twenty-five thousand credits."
Silken"s face reflected her disbelief.
"You can"t be serious," she said scornfully. "The job wasn"t worth that! No one would agree to that figure."
"Look." Joat held up her hands. "I put my ship and my reputation on the line when I took your shipment; and I deliver on time and in good condition-it"s all in my record. If reliability like that is too expensive, then no, you shouldn"t shouldn"t be doing business with me. I fulfilled my side of the bargain. I am now owed twenty thousand credits. Upon receipt of the outstanding amount, you will receive your shipment. Unscathed. That"s it." be doing business with me. I fulfilled my side of the bargain. I am now owed twenty thousand credits. Upon receipt of the outstanding amount, you will receive your shipment. Unscathed. That"s it."
Silken must have realized that her mouth was open because she closed it with an audible clop. clop.
"You"re . . . serious," she whispered, and shook her head in wonder. "Well," she said and looked around for someplace to sit down, "this is refreshing."
Joat looked at her sympathetically. "Honest dealing saves so much time!" she said earnestly. "Had I been paid, you wouldn"t be here; you"d be accessing that hedron." She placed a hand on her chest. "But you must see that I can"t allow myself to be cheated, it sets a bad precedent. And think about it, if he cheated me, he"s cheating you."
"Of course he"s cheating me," Silken said with a condescending little moue. She settled herself with catlike delicacy onto the navigator"s chair. "Everyone cheats in this business."
"Not me," Joat said. "That"s a fool"s game and I don"t have time for it. You can accomplish a lot more if you"re not dividing your energy that way." She looked the other woman in the eye. "Pay me and I can clear that data in a few seconds. I"d like to do that for you."
Silken narrowed her green eyes. "Do you know what I can do to you?" she asked.
Now, that was a mistake. You should do menace menace cold. You don"t have the facial bones for direct threats. cold. You don"t have the facial bones for direct threats. In fact, she looked a little like an angry kitten. In fact, she looked a little like an angry kitten.
Joat shrugged. "That"s kind of irrelevant, isn"t it? What really matters to you is that you"ll lose any advantage that datahedron offers and and everything you"ve invested in it up to this point. Although to be perfectly fair, if we can"t come to an agreement on this I really should refund you the five thousand that your agent paid me yesterday." everything you"ve invested in it up to this point. Although to be perfectly fair, if we can"t come to an agreement on this I really should refund you the five thousand that your agent paid me yesterday."
Joat blinked in astonishment as Silken laughed and lay back in the navigator"s recliner.
"Surreal," the other woman said. "This conversation is ... surreal. surreal. Call up your account and I"ll give you the d.a.m.ned credits." Call up your account and I"ll give you the d.a.m.ned credits."
When they"d completed the transaction, Silken studied Joat slyly for a moment and then shook her head.
"So, you"re an honest woman, are you?"
"I hope so," Joat said. "It"s what I aim for."
Silken chuckled.
"Would you consider starting fresh with me?" she asked. "I"d hate to leave you with the impression that I"m not. Honest, that is." With a mischievous smile, Silken c.o.c.ked her head, inviting Joat to share her amus.e.m.e.nt.
"What did you have in mind?" Joat asked cautiously.
"Something difficult. Something for which we need that someone who couldn"t couldn"t be cheated and be cheated and can can be trusted." She stretched. "Shall we send your man for it? The short, blond, yummy one, not the gorilla." be trusted." She stretched. "Shall we send your man for it? The short, blond, yummy one, not the gorilla."
The box that Joseph brought to the bridge had a simple elegance. Made of some dark wood, polished to a satin smoothness, it was the size and shape of an ordinary jewelry box, the type that women had kept on their dressers for centuries.
Silken keyed open its lock with a series of deft touches, her hand hiding the combination. Then she turned the box around to face Joat before she opened it. Her eyes sparkled teasingly.
As the lid slowly came up, Joat gasped. It was full almost to overflowing with Sainian crown rubies. The jewels glowed blood red and deep within each of them flared the glint of gold that marked them of first quality. Irregular and flat sided, each one was as large as Silken"s small fist.
Sainian crown rubies came from nowhere near the crown of the Sainians who produced them. Originally they"d been called mouth-rubies, mouth-rubies, a more honest appellation-and one that jewelry makers felt might interfere with sales. a more honest appellation-and one that jewelry makers felt might interfere with sales.
Crown rubies were an organic jewel produced as a result of what was, to a Sainian, a socially embarra.s.sing gastric disorder. The gentle, sophisticated Sainians were both amused and repelled that humans could so prize what was essentially . . . drool. Solidified spittle. Absolutely nothing would induce them to produce the rubies if it could be avoided and of course, they were almost always of modest size.
The ones in Silken"s box were enormous compared to the general run.
"Wow!" Joat whispered hoa.r.s.ely. She looked up. "Are they real?"
Silken raised a brow, "Of course." She took one and held it up to the light. "Look at it, see the gold flashes deep within? They can"t duplicate that yet. And smell." She held the stone out to Joat, who sniffed. Responsive to the heat of Silken"s skin it smelled delicately musky. "They can"t even begin to duplicate that."
"It"s just . . . they"re so big," big," Joat said with wonder. Joat said with wonder.
Silken smiled and the muscles in Joat"s back seized up at the sight.
"Everything has its price," Silken purred.
Joat refused to let herself wonder what would cause a Sainian to produce such stones. But she knew at that moment that she should never turn her back on this woman. This kitten had a tiger"s claws.
"I need these beauties shipped to Rohan." Silken replaced the stone reluctantly, as if she hated to give up the feeling of the jewel beneath her fingers. "Ever heard of it?"
"It"s a moon," Joat said. "With a freeport Station, over a gas-giant named Eglund. I"ve never been there, but I"ve heard about it."
"I"m sure you have," Silken said smugly. "It"s the the destination for most of the quality stuff we . . . freetraders ship. Consider yourself lucky to have won this consignment. Especially under the circ.u.mstances." She held up the now descrambled datahedron. "Once you"re on Rohan, and it becomes known that you"ve worked for me you"ll have no difficulty finding lucrative cargo, I promise you. Consider it a bonus for the inconvenience my agents have caused you." destination for most of the quality stuff we . . . freetraders ship. Consider yourself lucky to have won this consignment. Especially under the circ.u.mstances." She held up the now descrambled datahedron. "Once you"re on Rohan, and it becomes known that you"ve worked for me you"ll have no difficulty finding lucrative cargo, I promise you. Consider it a bonus for the inconvenience my agents have caused you."
Joat chuckled appreciatively. "Sounds great," she said. "Now, let"s discuss price."
"What we need to discuss," Silken said emphatically, all trace of good humor gone, "is what will happen if you get too enterprising with my jewels."
"I"ve already told you my thoughts about dishonest dealing," Joat said, her eyes unflinching. "I don"t have anything to add. Now. What are you paying me to ship these?"
A short, sharp exchange of offer and counteroffer ensued. Joat achieved a price slightly higher than what she"d have settled for, with half to be paid immediately. Best of all she knew that she had achieved a degree of respect in Silken"s tiger green eyes.
Joat offered a celebratory cup of coffee from her stores and Silken accepted.
"I"d prefer, say, a nice Chablis," Silken remarked.
Joat grinned and tossed her a sealed container she plucked from a storage cabinet.
"Sorry," she said. "But this is Mocha Java. You"ll like it, I promise. Now, is there anything else I should know?" Joat asked, sipping the hot, fragrant brew.
Silken raised a brow. "Such as?"