Lee, Sharon & Miller, Steve - Liaden Books 1-9

by Liaden 1-9 (lit)

  He nodded. "Your last position?"

  "Cargo master on Daxflan, out of Chonselta City."

  "And you held that post how long?"

  "Four months," she said with determined serenity. "I signed on at Tulon."

  "Did you?" He raised his glass to his lips. "And what brings you to apply for work on the Passage!"

  "I don't have any choice."

  The slanted brows pulled together. "Has Mr. Saunderson still got that impressment operation going? I did ask him to stop, Ms. Mendoza, I give you my word."

  For the third time in an hour Priscilla felt laughter rising. She drowned it in a swallow of wine. "I'm sorry—that was rude. What I meant to say was that I've been—dismissed—from my post on Daxflan. Yours is the only ship in at Jankalim now, so I'm applying here."

  "I see." He sipped wine. "Your dismissal sounds abrupt."

  "Extremely."

  He nodded again, shifted in his chair, and rested his arms on the desk top. "Ms. Mendoza, I have a copy of your record here…" He spun the computer screen around.

  Priscilla frowned, her eyes traveling automatically down the lines of information. Ladybird… As You Like It… Tyrunner… Selda…Dante…Daxflan.

  "Motherless, lying, spawn of a—" She gasped, and the rest was lost as the enormity of the thing hit her. Ruin… She met Shan yos'Galan's eyes. "It's a lie."

  "Do you want to say so officially?" He spun the screen back. "It looks pretty bad, doesn't it? 'Suspected larceny. Jumped ship, Jankalim, Standard 1385.'" He leaned back in the chair and sipped wine, his eyes on her face. "I don't know of any reputable captain who would take on a person with a record containing that entry—even granting the overall excellence of the rest. What happened to your earrings?"

  "The second mate hit me over the head," she said tonelessly, trying to conquer the shock. "They were gone when I came to."

  "Odd sort of thing for a second mate to do," he commented. "But maybe there were extenuating circumstances. You disliked each other?"

  "I disliked her. She liked me all too well." He was toying with her, drawing out the talking when there was no use in talking anymore. Priscilla tightened her grip on the wineglass, fighting to keep her face calm. On his ship, in his power… and who would miss a suspected thief who had jumped her last ship? Who would believe a suspected thief if she chose to tell outrageous lies about a Master Trader? He must have called up her record while speaking with Mr. Saunderson and seen that damning entry.

  The man across from her shifted sharply. "And yet," he persisted, demanding her attention, "liking you so well, she hits you over the head and steals your earrings." He drank. "Forgive me, Ms. Mendoza, but that sounds even odder."

  "The Trader ordered it," Priscilla said, clinging to serenity as if it were her last hope of salvation. Let him hear, Goddess, she begged silently. Let him believe the truth.

  "Ah, dear Sav Rid." The expression on his face was one of mild puzzlement. "He will have his little joke, you know, Ms. Mendoza. But surely there were other avenues open to him, had he conceived a desire for your earrings. Why order the second mate to hit you over the head for them? Couldn't he merely have purchased them from you?" He snapped his fingers lightly. "He had offered a fair sum, and you refused to sell. Rendered desperate—"

  "Stop it!" She snapped forward, eyes riveted on his. "Captain yos'Galan, please. It's imperative that I get to Arsdred. It's a large port—I'd hoped your ship would dock there. Any ere wing duties you have—I'll work my passage to Arsdred as assistant mess cook, and you can lock me in a closet off-shift! You don't have to trust me—believe what you will. I don't think it's very funny to abandon someone and ruin their record, make it impossible to find—to find honorable work…" Her voice had developed a quaver. Horrified, she bit her lip and clenched her hands tightly to squeeze out the shaking. "I must get to Arsdred."

  He broke her gaze and drank wine, then swirled the remainder in the glass. "Revenge," he told the glass softly, "is a highly appropriate desire. Among Liadens, revenge is something of an art form. There are strict rules. There are certain punishments which are not considered proper revenge." He glanced at her. "Death, for instance. At least, not directly from the hand of the vengeful party. Should the dishonor attending a balancing of accounts prove so vast that one has no other choice—" He shrugged. "Well." He set the glass aside and looked closely at her. "I will not have a murderer on this ship."

  Priscilla stared at him. "But you will have a thief?"

  "You said it was a lie. Or did I misunderstand? Perhaps something else was a lie?"

  The shaking was worse, extending up her arms and down her legs. Did he believe her? Or the record? It was impossible to read the expression on his face.

  "Daxflan's record—that I was stealing and then jumped ship—that's the lie."

  "Do you want to say so officially?" he asked again.

  Priscilla shook her head. "I can't prove it—how can I? 'Suspected larceny'? His word against mine—and he's the Trader. 'Jumped ship'?" She produced a wan grin. "I'm not there now, am I? Though why anyone with three consecutive thoughts in her head would jump ship on a place like Jankalim, with twobits in her pocket…"

  "And no earrings in her ears," he agreed. "But maybe you saw they were on to you and were frightened. Jankalim might have been your last chance for free flight—leg irons are so cumbersome. There are excuses for a bit of poor planning…" He tipped his head. "But why did Sav Rid order the second mate to hit you over the head, Ms. Mendoza? At your direction, I dismiss avaricious thoughts regarding your earrings."

  "I can't prove it," she said again. "I think they were running contraband."

  "Do you? What a peculiar thing to think. You told Sav Rid, and he was—quite understandably—annoyed. Thus the second mate, the warehouse…"

  "I'm not that stupid," Priscilla muttered, and wondered why he grinned. "There was sealed cargo," she continued. "I had the manifests—I knew what was supposed to be there. But—something seemed wrong. I didn't know exactly what. So I got the idea of checking the piloting equations, just to prove to myself that I was imagining things."

  "And you found what to be the case?"

  "I found the equations were so far off that the captain had to be a reckless fool. Or she had to know exactly what she was doing." She took a breath. "So I checked the densities of the cargo."

  "Did you?" He leaned forward. "Now why—no, you've had some pilot training. And I'm interrupting. Forgive me, Ms. Mendoza—you checked the densities, matched them to the captain's equations, and?"

  "The captain knew what she was doing. The densities didn't match the substances that were supposed to be in the cargo. Daxflan ships mostly Pharmaceuticals. I started going through the list, checking the numbers…" She shook her head. "I think there's Balla-quesa onboard. It's listed as Aserzerine on the manifest. Everything's all wrong for Aserzerine, though. Bella-quesa matches—but so does sugar. But why would you call sugar Aserzerine?…"

  She shrugged. "It all looked interesting—but I can't prove any of it. I never saw the stuff. And I'll lay my last bit the data's not locked under my personal file any

  He nodded and leaned back in the chair again, staring blankly at the ceiling. Priscilla finished her wine and carefully put the glass aside. Now what? she wondered. She forced herself to sit loosely in the chair, hands relaxed on her knees.

  Abruptly, he spun to face her. "We leave Jankalim in fourteen hours," he said slowly. "Before the two of us can discuss specifics, there are several tests required. They are rather lengthy, and, unfortunately, my presence is demanded worldside this evening. If you feel able, you may take the tests directly after lunch. The ship will extend a cabin for you to guest in, and we can speak again at Seventh Hour. Agreed?"

  "Agreed."

  He nodded and seemed about to speak further when the door opened to admit a clean-faced Gordy behind a wheeled cart piled high with eatables.

  "In the nick of time!" Shan yos'Galan cried, flipping off the togg
les. "Now you offer brandy, Gordy…"

  SHIPYEAR 65

  TRIPDAY 131

  FIRST SHIFT

  1.30 HOURS

  Former Cargo Master Priscilla Mendoza leaned back in her chair, sipping at a mug of real coffee, the remains of an extremely edible meal on the table before her.

  The tests had been lengthy—and rather odd. Among the standardized examinations had been random lists of words to define; questions regarding her personal tastes in books, music, sports, and art; and surveys soliciting her opinion on a surprising range of topics.

  Priscilla sighed and sipped her coffee appreciatively. She was tired, her thoughts moving in hazy slow motion. Soon it would be time to look again at the map she had been given and puzzle out the route to her cabin. But having come to rest at last, with no immediate task before her, she was content to simply sit and sip, letting her eyes randomly scan the vast, nearly empty dining hall. She had gathered from the cook on duty that First Hour was not the usual time for people to be fed. He had laughed her apology aside and heaped a plate high, setting it on a tray with a steaming white mug.

  "Start on that," he had told her, grinning broadly. "If you're still hungry when you're done, come on back and say so."

  "Thank you," Priscilla said, blinking in confusion at the tray. It seemed to hold more food than she had seen at one time in months. The man laughed again and returned to his duties.

  Her eyes were drooping closed. Odd, she thought drowsily, that I should feel so comfortable.

  She sat up straight and drank the last of her coffee in a snap. After all, tomorrow's interview with the captain could end with her back on Jankalim, no better off—with the exception of a few good meals—than she had been this afternoon. So much depended on the tests, and on the captain. Did he believe her?

  Why should he? she asked herself fiercely. She sighed and looked up.

  A midsized Terran was standing across from her, coffee mug in hand, an expression of admiration on his round face.

  Priscilla felt her stomach sink. Here we go again, she thought.

  "Hi," the man said easily enough. "You must be the only person onboard who hasn't had a message to send this trip."

  "That's because I'm not onboard," Priscilla told him, then grinned and shook her head. "No, that doesn't make sense. I mean that I'm only visiting…"

  "Yeah?" he said interestedly, and extended a soft-palmed hand. "Rusty Morgenstem, radio tech. Pleased to meet you, Ms.—"

  "Mendoza." She took the hand and shook lightly; she was agreeably surprised when he did not try to prolong the contact. "Priscilla Mendoza. Sit down?"

  "Thanks." He slouched down and put his elbows on the table, fingers curled loosely about the mug. "Who're you visiting, if that's not too nosy? And how come they left you to eat by yourself?"

  "I'm not explaining things too well. What I'm doing is applying for a job. I took some tests earlier, and I'm to see the captain at Seventh Hour to find out how I did." She sighed. "The whole thing seems pointless, though. Mr. Saunderson—the agent on Jankalim—said the ship's fully staffed."

  "Well, that's true." He paused to swallow coffee. "What's your line?"

  "I was cargo master on my last ship."

  Rusty shook his head. "Got a hell of a cargo master—old Ken Rik. Forty years older'n Satan and twice as slippery. Don't play cards with him." He drank more coffee. "But that doesn't mean much. If the cap'n figures you'll work out, there's bound to be something for you to do."

  Priscilla blinked at him. "I'm sorry?"

  "Well, it's like—" He pointed a finger at her. "Cabin boy. You met Gordy?"

  She grinned. "He met me when I came on."

  "Nice kid. Point is, we've had a couple different cabin boys. One was backup astrogator. 'Nother spent more time helping Ken Rik figure distributions than she did fetchin' wine. Last guy—seemed like all he did was play chess with the cap'n. Gordy—he's teaching the cap'n—aah, what is it? Restructured Gaelic? Some damn thing—old Terran dialect. Happens to be the everyday parley where Gordy's from."

  "The captain's learning Old Terran from Gordy Arbuthnot?" Priscilla picked up her cup and frowned into it. "Why?"

  Rusty shrugged. "Cap'n likes to talk."

  "I noticed. But—Old Terran? And an obscure dialect, at that?"

  "Better ask him—I don't know. But to get back—if the tests check out okay, you're in. And you'll work." He grinned. "Everybody works."

  "But it seems that cabin boy is filled," Priscilla pointed out.

  "Cap'n'll think of something," Rusty said with decision. "More coffee?"

  She smiled. "Thanks."

  "No problem. How you like it? Black? Back in a sec."

  He was back almost immediately, handing her a mug; he remained standing, eyeing her consideringly. Priscilla took a gingerly sip and hoped he wasn't about to say anything unfortunate.

  "If you got a minute," he began as she clamped her jaw, "let's go 'round to the lounge. There's a screen there. We can call up the spec freight and you can give me lots of ideas for making money. Ought to be interesting, since you've been a cargo master and all."

  Priscilla let out her breath and stood with a smile. "Okay."

  "Right this way."

  Matching his stride, Priscilla asked, "What's the spec freight?"

  "Speculation," Rusty explained, and grinned at her blank look. "See, every crew member who wants to pledges a certain percentage each trip for speculation. Wood, say—that's what I'm interested in. Or perfume—that's pretty chancy, but Lina seems to do okay with it. Musical instruments—I don't know. Little while back we had some Grestwellin caviar—one of Gordy's finds. Sold out next port we put in." He shook his head. "That kid's gonna be one hell of a Trader. Knows what's gonna be hot next port, even if we don't know where next port is—here we are."

  The door slid open at their approach, and Priscilla followed him over the threshold into comfortable dimness and subdued chatter. There was a card game going on in a bright corner—Rusty waved in that direction and got two or three absent responses—and a few other people were scattered about, some in conversational clusters, some alone, with books or handwork.

  "There's Lina," Rusty said, and made a detour toward a single chair where a brown-haired Liaden woman was reading a bound book.

  She glanced up and smiled. "Rah Stee. They let you from your cage so soon?"

  "It's later than you think," he told her, waving Priscilla forward, "This is Priscilla Mendoza. She's a guest onboard this shift. Got an interview with the cap'n next. Priscilla, this is Lina Faaldom, chief librarian."

  Honey-colored eyes considered her gravely. Prompted by an impulse she could not name, Priscilla did what she had never done to Sav Rid Olanek or any of the Daxflan's crew—she performed the bow between equals, exactly as Fin Ton had shown her. "I am happy to meet you, Lina Faaldom," she said, with a careful ear to her accent.

  The woman clapped her hands. "She speaks Liaden! See, now, Rah Stee, are you not ashamed?" She stood and returned the bow gracefully. "No happier than I am to meet you, Priscilla Mendoza." She straightened and added in Terran, "Perhaps you will prevail upon this lazy Rah Stee to learn, as well."

  "Nag," Rusty said without heat. "I was going to call up the spec for Priscilla. Want to kibitz?"

  "I do not know. What is it—kibitz?"

  "It means to look over our shoulders," Priscilla explained. "Rusty wants me to give him ideas to make money."

  "Money, money. Already Rah Stee has more money than he can gamble away. Why does he need more? But yes, I would like to kibitz. Thank you."

  The screen was in the corner opposite the card game. Rusty waved his hand at the lightplate and entered his code. Lina perched on the arm of his chair, and Priscilla sat on the hassock to the left, legs curled under her.

  "Here we are. Contents, Hold Six: twenty kilos mahogany; ten kilos yellow pine; fifty-eight gallons Endless Lust perfume—Endless Lust! Rusty turned a pained face to the woman beside him.

&n
bsp; "It is the smell," Lina told him with dignity, "not the name."

  "You're the expert. Four hundred bushels raw cotton; and thirty-two dozen bottles Essence of Themngo." He shook his head. "That kid better be right this time… What do you think, Priscilla?"

  "Impressive," she said sincerely. "You seem to have chosen well—mostly luxury items. I'm not an expert on woods, though. Thirty kilos sounds like either too much or too little."

  "It is the artists," Lina explained. "Everywhere we go, there are the artists, always looking for something new. Rah Stee starts with the wood… oh, long ago, when the captain's father was captain. Now, we have orders. The wood becomes a—a usual thing. We are expected."

  Priscilla nodded, struck by another thought. "You've got an entire hold tied up in the crew's speculative cargo? What about capacity fees?"

  "Cap'n pledges that. On condition the ship gets her share first out of any profit. The ship shares any loss, too—it's a fair deal."

  "More than fair." She sipped her cooling coffee. "Your captain sounds unusual."

  "He is a good captain," Lina said.

  "And the Passage is a profitable ship," Rusty added, turning back to the screen. "Most of the wood'll go at Arsdred—the Artisan's Guild put in a big order. We might pick up a few odds and ends there—not too likely, though, since almost everybody running this sector stops there. Number Six'll be empty for a while." He glanced at Priscilla. "Can't make money that way."

  "But you just said the wood's an ordered item," she pointed out. "You've got a profit, right?"

  "Yeah, I guess." He brightened. "Tell you what—let's try and get our shore leaves matched for Arsdred. Then we can go scouting together. Who knows? Something might turn up for the spec. Or even for the ship."