by Blaze Ward
He was Anglo, from the look as he approached. Roughly the same skin tone as Lazarus, without the freckles. Tall and slender, perhaps half a decade older than Lazarus, right at that point where a man’s hair starts to come in gray instead and the beard suddenly goes white. Straight black hair kept short and dark eyes, but fairly light skin.
He approached with a highball glass of something caramel-colored with ice.
“May I join you?” he asked with a slight bow to the two women.
Lazarus noted that Eha nodded like a queen, while Aileen seemed to be measuring his net worth by his dental work and general haberdashery.
“Please,” Lazarus gestured to the one spare chair left at the little table when they had sat down.
One empty chair at a square table meant you had to approach by yourself, without a wingman who obviously wouldn’t have any place to sit, unless the strangers invited you to pull up a whole table, at which point others might attach themselves to the party.
Not that Lazarus hadn’t gamed all of this out ahead of time. Certainly, he was probably the worst-dressed person in the room, but the scarlet jacket and beer logo had been a conscious choice, bait to see who would nibble.
The man pulled out the chair and seated himself with something just short of a flourish. Again, courtly manners, carefully studied yet subdued.
He had the look of a gambler about him, rather than a tramp captain. Hard, sure, but full of bonhomie and smiles as he sought out whatever marks he might induce to fund his lifestyle.
Lazarus smiled at the man and hoped he was reading the signals correctly.
“Oluchi Pryce,” the man introduced himself. “I note from your fashion choices that you might have previously fallen on hard times, but seem to have landed in a bed of roses anyway.”
“Indeed,” Lazarus said, holding out a hand for the man to shake in the ancient pattern of two strangers demonstrating that they weren’t holding a weapon. “Lazarus.”
“Aileen Enjehn,” she held out her hand and dared the Human to shake it.
Pryce did, gingerly. He might have shook hands with a Gnashiiley previously, and the feeling wouldn’t be all that different, other than how small Aileen’s hands were, and how calloused.
“Eha Dunham,” the spymaster took her turn.
That was interesting to watch. Eha didn’t generally appreciate physical contact, except with Addison, so shaking Pryce’s hand wouldn’t be her first choice.
She had, however, interviewed Lazarus extensively on Human conversational rituals on the way here, and on mating rituals so that she didn’t accidentally cross any lines.
Accidentally.
Lazarus was sure there were folks out there that would fetishize her as a goddess, but hopefully none of them were on Yisan.
“What brings you to Yisan?” Pryce asked carefully, mostly keeping his eyes on Lazarus.
Probably so as not to gawk.
“Drive troubles,” Lazarus replied ambiguously. “Shipwrecked, as you surmised, and then rescued. For the last half year I have been slowly working my way back to Rio Alliance space.”
Slow being the part where he had first had to convince Addison to bring him as far as a warship more dangerous than anything in orbit or on the ground around here. Something so valuable that they couldn’t even mention its existence.
“Are there any cargos on Yisan you might be interested in pursuing?” Pryce asked.
Lazarus smiled slightly. The man would have no idea what they had arrived in. And even knowing it was a pincke wouldn’t give away too much, at least until he managed to contrive a way inside to realize that it was Rio Alliance Navy issue.
Why would alien women have such a ship? Or why hadn’t Lazarus just jumped straight home?
Oh, the tangled webs we must weave.
“Information,” Lazarus replied to the question. “I’m six months out of date on developments and carrying a cargo of such value already that I wanted to take the pulse of the galaxy before just arriving someplace.”
Pryce’s eyes went both ways quickly, studying the two women and somewhat awestruck. Humans generally only interacted with three alien species, as far as anyone knew, with rare sightings of a few others possibly.
Here were two more.
How many more might be out there, just waiting for someone to arrive?
Pryce took a breath and leaned back, as if casual. He sipped his drink to buy a little time.
“The war between Westphalia and Rio continues apace,” he said. “Westphalia might be developing an edge, but they have not made much progress, except to pull more Rio ships off the frontiers. Criminal elements have taken advantage of the softening to grow more ambitious.”
Lazarus nodded. About what he had expected, and news would be slow to filter this far, unless it was something grand, like a major battle. Hopefully, that meant that the ambush of Ajax hadn’t rated. Or both sides were keeping things quiet.
After all, Lazarus had taken the ship and fled into the swamp, rather than destroy it. Ajax might yet still emerge, King Arthur returned from Avalon to wreak his vengeance.
“We have some cargo capacity,” Lazarus offered. “Are there cargoes worth hauling as far as, say, Brasilia?”
Again, the flicker of the eyes. Transporting two alien women to the capital was a political statement. A measure of value that they were worth more than anything you might stuff in the back of a pincke.
“I’m sure something could be found,” Pryce replied. “How long will you be in port?”
Lazarus shrugged.
Pryce turned to Eha and studied her a little more carefully. Lazarus nearly laughed at the cold, superior look she returned. Either she had studied his mannerisms closer than he realized, or that look transcended biology.
“If I may be so bold, madam, what species do you represent?” Pryce asked her.
“Churquen,” Eha replied simply.
Pryce nodded and turned to Aileen.
“And you, Aileen Enjehn?” he asked, obviously having memorized both names.
“Yithadreph,” Aileen smiled. “I would give you my card, but we left them on the ship, since you won’t have the correct prefixes to deliver a message.”
Pryce goggled for just a moment and Lazarus smiled. Maybe a touch overdone, but there was no doubting now that the two were intelligent, tool-using, and most importantly, technologically-sophisticated.
Not just a pair of semi-sentients that Lazarus had found and dressed up in modern clothing for an exhibition.
Still, Oluchi Pryce immediately produced his own—three of them—reaching into a pocket apparently inside his cape, and handed one to each, Lazarus being last.
“So you have had dinner and a bit of relaxation,” Pryce ventured carefully. “What are your plans for social events while here? And how long had you intended to stay?”
“We have nothing firm, as yet,” Lazarus replied. “Obviously, I have not had much chance to show the ladies Human society in any great depth. And Tershuvi doesn’t necessarily recommend itself as a bastion of culture. Suggestions?”
“I myself was planning to engage in an evening of cards in a private room with some friends,” Pryce said rather sideways. “Would the three of you perhaps be interested in joining as observers? The invitation usually includes a plus one, but I’m sure we can convince the hosts to stretch that, at least tonight.”
Lazarus turned to the two woman and caught their reaction. Gambling wasn’t something Addison’s crew did to pass the time. Aileen was normally an introvert who retired to her cabin to read off-duty. And he really only knew Eha as a refugee on the run from the law, who spent much of her time with Addison.
Eha nodded, and then Aileen did a moment later.
“I think that would be capital idea,” Lazarus said. “Where shall we meet you, and when?”
Pryce pulled back his left sleeve to reveal an antique-style, mechanical watch.
“Perhaps three and a half hours?” he replied. “Top of the nine
teenth hour?”
He paused there, doing some interesting math in his head. Would he offer to meet them at their ship, and possibly try to get invited aboard to inspect it? Or would that likely push his new pals sideways and ruin his chances?
Oh so delicate, that math.
“The facility is private, and off-port,” he finally said. “Perhaps we should meet at the front gate? I have arranged ground transport for myself there.”
Lazarus nodded and slid his chair back to rise.
“Top of Nineteen, then,” he smiled, shaking Pryce’s hand as he rose.
The others joined in and suddenly Lazarus was departing, leading the three of them out of the tea shop and down the escalator.
Eyes and whispers followed them everywhere, but mostly people just gawked. And this was Yisan. It wasn’t like there were port authorities worth the name that would suddenly show up and demand medical records for the two women.
As if that would mean anything. He had them, for the point when someone finally asked, but that would not be tonight.
Eha slithered close as they emerged into the afternoon’s muggy sun. Aileen trailed.
“So what exactly are we in for?” she murmured.
“Up to a dozen Humans,” Lazarus replied. “Probably mostly male, and successful businessmen, to be able to engage in high-stakes poker, which is what our friend seems to do. Private room with a bar and a small menu, unless this is a banquet facility, in which case they might have a full staff on hand. Games of cards, most likely. The rules are easy to learn, but mastering the psychology of play takes years.”
“I see,” she nodded. “And your purpose?”
“Identifying who might be the best candidate to give us information,” Lazarus said. “I’d like to recruit a few crew members if possible. Rio Navy veterans who understand the equipment and can help Kuei and Ereshkiki Nisab run their departments. We can’t fight anything with such a skeleton crew, and I’m nervous about getting deeper into Human space and needing to.”
“Interesting,” she drawled.
“And for you two, a chance to see Humans in a controlled setting, mostly ignoring you to pay attention to their game,” Lazarus smiled back over his shoulder at Aileen. “Plus, they’ll be making all sorts of offers of credit and requests for favors, so you’ll have some power to drive them as you wish.”
“Are you going to play?” Aileen asked.
“I’m lousy at cards,” he laughed. “Maybe chess, but I’m sure there are ringers out here as well. My goal is to watch, listen, and plan. You two should do the same, and try to enjoy yourselves as well.”
Then they were back to the pincke. Lazarus checked all the settings, and the security system was intact. Breaking into a ship or stealing one were about the only capital offenses on Yisan. Everything else was usually good for a fine, but the locals didn’t want to get a reputation as being anything less than safe for business.
Three hours, and then the crazy parts would begin.
Sixteen
Aileen
If the other two could do it, Aileen decided she could as well. It had been her plan to just retire to the shuttle without people breathing her air, but she should have known that something would ruin that idea.
Still, she was dressed well. Not like the Humans would have any clue what Yithadreph high fashion really looked like. She liked her capris and vests because they were comfortable and had enough pockets to store things on a ship. The jacket added even more pockets, and kept her clothes dry from any rain.
As if a Yithadreph cared about being wet.
The gun was an awkward addition to her wardrobe. It kept pulling her belt funny and almost making her walk with a stagger. Still, Lazarus had been right, when he said that nearly everybody they saw, not counting staff on duty in bars and restaurants, would be visibly armed.
Her guns just leveled the playing field, if someone wanted to get frisky. And some of the Humans she had seen today were as much bigger than Lazarus as he was to her, which was frightening. Aileen had never imagined Humans got that big. She didn’t know a single species with that much variance within a single gender.
At least it had cooled down as the sun set. The air was turning crisp as they emerged and locked up the shuttle. Around them, more crews than normal seemed to be paying attention, standing around outside their own vessels for no reasons but voyeurism, presumably.
She smiled at a few of them, just because, walking along next to Lazarus and a stride in front of Eha. The Churquen was the real alien, being a non-biped covered with scales. Aileen was just a really big otter walking upright in fancy clothes, to see the Human records in the pincke’s encyclopedia.
There were no catcalls, which Lazarus had warned them might happen if a Westphalian ship was parked here. Of course, Lazarus had also read the registrations of everything before picking a path to the front gate.
She had a pistol if she needed it. Aileen made her walk suggest that she knew how to use it.
The Human, Oluchi Pryce, was standing next to a long ground vehicle that rolled on black, rubber tires when they approached. A small mob of sightseers had gathered in the middle distance here as well, waiting for the show. Mostly it was a Human crowd, but she saw a few Gnashiiley and at least one Moah, the creature being shorter than her and rugged, and covered over with dark green scales, except a pattern of light yellow around the eyes of one and bright blue on the other.
No Atomarsk, which would have been awesome, as they were just legendary creatures in Innruld space.
Like the Gnashiiley, the two Moah were denser than the versions she knew from Innruld space. Maybe twenty pounds heavier on the same four foot frame. Not as tall as her, but maybe as strong.
She wondered if the Innruld were doing something to the species under their domain to keep them physically weak, as well as politically. The Gnashiiley and Moah here both looked more physically imposing than their cousins across the galaxy. They might also be able to help the Humans, but she wasn’t sure what they might help the Humans do.
Free them? Or conquer them?
Aileen kept the shiver inside as they walked up to Oluchi Pryce.
The Human bowed formally to them with a flourish of the cape that looked natural.
“Good evening, my friends,” he said with a smile as he straightened. “So glad you could join me.”
“Our pleasure,” Lazarus and Eha replied, almost in unison.
Pryce opened the door at the rear of the vehicle and Aileen went in first, sniffing everything. Two bench seats, facing each other. She found the latch and flipped up the one facing forward, just to make the two Humans look out the rear with her as they rode.
She slid all the way across and gestured to the open space when Eha entered next. The look of surprise on the woman’s face turned to a sly smile they shared as she arranged her coils right in the middle of the back, like a queen facing her supplicants.
Lazarus entered next, sliding across with a grin and joining her.
Aileen watched carefully as Pryce ducked in, did a double take, and then ended up sitting next to Lazarus as he closed the vehicle’s door. He thumped the panel behind them and the vehicle began to move, rolling noisily on the gravel and asphalt road.
“Thank you,” Pryce repeated himself. “I expect that you are aware that you’ll be the objects of discussion tonight. But I know everyone there and can hopefully offer suggestions along the way.”
“For me, this is more of a sociological expedition,” Eha smiled. “See the Humans in something more like their native habitat.”
Aileen grinned as she watched the effect of the words on Pryce. He wasn’t a Human supremacist, but he also wasn’t used to thinking of Humans as maybe being considered backwards by other species.
Looking at them, Aileen was struck by the coloration. Again, Humans apparently had a huge variance in such things. Lazarus had orange hair, while Pryce’s was black and starting to gray. The newcomer’s skin was much paler, even accounting f
or all the freckles on Lazarus’s upper body.
Yithadreph fur tended to be within a few shades of brown, at least until old age set in and they started to turn gray all over.
They made polite small talk, but Eha deflected all the interesting questions, like where they were from, sometimes with nothing more than a peremptory smile. Eventually Pryce caught on and returned to safer ground, talking about Rio Alliance politics.
Aileen didn’t follow it all, and wasn’t that interested, so she let Eha and Lazarus probe this man for news and subtleties. Apparently, they got good stuff, to judge by the smiles when the vehicle rolled to a halt outside a wooden building that seemed to convey great age when she got out.
Pale blue walls on the large building’s exterior, trimmed with white, seemed to have faded from something brighter. The roof was dark, but she didn’t spend much time on planets to judge it for age.
Stations were either newly cleaned, or desperately in need of it.
The neighborhood was quiet and the best word Aileen could think of was rustic. Several multi-story houses around her, far too big for a single family, so she supposed they had been old money, built to impress, as Lazarus had said that only on new colonies did you get families with six or ten children.
Aileen couldn’t imagine having six siblings. Her older sister Noreen was a happily-married housewife, raising one of her own, but Aileen had never wanted to settle down.
Or settle.
Oluchi Pryce led the three of them up the front steps with a grimace of apology at Eha, when Aileen was the one with the biggest trouble. Eight-inch risers were a pain for her short legs, and just brought home to her that Humans weren’t nearly as gangly and awkward as they should be, with limbs so long.
A Human in a uniform of some sort seemed to be sort of guarding the front door. He wasn’t armed, so maybe he was just a bouncer?
“Oluchi Pryce. I’m on the list tonight,” he said as he approached, turning slightly to indicate them all with a grand sweep of his gun hand. “And guests.”