"I guess they have determined we don't have any technology worth stealing," he said bitterly.
"Tell the damn grass eating Badger yes," he agreed. "You can phrase it more pleasantly than that," he added. "If I was him I'd jack the price up if it was accepted with insults, no matter how true. I never thought I'd need to be nice to a damn Badger."
* * *
"Well isn't that interesting?" Lee spoke aloud. She was watching the translator channels.
"What?" Gordon asked.
"The language they are feeding us. I've been quietly sub vocalizing parts of it. Trying to see some structure or words with a common root."
"Not as sub as you think. I thought you'd cracked and acquired an invisible friend."
"Big ears," she accused. "It's a lot like English, it's bits and pieces of different languages. They seem to have plucked the word for something from whichever language had a word easy for everyone to pronounce. They call it 'Trade', so that looks auspicious for us getting them to do some trading with us."
"Auspicious? Is that like superstitious?" Thor asked. Lee ignored him.
"The Biters must be alive and somewhat functioning," Brownie told them. "They stopped the tumble and I can't imagine an automated system doing that with a chunk of the ship gone."
* * *
The Biters were quick to refuse having their wreck docked to the station so they could live on ship. The docking fees would be ruinous in the time rescue would take to arrive. If they were rescued. The command structure was not kind to crews who lost their ship. They scheduled to go down-world where accommodations were more reasonable. They'd grabbed all their personal items, a few small pieces of equipment, like computer memory and destroyed a few things they didn't want the lesser races to see.
The wreck was stabilized and parked far enough from the station to not be in the way of traffic, but close enough to keep an eye on it. Close enough to send a crew over to snoop on the Biters current ship design too.
The Badger engineer called his supervisor. "You need to come down here and look at this."
"Can't you write it up, take a few pix and send me the report?"
"No. Not unless I hand deliver it. I don't want to tell you over the radio either."
"Something different?"
"Something strange, different and scary as hell. That's already saying too much."
"Well, I'm supposed to have an annual suit familiarization every year anyway. I'll be over in about four thousand seconds. Can you wait that long for me?"
"Absolutely. I'll go back in the work scooter and come out when you arrive.
The supervisor broke the connection and sighed. The engineer was effusive and given to bouts of sudden over dramatic sensationalism. Maybe a little paranoid too. Which wasn't always a bad thing when dealing with the Biters. It might be healthy with these new people too. But he was solid enough in his profession he'd better go look at whatever stirred him up.
The engineer led him along a temporary boom, clamped to the wreck to provide a safe access and a place to dock a construction scooter with its grapples.
"Don't feel the edge," the engineer warned him, putting a restraining hand on his elbow when he started to reach. "It's sharp enough to cut your glove."
"This is bizarre," the administrator said. The rear of the ship was gone, a fraction of the last compartment a shallow hollow at the rear. There were no ragged edges or floating strands of wires.
"No joke. You tell me what would slice the ass off a ship like a big razor. I expected to see one of two things. Either the wreck would be a ragged mess of shredded metal from the shrapnel of conventional explosives, or gone entirely, blown to bits. I suppose eventually one might see a ship that was hit by a powerful enough laser beam to damage it, but nothing we make at present."
"It's not straight either, is it?"
"You've got a good eye. No, it's a segment of an arch. Whatever did this was in a circle about fifty man lengths across. So if it had hit dead center it would have vaporized most of the ship."
The boss man floated there looking at it. The engineer kept quiet. His boss wasn't stupid, just trained differently and he could be insightful if you shut up and let him think. He was remembering Lee taking a bite of sandwich and holding it back up with a big arch gone...
"It's not," he struggled for a way to say it, "lopsided."
"Yeah?"
"You already know what I'm trying to say!"
"Yes, but when you reason it out yourself you really believe it. And the evidence is right in front of you just screaming out the answer. So you tell me."
"OK. The chances of them missing the center of the ship but being exactly in line with the long axis is just about zero. The end is sheared off as straight as you'd cut a slice off a sausage! So they missed to the rear on purpose. They could have destroyed them completely, but chose instead to give them a little slap like spanking an errant cub to teach it a lesson."
"Yep. That's what I saw too. Although I have no confidence the Biters are bright enough cubs to have learned the intended lesson. I'm afraid they will need a few more swats, likely harder ones."
"What did this though? I mean, did it take the part missing away by some mechanism we don't understand? Is it still in one piece somewhere, else?" Swallowed like a bite of sandwich, he thought.
"No sir. It was plain old vaporized all right. Look here," he invited, moving into the hollow of the last compartment exposed by the destruction. "Don't snag yourself on the edges." He removed a utility knife and went to a sort of work bench that was attached to the bulkhead that was untouched. He scraped away at it and a light brown polymer surface appeared as the grey film was flaked off.
"The shiny grey surface is evaporated, uh – well everything that is gone – vacuum deposited like we'd make a mirror. Damned if I know how to make a beam that will do that. Not with an edge transition finer than one of your ear hairs."
The supervisor was silent and thoughtful again. Finally he confided his thoughts to the engineer.
"Our translators are very confident that they understood the foreigners to say they are merchants. They keep mentioning trade and don't even seem very interested in what sort of governments we have. That's reversed from when we met the Biters. They aren't like the Biters, an armed agency of one of their several governments. But we had no trouble getting the concept of an army across to them when we drew out groups fighting. They grasped the concept immediately and had no questions what our avatars were doing. But we hadn't asked if they are like us, not sending armed people to space, or if they are like the Biters, so aggressive they bring their feuds and conflicts along with them regardless of the expense and uncertainty. Damn it to the Biter's hell, space is dangerous enough all on its own," he complained.
"When the world was half empty and divided among local lords back in our early history, even a merchant would carry a sword when he went off on caravan, wouldn't he?" the engineer reminded him.
"They would indeed. It was just prudent in unknown territory. That may be the case here. They don't project the same...arrogance as the Biters. Perhaps I'm borrowing trouble to expect them to bring the same troubles to us the Biters do, just because they are well armed. But obviously their politeness doesn't mean they aren't dangerous."
"Yes, if these are their merchants, I'd rather not meet their soldiers," the engineer decided.
Chapter 10
"We want to know if you trade among your races and if you will trade with us. We've waited two additional weeks until we have a lot more words translated and understand your grammar better because you keep saying we might not understand each other. That much time living on ship and not finding anything of value has used up resources for nothing back. We need to know if we might trade with you. If not we will go and keep looking for new worlds and new races and resources nobody has claimed. When we get home if there are people who want to come study your language and history they can come ask you to do that. But we are traveling to find resources
and if we find people, to trade with them. If you are not interested tell us," Gordon demanded.
"We have agreed resources is material things. Very few material things are worth taking between stars. What can you have worth trading?"
"We have small amounts of metals most of our cultures use as (money?) exchange. We can trade (ideas?), designs (plans?), ways to make things. Perhaps our art if it is not (too?) more (strange?) different than yours. We have seeds of plants and cultures (alive?) of tiny plants."
"You see we don't have words for all these things."
"Yes. Because you avoid defining them." That was pointed enough to produce a pause.
"What will you not trade?" This was a new question.
"Ships, people, ship's weapons, diseases, navigational data. Anything we need and have no extra."
"Let me (consult?) speak more with the heads of each race here."
"No. If you can only speak for the Badgers, then speak for them. We are tired of delay and ready to move on. You are not saying what the problem is and we are near the time we don't (care?) and will leave."
"You say speak for Badgers. You offer to trade with Badgers if we speak for Badgers alone?"
"Yes. If you will do it that way. You always say you have to ask the others any time we offered anything."
"We had an agreement (contract?). None allowed ask to trade only with you. But if you offer is allowed. Took you long time to offer."
"But we spoke very little with the others. You had the advantage."
"They have same radios. We did not hide words we learn. We just kept talking. They stopped. Smart of us, yes?"
"Yes. Very smart of you," Gordon agreed, but really irritated.
"And it wouldn't have worked worth a damn with us, if they were trying to cut us out," Thor sent in text to Gordon and Lee's screens so the Badger would not see an aside.
"Yes, the other races are not as aggressive," Gordon agreed, typing as he listened.
"Except maybe the Biters?" Lee asked.
"Smart of us yes? Is a bit smug," Lee sent back. "They may think they can slick us as easily. That really wasn't smart to say out loud to us."
"They're welcome to try," Thor sent text, smiling across at her while Gordon kept talking.
* * *
"Now we have agreement - you want to come visit station?" the Badger asked.
"If we can bring a couple of the crew and some samples. Do you have somebody to sit and talk about what you want and what we have to sell?" Gordon asked.
"Yes, we got trader. You talk him."
"Is that what we should call him? Trader? What should we call you?"
The Badger tilted his head back. Gordon had seen that a couple times already. It indicated thoughtfulness or uncertainty.
"You call me Talker is good. You come close station – come to lock in suit?" he asked.
"No need, we have a docking adaptor made up that will go on the nose of any of our ships. Just have our guys talk and make sure what is in your air mix and what gravity strength, so we know it is safe for us. Likely it is, but make sure. And tell us any dock fees or other cost."
"I tell them right now, make sure air is good. We not worry about dock fees for first ship. You dock free first time. You make a docking ring on ship already? That big piece metal to make on ship." He seemed impressed.
"Made it on ship, Gordon corrected. "Then you will be interested in trading for a fabricator."
* * *
When they stepped into their own lock they felt a tug forward, not down. As they stepped out it rotated until at full strength a couple steps away from the lock it was straight down and felt just like standing on a planet.
"There's a bit of a transition there, the gravity leaks over the edge a bit," Gordon told them.
Thor just nodded and Lee said nothing. They didn't want to let the Badgers see how interested they were in that tech. Lee noticed Ha-bob-bob-brie made the transition through the crooked line of gravity with more grace than any of the rest of them.
"It smells odd," Lee said as soon as they cleared the lock.
"You are probably smelling things no Human ever smelled before," Thor said.
"It doesn't stink," Gordon noted. "It would be a real pain in the butt if after all this effort the Badgers stank so bad we couldn't stand to be around them."
"What if we're the stinkers?" Lee wondered.
Talker was standing waiting for them. He didn't press close or do any sort of formality like a bow or a hand shake. Gordon recognized him for sure. His muzzle markings were distinctive. The other Badger was probably Trader, but he had to ask.
"Hello Talker. I recognize you, but we're still not very good at seeing small differences. Is this Trader with you?"
"Indeed it is. I can understand we are a little harder to tell apart than you and Lee," Talker said.
Amazing, Badgers got humor, Gordon thought. Aloud he said, "This is Thor, you know Lee. This is Ha-bob-bob-brie. You say there isn't any sort of docking fee?"
"There will be for other ships. You are first. Let us, how you say, no fee?"
"Free, or you make a gift of it."
"Two more words, so many to go. Come see station. You walk far OK? Want sit – not walk?"
"Ride, is the word if we use a machine to move us. We can walk just fine."
Talker took off with a come-along gesture as soon as Lee agreed. Trader casually took his hand interlacing their fingers.
"Ask for pictures of wheeled vehicles to see what we ride," Lee suggested.
Talker looked at a really small pad or maybe a phone, letting Trader steer them. "Yes got ride. Got pix of automobile and truck with wheels."
"Ask my ship to show you pix of a golf cart."
"Ah, little automobile. But what is golf?"
"A game," Thor supplied. "People do contests of unimportant things for exercise and fun, that is a game. It's complicated. That will probably keep your translators busy for a week."
The corridor was surprisingly spacious. It felt weird to know they were on a station but it was flat.
"Do you have a hotel?" Lee asked. "Do you have that word yet?"
"Yes," Talker agreed after checking his hand pad. "A temporary living space away from home. My note says our idea of temporary differed. We rarely have people want a place to stay for less than several tens of days. But there is no reason they can't sell you space for a night or several. Did you want to use a hotel instead of staying on your ship?"
"It might be nice to do. I'd like to see what it is like. It will help us understand your culture and what you consider important. I've stayed in hotel rooms with Gordon designed for Derf and they were much different than for humans." She carefully didn't mention they had no artificial gravity on the ship like the station had.
That interested Talker enough to turn his head. "Why would you stay with him if rooms for humans could to have?"
"Well, we're family and I'd just been through a very bad time and needed to be close to him for emotional support. We also went places there were no rooms for humans and back then we were poor enough the cost of two rooms would have mattered. We both prefer an area to sleep that has some give. A cushion or a mat that isn't hard and we both bath with warm water, either in a pool or a spray."
"There are enough strange words and ideas in that it will take my people awhile to sort it out."
"You say you are family? But you are not the same race."
"We lived in the same ship since I was born. I grew up with him. In the law of his clan family is who you accept and treat as such, not by blood or debt."
"I find that a new concept. I'm not sure all our people and I don't just mean Badgers, could understand how you could think that way." He tipped his head down, quiet for a time. They'd seen him doing that when he was thinking hard on something. "Maybe I say better. I am not sure our people can feel that way. Thinking is easier than feeling. Far easier to change," he assured her.
"That is the nature of all our races too," L
ee agreed. "When the idea was presented to Gordon's Mothers one could not accept it. It was too different from what was before."
"And yet idea was accepted," Talker noticed. "How was her opinion changed?"
"Oh, she didn't really change her opinion. The clan Champion informed her plainly that she would be removed if the law didn't change, so the clan had a change of government. She quit."
"This Champion, he has authority to change government?"
"Oh yes. Most government in Derf is by the females. They seem happy with the arrangement and it has worked for them for many thousands of years. But when there are very important issues, moral questions, the males reserve the right to step in. It is rare."
"What if she not quit and made room for the new?"
"See what Gordon has on his belt?"
Talker looked and Gordon touched the ax, not his pistol, to make sure he understood, lifting it a little in the loop carrier in which it hung and letting it fall back.
"That will remove the head of government too," Lee explained, pleased with the double meaning.
Talker didn't ask any more. He was quiet for a moment.
"Do you need any special accommodations?" he checked his computer, " Ha-bob-bob-brie." He didn't do too bad pronouncing it.
"I too need water just like my friends. I sleep standing, so nothing special is needed for that. I have little need of room nor privacy in these circumstances, so nothing is needed, thank you. I will share accommodations if my friends do not desire privacy from me. I am still learning their customs that way. We Hinth still feel more secure in a group when we sleep."
How interesting, Lee thought on that little fact. Ha-bob-bob-brie has had to sleep alone for years now and put up with it, but he still would rather be in a group. He was strong willed she concluded.
They passed some branch corridors and several doors with signage beside them, as well as several offices or businesses with window walls. One seemed to be a production facility of some sort, but whatever they were making was too small to tell what it was. But they approached something different. "What is that?" Lee asked, pointing. It was an wider opening than several other doors they'd passed. Propped open and what had to be odd percussive music sounding from within. There were a dozen people of three races lined up to get in.
Family Law 2: The Long Voyage of the Little Fleet Page 15