“It was routine, which is more than can be said for your time on the Pinion.” As she spoke, I studied her face in fascination. She spoke without inflection beyond the inevitable rise and fall of Vardeshi tones. The flatness of her affect was so complete I knew it must be intentional. She reminded me of Tristan, my trainer in covert signaling. Next to her, I thought, Hathan would look positively demonstrative. I wondered what she would sound like speaking English.
“We had a few surprises,” I said. “I’m hoping for smoother sailing from here to Vardesh Prime.”
“An Echelon ship would have been your best guarantee of safe passage. And yet you turned down a placement on the Izdarith. Why?”
Taken aback at her bluntness, I fought my instinct to go on the defensive. I dredged up an expression I’d acquired in my trade with Saresh: “The horizon looks emptiest from the bow of a one-man craft.”
Instead of acknowledging the point I was trying to make, she fixed on the phrase itself. “That idiom is in the archaic form. You must have learned it from Saresh Takheri. How much of his knowledge was left in your mind after the Listening?”
Again the directness of the question surprised me into honesty. “Not much. Just a couple of idioms.”
“Ah. The rumors indicated it was closer to a complete memory transfer.”
“Rumors tend to be overblown. At least where I come from.”
Before she could respond, we were invited to take our seats. As I looked for my place, I found that the seat assignments had been laid out according to formal Fleet protocol, in descending order of rank. I was clustered with Zey, Sohra, and Khiva at one end of a long table, while Kylie was seated with Zirian, Tavri, Hathan, Suvi Ekhran, and Saresh at the other. I wondered if the ordering was intended as a slight. Depending on which of my two identities one considered, I was either one of the highest-ranked people in the room or the single most inferior. Tavri—I was sure it had been her—had placed me according to the latter designation. I didn’t care. Being with my friends meant I didn’t have to perform for anyone. And it wasn’t an insult to me to be identified as Novi Alkhat. On the contrary, it was exactly what I wanted—and what the Echelon had almost taken away from me.
The energy at our end of the table was high. Everyone was giddy with excitement about the upcoming launch. Khiva was looking forward to going home, Zey was relieved that his three weeks of leave on Earth had been reinstated, and Sohra was eager to investigate some of the newer systems on the Ascendant. “And Eyvri is excited to do more laundry,” Sohra teased me. “You must really miss the smell of our cleaning solvents. You know you wouldn’t have had to do any work on the Izdarith, right? You would have been an honored guest. A luminary.”
“I would have been a package. They probably would have listed me on the cargo manifest. Special delivery, one human female. Weight: fifty-four kilograms. Destination: Khezendri.”
“Contents under pressure,” Khiva murmured. I grinned at her.
“Well, you’re still that, at least to one of us,” said Zey. “The ahtziri is coming with us, remember?”
The ahtziri was Vethna’s sardonic nickname for Suvi Ekhran. Sohra had shown me pictures of the animal on her flexscreen. It was a lithe silver-furred creature that looked like a cross between a fox and a cat. I had to admit the resemblance was striking; the cold black eyes and haughtily upright bearing were the same. Still, I didn’t like the idea that Suvi Ekhran was already an object of ridicule. It was my fault she had been placed on the Ascendant, and I wanted her to be given a fighting chance. And I had been on the receiving end of a nickname from Vethna too recently to have forgotten its sting. “Don’t call her that,” I hissed.
Zey sent an unconcerned look down the length of the table. Tavri was saying something to Suvi Ekhran. Neither of them was looking in our direction. “Why not? They can’t hear us. And it’s over. Everything’s been settled. The Echelon’s not going to change the plan now. Stop worrying.”
“I’ll stop worrying when we’ve launched. Until then, could you try not to annoy them more than you absolutely have to?”
“You’re the one who rejected them, Eyvri,” Khiva said dryly. “You practically begged not to be put on their ship. I think the damage is probably done.”
I knew she was right. Even so, I put on my best political face for the drinks course that succeeded the main meal. The senek, brandy, and savory plates were served in a long gallery adjacent to the dining room. Floor-to-ceiling viewports like the ones in Kylie’s suite offered a stunning view of the starhaven. I downed a fortifying cup of senek, steeled myself, and made straight for Governor Tavri, who was talking to Suvi Ekhran near the viewports.
“Novi,” Tavri said smoothly as I approached. “Join us. We were just discussing the latest news of the exchange.” She spoke in Vardeshi, which I thought was generous of her. She went on, “There have been reports that another one of your cohort is drawing considerable praise for his linguistic prowess. He’s apparently quite gifted. If the accounts are credible, his Vardeshi is near-native after only three months. You’ve been studying for how long—a year?”
“Fifteen months now,” I said.
“Ah. And how would you describe your own skill level?”
This, I realized, was why we were speaking Vardeshi. It had nothing to do with courtesy. Tavri was trying to trap me into an embarrassing overestimation of my own abilities. I said, “Proficient.” I waited for her next sally, but it didn’t come. She seemed to be waiting for me to say more. Channeling Saresh, I assumed an expression of mild interest and said nothing. At Tavri’s side, Reyna Ekhran watched me dispassionately.
When I didn’t expand on my answer, Tavri pressed, “You wouldn’t call yourself fluent?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I still have a lot to learn.” A server passed by us carrying steaming cups of senek on a tray. I flagged him down for a refill. It took all my restraint not to snatch the cup out of his hand.
“Admirably modest,” said Tavri.
Suvi Ekhran asked, “What’s his name? The other human?”
After what I knew had to be a manufactured pause to retrieve it, Tavri said, “I think he was called . . . Simon?”
I drank some of my senek, which helped to settle my mind a little, and thought back to the night before my launch from the Villiger Center and the list of placements taped to the wall. It felt like a such long time ago. The name was familiar though. Hadn’t I heard Scott and Rajani talking about him? “There was someone named Fletcher Simon who trained with me and Kylie. I didn’t have a chance to meet him.”
While I was speaking, Hathan made his way over to join our little group, senek cup in hand. I wondered what had drawn his attention. Had he noticed that I was outnumbered by the Echelon and come to lend his support, or was he simply hoping to prevent me from offending Governor Tavri again? I could have assured him that I had no such intention. I had sought her out in the hope of smoothing over any lingering tension between us. The antagonism was all on her side.
“How lucky for you that this Fletcher Simon didn’t have the advantage of your early exposure to our language,” Tavri said. “If he had, things might have been very different. He might be on his way to Vardesh Prime right now instead of you.”
Was this the best she could do? I wondered. Vague hints that someone else was better at her language than I was? She had tapped into a vein of anxiety, it was true, but it was one that no longer had any power over me. Unless the Echelon was giving Fletcher Simon my berth on the Ascendant, I didn’t care in the slightest if he had mastered the North Continent dialect, the South Continent dialect, the Khivrik accent, and Hebrew. While I was searching for a less sarcastic response, Hathan came unexpectedly to my defense.
“A story has a thousand beginnings, but only one ending,” he said. “It’s pointless to speculate on how things could have gone. The slightest shift at any stage would have led to a different outcome. In any case, I was one of the people who interviewed Eyvri, and I stand by my c
hoice.” And, with no warning at all, he put an encouraging hand on my shoulder.
Under any other circumstances it would have been a mere comradely gesture. Tonight, however, I wasn’t wearing a uniform or a sweatshirt. I was wearing Kylie’s strappy dress. There was nothing under his hand, no protective layer of fabric between his skin and mine. My entire awareness was instantly concentrated on the light pressure of his fingers on my bare shoulder. A feeling like the aftereffect of senek, exquisitely cool and soothing, spread outward from that single point of contact. After a few moments he took his hand away. I fought the urge to lift my own hand to cover the place where his had rested. What was Suvi Ekhran saying? Something about the relative difficulties of Vardeshi and English. I was trying desperately to remember if Hathan had ever touched me like that before. He had grabbed my arm in the corridor during my argument with Vethna to keep me from falling. And, I recalled with a fresh surge of mortification, he had carried me unconscious to the Pinion’s medical clinic after the shooting. But this . . . Others had offered as much. I didn’t think he had.
Tavri was talking now. I blinked and made a supreme effort to engage with her words. “The Echelon is considering inviting him to Vardesh Prime as well.” It took me a moment to place him as Fletcher Simon. “Perhaps very soon. Elteni Starhaven is only a month away from our world. You may not hold the title of the only human to visit it for very long. It’s possible that his tenure could even overlap with yours.”
If that was true, I thought, then this was the retaliation Kylie had cautioned me to expect. The Echelon had found an unobtrusive way to punish me for declining their escort, and it was far worse than any fleeting personal humiliation. They were trying to dilute my importance in the exchange. I was supposed to be the first human on Vardesh Prime. The first, singular, not one of the first. I felt an automatic twinge of resentment at the thought, but I wasn’t about to give Tavri the satisfaction of showing it. I put on the brightest smile I could manage. “Good. It’s been wonderful to explore Arkhati with Kylie. I’d love to cross paths with another Stranger. And it’s a big step forward for the alliance. There are a hundred Vardeshi on Earth. Why should I be the only human on Vardesh Prime?”
Tavri said, “You won’t mind sharing the spotlight, then?”
Suvi Ekhran said, “She was willing to give it up before. For the Ascendant.”
If Hathan’s words in my defense had been unexpected, hers were doubly so. I looked at her in surprise. She gazed coolly back at me, her dark eyes unreadable. I wondered if she had decided to give me a fighting chance too.
After a little while, Tavri excused herself and left the group. Suvi Ekhran drifted away. Left alone with Hathan, I said, “You didn’t choose me.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“In the interview. You didn’t choose me.” I could feel myself growing flustered. Why had I even brought it up? “You told Vekesh to pick someone else.”
“In the interview,” he repeated.
“Yes. At the Villiger Center. You said I had no technical skills.”
His eyebrows lifted slightly. “You still remember that?”
“It was a pretty important conversation,” I said defensively. “Life-changing, in fact. Of course I remember it.”
“I see. Well, let’s just say I gave Tavri a revised version of the facts.” He nodded to where the Echelon representatives had formed a small knot near the door. “You really don’t mind that you might not be the only human on Vardesh Prime?”
“I mind a little,” I admitted. “I was pretty excited about being the first one. I just didn’t want Tavri to know that.”
“I thought as much. Well, it’s not too late. Find out which ship is hosting Fletcher Simon. Odds are it’s no match for the Ascendant at top speed. If I can get you there before him, I will.”
I smiled. “Thanks. And not just for that. For standing up for me.”
“You stood up for us,” he said. “It seemed only fair.”
After a little more mingling time and a few ceremonial speeches—none of them, mercifully, either given or translated by myself—the evening concluded. I said my formal farewells to Tavri and Zirian, taking advantage of a moment alone with the councilor to thank him for his intervention on my behalf. As Kylie and I left the gallery, I saw a few of the Ascendant’s crew clustered in the corridor, making plans for a final night in Downhelix. Per her instructions, I declined the invitation to join them. “Have fun,” I told Zey. “Not too much though. Don’t do anything to get us in trouble.”
“No bar fights, you mean?” He grinned. “Don’t worry. The interesting stuff only happens when you’re around.”
As we walked away I asked Kylie, “Do you remember that guy who took the second-place spot on the List?”
She nodded. “Of course. Fletcher Simon. He launched with me. He’s on his way to Elteni right now. Why?”
“Tavri was talking about him. About how great he is. Supposedly his Vardeshi is perfect. Already. She says the Echelon may be asking him to go to Vardesh Prime too.”
“I told you she would try to rattle you.”
I sighed. “Yeah.”
“So don’t let her,” Kylie said firmly. “You won. You got the Ascendant. She can’t take that away from you, so she’s looking for something she can take. And for my money, it’s not much. You’ve already made history. With or without Vardesh Prime.”
“I know. I just wanted you to know you were right about her.” Casting around for a lighter subject, I said, “So what’s this surprise you were hinting at before?”
“That’s our next stop. But we’ll need to swing by my rooms first to change.”
“Into what?” I said warily.
She laughed. “Whatever you want. But wear a bikini underneath. And bring a bottle of water and a towel.”
“A bikini? Are we going swimming?”
“The faster you change, the sooner you’ll find out.”
We had reached her suite. Kylie went in first, tossed her bag onto a side table, and headed for her bedroom. Mystified, I went up to my own room and changed into a bathing suit. I almost hadn’t brought one. When, shortly before docking with Arkhati, I had inquired about the likelihood of finding a swimming pool on the starhaven, Zey had given me a look of pure horror. It seemed that, barring a handful of localized traditions on outlying worlds, most Vardeshi found the idea of swimming deeply distasteful. I disagreed. My philosophy during college had been “Never pass up a chance to swim,” and I’d never quite gotten out of the habit of tucking a swimsuit into every overnight bag I packed. Now I was glad I hadn’t. I put on jeans, a short-sleeved shirt, and sandals, tossed water and a towel into a tote bag, and headed downstairs. I stopped by Kylie’s room on the way and draped the black and gold dress carefully across her bed. I felt a pang of regret as I turned away from it. I would have liked to keep it.
Kylie met me in the entryway and we set out again, shepherded as always by our security team, which I found comforting. Whatever surprise she had concocted, if it had been sanctioned by our handlers, it couldn’t be too outrageous.
“Medical helix,” I said in surprise as we stepped off the elevator. “What are we doing here? Getting a massage? Or . . . a tattoo?”
“Not quite.” Kylie led me into a room that resembled the shower room in her suite. It had the same round-tiled floor and oceanic lighting. However, I didn’t see the familiar sleek shower fixture suspended above a shallow well in the floor. Instead, a raised platform held a hip-high structure that was unquestionably a tub. In keeping with the Vardeshi penchant for natural materials, it appeared to be made of bamboo. It was full nearly to the brim. The water steamed gently in the cool air, giving off an unfamiliar fragrance, possibly one of the Vardeshi soaps Kylie had admired. I went closer and dipped a tentative hand in. “It’s a hot tub!”
“For tonight it is,” Kylie agreed. “It’s actually meant for hydrotherapy.”
“I didn’t even know they had bathtubs. I’ve ne
ver seen one. How did you find out about it?”
Kylie had begun to arrange her phone and speaker. I recognized the opening notes from one of my favorite albums. “I was asking Saresh about the recovery process for his leg,” she explained. “He mentioned hydrotherapy, and that gave me the idea. Your doctor from the Pinion helped me make the arrangements. There’s only one room like this on Arkhati, and I had to formally request to be allowed to use it for recreational purposes. Our hosts don’t take baths—or swim, apparently. I told them immersion in water was a ritual that had cultural significance for humans.”
“Well, it is.” I kicked off my sandals, stripped down to my bikini, and eased into the water. It was cooler than a hot tub on Earth would have been, but warm enough to be instantly soothing.
“This is as hot as it would go,” Kylie said, slipping in beside me. “The Vardeshi do their therapy in cold water.”
“Oh, of course they do.” I leaned my elbows on the edge of the tub and sighed. “This is perfect.”
“It’s almost perfect.” Kylie leaned out to extract something from her purse, which she’d dropped on the floor next to the tub. She held it up for me to see. “Now it’s perfect.”
I stared at the object in her hand. “Is that what I think it is?”
“What do you think it is?”
“A joint,” I said.
“Right in one.”
She held out the tiny pink and white cylinder, and I took it. It looked like a cheap ballpoint pen. If I’d seen it jumbled among her lipsticks in a drawer back on Earth, I wouldn’t have looked at it twice. Still, it was hard to credit its appearance here on Arkhati. “I don’t get it,” I said. “All our gear was searched twice. First by the humans, then by the Vardeshi. How in the world did you get it through?”
“Max knew,” Kylie said calmly. “I never would have gotten it past him. He tucked it into one of the medical crates, along with the pain relievers, and the Vardeshi didn’t flag it.”
“Unbelievable.” I tried to picture the weathered gear specialist conspiring with Kylie to sneak contraband drugs into her luggage.
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