Part 13 (1/2)

Nedri gave the glad cry, the crus.h.i.+ng handshake, and they seemed as genuine as the others. But now Kettrick was feel-ing brittle and edgy, and hating it, because they were all his friends.

Well, that was what he had come to the Market for, to meet friends and talk. Might as well jump in with both feet and get it over with. The time, he thought, will not be long.

The little pied man brought a tray of drinks and put them down. ”You can all pay,” he said to the others. ”This is on the house, for Johnny.” He pulled a nearly full bottle of good Terran bourbon out of his tunic and banged it down in front of Kettrick.

Kettrick said, meaning it, ”I have never seen anything so beautiful, Quip. And I am going to drink a great deal of it. So if you can dig me up a good thick Terran steak, or the equivalent thereof, to serve as blotting paper...”

”Oh, yes,” said Quip. ”I know what you like.””And the same for my friend here, but heavy on the meat.” He turned to Chai, who had sat down beside his chair. In her own tongue he said, ”Look at me and say no names. Did this man come often to the house where you used to live?”

She knew perfectly well which man he meant. ”No. Once, twice. Long time ago. Then never.”

Kettrick nodded and turned again to Quip. ”And she'd like a pitcher of water. She's too smart to drink the stuff we do.”

Quip bounced away. Nedri was looking hard at Chai.

”Is that one of Seri's?”

”No,” said Kettrick. ”Why?”

”I remember he had a pair of them, that's all.”

”How is Seri?”

Nedri shrugged. ”Haven't seen him to speak to for almost two years. He fired me, not long after you left.” He added cheerfully, ”I've managed to live without him.”

”Seri Otku?” said Clutha. ”h.e.l.l, he was here just a few days ago, in the Market. Had to put his s.h.i.+p in repair and decided to sell off his cargo.”

”I'd like to see him,” Kettrick said. ”Do you know where he's staying?”

Clutha grunted. ”He didn't exactly tell me, Johnny. I'd met him a few times at Ree Darva, you remember, when Boker was with you, so I said h.e.l.lo, and he like to froze me in my tracks. Seemed he just didn't want to be bothered with old acquaintances.”

”Not only Seri,” the Darvan said. ”The whole d.a.m.n crew. The engineer in Starbird used to be with me. Used to be a nice guy. I went over to say h.e.l.lo too, after they went into repair. Thought we could have a few drinks together, a night on the town, like old times. He wasn't interested. Definitely.” Nedri shook his head. ”It all changed after you left, Johnny. I'd have quit anyhow. Seri began bringing in new people, people I didn't like, and then he took to s.h.i.+pping out himself and leaving the main office to somebody else to run, and I didn't like those people either.”

”Well, the h.e.l.l with Seri,” said the long-faced man, whose name was Enago. ”I never met him and he doesn't sound like much. Let's talk about Johnny.”

”Wait,” said Kettrick. ”Just a minute.” He took a bit swal-low of bourbon and the hot shock of it hitting his stomach seemed to trigger off something in his mind. A thought that had lain dormant there banged suddenly into the open. ”Nedri, what else beside Starbird was in the repair dock?”

Nedri frowned. ”Oh, this and that. A couple of traders, the usual thing. Starbird was kind of off by herself, sitting one-two with a yacht, as though she was too snooty to a.s.so-ciate with her own kind.”

Nedri grinned and held up his gla.s.s. ”Excuse me for getting cute. This stuff always. .h.i.ts me on a hot day.”

”A yacht?” said Kettrick.

”Yes.” Nedri gave him an odd look. ”Is this important?”

They were all looking at him now. Quip chose that moment to come with the food, bustling, chattering, so full of un-affected good nature that Kettrick could have strangled him. Finally he went away.

Kettrick said, ”Let's get back to that yacht. Did you happen to notice...”

”I always notice a beautiful s.h.i.+p, Johnny. Fact, I walked around her to admire her from all sides. She was the Silverwing. Belongs to the curodai of Achern, what's his name...?””Ssessorn,” said Clutha, imitating the soft sibilants of Achernan speech. ”What's the matter, Johnny?

You look kind of green.”

”Nothing,” said Kettrick. ”Not a thing.” He ate mechani-cally, because in spite of everything he was hungry as a wolf.

The curodai of Achern. Not the head of the local government, but close to it, and about fourth in the government of Kirnanoc. Sssessorn, a powerful and important man, whose private s.p.a.ce yacht happened to be in the repair dock at the same time as Starbird, and side by side.

”Hey,” said Enago, ”this party's gone sour. I think our Johnny has got troubles.”

”Well, I knew that from the beginning,” said Clutha, ”I've just been waiting for him to open up.”

They sat, letting him take his own time, drinking quietly.

Kettrick washed the last of his dinner down with some of the bourbon. He felt better now, well able to march to his execution.

”We landed Grellah this afternoon. Boker, Hurth, Glevan...and us, not listed. The s.p.a.ceport guards arrested Boker, Hurth, and Glevan.”

Clutha leaned forward. ”Why?”

”Because Boker asked about Starbird” Kettrick rose ab-ruptly. ”I've got to call the I-C.”

”But Johnny...”

”Later.” He went to the opposite side of the room, where the plastic bubble of the communicator booth shone dimly at the end of the bar. ”The curodai of Achern,” he thought. ”That tears it. They won't dare touch the d.a.m.ned yacht be-cause if they're wrong...”

Oh yes they would, because what would happen if they were wrong was nothing at all compared to what would happen if they were right.

The one who would really suffer was Johnny Kettrick, if he had guessed wrong.

But if he were wrong, and Silverwing did not carry the Doomstar, then it wouldn't matter, because then certainly the Doomstar would s.h.i.+ne, and nothing would matter any more. Nothing, at least, as small as the affairs of one man.

He opened the plastic bubble and was about to step in-side when Chai grunted behind him and he turned around and saw five Achernans in wrinkled cloaks and damp tunics come in the front door, accompanied by three more Acher-nans in the black-and-gold tunics and polished helmets of the police.

18.

They saw Kettrick. One of the five pointed, there was a soft hissing explosion in the Achernan language, and one of the police called out to Kettrick to stand where he was. They advanced toward him, cutting off any escape route to the rear of the tavern.

At the same time the men who had been sitting with Ket-trick jumped up from the table and headed for the Acher-nans. Behind them all, outside, Kettrick was aware of a large muttering tumult that seemed to be coming closer. Quip stood poised beside the bar, a tray of drinks forgotten in his hand.

Nedri, looking as haughty and contemptuous as any Achernan, said, ”What seems to be the trouble?”

The policeman who had spoken before said with icy politeness, ”We have a complaint against this man. Please to stand back.”Under the rim of his helmet his black eyes were s.h.i.+fting here and there as the other men in the tavern began to get up by twos and threes to slouch over and join Nedri and the others. They were not at all interested in Johnny Kettrick and his problems, but Johnny Kettrick was human and the Market was a human enclave, and they disliked the Achernans coming into it to arrest one of them. They disliked the Achernans, period.

”Perhaps,” said Nedri, ”it would be better to discuss this?”

”That is impossible. We have a complaint. Please to...”