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.Captain's right the first time.""Sure takes out the Kura option," Haral said."Huh," Pyanfar said." Isn't an option.""There's Urtur.""There's Urtur." She let go a long, long breath and thought about it as she had thought about it the last ten hours.Spend days on Urtur.With five kif, two mahendo'sat freighters and six tc'a who were apt to do anything.Or nothing, while the kif blew them apart or boarded."The mahendo'sat," she said, "want us at Kshshti.Goldtooth does.You looked at that scan image? You want to bet Sikkukkut's not passed the word along?""Kif got the dice," Haral said."No bets.You get anything out of Tully to tell us what this is?"Pyanfar slumped against the cabinet back and stared at Haral."Big.Real big.You want to hear it? Mahendo'sat tried to get humankind in the back door.Humans lost some ships.I think this Ijir's a hunter-ship.It went in and got Tully— typical mahen stunt.They wanted to figure out what was going on and they wanted Tully in their hands.He'd talk.He'd trust them.He'd tell them anything they asked."133Chanur's Venture"O good gods," Hilfy murmured."That's not the end of it, niece.Humanity wanted to send their real authorities to the mahendo'sat, I'm guessing, because they had trouble.Mahendo'sat wanted Tully, because they have trouble.Here it gets complicated.I think this whole thing's touched off the knnn." No one moved.Eyes dilated to thinnest amber rings."I think," Pyanfar said, patiently, quietly, "humans failed a promised trade, mahendo'sat investigated, sent a ship— humans from their side blame the kif, and Tully's not high up enough that humanity would've told him much beyond that.He couldn't know the knnn angle.So the mahendo'sat got Tully and rendezvous'd with Goldtooth at some point beyond Tvk, I'm guessing.For questions.Gods know.Tully said the delegation was vexed that Goldtooth wouldn't talk to them; just to him.And Goldtooth took him aboard alone, Ijir went for Maing Tol, Goldtooth went gods know where, and meanwhile our papers miraculously got cleared, when stsho had refused us for months, and Goldtooth and we together ended up at Meetpoint.""So did the han, " Hilfy said, and Pyanfar looked her way and blinked.The thought leapt to her mind too, two points connecting."Stle stles stlen.""The stationmaster?" Haral asked, hoarse and fatigued, but her ears pricked sharp."Might well be.The han called for consultation; our papers bought back by one side or the other— someone wanted us in this.Feels like mahendo'sat.Feels like Goldtooth himself.We're his Known Quantity.But so's Stle stles stlen.Theoretically.I wouldn't lay odds on anything right now.Someone got things moving.Gods know the stsho took our money to clear those papers, but maybe they took everyone's, who knows?""Gods-rotted situation," Haral muttered."Twice over if Ehrran's in it," Tirun said.134Chanur's Venture"Where's Goldtooth headed?" Hilfy asked."I asked Tully that.He doesn't know.He says.Likely he doesn't.""He came through here," Haral said."Kura? Kita?— Kshshti-bound?""We think he came through here," Tirun said.Her voice cracked."I'd not lay odds anything's right-side up with that son.""Bait-and-switch," Pyanfar said."Gods-rotted mahe's slippery as a kif.No, I don't swear that message wasn't put in before he got to Meetpoint.Or by some outbound agent.Alarm's being rung down from Meetpoint to Urtur to Kshshti, that's what, and we may just think we're the wavefront.""That knnn at Meetpoint—" Tirun said."Not forgetting that.""We can't do anything about it.Except get out of here.""And stay in one piece," Haral muttered."Kshshti's a long jump.""We can make it.Even if we blow that vane.Distance may blow it, but it'll help us too: we'll come in with marginal v.We can stop, at worst.At best, it wasn't the Y unit and the vane will hold all the way.""It may and it may not," Tirun said."If it's that.One of those goes ghosty, gods, you don't know whether you've got it or not.Ever.It could hold to Kshshti and we could lose it at Maing Tol when we've got higher v.""One thing I want you to do.Put that whole vane over to backup from the board up.In case we've got a ghost in another unit.Let's just clear all the original systems.Can you do that in four hours?""Can," Tirun said."Not you.You get some sleep.""I'll get it," Haral said.135Chanur's Venture"We give up that Y-unit to third redundancy?" Tirun asked."Could have damaged it when that regulator went backup.If that's sour it'll sure take that linkage out."She thought about it.Thought about going no-backup-at-all, which was how desperate it was."No," she said."I'll dice with the number two.What we've got aboard— if nothing else— we can't risk on that kind of throw.It'll get us there with something left.That's all we dare try.""What have we got aboard?" Tirun asked."Message from humanity to Maing Tol and Iji.Translator.Message from Goldtooth to his Personage.Gods know what that is.About the knnn—most likely." She drew a deep breath and considered the chance it involved the han.Alliances.Doublecrosses."All systems to number two and we jump to Kshshti on schedule.Tell Chur and Geran what we're doing when they come on duty.""Not the menfolk?""Gods, don't worry them.Tell them we fixed it all.""What—" Hilfy asked ever so quietly, "what about Tully if we go lame at Kshshti? We'll be stuck at dock.Gods know the kif—""What we do, imp— we get ourselves to Kshshti and whatever happens, by the gods, we put him in mahen hands.Let them worry about him.Hear?They've got two hunter-ships to their account.Let them take it." She stood up again."Get some rest.All of you this time.""Aye," Tirun murmured in what of a voice she had left.Hilfy stared at her open-mouthed."Nothing else to do," Pyanfar said to her." Nothing else.He's worth too much to take chances with.That message is.Understand? We've had it.That vane's got us."136Chanur's Venture"We go in like this we could be down a week!""So we take our damage.We can cover the bill.We've got that.We're done, imp.Finished.""I could make it," Hilfy said, "up that column and we'd have that unit replaced.""Wrong.Chur would have to do it.She's smallest.And she's not fool enough."There was silence but for that.That and the dust.She got up and walked away, staggered a little as she reached the corridor and The Pride corrected course again.She had another, chilling thought and turned, pointed at Haral."No way this kid tries it.You sit on her.Someone goes up that column I'll space her.Hear?""Aye," Haral said.No one followed her.Presumably they were clearing up the paper.Closing down.Her eyes blurred with exhaustion and she refrained from rubbing at them as she passed Khym's cabin.She thought of going to him.She had not— not since Hoas.It was not her time; had not been, then.Such niceties went by the board with them as they had in her world-visits.But sleep would not come easy with the dust, the small shifts of g that went on constantly: and he might be asleep; and there would be questions if she waked him.Did you fix it, Py?She opened her own door and walked in, sat down at the desk and methodically cleared the clutter of her own work away.137Chanur's VentureCourse-plottings
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