Andre Norton - Derelict For Trade

"We saw," Jellico snapped. "Let’s hustle."

Moving as swiftly as they could, the Queen's crew glided along the path. Dane was careful not to step in anyone’s way, or cause undue attention.

On the periphery of the concourse crowd he could see figures darting here and there. The Golm leader was mobilizing his gang, Dane realized.

Once again he had safety in view, but this time he wasn’t fighting against the pull of nearly two gravs. He wished they’d learned the low-grav lope, which used far less energy, but he, at least, kept flying off the deck every time he tried it. Sliding his feet in the shuffling walk they all adopted in low-gee, he lengthened his steps.

Ten meters.

Outcries from the crowd made him hurry: they were closing in.

Five.

Tooe dashed ahead, palming the doorway. She shrilled admonitions to hurry; the captain gripped Cofort’s arm, and together they went through. Van Ryke looked about—Dane heard heavy Shver breathing behind him, and gave one great leap—

And he was in.

He somersaulted to his feet, saw the Jheel himself standing directly outside the restaurant. Five or six sinister figures crowded in next to him, but as one of Gabby’s green-tunicked workers waved them away, they disappeared into the rest of the tourists.

"Now for it," Jellico said.

No one spoke as they made their way inside. First, through the garden area that marked off the section of the restaurant where the Shver liked to eat. Dane glanced about curiously, but all he saw were high walls of carefully trimmed ivy dividing off cubicles. The next couple of levels down were where humans and humanoids customarily ate. Why were the Shver above, he wondered, in inversion of the layout of the habitat? The prickling of his back as they descended told him: above, the Shver could see but not be seen.

Dane tried to shake off the awareness of many eyes, glancing in casually at various cubicles, catching whiffs of inviting aromas. Jellico looked straight ahead, leading the little group past and down another level.

Here the Kanddoyds had their area. It was mostly open, like the human area, so diners could see one another if they wished, though the tables were set at different levels, some facing the wide windows through which they could see the splendid towers and the liquid glint of the light strings. At the higher levels, certain booths were marked off, mostly by banks of exquisite ferns that blocked the view from above. It was straight toward one of these that Jellico made his way.

A Kanddoyd glided smoothly from behind a tall tree bearing fragile blossoms, and his course intersected theirs. "Gentle Traders?" he asked, bowing.

Van Ryke bowed back. "A fine evening, in a very fine place," he said genially. "We wish to avail ourselves of the rare opportunity to join a fellow human in the evening meal."

"A compliment to your generous impulses, O Terrans," the Kanddoyd said, ticking and clacking rhythmically; Dane felt a visceral warning in the pattern. "Alas, in this direction are only those who wish to imbibe in solitude."

"Ah," Van Ryke said, bowing again. "One must always respect the wishes of one’s fellow beings. One also must respect promises made by those who make them. Flindyk honored our captain with a specific request, and now is the time for the captain to heed the request."

Dane felt his neck gripe. He didn’t have to look at the ultrasonic reader on his ring-brooch to know that the Kanddoyd was broadcasting loud and clear.

Van Ryke smiled, knowing they had won. The Kanddoyds would have never promised any such thing, but Flindyk was human, even after all those years of taking on the guise and habits of another race, and that empty promise he had made Jellico and Cofort on their only visit to him had been a very human thing to do.

The Kanddoyd had one more try. "It is my pleasure to acknowledge the rightness of requests being honored, and vows kept, but this is not a place of business. The strains and stresses of the business hours are now past. The rules here are strict, so that all beings may enjoy their delectable viands in a harmonious atmosphere."

Van Ryke smiled, gesturing in the mode of Pleasant Discourse, with a little flutter of Surprised Inquiry.

"What else could we have to do with our fellow being from far Terra, but compare the beauties of these herbaceous borders to those fine gardens we left at home? Now, can you not tell me the names of these attractive gymnosperms here?" He gestured behind the Kanddoyd, and as all of them pressed forward, Van Ryke kept up an admirable stream of questions about each plant they came to. The Kanddoyd clacked and squeaked increasingly but was forced to answer these direct questions, and so, plant by plant, step by step, they closed in until at last Flindyk was visible through a frame of delicate fronds. Amazingly, his cubicle, despite

the greenery, was open to the levels above. Was he so sure of his power?

Flindyk saw them almost the same moment Dane saw him, and for a moment he went rigid. Then, as at last the Queen's crew rounded the last obstacle, he sat back, his fantastic carapace gleaming richly in the reflected light from the levels towering above them.

"My very dear captain," he said suavely, opening his hands. "You honor me! If you have come to settle your affairs, I shall be most happy to terminate my free time early, and expedite matters for you."

"There is no hurry," Jellico said. "Please, continue your meal. We shall discourse upon the pleasantries of life on the Garden of Harmonious Exchange."

Through the green of the ferny border, Dane saw two of Gabby’s workers just visible, one a tall being in a green tunic, another a Kanddoyd wearing green ribbons.

Flindyk sat back, a huge figure in his carved and gilded armor. Dane realized suddenly that that was, in fact, what he wore; he wasn’t just an old, obese human pretending to be a Kanddoyd; he was armored. He thought narrowly, I'll bet my life's pay that stuff he's wearing is blastproof.

Flindyk smiled slightly, and raised a fine cut crystal goblet full of amber-colored wine. Dane noted he didn’t use a bulb, which meant he was sure of his control over the liquid. "You shall enjoy my hospitality when we depart this place," he said. "That is also a promise."

Van Ryke moved slightly as if he were about to speak, but Jellico flicked a glance his way. Dane watched the cargo master nod and return to the posture of the observer.

Jellico’s was not the first (or even the tenth) name that would have come to Dane’s mind if he were to count up the Solar Queen's crew members who were able to talk in the flowery, roundabout manner of the Kanddoyds. Apparently, though, the captain could employ that kind of language when he needed to.

"If you wish," the captain said, "but you will permit me to provide the entertainment."

"Alas," Findyk said, holding the goblet up to the light. Dane was fascinated by the ocher glints and sparks thrown off by the fine crystal. "Alas, though your intentions are. sincere. yes, we shall honor them for their sincerity, if not for their perspicacity. But to resume. Though your intentions are truly praiseworthy, I would regret deeply being a passive witness to the diminishment of your sadly limited means."

Flindyk smiled as his fingers played with the crystal goblet. Dane forced his attention away from the odd behavior of the liquid in the wineglass, which never quite came close to spilling. Instead, it bulged up in an odd bubble above the lip of the goblet, held together by surface tension and the wetting action on the crystal. Seeing how deadly aspirated liquids could be in free fall, it was a powerful statement of confidence.

It's a hint , Dane thought, feeling tension pound in his head. He's showing us how he's playing with us, and how he still retains control .