Undaunted

8

Ron folded his four arms across his chest and bowed his head, all four eyes on Kris. “It is my honor and pleasure to have been chosen by Roth’sum’We’sum’Quin, both to walk a path with him and to follow the path I now place my feet on.”

Kris, “The new PATH we place our FEET on” was The phrase ROTH USED for The peace TREATY. THAT Means a LOT More Than IT says.

I FIGURED THAT OUT Myself, Nelly.

Kris took a deep breath, froze the smile on her face, and dove into the Iteeche pond, so to speak.

“My heart is glad to share this new path, your feet and mine.” Nelly, TRANSLATE IT AT The SAME LEVEL he spoke.

GOOD, he was USING THAT FAMILIAR equal SYNTAX AGAIN, AND IT’s easy To Do.

Nelly started talking Iteeche even as Kris continued. “It has been a very long time since any of us have met and spoken words and listened to each other. I think it has been far too long. I know my great-grandfather, Raymond Longknife, would agree with me about that.” Kris finished and found she was holding her breath, waiting for the next words from the young Iteeche.

“My chooser, Respected Counselor Roth’sum’We’sum’-Quin, has told me very similar words. When he and Ray of the Long-Reaching Knife separated, there was so much blood in the water that he feared that only a feeding frenzy could follow if we continued to share the same water. But, as with all things, passing time and tides have cleared the water. He sent me forth to see if chance and the gods of the deep might smile upon us now unlike their angry choices that decreed we must fight when last we met.”

Ron glanced at his advisors. The green and whites stood still, red and dark green shading their gills. Ron and his Navy friend displayed a light green to match Abby’s and Cara’s dresses.

Next time out, Kris decided, she would put on a nice pastel green pantsuit.

Jack coughed softly into his hand, but said, “Kris, I’m glad you two are getting along, but there is the matter of them blowing up our messenger pod.”

Nelly started translating Jack’s words before Kris had a chance to stop her, then decided now was no time to cut off communications.

When Nelly finished, Kris gave Ron a moment to say something. He didn’t.

With a sigh, she walked once more into the breach. “You must excuse my advisor. You are not alone in having them and not always liking the words they toss into the water. Still, there must have been a reason for you shooting up our pod?”

You WANT To say IT JUST like THAT,

EXACTLY like THAT. NEUTRAL. NOTHING nice, BUT NOTHING NASTY.

Nelly spoke.

Ron’s gills were showing a hot pink. So were his Navy ally’s. The two green and whites displayed a distinctive brownish green, reminding Kris of raw sewage. One of the green and whites said something in a harsh whisper.

WHAT’D he say, Nelly?

“Don’T you Dare,” or SOMETHING like THAT.

REPEAT IT OUT LOUD. Nelly did.

The Iteeche’s head swiveled, quick as a snake. He glared at Kris, eyes wide, mouth open enough to show teeth. The Iteeche were definitely carnivores, or omnivores like humans.

Kris smiled back, showing lots of teeth, too.

Ron placed a hand on the green and white’s rump, and spoke.

“I—I,” Nelly translated. “I think the word is ‘apologize.’ It didn’t get used much in the negotiations. The decision to vaporize your pod was one that divided the old and wise advisors entrusted to my hearing. After much disharmony, the eldest demanded that we destroy the pod and all information in it and secure the benefit of time. Time often resolves problems that seem impossible in the present.”

While Kris was absorbing that, Colonel Cortez spoke softly. “Yet the use of force often closes doors that need to be left open if fresh air is to be let in.”

Kris?

TRANSLATE IT. IT SOUNDS GOOD ENOUGH To Me. Nelly did.

There was a lengthy pause. Ron’s eyes flicked between the green and whites and the Navy type. Finally, that gray-and-gold one swiveled his head to face front.

“Have we closed and locked any doors?” the Navy officer asked, and Nelly quickly translated.

Kris glanced at Jack. He’d tossed this smelly fish out to start with. He gave Kris a slight nod and spoke. “You fired on our pod. That raised the immediate fear that you would fire on our ship. I feared that you might be a ship of wandering men who knew no law. Now that we have seen your faces we know you to be honorable Iteeche from the Imperial court.” Jack paused to take a breath and let Nelly’s words sink in.

“You stopped my princess from sending out a report that we had encountered an Iteeche far from home. Her Highness must inform King Raymond of such a new and unusual occurrence. I do not understand why that would cause you disharmony if we were to do that.”

Kris kept her face an official blank and watched as the Iteeche showed a palette of colors in response to Jack’s blunt words. Ron’s neck stayed an embarrassed red. The Navy guy covered a lot of the spectrum but not as much as the two green and whites. Colors chased up and down their former gill slits. Unfortunately, there was a lot of red and black in there . . . and not a little bit of white.

Finally, Ron spoke. “I sincerely hope that our initial move on this game has not left us with nothing further to do or say.”

Kris wouldn’t let that hang fire any longer than she had to. “It has closed off no thoughts in my mind. My appetite for harmony still leaves my stomach hungry to be filled.”

THAT’S a fun one To TRANSLATE.

JUST Do WHAT you’re PAID for.

We GOT To Talk ABOUT THAT. But the words were spoken. It took Ron a long minute to digest her words. Kris noticed that while his advisors kept their eyes locked on him, he, for his part, had raised his eyes to the overhead, ignoring them and, apparently, making up his own mind. Finally, he came face front to meet Kris’s eyes.

“I am glad that there is still a hunger for harmony between at least you and me. If we can fill our stomachs on that, maybe we can find a path for other feet to walk, maybe even those of our advisors.” He gave his two green and whites a glance. They chose not to meet it. “How shall we do this?”

That, of course, was a very expensive question. Kris knew without asking that her advisors would be dead set against her going off on her own with Ron. Kris had no doubt that his advisors might agree with her own on nothing . . . except that the two of them needed a mob looking over their shoulders and hanging on every word they spoke. Oh, and recording it all for further review, analysis, correction, and posterity.

Being one of those damn Longknifes really sucked sometimes.

Of course, being one of those Chap’sum’We’s must not have been all skittles and beer, either.

Kris rolled her shoulders. She had tension aplenty and the zero gee was not helping. Maybe that one could at least be worked around. “I do not know how this lack of gravity affects you, but my body was made for some good solid gravity under my feet. What about you?”

Nelly had hardly finished translating when Ron actually barked something like a laugh. “I spent too many early years hiding in a pond from the big-toothed ones to enjoy feeling no kiss of the ground. Yes, let us get your ship under way enough to know which end is down.”

One of the green and whites interrupted. He put all four hands to his chest and bowed toward Ron, but there was no bend in his voice. “If her ship is to accelerate, the Navy”—here the green and white gave a narrow-eyed look at the gray and golds and flashed bright red for emphasis—“must take away the connecting tunnel to our ship. He told us before we came here that it was impossible for two ships to accelerate together on the same course.”

Captain Drago sighed. “It’s always the fault of the poor working folks, isn’t it?” He gave a sardonic glance to the gray and gold, who returned a similar look that stretched across the chasm between the two species.

Ron straightened his back even more, something Kris would not have thought possible, and shook himself, setting all his many colors to shimmering. “I am content to stay aboard this ship while the Reach into the Dark matches course and speed at a safe distance. You may pull up your skirts and hurry back to our ship if you wish, but, for me, I will place my trust in the chosen spawn of the Long-Reaching Knife.”