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steadily from beneath a narrow stiff crest of dark hair that ran the length of his skull and down his neck. The same hair was spread out in a ruff across his shoulders and again over his flanks. The sandy body fur had been shaved from the sides of his face and shoulder so that the intricately colored tattoos could be clearly seen.

The lip quivered and Kaid heard him begin to chitter. A flat, mechanical voice started to speak in U'Churian.

"Nourishment dispensers empty," Annuur's translator intoned. "Is breach of contract, Captain."

"See to it, Sheeowl," Tirak ordered the crew female hovering beside the frightened girl. "Take Kate to the mess first. My apologies, Annuur. As I said, we had injured to see to and needed to depart from Jalna quickly. There was no need for you to leave avionics, you could have used the comm— or were you just curious about our guests?"

The ruff of fur across the Cabbaran's shoulders bushed out for a moment before settling again. Annuur's teeth made a clicking noise and his top lip curled expressively. A sharp burst of sound followed. The translator remained silent.

"Captain." Nayash, the white dressing over his wounded thigh vivid against his long, black pelt, now stood where Kate and Sheeowl had been. He raised an arm and flung something through the air to Tirak who caught it deftly.

"You won't need your weapon," Tirak said quietly in an aside to Kaid as he stepped past him. "This is Annuur, leader of our Cabbaran navigation sept. All right, you opportunist," he said, his tone becoming lighter. "One pack— and only one— to make up for your discomfort." He held his hand, palm open, out toward the Cabbaran. In it lay a brightly decorated tubular container.

The mobile lip curled upward in disdain. "Your insult remains," intoned the translator.

Tirak gestured to Kaid to join him. Holstering his gun, he did so.

"This is Kaid, the leader of our guests."

The whiskers on either side of Annuur's nose twitched as he leaned forward and sniffed audibly at Kaid. "One of those you kept in cryo." He turned his attention back to Tirak, giving Kaid a clear view of the exotic tattoos.

The hand that reached out to take the captain's bribe was spatulate in shape, with four fingers tipped by broad, horny claws. Almost delicately, the fingers closed around the tube and removed it.

"Candy. A children's treat back on Home," Tirak said softly to Kaid. "They can't get enough of the stuff. Comes in useful now and then."

Kaid noticed that Annuur wore a multi-pocketed utility belt not unlike the one the Sholan Forces used, save that the Cabbaran's was held in place by shoulder straps. It was into one of these pockets that Annuur placed his tube.

"Maybe talk later," he said, lowering his upper body to the ground before sedately trotting past them and down the corridor to the main access elevator.

"Time we talked," said Kaid, his voice grim. He wanted to know what Tirak had been doing with a mixed Leska pair not only on board his ship, but held in cryo until a couple of hours ago.

"The rest of your people are next door in the mess waiting for you," said Tirak, gesturing in the same direction the Cabbaran had taken. "When you're satisfied they're safe, one of my crew will escort you to my office so we can talk."

     
    * * *

     
    Remaining near the closed doorway, Kaid looked over at T'Chebbi. "Report," he said, in the highland patois that they'd both grown up using.

"All rescued personnel save Zashou seem healthy but undernourished— want them checked up in sick bay because of laalquoi levels in food they ate on Jalna. Younglings were waiting on Keiss for transport to Shola when were kidnapped by a Valtegan officer. Killed him, but cost them their captain and damaged the scouter. Were found by Ambassador Taira's ship. Tirak rescued them from Taira at Tuushu Station— where we're going. He put them in cryo while on Jalna to stop us contacting them telepathically."

Kaid moved into the center of the room.