Halfling Moon Read Free Page B

much
not
ignorant, she bowed, supple and sweet, as
she had been taught from a child.
    "Master bel'Tarda," she said, in her soft,
accented Liaden, "I am Inas Bhar." She gave him that name -- the
one her father had bestowed upon her at birth. Her other names were
such as might impart little comfort to a man with so much duty
weighing upon him. Yet, there was room for comfort on both
sides.
    "Called Natesa," she added, straightening.
She raised a hand, slowly, specifically unthreatening, and showed
him the token. The tree-and-dragon flashed in the light, then held
steady.
    That should have been enough to seal the
thing. She should have received from Luken bel'Tarda a bow, and
perhaps a courteous word or two, and a pass into the rocky heart of
the station.
    What she received instead was the barest of
nods -- scant, even meager, courtesy -- and a question, harsh in
the mode of Stranger to the House.
    "Who sent you?"
    It was, on its face, a reasonable question,
as she was, indeed, a stranger to this house, and to this guardian.
Yet the mode -- not one of the kindest, no, but yet without an
inherent harshness; that was from the man himself. And that -- gave
one pause.
    To cover her moment of calculation, she
bowed again, youth deferring to years.
    "Master, I am sent jointly by Korval
Themselves, and by the Boss of Surebleak. Their personal names are,
perhaps, known to you: Val Con yos'Phelium, Miri Robertson, and Pat
Rin yos'Phelium."
    Luken bel'Tarda's face tightened. It could
not be said that he was inept, or in any less control of his face
than one would expect of an elderly Liaden who was, in addition, a
merchant of renown -- still, Natesa felt that what she had seen was
hope, sternly suppressed.
    "Why did they not come themselves?" Luken
demanded, keeping still to a harshness that must, from all she had
been taught of his nature, pain him considerably.
    She did not bow this time, though she
inclined her head slightly, and sent him as soft a glance as she
might manage from beneath her lashes.
    "You may not have heard that the Council
ordered Korval to depart the homeworld, declaring the Captain's
Contract void. The clan, therefore, seeks to set down roots on the
planet Surebleak, where they have the advantage of kin to aid
them."
    She paused. He waited, his silence reminding
her that she had not answered his question.
    "Korval is needed at the forefront, as they
are the face and voice of the Clan. yos'Galan is likewise required
to show themselves good for business, and also, to supervise the
peaceful settling of the house. It was thought that I would
accompany Pat Rin to you -- in fact, it was quite set, until there
was a difficulty among his jurisdictions which could neither be
ignored nor left for a lieutenant.
    "It was then decided that a young cousin --
Gordy Arbuthnot -- might sit my second; another emergency claimed
him when we came to the port itself." She did bow this time,
feeling that it was proper.
    "Thus I came alone, Master, trusting to what
I have been given to know, and to the goodwill and uncommon sense
of yourself and Lady Kareen. The delm's order must be obeyed."
    "That is of course true for we who stand
within the delm's honor, Inas Bhar, called Natesa," Luken said, his
intonation less harsh; his mode unchanged. "You must forgive me for
wondering why you feel thus."
    Natesa sighed. She would very much have
preferred to answer this particular question in far different
circumstances. Preferences were not spaceships, alas, and only
truth and candor would win this old man's trust. Pat Rin had told
her as much.
    She met his eyes firmly. "I have the honor
to stand as Pat Rin yos'Phelium's lifemate," she said.
    Luken's eyebrows rose, but whatever he was
about to say in answer to such a bold claim was cut off by the
opening of the door.
    She had seen a picture of this young pilot,
but even if she had not, there was no doubting who he was. Far too
much of his father showed in his face -- his father in a temper,