Liaden Universe [19] - Alliance of Equals - eARC Read Free

and—
    Notice of Buyout.
    Shan blinked, and sat down, carefully, in his chair.
    Immediately after Korval’s action against the Department of the Interior base beneath Liad’s surface, which had, regrettably, left a crater in Solcintra City—he had received quite a number of buyout notices, most from Liadens, as would be expected. He had by this time rather thought he was done with buyout notices. To receive one now, and from such a source—a Terran smalltrader running a long, stable route; open to trying new, or slightly outrageous, cargoes; quick to communicate what worked and what didn’t…
    But, wait, there was a letter, too. Shan tapped a key, and felt a light hand settle on his shoulder.
    “I thought we’d seen the last buyout,” Priscilla said.
    “As I did, but here—James has done us the kindness of explaining himself…”
    A quick scan put him in possession of the facts. James had come in to Capenport, where he was not only well known, but expected. Before the hull was cool, the port had slapped him with a fine equal to half his cargo—
    “Because he’s our contractor?” Priscilla said, reading along with him.
    “And because Capenport decided that Korval committed crimes against a planet and is therefore outlawed,” Shan read the next bit aloud.

    I’d been hearing some muttering here and there about Tree-and-Dragon turning bad, but I put it down to the usual. This, though—I’m a small shipper; I can’t afford another fine like this one.
    Outcome is that I dumped the cargo, next port up, and cleared the logos and call signs off the hull and out of my landing packet. I never thought I’d do this, but there’s no other way; I’m buying the contract out. The deposit’s been made to my usual account. I’m sorry for it, there’s no acrimony in it, except for the pinheads at Capenport. You and me, and the Dragon, we’re in Balance, but we can’t do business.
    Here’s my advice: change the trade name, if you want to keep on with the family business. I don’t like to think about what might have happened if Pale Wing or the Passage had come onto Capenport, considering what they felt was just punishment for a contractor.
    Be careful, Shan .

    He sighed, and leaned his head back into Priscilla’s hip.
    “A rational man, James. Of course, change our name is just what we can’t do, the delm being adamant in their opinion that we have comported ourselves with impeccable melant’i and are in no way ashamed of our actions.”
    “Korval revealed and weakened a hidden enemy of Liad and its people,” Priscilla said, her fingers quietly kneading his shoulders. “Not only have we done nothing wrong, Korval is a hero.”
    “Not to hear the Council of Clans tell it. And various news sources. But I agree—Korval’s honor is unscathed, and our melant’i in the matter of the Department of the Interior is pure.” He sighed.
    “Poor James. A two-cantra buyout on top of that fine? And he’ll have dumped the cargo at salvage rates,” Shan said.
    “Send the money back. Tell him it’s compensation for his loss; that Tree-and-Dragon doesn’t expect its contractors to bear the expense of false accusations.”
    Shan laughed. “Priscilla, that’s reasoned like a Liaden.”
    “No,” she said seriously. “It’s reasoned like an honorable person, who wants to do well by those who have done well for him.”
    A chill froze him for a moment before he shook his head.
    “Yes, I am going to have to become accustomed, aren’t I?”
    “It’ll come,” Priscilla said, and he felt the brush of her emotions—amusement and concern, with concern the greater part of the mixture.
    “I suppose it will,” he said. “Padi’s generation will be the last, I think, to consider themselves Liaden. Those who follow will be Bleakers .” He sighed. “Who names a planet Surebleak ?”
    Priscilla laughed. “It was descriptive, surely?”
    “Oh, surely…and still is. Until Mr. Brunner gets those weather satellites