“Even if I'm a corper?”
Arron shrugged. “I always suspected you leaned that way. I've worked hard not to let it ruin our friendship.”
“Your tolerance is saintly, really.” Lynn gave him a sour grin. “Tell me what you've been doing. You never left the university, did you?”
“What do you mean never left? We're sitting on the other side of the galaxy from the university!”
Lynn smacked his arm lightly. “You know what I mean. Aren't you a professor now, or something?’’
Arron laid his hand on his breast. “You wound me. That's like asking a ship captain if he's got a desk job. I'm a senior researcher, in cultural xenology. Haven't you untied any of my knots?”
“Not one,” Lynn lied, and shook her head. She did not want to get into that discussion just yet. “Forgive me?”
“I'll think about it.” He leaned back, folded his arms, and grinned.
“So.” Lynn folded her arms and matched his posture. “Should I ask what you want now, or should we keep going with the small talk?”
Arron shook his head. “You know, you haven't lost that total disregard for ceremonial preliminaries.”
“Oh, no. I drive the veeps crazy.” She grinned. “And I'm proud of it. So, what do you want?” Especially since you've said publicty we're not to be trusted. Lynn squashed the thought, but knew she wasn't going to be able to keep that section of the conversation shut down indefinitely.
Arron licked his lips. “I want to talk to you about the relocation schedule.”
Lynn's spine stiffened. “Why?” she asked sharply before she could stop herself.
Arron hesitated. “I've been asked to by members of the Getesaph Parliament.”
Lynn stared out the window for a minute. A long, rusty freighter hauled its way out of the harbor toward the open sea. The rain had let up temporarily, too, she noticed.
“I've been working very hard to make it known that the relocation schedule is nonnegotiable. By anybody. If I cave on that, I'm opening the project up to all kinds of problems.”
“That's a very smart stance.” Arron leaned forward and planted his elbows on his thighs. “If I didn't believe they had a legitimate worry, I wouldn't be here.”
Lynn's hand went automatically to her forehead and smacked against her faceplate. She grimaced, and was glad to see Arron's face remain impassive. “Every single one of the Great Families has a legitimate worry about all the others.”
He spread his hands. “Again, I can't argue with you, but you've got to admit, the Getesaph have a special degree of worry about the t'Theria.”
“It works the other way, too.” She'd had three letters from Praeis detailing her meetings with members of the Council and the noble families. All of them were carried by a squad-mother named Neys, who looked a little more tired each time Lynn saw her. Progress was slow, but steady, Praeis assured her. The Queens-of-All had actually attended the last meeting, and useful discussion was carried on. But the fact that the Getesaph had set the Confederation in motion was hanging over everything like a ticking nuclear bomb.
“I'm not saying it's not a two-way.” Arron looked toward the windows and watched something out there for a while, maybe the waves, maybe the ship. “I'm just saying the Getesaph are asking.”
Lynn rubbed her hands back and forth along her thighs, feeling the cloth of her trousers wrinkle and smooth under her gloved palms. “And I'm telling you, I'm not listening to whoever's asking. I run the risk of jeopardizing the entire relocation if I do.” She gave him a lopsided smile. “This is a really awful way to start our speaking acquaintance up again.” Her heart had jumped when she'd seen Arron. Not with repressed love, or anything like that. They'd finished that part of the dance a long time ago. But she'd been overwhelmed by sheer friendship. She'd only seen David inbody once since they'd landed, and she had no other old friends in Bioverse. Here was one, and she didn't want to disappoint him. Never mind the knot he'd tied in the web. Never mind that for as long as she could get away with it. It hurt her saying no, but it would hurt much more than if she gave in.
Arron leaned back. “You've got your managerial face on, Lynn.”
This time her smile was tight. “What do you know about my managerial face?”
“I've seen you use it on study groups.” He smiled, but the expression quickly faded. “Lynn, the Getesaph are scared. Badly. The Parliament's actually heading for a split because some of them are so scared.”
Lynn looked at her organic-sheathed fingertips, then she looked back at Arron's wide, green eyes. This could be one of their university arguments.