“The K-12 band is going to be open for a station to groundside datadump. That’ll take us from Averand to Cole’s Spot.” Perivar traced a new path on the map table with his finger. The sensors on the surface responded by marking a new orange line on the display.
“Could we piggyback in on a Vitae download from there to Haron?” Kiv dotted in another segment.
“What’re they charging?” Ri whistled from the capsule.
“For pickup and delivery through there?” Ere got in belatedly.
Perivar considered the idea. “We can get the rates off Brain. Save that as plan B, though; I don’t want to have to depend on the Vitae right now.”
“Whee.” Kiv’s whistle did not translate so the disk simply transmitted the syllable. “That is a thought.”
Brain’s chime sounded over their heads. “Sar Eric Born and Sar Arla Stone are waiting in the lobby.”
Perivar glanced across at Kiv. “Brain. Open the doors and let them up.”
“Do you want us to close the housing?” asked Kiv, his secondary hands reaching toward the membrane.
“Only if you want to.”
Kiv’s whole body rippled. “I think we would rather see what is coming. Ri, come back here.”
Perivar caught the heightened pitch and speed of the whistle under the translator’s flat voice. Ri obeyed without comment.
As soon as the capsule was safely on Kiv’s side, Perivar got to his feet and swung the door to the outer hallway open. Leaving a door closed when a guest was on the way was an insult where Perivar came from, and Eric knew that. Perivar blinked a bit in the hallway light, which was supposed to simulate a sunny day. The lift door opened. Perivar watched as Eric and his … companion stepped off.
She looked a lot like Eric had when Perivar first saw him, handmade clothes, hair hidden under a twist of cloth, and hands covered with tattoos, except that hers were stark white lines, as opposed to Eric’s colorful swirls. She shared Eric’s warm skin tones and black eyes. For a brief moment, Perivar wondered if they were related.
“Thanks for the open door, Perivar.” Eric, Perivar knew, expended his small stock of Eshmi words on the greeting.
“Your accent is going.” Perivar stood back to let them inside.
The woman, Arla Stone, hesitated, until Eric said something in their own language to her. Perivar tapped his translator reflexively. At one time, he’d had Eric help him set it for the Realm’s jaw-breaking language. Since they had parted ways, though, Perivar hadn’t needed that particular information and the disk’s assembly time was going slow.
The woman walked across the threshold, blinked at the lighting change, got a look at Kiv and the kids, and froze.
The translator finally had the file reconfigured and Perivar heard Eric mutter, “I warned you.”
So she’s straight out of the woods. Wonderful. Perivar strangled a fresh sigh.
Kiv responded to her stare by uncoiling himself until his scalp brushed the ceiling so she could get a really good look. Sha, Ka, and Dene scrambled up on their parent’s back, whistling and draping themselves across his shoulders and his lower arms. They wanted to be looked at, too. The other two kept themselves still. Having been raised with humans, all the kids could read the difference between a stare of wonder and a stare of fear. The motionless two chose to acknowledge that difference.
“I wish well-come to you and yours Eric Born and Arla Stone,” announced Kiv politely, although Perivar figured he must have been getting the hint by now. Kiv could be willfully dense some days.
“Thank you,” Arla croaked. She stepped back and seemed to try to collect herself.
“She says thanks,” Perivar told Kiv as the Shessel touched his translator set in his lowest ear and cocked his head.
“Obscure language.” Arla wore a translator disk in her ear, so she could understand Kiv, but since she didn’t speak any of the languages Kiv’s disk was set for, all he could hear from her was gibberish.
“Ah,” Kiv shrank back to his normal stance, depositing children on assorted flat surfaces.
Perivar turned to Eric. “We need to talk for a minute.” He jerked his chin toward his living rooms.
“I assumed we would. Arla.” The sound of her name finally got the woman to tear her gaze away from Kiv. “I’ll be in the next room. If you …”
“I’ll be all right.” Her voice held steady but Perivar caught the slight trembling in her hands before she clenched them into fists and pressed them against her side.
Eric opened his mouth to say something but obviously changed his mind. Jaw firmly shut, he brushed past Arla and headed for Perivar’s rooms. Perivar’s glance wavered between the pair of them for a moment before he followed Eric.