Nervousness closed down Kiv’s ears. He forced them open and whistled. “So much? For what service?”
“You have heard our announcement of claim to the world designated MG49 sub 1?”
“We have.”
“On that world there are artifacts which endangered our Ancestors and finally forced them to flee their home. It is imperative that we know all we can of them before our children walk on the Home Ground. Otherwise, the danger will be the same for us as it was for our Ancestors. To mitigate this, we took one of the artifacts to a ship for study. It was stolen from us. We now know that your partner Yul Gan Perivar assisted in the marketing of the artifact …”
“You are speaking of Arla Stone?” Kiv shrank back, sheltering Ere a little in the curve of his neck.
“I speak of an artifact,” said Ambassador Paral. “One that might come once again into Perivar’s hands. If this is the case, we ask that you return it to us.” Paral laid a hand on Tala’s shoulder. The child jerked reflexively, but the adult held on. “Two years’ pay is a small thing compared to giving my child a safe home. As soon as you agree to the service, you will receive a year’s pay. If you enact this service, you will receive another year’s pay, which will be given directly to your children if you so wish.”
“Why are you not speaking to Yul Gan Perivar?” Kiv asked.
“He has worked against the Vitae in the past,” said Paral, without even pausing to consider the question. “We have no reason to expect him to do differently now. Your contract of service will mean that you are ready to respect the laws of the world where you do business, where your partner is not.”
“It will mean more yet,” said Iolphian. Under the voice of the translator, Kiv heard the piping of an immature human and, against his will, something inside him softened. “It will tell the Vitae that the Shessel are better allies than many of those who call themselves human. Once grounded, the Vitae will have to build a new life and we will need a great deal of help.”
“Singsong,” Ere buzzed in Kiv’s hindmost ear. “The speech patterns are wrong. That one has memorized this speech. They are trying to relax our spines with this.”
Kiv winked one eye briefly to indicate he had heard. In his mind, he had his own suspicions. You would bribe my entire people? For possession of one parent?
“And if I do not give my agreement?” Kiv asked.
“Then we will take our leave and thank you for your honesty and no Shessel shall again be troubled by a Vitae request,” said Ordeth.
Kiv did not even need Ere’s anxious buzzing to recognize the threat. He retracted his neck and secondary arms, sinking below the Vitae’s eye level. It was a stance that never failed to make Perivar uneasy. There was no reaction from the Vitae.
“Because you are bringing the welfare of all the Shessel into this,” Kiv said, “you force me to consult the Emissary Voices before I take what you offer.”
Whatever Ordeth said to Paral, it didn’t translate. All Kiv heard was “Navin uary ketket ti.” Whatever that meant. Paral replied “Iveth mikhain.” The children stood like dolls and said nothing at all.
Ordeth faced Kiv again. “Please consult the Voice then. We can wait a short time only.”
Kiv had been dismissed by humans before, but seldom so abruptly. Why would they bribe an entire people? he thought as he turned on his own length and left the room. Because they can.
“It’s a charade,” said Ere eagerly. “Father Kiv, it IS a game. Those children were props and …”
“Yes, Ere, yes.” Kiv stroked his daughter’s feet with his secondary hands. “Now we have to hope the Voice will let us make a worthy countermove.”
The Emissary Voice waited in the audience chamber. Ere shifted her grip on Kiv so that she hung on with only her legs and could fold her arms in respectful greeting. Kiv did the same even as a spasm of uneasiness ran through him. The Voice was composed of strangers. Shim carried Kiv’s skin tones because he was a cousin, but only the Sky Fathers knew where his enclave was. Ji was a loose-skinned northerner with great gaps artificially carved in his scales. Gov smelled familiar, but the familiarity was not an easy one.
Kiv accepted the need of union . With the skies crowded with humans, the Shessel could not be divided. There could be no room left in the Voice, or in the offworld residents for the makings of feuds. It was right that if the Voice had no siblings, no close cousins on this world, that he should not either.
It was right, but it was not easy. Kiv drew a great deal of calm from the fact that Ere saw them only as Shessel. Which is what they were. Only Shessel, like he was.