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The route she’d been given kept her h on Tyr Siilas “less busy” was still quite crowded At first she was self-conscious, afraid she’d attract unwelcoh the station’s thoroughfares, but the crowds split and streamed around her without contact or co an aard load She had to swerve carefully around a stack of crates full of onions, apparently trundling along under its oer, and then found herself stuck for a few frustrating seconds behind what at first she took to be a puzzlingly tall mech, but when it finally moved she realized it was actually a Huravity habitat, to judge froht and need to wear the suit
At one point she had to wait a half hour for a freight lift, and then spent the ride pinned against the lift’s gri her stiff, for, full skirts that she’d kept when she’d sold the rest of her clothes, with the intention of looking as seriously businesslike as possible Very probably pointless—the Facilitator likely didn’t care so long as her ood, and the other side of the deal she’d made couldn’t see her anyway
As soon as she was off the lift she girded up her skirts, then took off her sandals and set the else she owned now—her identity tabula and a few s stop-and-start trek through the docks, swerving around inattentive travelers when she could, the ti her, at least, that she still had plenty of time to reach her ship, which was, predictably, in the section of the docks farthest from where she’d entered
She arrived at the bay tired, frustrated, and anxious The bay was much smaller than she’d expected, but then she had only ever taken the big passenger liners between systems Had taken one here, but she could not afford even the cheapest available return fare hoo ship with a few extra berths for passengers, and that her trip home would be cramped and unluxurious, but she hadn’t stopped to consider what that wouldthis crate with her If this had been a passenger liner, there would have been someone here she could turn the crate over to, ould o But the bay was eet both herself and the crate into the airlock
While she stood thinking, a man came out of the airlock Short and solid-bodied, and there was so off about the shape of his nose, or the size of hisbehind hireen striped lungi, and a dark gray jacket, and he was barefoot—less fors or is, but still perfectly respectable “You are Ingray Aughskold?”
“You h the Tyr Siilas dock office, days ago, before this ship had arrived here “Or is it Captain Tic?” Somewhere like this, where you met people from all over, it was difficult to knohat order anyone’s name was in, or which one they preferred to be addressed by
“Either one,” said Captain Uisine “You didn’t say anything about oversized luggage, excellency”
“No,” Ingray said “I didn’t I wasn’t expecting it myself”
Captain Uisine was silent a e for the passenger coo That’s accessed on the lower level But it’s sealed up at the istered Statement of Contents”
She didn’t even know there was such a thing, or that she ain, she’d never expected to have to deal with cargo at all “I can’t…” She really ought to have eaten so “I can’t leave it behind Is there ti quite still, but she must have moved the hand that rested on the crate, because now it slid forward She grabbed for it
Captain Uisine laid a hand on it to stop and steady it “Plenty of time Departure’s delayed Have you not checked your notifications? We’re here another two days”
“Two days!” It didn’t seem possible She summoned her notifications to her vision, and sahat she would have seen ies—a brief, bare note about the delay, from Captain Tic Uisine “Unavoidable delay,” the note called it, “due to current events”
Current events Of course Ingray pulled up the news, looked closer at the information about the Geck diplomatic mission Which mentioned, quite clearly but further in than she’d bothered to look, that arrivals and departures were being rearranged to fit the Geck in as quickly and safely as possible
There was no arguing with that, no recourse Even if Ingray had been traveling with Netano Aughskold, who had herself not infrequently demanded (and received) such priority, it wouldn’t have done any good, and not just because this wasn’t Netano’s home system The Geck were aliens, not huray understood, and had done so now only to attend to urgent er Before the treaty, the Presger would tear apart Human ships and stations—an
d their passengers and residents—see except the treaty, which the Radchaai ruler Anaander Mianaai had signed in the naer apparently did not understand or care about whether there ht be different sorts of Humans, with different authorities But noon that authority, no one wanted the Presger to start killing people again