She looks at me, and then her brows crease in a frown. “I was hunting.”
“Here on this planet,” the captain amends smoothly as the first course is served. Bowls of kelp soup are placed in front of us, and the others begin to eat, delicate eating sticks clinking against the bowls.
Farli sniffs over her soup and then looks at me again, a distressed expression on her face. I take my eating sticks in hand slowly and take a mouthful with exaggerated motions. She picks up the sticks at her side and examines them, then lifts one to her nose to sniff.
Trakan snorts with muffled laughter.
I scowl at him.
“I am not sure what you mean, here on this planet,” Farli says as she tries to balance the sticks between her fingers like I am. After a moment she gives up, uses one stick to fish out a stewed leaf, and takes a small bite—and immediately I can tell she hates the food. She chews for a long time, and I try to think up what excuse I can give if she spits it out, but she swallows bravely and then sets her eating sticks down. “I live here.”
“Do many of your people live here?” Chatav asks.
“Oh, all of them.”
Trakan chokes another laugh off, hiding behind his drink.
“And how many is that?” the captain asks smoothly, and I hate this. I hate that he’s interrogating her and she’s got no clue of what he’s doing, because she doesn’t have a bit of guile in her body.
She gives a bright little laugh. “I cannot count that high. At least ten hands worth, and that does not include the humans.”
“Humans?”
“Yes. They came here several seasons ago. The bad aliens left them here, and my chief found Shorshie and the others and rescued them. They are all mated to good strong hunters now. They all have kits, too. Some have several.” Her expression goes from pleasant to slightly wistful, and I notice she’s looking at me again.
“Tell me more about the humans,” the captain says. “They are stranded here like your people?”
“No, they live here like us.” She talks happily about the different ‘mated’ people in her tribe and the personalities of the ‘humans.’ I see Niri pull out her personal pad and begin to type, while Trakan and Chatav eat their soup. Farli does not eat, just talks, and it is clear she has great affection for everyone in her ‘tribe.’
In a break in the conversation, Niri murmurs, “Humans are life forms from Sol III, Captain. Primitive culture. D-class planet.”
“Kef,” Trakan says, pushing his bowl aside. “D-class life forms, too? I hope we’re not touching that with a ten-foot pole.”
I know what he’s thinking. Niri looks uneasy, too. Planets with a ‘D’ classification are off limits to any and all contact. If we’re found with contraband aliens, we could get nailed for kidnapping, even if we aren’t the responsible parties. A tricky situation just got trickier.
The captain doesn’t look worried. He finishes his soup, and the bowls are cleared away. I’ve barely eaten mine—no appetite. Farli’s is barely touched. New plates are set out, this time delicate little veg-cakes garnished with fanciful spirals. I watch as Farli’s nostrils flare, and she makes no move to eat this, either.
“So your people and the humans arrived at the same time?” Chatav continues. “Together?”
“No. We have always been here. The humans came a few seasons ago.” She’s starting to get frustrated with the conversation, it’s clear. “Why?”
“I’m just trying to figure out the best way to proceed from here.” I imagine the captain’s mentally running numbers on how much it’ll cost us to dump our cargo and pick up at least forty refugees, some of them D-class. Trakan’s no longer laughing, and Niri looks upset. They’re seeing their pay slip away, and normally I’d be upset, too. But Farli’s more important to me than a few credits.
“Proceed? What do you mean?” Farli looks at me.
I nod at her plate. “You should eat.”
She leans closer, and as she does, she starts to purr again. Her expression goes soft as she looks at me, and then she whispers, “Will we get meat soon?”
“Meat?” I ask, surprised.
“Meat?” The captain echoes, appalled. “You eat animal flesh?”
I can see Farli cringe back in her seat, and that protective feeling surges through me again. “Not sure what else she’s supposed to eat while she’s here, Captain. Didn’t see a lot of farms or processing plants out in that snow.”
“Mm.” He still looks repulsed.
I shoot Farli a reassuring glance. “We don’t have meat, I’m sorry. Maybe we can find something else for you.”
