A Gathering Of Stones

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A tall bony blonde woman with a set angry face was snapping out orders to a collection of Skinkers using motorized assists to load crates and bundles on the roller ramp running into the belly of her battered freetrader; now and then she muttered furious asides to the short man beside her.

“No, no, not that one, the numbers are on them, you can read, can’t you.” Aside to her companion: “Mouse, if that scroov shows his face round my ship again, I’ll skin him an inch at a time and feed it to him broiled.”

The little gray man scratched his three fingers through a spongy growth that covered most of his upper body; he blinked several times, shrugged and said nothing.

“Sssaaah!” She darted to the loaders, cursed in half a dozen languages, waved her arms, made the workers reload the last cart. Still furious, she stalked back to where she’d been standing. “Danny Blue, you miserable druuj, I’ll pull your masters rating this time, I swear I will, this is the last time you walk out on me or anyone else.”

“Blue wants, Blue walks,” the little man said. “Done it before, ‘II do it again.”

“Hah! Mouse, if you’re so happy with him, you go help Sandy stow the cargo.”

“I don’t do boxes.”

She glared at him, but throttled back the words that bulged in her throat, stalked off and stood inspecting the crates as they rolled past him.

Danny walked round a stack of crates, Felsrawg trailing reluctantly after her. “Hya, Kally, I’m back.”

She wheeled. “Where the hell you been, druuj!” Her eyes went wide when she realized what she was seeing. “Huh? You’re not Danny.”

“Remember lnconterza? Matrize Lezdoa the scarifier? I can go on.”

“Never mind. Someday you have to explain to me how you grew a head of hair and three extra inches and changed your face that much,” she glanced at her ringchron, “in nine hours.” She looked past him. “And where you got the baba there.”

“Be polite, Kally, Felsa’s no man’s baba. Woman’s either.”

“Hmp. You not giving me any excuse for leaving me to do your job, are you.”

“No. But I’ll contract an extra year if you give Felsa space onboard.”

“Guarantee no walking?”

“Guarantee. My word on it.”

“Deal. She got anything but what she’s carrying?”

“Nothing but a name. Felsa, I’ll have you meet free trader and shipmaster Kally Kuninga. Kally, this is one Felsrawg Lawdrawn. She doesn’t know what the hell’s going on, but she’ll learn.”

“You finished? Right. Get your ass over there and do your job. Mouse he’s been having vibrations which means we gotta get the hell out before the sluivasshi land on us.”

She looked Felsrawg over, head to toe back again. “She’s your problem, Danny. Keep her outta my hair and see she’s fumigated before you bring her on board.” She twitched her nose, swung round and stalked off.

Felsrawg snorted. “Bitch.”

“Sure. And if you say it to her face, she’ll laugh, then she’ll slap you down so hard you bounce. Come on. I’ve got work to do.”