Ito looked up from his pad. “What?”
“They see our history of persistence hunting as evidence that we’re dangerous. They appear to believe that if our ancestors could take down large prey through sheer determination, then we are dangerous to them no matter how much superior technology they possess,” Liam explained. Ito typed madly on his pad. “I’m not sure if they believe the Rownt are brave or stupid for trading with us. If Imshee do come to this part of space, you may want to tread carefully.”
Ito nodded slowly. “That’s important to know.” The man projected a calm determination even as he tapped away. “Is there any chance the Rownt will allow Captain Mora to brief his superiors?”
“No,” Liam said. Ito’s head came up and he frowned at Liam. Liam explained, “The Rownt believe that transitions are difficult for palteia and that old loyalties will continue to exert influence for some time. The Grandmothers want to protect Zach from feeling any conflict over whose interests he should serve.”
He put his pad down on the seat next to him. “That might cause some concern in Command. The assumption was that we could contact him.”
“No one could contact me for months. For a time, Ondry was irrational in his anger toward everyone on the human base.”
“And it has been months,” Ito said.
Liam sighed. “But Zach has stronger ties to Earth and Command. The Grandmothers recognize that.” Zach had wanted to visit family. Liam had left his family, and he didn’t want to drag the past and his own bad choices into their lives. Luke would be an adult by now. Jae would be a year or two shy. He had no idea how old the two brothers would be. Liam was the first to admit that once he started hanging out with Mort, he hadn’t paid attention to the toddlers. He hadn’t liked his mother’s third husband, a man who had married her while on leave from the war. He’d used that as excuse to ignore his children. Liam still thought of them as toddlers sucking on their fists. Liam couldn’t offer them anything other than part of his salary, and he had already set them up to get money from him. He doubted they wanted any other part of him.
Ito put his hand on his pad, but he didn’t type anything in. Instead, he stared out the front window past the silent driver. They had crossed several pedestrian bridges before Liam said, “I’m impressed. You haven’t asked what happened to me.”
Ito appeared surprised. “You mean your height? That question seemed rather personal.”
“It’s related to the Imshee. They accidentally put me in danger, and tinkering with my genetics so I would be a better physical match for Ondry was their form of an apology.”
Ito’s fingers tightened around the pad. “It must have been a serious error.”
Liam shrugged. “I didn’t think so. They made a simple mistake with environmentals. Zach and I passed out and the lack of oxygen could have been dangerous over time, but we both recovered within hours. Imshee use far less oxygen, so it was reasonable that they only increased oxygen levels to the minimum standards required for Rownt. They intended no harm. However, Rownt are not logical when children or palteia get hurt. I’m certainly not complaining about the gift.”
“And does this gift come with disadvantages?”
“On Rownt ships, no. On Earth, I’m finding the transportation rather small.” Liam rested his hand on the back of the seat in front of him. His knees were pressed up against it.
“I can see where that would be an issue.” Ito sounded amused. He shook his head, and it took Liam a second to recognize the gesture.
“I’ve surprised you.”
Ito shifted in his seat to study Liam. “I had expected this trade to be more confrontational.”
“You offered quality goods.”
“Did I?”
Liam figured Command would have to redo their Rownt trading matrix after Ito turned in his report. “How difficult is this Mr. Tsang?”
“Exceptionally.” Ito enunciated each syllable. “Unfortunately for most of the art world, he is also brilliant at finding antiquities and artists trust him to protect their legacies so he manages several portfolios. He’s the bane of more than one museum.”
Humans would never understand how much Rownt would respect an individual like that. “Then perhaps I have offered too little,” Liam said. “Rownt respect individuals who demand much of their clients. Mr. Tsang sounds imminently reasonable from a Rownt perspective, and an introduction to such an honored trader is valuable.” Ito frowned, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t ask for anything. The silence gathered between them, and it felt a lot like trust—as if Ito was trusting Liam to choose trade goods that he would want. This was one human Liam didn’t want to cheat out of his meat. “There is a word the Rownt use—blestata.”
“Is this an important word?”
“It is. It translates to something between insane and untrustworthy.”
Ito drew in a breath. “A word to avoid then.” He picked up his pad and tapped it.
Liam turned his attention back to the pedestrians riding the walks under the shade of the tall buildings. “Do you know the worst thing Colonel Thackeray did on Prarownt?”
“I would say the opinion is equally divided between disrespecting you publically and trying to push past a fourteen-foot tall, eight hundred pound Grandmother.” Dry humor colored Ito’s tone. “Both are fairly stupid.”
Liam couldn’t argue. He had no idea why Thackeray had thought he had the strength to move a Grandmother, much less the eldest Grandmother of Janatjanjay. Liam was a little embarrassed that he had been so afraid of that idiot. “Those are minor indiscretions compared to his suggestion that the Rownt reopen the discussion of pharmaceuticals.”
“I understand why that would be foolish,” Ito said slowly, but from his tone it was clear he didn’t get it. “Rownt anatomy is different and they have never been known to change their minds, but from my point of view, I fail to see how that is worse than publically attacking you or a Grandmother.”
“It suggests humans might be blestata.”
Ito was silent for a time, quietly entering info into his pad. When he saw Liam looking at him, he asked, “And what evidence would one use to make that determination?”
It was a good question—a wise one.
“If changing circumstances cause an entity to demand renegotiation, that is blestata. It is a term the Rownt created to describe the Anla.”
Ito drew himself up. “And Thackeray’s ridiculous request implied that a change of commanders would lead to a reopening of closed negotiations? I can see where that would be a problem.”
Liam hoped Ito was as insightful as he appeared to be. And he hoped his commanders would listen to him. He had a high enough rank that someone should listen. But for a Grandmother to give a trading partner advice on how to act or what to offer in trade—that would be an insult no Rownt would ever dare offer. If humans needed help to manage this partnership, Liam had to make sure humans got a few hints through the back door. “As Rownt move into human space to trade, I would hate for them to discover rules such as bankruptcy make trade with the human species an exercise in insanity.”
“That is a word I will definitely share with Command, then. Certainly, trading rules and regulations can be devised to avoid it. And what would you like in return for such valuable trade goods?”