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Colemenoport

Wayfarer


“Expediter rooBios can assemble his team as early as tomorrow midday,” Dyoli said. She glanced at Shan. “If the master trader has nothing else for me at that time, I would like to oblige him. Also, I should like to have Mar Tyn with me, if the schedule allows. He has already agreed that he should become acquainted with group presentations, and methods of inventory and fulfillment.”

The trade team was at their leisure in the suite’s common room, sipping favored drinks, and going over last-minute business before the meal arrived.

Dyoli and Mar Tyn sat together in the double-chair. Padi was curled at one end of the U-shaped couch, Shan and Priscilla sitting near the other end. Tima and Karna were in the two half-loungers, Grad stretched on his side on the floor at their feet.

“Expediter rooBios moves with commendable speed,” Shan murmured. “My question would be—can you pull a presentation together so quickly?”

Dyoli’s pale brows lifted.

“That will be no trouble at all,” she said. “I have reviewed the files the master trader made available to me. I will very easily be able to generalize from those real-time examples. The Grady and the ter’Efferton methods are textbook. I will refresh myself, naturally, but it is not new material.”

Shan nodded.

“If you are confident, I am confident,” he told her, and looked to Mar Tyn. “Are you quite certain that you are prepared for the heady pleasures of a lecture on delivery protocols and deep inventory, Master pai’Fortana?”

Mar Tyn inclined his head gravely.

“Dyoli has promised that I may leave the room if I am overcome, sir.”

Shan grinned.

“A wise precaution. I wonder, have you received the sections from the charter that our friend Councilor ziaGorn promised?”

“I have, and they are very interesting. Civilization appears to consider that Serendipitists have control over their Gift, while acknowledging that accidents may happen even to the most well-regulated person. As that is so, Serendipitists are expressly forbidden from entering casinos and other establishments where”—he paused, eyes narrowed, as if consulting a page that only he could see—“where the ambient may interface with random event.”

“Which is remarkably unclear,” Padi commented.

“The explanation is certainly not plain,” Shan said. “But the prohibition is clear. We do not wish to err against local custom, therefore the Serendipitist in our midst will please remain on the outside of casinos and other monuments to chance.”

“I have no desire to ever see the inside of a casino again,” Mar Tyn told him fervently.

“Then we have no conflict, though one does wonder what prohibitions might be placed against the other Talents represented among us.”

“I wondered the same,” Mar Tyn said, “and did a search of the public network. There is a Library of Law and Regulation maintained by the Council of the Civilized, from which I was able to download a copy of the full ruling charter.”

He paused and looked a little apologetic.

“I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.”

“I’m sure you’ll find time over the next few days,” Shan said gently. “In the meanwhile, might you send a copy of the charter to the whole team, so that we are all informed?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Excellent.”

“Thank you, Mar Tyn,” Padi added. “I must say that I am very confused about this custom, and the underlying assumptions. I heard you were quite stern with Councilor ziaGorn.”

Mar Tyn moved his shoulders, looking less happy with this praise from a comrade than he might.

“I had not meant to be quite so stern,” he said. “I had no idea of the . . . strength of my opinion until I began to speak. Surely, the custom is not of Councilor ziaGorn’s devising.”

“Oh, he understood very well that you were not angry with him!” Dyoli said. “Though I thought he was brought up a bit when you claimed him as a comrade.”

“What should I have done? A protected population?” Mar Tyn’s voice was warming, his amber eyes sparkling. “What does that mean?”

“That,” Shan cut in, “is a very good question, and one that a reading of this charter may clarify for us. If, after we have informed ourselves, we find that we still have questions, I note that we have a liaison who is well versed in local custom.”

Mar Tyn subsided, inclining his head.

“Just so.”

“I’ve been thinking,” Priscilla said in her deep, calm voice, “of calling Dil Nem down for this projected tour of the yards. He had managed Tiazan’s yard on Lytaxin for a time, and will have a better feel than I do for day-to-day operations, what can be made to work, and what absolutely must be replaced or refitted.”

“That’s a good plan,” Shan said. “Indeed, it fits neatly with my own. I have asked Qe’andra dea’Tolin to join the on-port team—Dil Nem may accompany her.” He leaned forward to put his glass on the table.

“On the topic of learning more about Colemeno, I’ve arranged for Portmaster krogerSlyte to escort me to a social history dialogue,” Priscilla continued.

Shan raised his eyebrows. “An excellent notion. I look forward to hearing what you learn.”

He looked around the room, and gave them all a smile.

“So! The trade mission has not been driven off by the Council, as much as they might wish us elsewhere. Colemenoport itself is eager to explore mutual opportunity, and we have seen enough of interest to justify opening a whole port inventory.”

He glanced at those gathered again, his gaze resting on Mar Tyn and Dyoli. “Trader ven’Deelin and Master pai’Fortana are best suited to assist Qe’andra dea’Tolin in her work, unless there is an objection.”

“I have no objection,” Dyoli said calmly. “As the inventory will be the foundation of the trade office that Mar Tyn and I will manage, it’s best for us to be in it from the beginning.”

There was a moment’s silence.

“Mar Tyn?” Shan murmured.

“It is as Dyoli says. I will be very pleased to do what I may to assist the qe’andra, and to—to learn what is needful.”

Shan smiled and inclined his head.

“As we are all in agreement, I suggest that it is time to eat.”

* * *

Alone in her quarters after dinner, Padi refreshed herself, pulled on soft pants and a sweater, and left her hair loose over her shoulders. She stood for a moment, eyes closed, centering herself, before she sat down at the desk and opened her screen.

The hour before the meal, and the meal itself, during which Tima had amused the table by describing the convoluted plot of a serial she and Karna watched together as a relaxation, had done much to restore her energy levels.

While she was not quite ready to march out onto the port to call upon the two dozen vendors who had desired a personal visit from a member of the trade mission, she certainly felt equal to dealing with her correspondence.

She wrote first to Cargo Master ira’Barti with delivery instructions.

Secondly, she wrote to Trader Isfelm, transmitting the promised file of reviews, and passing along the master trader’s question regarding the compatibility of equipment.

That done, she opened her inbox.

There were a few general solicitations of the sort that could easily be discarded, which she did, before opening the first item of real interest—a letter from Trader Arbuthnot, who happened also to be her cousin Gordy.

He reported, first, that he had accomplished his separation from Trader per’Cadmie and Sevyenti with only a “minor” amount of unpleasantness. He was now on his way via small cruise ship to Napoli, where he would meet Generous Passage and her crew.

He was using his leisure—she could almost see the irony gleaming between the letters—to bring himself current with station-based marketing and supply, and learning all that he could about his new—his own!—tradeship.

He acknowledged that Genny, as she was styled by her captain, was an elder vessel, but hale and eager to be brought out of semi-retirement. She had once been a master trader’s ship, so he would enjoy a level of comfort beyond what one might expect of an older ship. Age of course meant less pod-space than Sevyenti, but the four she carried were all his—or, rather, Tinsori Light’s.

Gordy had written to the light keepers in order to find what items might be particularly welcome, even as he looked for competition and opportunity.

The nearest trade of any kind appeared to be at Edmonton Beacon, and Gordy hoped he wasn’t too confident in assuming that a Tree-and-Dragon trade office could do better than that, even if Tinsori Light was situated at the back end of Away.

Padi grinned. Gordy had been quite oppressed by Trader per’Cadmie, and to find him so full of excitement and plans was a relief. She made a note to mention the letter to Father, and put it aside to answer later.

Next was a letter from Beali Sunderland, a curiosities dealer at Tinbakerport who had been the first client Padi had signed to her own trade-list, when she had been Trader ven’Tyrlit’s ’prentice.

The relationship had been advantageous and pleasant. Beali had a surprisingly wide acquaintanceship in markets far from Tinbaker, and Padi had benefited from being added to that web. For her part, Padi had a good eye for the curious and the intriguing. It had been her habit to look out items for Beali, even when, as had become increasingly necessary, she had been required to transship to Tinbaker.

The letter was brief—a congratulation on Padi’s ascent to the garnet—a trader in her own face, so soon! Beali said warmly—and a whimsical wondering after Padi’s latest route, which had yielded nothing curious for quite some time.

Padi sat back in her chair, lips curved in a half-smile. She did so like Beali.

Still, it could not be said that she had been a very consistent source of curios for some time.

While it was possible, even likely, that she might come upon any number of oddities on Colemeno, she could not pretend that she would be a steady source.

It was time to pass her valued client on to another trader, who could give her the attention she deserved.

She pulled up the trade ledger, looking for a particular—yes! It was as she had recalled. Trader Getchell vin’Odri listed a specialty in curios, including in her client list several names familiar to Padi from Beali’s web of acquaintance. The two of them ought to deal famously together.

Carefully, she wrote the letters—the first to Beali, thanking her for her many kindnesses to a ’prentice and young trader, and admitting that she was at the moment attached to a market expansion team, and not on-route at all. She promised to keep Beali in her thoughts when she walked new markets, and would contrive to send, when she discovered something appropriate. However, in the interest of a steadier supply, Padi was transferring Beali’s information and particulars to Trader vin’Odri of Nine Moons, an experienced and devoted purveyor of curiosities of all types.

The second letter was to Trader vin’Odri, providing an introduction and transferring the appropriate transaction records.

Both letters dispatched, Padi glanced at the clock. It was getting late, but there was only one more letter in the queue—and it was from Vanz.

Vanz—Trader Vanz Carresens-Denobli—was her partner in Out of the Dust Limited Trade Partnership. Just before they had come in to Colemeno, she had seen his name in the Guild listing of new traders, and had written to congratulate him. Teasing him a little, she asked when he would be assigned his own ship.

She opened his letter with a smile.

My dear Trader yos’Galan, it began—which gave her pause. Though they had only recently met, they had very quickly become Padi and Vanz, which she found agreeable, as she did having a colleague so very near her own age and estate. She was not at all certain that she ought to encourage Trader yos’Galan from Vanz.

Frowning slightly, she returned to the letter.

 

Your congratulations find me in a quandary—not uncharted space for me, as we’re both aware. Clearly, I’m delighted that the Trader was not only able to recall that there was a bit of Guild business pending, but also where he had put the ring for safekeeping. The presentation was made at a small-gather and meeting of the seniors. My mother and aunt were present, to donate the appropriate tears—of happiness, I believe!—and a chorus of my cousins to remark on what trifling gems garnets are.

 

Padi leaned back in her chair with a soft laugh. This was more in the mode she had come to expect from Vanz. Perhaps the opening had only been a bit of playful chiding for her sally regarding the ship.

She touched the screen, scrolling the letter up.

 

What I mean to convey is that matters had progressed pretty much as expected, until they didn’t.

 

Padi blinked.

 

The seniors had various business to discuss at the gather. There was Traveler’s Aid to discuss, and some other things, all beyond the reach of a new-made trader and his lowly garnet.

I was called in after a bit, which I had been expecting, because there was the matter of my shares and position in the Family to be settled.

You’ll be as astonished as I was to learn that the elders voted me a Daughter’s share and responsibilities.

I didn’t quite ask the Trader if he’d got the right ’prentice, but that was only because just then my aunt Chasiel, Captain Most Senior, asked what I thought of the Rimedge Loop. I promptly ’fessed that I knew of no such route, but would be pleased to amend my ignorance and write her an analysis.

My mother laughed at that, and the Trader gave me a kindly smile before saying that it was a very good notion Vanz had, to analyze the situation. Vanz being, as the Trader was pleased to say, very solid in analysis.

The sum of all this being that, pending analysis, I may be put on as EvaLee’s trader to reopen the Rimedge Loop, which has, so I know now, been Dusted-in as long—or longer!—as the Redlands.

All this to say that I was startled when you followed your congratulations with an inquiry about my new ship. Are you prescient? I never thought to ask.

For the present, not much changes. I’ll stay with Nubella Run—as second trader! My analysis is due to the Seniors before the next Festevalya at Tradedesk, so they can review it before bringing it before the Whole Family Meeting.

We’re on the out-run to the Hacienda now. I have less than half of the adapter kits left in inventory, and am confident of profit, there.

And there’s my news. I’m eager to hear more of yours, as time allows it.

Take good care, Padi. I remain your friend and partner—

Vanz

Æ

“So far, crew is kept occupied,” Danae Tiazan said in answer to Priscilla’s question. Danae was first mate and acting captain of Dutiful Passage, at the moment in a parking orbit around Colemeno.

“We are on a regimen of repair and brightening, which ought, with judicious scheduling, keep us busy for some weeks. We are considering an adjustment of shifts to accommodate more discretionary time for crew. Second Mate Davis and Librarian Faaldom are together exploring the educational and entertainment modules with an eye toward offering workshops, guided reading groups, viewings of the classic melant’i plays, and other such. The modules are—extensive.”

It required an active effort of will, not to outright grin at the note of bemusement in the first mate’s even voice.

“I believe some of those modules are original with Master Trader Petrella,” Priscilla said. Her first duty station on the Passage had been as pet librarian, which had put her under Lina Faaldom’s authority. She had occasionally been enlisted in file searches, and had noted the size of the entertainment archive more than once.

“The master trader who had Dutiful Passage built,” Danae said, to show that she knew her lineages, and added, “the same master trader who included a pet library in the initial plans.”

“My lifemate suggests that she was concerned of what might happen, should her ’prentice grow bored.”

Danae smiled, amusement plain for those who knew what they were looking for.

“Indeed, my own grandmother still tells stories of Er Thom yos’Galan’s apprenticeship. It impressed her as few things have.”

“So do we all terrify our teachers,” Priscilla murmured, and Danae’s smile grew wider.

“Indeed. Indeed we do.”

She glanced aside, then back to the screen, politely looking toward, rather than at, Priscilla.

“Such stratagems will keep us for . . . some time,” she said. “Eventually, however, there will be a call for shore leave. One is well aware that master traders keep their own time. However—”

Priscilla sighed.

“We arrive at my topic,” she said. “The master trader has determined that a whole port inventory may go forth, and has called Qe’andra dea’Tolin to join the trade mission on-port.”

Danae inclined her head.

“I have a copy of the master trader’s letter to the qe’andra. We will of course have her brought down to you as quickly as possible.”

“Yes—about that. Can you spare Dil Nem for a few days? The yard here has not seen upgrades since before the Redlands were engulfed by the Dust, and the yard master would like us to inspect and make suggestions for needed improvements. Dil Nem’s experience there—”

“Oh, indeed!” Danae said. “Dil Nem is precisely who you want for that! Will you speak to him yourself, or shall I convey your orders?”

“I’ll speak to him when we’re done,” Priscilla said. “Is there anything else between us?”

“I think not,” Danae said. “It is a very peaceful interlude, even if some of us are bemused. Is there anyone else who might be of use to you on-port?”

“I think—” Priscilla began—and stopped, as the screen sparkled, the brightness producing a roar inside her head. No sooner had they appeared than the effects faded, and Priscilla was looking at Danae once more.

“Yes, Captain,” the first mate said crisply. “Will you speak with Dil Nem now?”

Priscilla blinked, noting that her head ached. Well, she thought, it had been a long and demanding day. One expected that even a Witch—or a strong multi-Talent—might be worn out by such an effort. Only a few minutes more, and she could—would—rest.

“Thank you,” she said. “I’ll speak to Dil Nem now.”


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