Calm (3 page)

He sat grim and growling for the last hour of their journey. When the spaceport allowed them to land, Meri inhaled deeply, ignoring the scent of Kao as best she could.

He was out of his seat the moment that the lights indicated safety.

Meri unbuckled her harness and got to her feet, ignoring the hand he extended to her. She wasn’t going to take the risk of a contact reading. His ways were not her ways, and she was having a problem grappling with the methods of propagation of his species.

She grabbed her two bags from storage, slipping them over her shoulders. She followed the other passengers to the shuttle exit and was immediately smacked by the humidity of Reepha.

Her breathing was difficult, but her gills immediately began to flutter at her collarbone. She ruthlessly shut them and smiled blandly at the Sivith guards who were watching the debarkation. The Sivith were a handsome species—tall, elegant and graceful—they seemed to be in complete command of their bodies. Their uniforms were made of thin and nearly translucent material, but it seemed appropriate with the high humidity.

Meri kept her face calm as she sought out Kao in the crush of bodies, and she slowly migrated toward him, only to be stopped by a Sivith guard. “Air breathers must check in over here. Please allow me to escort you, miss.”

“Oh. Thank you. I am a little tired after the voyage.”

He extended his arm, and she hesitated but then curled her hand around it. “Are you here for business or pleasure?”

She smiled. “I believe I am here for business. I am to be one of the new mediators.”

“Excellent. We are always in need of mediation services. What is your name miss?”

“Meribeth Arkany of the Alliance Protectorate of Terra.”

He escorted her into a large glass-walled building, and she went through the same procedure she had engaged in on every world she landed on, and she stood in the body scanner, waiting for it to chirp authorization for her to walk through.

The noise it made wasn’t a chirp, but the guard who had attached to her on the tarmac took her hand and pulled her aside. “I thought you said you were an air breather.”

“I am. Born and raised. I have a recently installed gill set for work. Is that the problem?”

He frowned. “You installed gills?”

“Well, an Alliance surgeon did it for me, but yes. Mediators have to have flexible physiologies, we go where we are needed and switching a breathing system is not something we do lightly.”

She waited, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to refuse her entrance but curious to see how far he would take it.

“So, you are not a Lahash?”

“What did my scan tell you?”

“It said you were not, but I have to say, you are far more attractive than most of the water breathers I have met.”

She smiled and looked up into eyes that were a robin’s egg blue with a golden iris. The Sivith were just as pretty in their way as the Lahash were. It must be troublesome.

A few Sivith women were walking around, their clothing so barely there, it would have caused Earth law enforcement to begin measuring for decency. All the fabric was a loose weave and it hung strategically around the curves of every Sivith female in the building.

Her escort went and completed some document before handing her her bags. “I look forward to seeing you again, Mediator Arkany. My name is Captain Keel Nnar.”

“Thank you for your help, Captain. I am sure that you will be able to find me again if there are any issues regarding my work visa.” She smiled and took her bags to the main hall of the port station where Lahash and Sivith milled and mixed.

Kao saw her and relief crossed his features. “Where did you go?”

“I was run through dry-lander customs and immigration. My gills threw them off. Anyway, I am here now, so let’s get to work.”

He placed a hand on her back, and she tried not to flinch. “First, you will meet my family.” He steered her to a gathering of tall, elegant and blue Lahash.

“Meribeth, this is my mother, Mir Kao, my father, Hisk Kao, and my sister Ys Kao. Family, this is my assistant and full-fledged mediator, Meribeth Arkany. She will be staying in the town house.”

Ys had the same striking colouration as her brother, but on her--with the brief halter-top that exposed her gills and the low-slung skirt that clung to her hips by friction alone--that beauty changed into something deadly to women in her vicinity. No one would see them with this creature nearby.

Ys stepped forward and extended her hand, palm out. “I am happy to greet you on behalf of our family.”

Meri buttoned down her mind and kept it all business as she pressed her palm to Ys’s.

It took effort to keep her expression bland. “Pleased to meet you, all of you. Thank you for your hospitality.”

Ys pressed against Meri’s mind, but Meri politely forced her back and disengaged her hand. “Now, I would like to see some of your city. Can you show me where I am staying and let me know when and where I am to begin the mediation?”

She addressed her questions to Kao, and he looked like he wanted to read her the riot act once again but instead his mother moved forward. “I will show you to the house, dear. It is overlooking the water but near to downtown. A perfectly lovely location.”

Meri was swept away by Mir. There was no other term for it. The older woman had her hair swept up in a green cascade that made its way down to her ribs. Her thin clothing was designed for a bit more support than her daughter’s, but the perfect blue of her skin was as unblemished as the younger woman’s.

“Now, Meribeth, call me Mir. I was wondering how long you have known my son. I have never seen him in this type of temper.” Mir hailed a skimmer and bustled Meri inside.

“I have been his assistant for two years. The temper is new. He has been in a foul mood since he announced his decanting.” She watched the city fly by. Every area of the city was meticulously planned.

Mir’s lips were twisted sharply in amusement. “What has triggered his mood?”

“Usually it was my asking for a reference for my next assignment. I won’t get assigned until I have a reference from Kao, so I was pressing him on the matter.”

“Ah, that does explain it. He does not like having things he loves taken from him.”

Meri let that slide. “Why did he leave to become a Negotiator?”

“Reepha needed to put a foot into the Alliance, and Vehn was suited to it. He had no objection to the isolation, but he didn’t know that the spawning had taken. Nina hid it from everyone until Vehn was gone.”

This brought the focus to the case she was about to mediate. “Why did she hide the pregnancy?”

Mir smiled, “She was engaged to be wed and didn’t want her fiancé to find out. The Nnar are a proud and extensive family. Nina did not want to disappoint her husband-to-be with her lack of control.”

“How does the spawning work, do the males just raid the seaside villages or something?”

“Oh, my dear, no. The women line up when the moons are full, and they try to be chosen. The women who carry for the Lahash are well compensated and enjoy the pleasure. They rear the children while allowing the Lahash full visitation, and when the child is mature enough to breathe water, they become members of Lahash society.”

“Can they visit their mothers?”

“Of course. It is encouraged to maintain connections on all sides of the family for the child’s wellbeing.”

“How is your granddaughter taking this?”

“The same way that Vehn took it when he moved away from the land and into the sea. She is anticipating homesickness, but she is excited by the idea of living under the sea with other children who can do the same.”

Meribeth froze in place. “Vehn was conceived on land?”

“Certainly, two years before I even met Hisk. When we married, I became his mother and eventually bore Ys. We hired a Sivith nanny to take care of her on land and visited her every day.”

“So, having your children raised on dry land isn’t an accident, it isn’t a choice?”

“No, it is a biological necessity. It takes strong gills to push water through and the little ones just cannot manage. We have tried to raise them in our underwater cities, but children are children, they want to go outside with the others and can’t understand that one year makes all the difference.” There was sorrow in Mir’s voice.

The idea of a child who could not survive playing outside with others made Meri shudder with the horror of the situation. “I think that raising them on the land is definitely a good idea in that case.”

“Well, I am hoping that Niika’s transition goes smoothly. The finances can often be the sticking point.” Mir grimaced.

“I will do what I can to keep things calm. Now, what constitutes a good settlement?” Meribeth picked Mir’s brain on the ins and outs of the finances of the Lahash and what a Sivith woman could and might demand. It was quite the list.

Chapter Five

The Kao townhouse was lovely and had three servants who kept the place ready for any and all guests.

“The negotiations will be done in the dining room. Witnesses for both parties will be present, and we will begin immediately after your meal. Vehn just let me know you have not been eating well. We will soon fix that.” Mir smiled and showed sharp white teeth.

At a few quiet commands, the maid had Meribeth’s bag and took it upstairs while Mir led her into the dining room where another servant was preparing a tea set.

“I feel it best if you get used to the feel of this room as you are going to be running the festivities.” Mir ushered her to the head of the table.

Mir took her seat and stared at Meri. “You must be very hot in all that fabric.”

Meribeth smiled. “No, I can manage just fine. The suit is conditioned to respond to my body and heat or cool me accordingly.”

“It looks horribly warm.” Mir frowned.

“It is fine. I am used to it and have been in far heavier suits over the years. This one lets my skin breathe a little.”

The maid brought the tea. Meri took it with a smile. Her brows rose in surprise when she tasted her favourite herb blend. “Where did this come from?”

Mir smiled, “Vehn called ahead and had us stock this place with your favourites so that you would feel at home. I believe my son is smitten with you.”

Meri got a little nervous and then spoke her mind. “He has other matters on his plate for now. He will soon grow out of any interest he has in me.”

“You don’t know him as well as you think then. My son makes up his mind, and he pursues his decision with everything in him. Today, he will gain custody of his daughter, and from then on, his path will be clear.”

Meri swallowed. “Well, I suppose I shall stay out of his path then. I am sure that he will want to situate Niika in one of his underwater homes.”

Mir drank her tea. “Well, he will, once he is wed. While many children are raised in a single-parent home, that will not always be the case. Vehn has decided on you, Meribeth. You had better get used to the idea.”

Meri’s hand clenched around the delicate cup, and she felt it give. She put it down immediately. “What he wants is immaterial. I have not been consulted on this matter, nor will I simply hand myself over to a man I do not know.”

A smile crossed the older woman’s features. “He does not enthrall you?”

“He does, but I fight it. My will wins over my instincts and that is what I believe to be spurring his foul temper.”

“Excellent. Vehn has had too easy a life when it comes to ladies falling into his arms. A little fight will be good for him.”

Meri lifted her cup once again and didn’t say anything. There would be time enough to speak when she was mediating. For now, she was simply trying to keep her calm.

Meri was sitting at the dressing table, putting the last touches on her appearance when the maid came to the door. “Miss, they are here and gathered in the dining room.”

“Thank you, Hala. I will be down presently.” Meribeth got to her feet in a rush of fabric. Her mediator robes had not wrinkled at all in storage, and the sombre grey of them brought a small smile to her lips. It had been too long since she had worn them, and she had missed the feeling of belonging that the robes brought to her.

She had managed three assignments as mediator before her nerves had cracked. Calming and counselling at the same time was more than she could manage.

Her robes had a special addition. The peak of the cowl had a gem set on it that fastened to her forehead and glowed when she used her calming talent. It was considered fair warning for her clients that they were getting out of control.

Meribeth took one last look in the mirror and sighed. One assignment and off to wherever the Alliance sent her. It was time to get to work.

She had been situated in a lovely guest suite, and it was a few seconds until she reached the stairs and made her way to the dining hall where everyone was waiting.

The men got to their feet when she entered and the women remained seated. Nina was pale and lovely, and the two men with her looked uncomfortable with the situation. Meribeth recognized one of them. “Captain Nnar. How nice to see you again so soon.”

He jerked and stared. “Miss Arkany. You really are here for work.”

She inclined her head and took her seat at the head of the table, gesturing for everyone to sit. “We are here to engage in the transfer of custody of Niika. Nina Volar Nnar, what are your requests for the compensation of Niika’s first few years?”

Nina lifted her head and looked shyly at Vehn while the man next to her—her husband—glared at the Lahash who had gotten to his bride first.

“The compensation offered by the Kao family has been enough. The house, the land, everything is more than enough for the joy of raising Niika. Can she come visit me?”

Nina’s husband shifted and the waves of anger coming off him were palpable, so Meri quashed them under a wave of calm. She did the same to the Kaos.

Meri broke up the glaring contest between the two sides. “While this is a custody transfer, bear in mind that it is all about a little girl who had no choice in how she came into this world. There was no force, no subterfuge, merely a mating that resulted in another Lahash being born. It is about her, not the families.”