Chapter 16
Zeph
“Say them again,” Zeph insisted.
Han rolled her eyes but obliged. “Clutch, cling, mane, dam, sire, pup or cub, and, um, lip press.”
Zeph sounded a rumble of agreement. “Yes, very good. What should you call Rensom?”
“Master or use his nickname,” Han answered.
“I have a nickname?” Rensom asked, looking up from the game of grav he was playing with Tumoro at the table. They’d managed to pull the second seat out, but like the other one, it wasn’t going back into the wall without some repair work.
“You do now,” Han said. “One thing you guys got right is that we humans love giving out nicknames as a sign of affection.”
Sandar took a break from reading while snuggled in the nest to look up at them. “What name have you given him?”
“Rennie,” Han said.
“Ah, you changed the sound of my name,” Rensom said with an approving rumble. “I like it.”
“I want a nickname also,” Sandar said, sitting up. “You call Zephrum Zeph, Rensom is Rennie, would that make me Sandie?”
Han titled her head at Sandar. “Do you like the name Sandie?”
“It doesn’t matter if it sounds good to me, you’re the one who gives nicknames,” Sandar answered. “So it’s more important for it to sound good to you.”
“Can I call you San? Then we’ll be San and Han the besties!”
“Besties?” Sandar asked. “My INT isn’t giving me a translation for that.”
“It means we’re very good friends,” Han explained. “I kind of expect to be the godmother to the kid you’re baking right now.”
All them, including himself, stared at Han. “You have some of the strangest ways to phrase things. You don’t bake children; they grow.”
Han snorted. “You guys are just going to have to get used to it. We humans are creative with language.”
“At least you’re not like the Hunga,” Tumoro commented. “They speak in riddles and everyone is simply supposed to figure out what they mean.”
“They don’t speak in riddles,” Sandar corrected. “They use a lot of symbolism and flowery language to communicate. It can be frustrating when all you need is an answer.”
“Very frustrating,” Tumoro agreed.
Sandar turned her attention back to Han. “I like San, thank you for granting me a nickname and the highly honorable title of bestie. With your instructions, I’ll be the best bestie I can.”
“This is all very amusing and heartfelt,” Zeph said, interrupting the conversation. “But I haven’t finished quizzing Han. It’s important that she is fully prepared.”
Sandar dropped her gaze back down to the information square in her hand, Tumoro and Rensom hastily returned to their game of grav.
He could tell he’d acted badly by the look Han gave him. “Don’t take your anxiety out on everyone. I know you’re worried, but being mean isn’t going to help.”
“I wasn’t being mean,” he argued. “I was only pointing out that you need to concentrate.”
She stared at him until he couldn't take it any longer.
“I apologize," he mumbled.
Han beamed at him. Assuming she’d forgiven him, he held up his Ident and initiated a holo map of the port and surrounding area.
“Where is the cresh?”
She pointed to a small cluster of buildings surrounded by a large green space.
“That’s the cresh.” She moved her finger.
“That’s the governing building, which should be empty this time of year.
That’s the port entrance, but I’m small enough to fit through this area here if I need to.
That means the kids could come with me if we need to sneak onto the port while Rensom goes through security. ”
“Yes, very good,” he praised. Before he could ask the next question, the pilot’s display lit up. Fear squeezed his heart like a fist. “We’re here.”
An automated voice sounded with demands for identification. Zeph got up to sit at the pilot’s chair.
“I guess it’s time to change,” Han said, grabbing the wrap she’d made out of a Leemron coat.
He tapped on the display and heard her move into the cleaning room. After he finished using Rensom’s Ident codes for permission and synced with the port’s beacons, he turned in his seat in time to see Han emerge from the cleansing room.
She was frowning and tugging on the wrap garment with one hand and the collar with the other. “This isn’t comfortable.”
He hated seeing her this way. “Take it off.”
She smiled at him. “I will—as soon as it’s all done.”
Han
There weren’t many workers at the port, and only one person at the security checkpoint. The moment she saw Han, she waved them through then dropped to her knees in front of Han with open arms and a loud purr.
“Human! Do you want to clutch or cling?”
Rensom was quick to step between her and the security person. “She’s much too eager to meet my children at the moment. She might be ready for a clutch or cling after the excitement wears off.”
“Ah, that’s right, you’re here to move your children to a new cresh,” the guard said, standing up. “I’ve heard humans like the young of any species. Is it true they can feel affection for almost anything?”
Rensom sounded a rumble of amusement. “She named my ship and pats the walls sometimes to tell it that it’s a good ship.”
The guard also rumbled with amusement. “That’s adorable.”
“It is,” Rensom agreed. “Are we free to leave the port?”
“Yes, of course,” the guard said, stepping aside. She reached out to touch Han’s hair. Instead of being braided up, she’d left it loose because that was how humans “were supposed to wear it.”
Instead of slapping the hand away, she moved quickly to put Rensom between her and the guard again.
“You guys do not understand personal space,” she grumbled.
“What?” he asked as they stepped outside. He paused as if trying to figure out which direction to go.
She stepped past him. “This way.”
Without thinking about how it might look, she led the way. She only made it a few strides before she was surrounded by purring Talins offering her hugs and trying to touch her hair.
Rensom was quick to come to the rescue. “Everyone needs to back away. Han is shy and can become badly distressed by crowds.”
It was almost comical how fast everyone backed away. She heard them talk about how easy it was for humans to get sick from emotional distress and how fragile humans were.
To help the ruse, Han hunched her shoulders and wrapped her arms around herself.
Rensom picked her up and walked past everyone. Being this close to his scent gave her a headache.
“Put me down as soon as you can,” she whispered, pinching her nose and breathing shallowly.
Thankfully, Rensom’s long strides got them to the cresh quickly. The crowd didn’t follow them onto the cresh grounds, but Rensom didn’t put her down.
She understood why. His long strides ate up ground faster than she could. Soon they passed though the green space around the cresh and entered an official-looking building. The moment they were inside, he set her down and stepped back.
“Are you okay?” he asked under his breath as several Talins rushed up to talk to them.
Han ignored her headache and rolling stomach. “I’m fine.”
“Rensom, you brought a human but not your wife?” one of the Talins asked.
Han tucked herself behind Rensom to keep any of them from trying to touch her.
“Greetings, Jinorum,” Rensom said. “Both of us couldn’t leave at the same time.
Our research on Misorm is delicate and can’t be left alone.
We’ve been blessed by the ancestors, and we’ve found a potential treatment for durcim poisoning in one of the plants there.
We’ve been given enough grants to continue for six rotations. ”
“That is excellent news,” Jinorum said.
Rensom sounded a rumble of agreement. “This good fortune means we need to move the children closer, or we won’t be able to do our once-a-solar visit as required by law.”
“I’m not sure this is acceptable," Jinorum said. “Without your wife here, I can’t complete the required protocol."
That was her cue!
“Rennie, I want to hold and snuggle the children!” Han wailed in her best childlike voice.
She grasped one of Rensom’s hands in hers and tugged.
“Rennie, you promised. I want to hold them so badly. They’re smaller than me, right?
I want to play games with them. We could play, um…
” She couldn’t think of a single childhood game so she threw out words that sounded good in her head.
“Jumps and stitches and callback and all kinds of fun games!”
“I’m sorry, human,” Jinorum said, putting his face low so it was even with hers. “You can visit with his children for as long as you like, but they can’t leave with you.”
The Talin to Jinorum’s right stepped up. “I can take her out to play with the children. Rishmun and Lirsum are doing their daily walk with the others in their age group.”
Han jumped up and down and made an excited laughing sound. “I get to meet more children. Yay!”
All the Talins stared at her and purred, even Rensom.
“She’s so excited over something so simple,” Jinorum said. “It’s refreshing.”
“It must be so rewarding to own a human,” the one that offered to walk her to the children said. “Her happiness is musical.”
“Han is the best human,” Rensom said. “She is generous and kind to a fault.”
She could tell he was talking to her while pretending to converse with the Talins.
She tried not to overact to all the attention and praise. “I’m not the best human; my sire and dam were amazing too.”
Rensom better tell Zeph about her successfully working in the Talin terms.
The other Talins talked to Rensom about collecting the rest of her family, but he told the lie they’d come up with earlier that she was a lone survivor from a horrible ship catastrophe.
Finally, Jinorum sent her off with one of the Talins and took Rensom back to his office. Determined to play her part, she skipped next to her escort, chattering excitedly.