Heirs to Trouble Page 9
A step sounded in the little hallway just beyond her booth.
Miri turned her head.
Nelirikk straightened away from the wall, and put his hand on his sidearm.
A shadow cleared the hall, resolving into a fair-haired man on the short side of tall for a Terran, and on the tall side of tall for a Liaden. He was a bit paler in the face than your usual Liaden, the fair hair pulled back into a tail. Dressed in merc leathers and good marching boots. Looked tired.
He took note of Nelirikk real quick, and stopped where he was.
"I am," he said, addressing both or either of them, "here to see Delm Korval."
"Well," said Miri, giving Nelirikk the hand-sign that meant let the boy come closer, "you found half of Delm Korval, though this is the Road Boss' office."
A Terran would get impatient with what would sound to him like plain and fancy nonsense; a Liaden would parse the information she'd just given him.
He inclined slightly from the waist.
"I beg your pardon. Is there a more appropriate time and venue to speak with Delm Korval?"
And that answered that.
Miri smiled.
"Happens things is slow this afternoon, so I'll do us both a favor and switch hats," she told him. "What's your name?"
"Tommy Lee," he said.
Well, so much for having him figured.
"You a merc?" she asked.
"Former merc," he answered and there was some bitterness there.
"What makes you former?"
He sighed, all of a sudden just looking weary of everything, but he gave her a clean enough answer.
"My delm called me home."
"That'll do it," she acknowledged. "Whatcha been doin' lately?"
That got a faint smile.
"Most lately, I have been suing for re-enlistment," he said.
"In my day, there wasn't any re-enlisting from the escape clause."
"Yes, but you see, I'm dead, and no longer subject to being called. . .anywhere." He smiled again, a little brighter. "It did go all the way to an All-Commanders Tribunal before it got denied."
"Well, that's something, yeah. So, what do you think I can do for you, Tommy Lee?"
He straightened into attention.
"I wish to offer my gun to Korval," he said formally.
Like a thousand others. Miri didn't sigh.
She opened the portable computer and tapped a key.
"What's your name?" she asked, her eyes on the screen.
"Tommy Lee."
She raised her head to glare at him.
"What's the name you enlisted under?" she asked with exaggerated patience. "Or maybe you got an ID number?"
He gave her the number; she entered it, and. . .blinked at the screen.
"Tommy Lee, sit down."
He did so, settling his pack neatly next to the chair.
Miri finished reading the file, then met his eyes over the edge of the screen.
"Been wondering for a while now what happened to the guy who pulled mercs out of a hat for us. We offered what help we could when they went missing, but by that point our help was worse than none, if you take my meaning. The mercs and the qe'andra took it and ran with it, but it was pretty much a dead end until some guy called up Ms. dea'Starn and told her he was going to be able to lead her to the prisoners."
She shook her head, glanced down at the screen, and back to him.
"Looks like we owe you, Tommy Lee."
"I came," he reminded her gently, "to offer Korval my gun. If you'll have it."
"We might. Have to talk it over with my partner, naturally. Tell you what. I got another couple hours on-duty here. When's the last time you ate something wasn't bar rations?"
He blinked.
"It's been a. . .while."
"Thought so." She looked at her aide. "Beautiful, take this man down to the kitchen and see him fed, then take him over to Audrey's for a nap. Bring him back here at quitting time."
"Yes, Captain. I will call House Security for your back-up here."
"Good idea."
She returned to Tommy Lee, sitting quiet and maybe a little wide-eyed in his chair.
"You'll come up to the house with me; have a little talk with us and with our head of house security, see if there's a way we can do each other some good. That OK by you?"
He swallowed, his eyes a little damp, maybe, but the grin this time was good and firm.
"Yes, Captain," he said. "That's OK by me."
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Maine-based writers Sharon Lee and Steve Miller teamed up in the late 1980s to bring the world the story of Kinzel, an inept wizard with a love of cats, a thirst for justice, and a staff of true power. Since then, the husband-and-wife have written dozens of short stories and twenty plus novels, most set in their star-spanning, nationally-bestselling, Liaden Universe®.
Before settling down to the serene and stable life of a science fiction and fantasy writer, Steve was a traveling poet, a rock-band reviewer, reporter, and editor of a string of community newspapers.
Sharon, less adventurous, has been an advertising copywriter, copy editor on night-side news at a small city newspaper, reporter, photographer, and book reviewer.
Both credit their newspaper experiences with teaching them the finer points of collaboration.
Steve and Sharon are jointly the recipients of the E. E. "Doc" Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction (the Skylark), one of the oldest awards in science fiction. In addition, their work has won the much-coveted Prism Award (Mouse and Dragon and Local Custom), as well as the Hal Clement Award for Best Young Adult Science Fiction (Balance of Trade).
Sharon and Steve passionately believe that reading fiction ought to be fun, and that stories are entertainment. Steve and Sharon maintain a web presence at http://korval.com/
NOVELS BY SHARON LEE AND STEVE MILLER
The Liaden Universe®
Fledgling
Saltation
Mouse and Dragon
Ghost Ship
Dragon Ship
Necessity’s Child
Trade Secret
Dragon in Exile
Alliance of Equals
The Gathering Edge
Neogenesis
Omnibus Editions
The Dragon Variation
The Agent Gambit
Korval’s Game
The Crystal Variation
Story Collections
A Liaden Universe Constellation: Volume 1
A Liaden Universe Constellation: Volume 2
A Liaden Universe Constellation: Volume 3
The Fey Duology
Duainfey
Longeye
Gem ser'Edreth
The Tomorrow Log
by Sharon Lee
Barnburner
Gunshy
Carousel Tides
Carousel Sun
Carousel Seas
THANK YOU
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Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Sharon Lee, Heirs to Trouble
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