User Guide

been told. It was really ritualized grooming — a search for bugs and lice so that an honored friend
would not be plagued by pests during a visit.
Oh yeah? What about the feathered pests? He tried not to wince as those sharp claws poked his scalp,
and came awfully close to his eyes —
Another sharp whistle, this one not nearly so loud, made them finally break it off. Another Firekkan
pushed her way into the flock — she was clearly female, both by virtue of her drab coloring and her
larger size. And he realized then that he could never have mistaken this bird for any other; by the grin-
gape on her beak, and a certain rakish good humor in her eyes, this could only be K’Kai herself.
“G’day, K’Kai,” Hunter said, holding onto the ladder with one hand and reaching out to ruffle her
feathers in what he hoped was a similar greeting to what he’d just endured.
“Kep-tain Sain’ Dzon! Hun-ter!” She leaned in very close to study his face from three inches away.
Hunter fought the impulse to pull away, remembering that he was hanging off a ladder roughly twenty
feet in the air, and fast movement was definitely not a good idea. I wouldn’t wager that one of these bird-
beasties could catch me if I took a nose-dive off this ladder....
“Come come, sit wi’ me!” K’Kai pulled one of the hanging hammock-seats closer to the ladder for
him. Hunter grabbed it and hauled himself into it. K’Kai let go of the chair and it swung out over the
open floor, nearly slamming into a Firekkan carrying several drinks. The Firekkan shrieked something
shrilly in their own language and neatly ducked out of the way, continuing to fly toward the top of the
tower. K’Kai shrieked something right back, and the Firekkans nearest them bent over backwards, beaks
clattering. At first, Hunter thought they had been hit with some kind of fit…then he realized they were
laughing.
Hunter held onto the chair with both hands until it slowed to a stop, hanging out over the floor
twenty feet below. He hoped that she couldn’t see his whitened knuckles. Hell, she saw you take on four
Jalthi single-handedly, he thought. Don’t let her think that you’re afraid of heights now!
It’s not the heights I’m afraid of, or even falling. It’s just that sudden stop at the bottom.... K’Kai opened
her wings and soared to the closest perch, several other Firekkans following her a moment later, all tak-
ing perches slightly lower than hers. She canted her head, looking at him closely. “So, Hun-ter, you are
very diff’rent t’an I expected. Not so tall.”
No great surprise, that…every Firekkan in the bar was at least a foot taller than himself. Seven-foot
parakeets, not six-foot like Shotglass had said. “You’re not quite what I expected, either. But it’s good to
be here, to meet you. I was wondering if I’d ever see you again, after we left Vega.”
“It is…it is....” K’Kai struggled for a word. “I do not know how to say it in your language.
Somet’ing t’at was meant to happen?”
“Fate,” Hunter said, searching his jacket pocket for a cigar. “Destiny, maybe. You believe in destiny?”
K’Kai ducked her head down between her shoulders in something that looked like embarrassment.
“I should, but I am not very religious.”
Hunter nodded. “Yeah, me either. The only thing I really believe in is my own flying skills, and my
ship, and the fact that the Kilrathi will always try to shoot it out from under me. Speaking of combat
flying…have you ever thought about training to be a combat pilot?” It was something he’d been think-
ing about since they’d met back in the Vega Sector, after he’d seen her fly that damned freighter in a
series of tighter turns than he’d ever thought was possible, boxing in the Jalthi to force it directly in front
of Hunter’s guns. With a wingman like this lady, I could take on the entire Kilrathi fleet, he thought. “You
ever think of going for Confed pilot training?”
K’Kai tilted her head, as if considering it for the first time. “I have never t’ought of it, no. But t’e
idea is pleasing. Do you t’ink I could be good at it, Hun-ter?”
He laughed, a short, sharp bark. “You’d be amazing at it, lady. I’d take you as my wingman any day
of the week.” He fished in his pocket for his lighter, and lit the cigar.
“What is t’at t’ing in your mout’?” K’Kai was staring at it with unfeigned curiosity. Some of the
other Firekkans also leaned in close to look, as Hunter exhaled a large cloud of aromatic smoke.
“A cigar,” he explained. “Uh…dried tobacco leaves. You burn it and inhale the smoke. It’s relaxing,
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