The other Gyonnese bent in the middle, their arms going up.
“Is he all right?” Yu asked.
The Gyonnese rose slowly, as if they were underwater.
Yu’s heart pounded. He was afraid he had violated some kind of protocol.
Finally, the Gyonnese who hadn’t spoken said, “Touching her has made him ill. He will recover, but he will never forget the shame of it.”
Yu wasn’t sure what his reaction should be. “I didn’t know. I could have found another way to verify.”
“There is no other way,” said the same Gyonnese.
Then the remaining four stared at him as if they expected something.
“Look,” Yu said, “I can download the medical program from my ship. She’s going to wake up on her own in about four Earth hours. She’ll be ready to fight. As I said, make sure she’s restrained before that.”
“You are certain she is not dead?” the center Gyonnese asked.
“Positive,” Yu said, “and if you want, double check with the guy who touched her. Living humans are warm to the touch. She should have been warm. She still is, if someone else wants to verify.”
They all scuttled backward. He was glad they couldn’t see inside his visor because he smiled at their reaction.
“She is warm.” The first Gyonnese came out of the darkness. His skin had turned an orange-yellow.
“See?” Yu said. “All I need is my payment. Then I’ll send the download and leave you to do whatever you’re going to do.”
“No,” the center Gyonnese said.
Yu froze. He’d expected some argument, but not an outright no.
“I delivered her,” Yu said. “You promised payment upon receipt. I trusted you. I didn’t even take a deposit, and this woman cost me. She murdered my partner. See why I’m warning you?”
“We have no proof that your partner is dead,” the center Gyonnese said.
“I can give you his body,” Yu snapped. “You want it? I don’t know what to do with it.”
Four of them scuttled even farther back, but the center one stayed in position.
“We shall pay half.”
“Half?” Yu asked. He hadn’t expected this. The Gyonnese had always been fair until now.
“She is damaged. We know nothing of your kind. She might live until you are far from here and then die. We need her alive for court.”
“She’s fine,” Yu said.
“You have told us she’s ill.”
“I also told you it was nothing major.” But had he? Bruised meant that she was fine to humans, but what did it mean to Gyonnese? And the contamination. He’d explained the 95 percent but not how severe the 5 percent was.
“We have no external verification for that.”
“You’ll have the medical program,” Yu said.
“Which you will give us,” the center Gyonnese said. “We cannot trust it.”
They had a point, but he wasn’t going to concede it. “I want full payment.”
“You will get the second half when she appears in court,” the center Gyonnese said.
“Pay me three-quarters,” Yu said. “I’ve lost my assistant.”
“Half,” the center Gyonnese said.
“I’ll take her away,” Yu said.
“Half.” The center Gyonnese took his long arms and folded them across his body. He had clearly negotiated with humans before.
Yu had already negotiated a full price higher than anything he’d ever received from the Gyonnese. Maybe they’d figured that out. Half would still be more than he’d ever made from them.
“Half,” he said, “if you pay me the rest after she wakes.”
“You are not staying,” the center Gyonnese said.
“Nope,” Yu said. “I’m going to get my hand repaired. When it’s done, I’ll come back, and you give me the rest.”
“When we take her to court.”
“No,” Yu said. “If I don’t get the second payment in the next few Earth days, I’m taking her now. You get nothing.”
He heard a shushering sound and realized that was the other Gyonnese talking softly, without benefit of the amplification device.
Finally the center Gyonnese said, “Half. The second payment will come within one Earth week.”
That was about how long it would take him to find an adequate medical facility, to have the repair, and then to return.
“Fine,” Yu said. “I want the first half now.”
“Done,” the center Gyonnese said. “You owe us a medical program.”
“You’ll get it as soon as I return to the ship.”
“How do we take custody of the woman?” the center Gyonnese said.
Yu pressed the side of the coffin. “Where do you want it?”