Chap. 193 Change of Attitude

Chap. 193 Change of attitude

K'ndar had just sat down to his lunch in one of Landings' several dining halls.

"Mind if I join you, mate?" said a voice.

K'ndar looked up from his lunch in one of Landing's several dining halls.

His jaw dropped in recognition.

"Um, uh…sure, Shawn," he said, astonished at the civil tone from the insufferably haughty Acquisition manager.

The man had a pair of mugs in one hand and a bottle in the other. He put one of the mugs directly in front of K'ndar and sat down across from him.

K'ndar looked to his left and right in the sparsely peopled hall. Was anyone he knew actually witnessing this? The snooty, avaricious Shawn actually choosing to join him when there was plenty of other spots? He'd deliberately chosen this spot, far from the center, in order to eat by himself. He wasn't ready to chat chat with anyone, especially this yob. Of all the people here at Landing, Shawn was the last one he wanted anything to do with.

"Been here long?" Shawn asked, breaking the strained silence.

"Um, no, just got here about ten minutes ago," K'ndar said, thinking, I really just want to eat my lunch without conversing.

"You're here on business?" Shawn asked. He wrenched the cork from the bottle and poured a generous amount into K'ndar's mug.

Still astonished, K'ndar said, "Um, yeah, I'm here with my Weyrleader, he's got business, I'm just the dragonholder," he said.

"Oh, I don't believe that, you're far more important a rider to Kahrain than just a flunky," Shawn said, and the obsequious tone made him even more uncomfortable.

K'ndar looked at him, trying to discern Shawn's motives for his uncharacteristic civility. Shawn poured a smaller amount into his own mug. K'ndar didn't miss it.

"Actually, I AM a flunky, a very low ranking brown rider, nothing more," K'ndar said, warily. He felt as if this were a chess game he'd suddenly been tossed into-and he'd never been good at chess.

Shawn waved a finger in disagreement.

"No, K'ndar, actually, you're highly regarded, here at Landing, the discoveries you've made, the expeditions you've led, the artifacts! Do you know, your datalinks are proving VERY popular with people all over Pern," Shawn said.

Hmmm

"That was my intent, Shawn, for all of Pern to enjoy the artifacts. And you're badly mistaken, I've not led an expedition, not really. My trip to the island was an utter fluke, a mistake in judgement. As for Far Western and the steppe? I grew up on the steppe, and in both of the expeditions, my Weyrleader, D'nis, was 'in charge'. I'm the biologist, that's all," he said. He had no intentions of telling Shawn D'nis was no longer weyrleader.

"And a GOOD one, I must add. For instance, those smandas you discovered," the man said, and K'ndar noted the barest flick of annoyance before the painfully forced cheerfulness returned to the man's eyes.

I might not be socially adept, he thought, but I know body language. Something's afoot here, and it's as smelly as a barnyard.

"They're proving to be utterly fascinating, and perhaps even productive," Shawn said. "You're probably the best biologist I've ever known," he said.

"Thank you, but if that's true,it's only due to Rahman's tutelage, giving me books, encouraging me to learn," he said, suddenly tired of the preliminary fencing. Shawn wanted something badly enough to be civil.

"And you've done far better than he could have ever hoped for, I bet you're his 'star' student, ha ha! Get it? 'Star?'

Shawn was expecting him to suck up the compliment. Instead, he said,

"Shawn, I've never liked guessing games. In the past, you've treated me like, quote, "a dungbooted arse," and now you're plying me with wine and treating me with respect. Which am I, dragonrider? Or dungboot?"

Shawn gulped.

"I..I never said such a thing," he said, blanching.

Ah.

"Perhaps not, but D'arad quoted you the last time I was here. I remember quite distinctly, he said you referred to me as 'that dungbooted arse', told him to send me packing once he learned the coordinates for Far Nowhere, and the smandas are "Landing's pie". I've not had dung on my boots in a long time, and as for being an arse, I'll take it as a compliment from someone like you."

Shawn cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed..or pissed? He shook his head.

"Shards, D'arad. He's jealous, that's all. He's infatuated with me, I think, despite my being in a relationship with someone my own age. You don't think I'd call you names, do you?"

K'ndar stood up, his lunch suddenly unappealing. He picked up his tray.

"Yes, I do. And if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go and look after the dragons," he said.

Shawn raised a hand. "Please, sit down. You've barely touched your lunch. Have a drink, eh? This is good wine, my friend. Look, I'm sorry for that, I am. I was…annoyed with D'arad, you see, but…but K'ndar, let's say this wine is my way of apologizing, trying to clear up any misunderstandings," he said.

"Sorry, indeed, Shawn, I don't drink when I'm on duty," he said. He wasn't going to reveal that he didn't drink at ALL.

Shawn frowned. "Don't waste this stuff, it's fine, K'ndar. You just got here. I know from experience that your weyrleader's going to be in a meeting all day. He won't know a thing."

"But I will, Shawn. I don't question my weyrleader's orders, nor do I tell him when it's time to leave. He wanted me to accompany him, and I said 'Yes, Sir'. And I don't want any of your wine, thank you. Now if you'll excuse me," he said.

"K'ndar, don't be pigheaded. One little drink? Besides, I have a proposition for you that you won't regret taking me up on," Shawn said.

He suddenly figured out what Shawn was up to.

"Let me guess. You want me to let you have first crack at any artifacts I may find in the future?"

Dismay flashed across Shawn's face, immediately replaced by-avarice.

He nodded, trying to look apologetic.

"You're smarter than I gave you credit for, K'ndar, and I'm truly sorry to have misjudged you. Sit, for a minute? Please?"

K'ndar was now amused. He sat, more for the entertainment than for a desire to do anything with or for Shawn.

He said nothing.

Shawn produced a coin and placed it on the table directly in front of K'ndar. With one finger, he pushed it towards K'ndar until it just barely touched the wine mug.

It was a new, ten mark coin.

"K'ndar. First of all, we all know all artifacts are to be turned into Landing. But..who makes the decision between artifact and just some thing, that may or may not be valuable? It's hard to tell without training. I've had people bring in an old boot, insisting it's from the Ancients, and it breaks their heart when I have to tell them that it's just an old boot. That's what I've done for years here at Landing, classifying the things that people bring in," he said.

K'ndar thought, I'd love to see who created that coin. Toric? Is it even real? But I'll saw off my own arm before I'll touch it.

"K'ndar, you must know, that you have a reputation, now, one for finding things. Many have been artifacts, but things can be valuable without being an artifact, you see? That's what my job has been all these years, differentiating between what is a valuable thing and what is an artifact. It's not easily done, sometimes, and other times, it is. For instance, while the smandas are 'valuable', they're NOT artifacts. They're animals, like a cow, or a dog. The directive to donate them to Landing doesn't apply. See the difference? Artifacts flat out go to Landing. Valuable things are negotiable. They don't always have to come to Landing. You can keep a valuable, you know. But…if you keep it and don't sell it, it's not valuable. If you want to be, let's say, compensated for a thing, who do you know who would buy it?

I've been in Acquisition here at Landing for a long time, K'ndar, and I've learned that when something valuable is brought in, its value is assessed, often, on the spot and the finder, the donator, is given a small reward for it. VERY small. Minute, when you consider how much more someone outside of Landing will pay for it. For instance, those vacuum bottles you brought in? Everyone on Pern wants one, and Landing is making a tidy amount of income for them," Shawn said, his voice low despite the relative quiet of the hall. "And what did you get for them? Nothing," he said.

"I remember that day, Shawn. It was you who gave me NOTHING for the vacuum bottles," he said.

Shawn's face turned. "Um, well, you see," he said, clearing his throat.

"I DO see, Shawn, and what I'm seeing at this moment is someone who has never evidenced any desire to do anything but enrich himself, at the expense of the people of Pern," he snapped.

Shawn narrowed his eyes. K'ndar saw the shift to a new tack in his eye.

"That's fair, K'ndar. You're absolutely right. I AM working to enrich myself. Had you come to me with those bottles when I was off duty, you would have walked off with a pocket full of coins rather than a pat on the back.

K'ndar, the smart seaman knows what the wind is going to do before it knows itself. Now that there's no thread to fight anymore, everyone has to adapt to the changes in the world. Dragonriders can't expect to live on the largesse of Hold and Hall anymore. Before, you dragonriders didn't have to worry about money. But now you DO, K'ndar. Especially your weyr, K'ndar, I've heard you've lost a lot of dragonriders to other weyrs, even Holds. That's because those riders? They saw the wind change before it came. They're being paid very well for using their dragons for all sorts of things. They're enriching themselves, K'ndar. Why don't you do the same? A man like you shouldn't have to worry where his next meal is coming from," Shawn said.

Like this one in front of me, which I suddenly have no stomach for? Right, K'ndar thought.

"That's why I think you should consider this, um, token of my esteem for your talent at finding artifacts. Throw in with me, mate, and I'll make sure you are paid handsomely for what you turn in to me, far more than what Landing will pay," he said. "You can still live in your own weyr, if you choose. I wouldn't expect you to quit working with your weyrmates. But you can live anywhere, K'ndar, anywhere on the planet. This would be just a, um, a sideline. No one would need to know of our partnership," Shawn said.

Being in a relationship of any sort with Shawn turned his stomach...and outraged his ethics.

"I didn't want money, Shawn. I remember you were especially pissed when I insisted that the vacuum bottles specifically go to Landing for profit, " he said, half of him amused and the other half disgusted by what was obviously Shawn's attempt to snare him into fraud. "You never said a word about money, then, and suddenly now? I don't believe you," he snapped. "Let's add to that that 'paying' me for something I donated is dishonest," he said.

Shawn inadvertently rolled his eyes. Then, recovering, he said, "I WAS wrong about you, K'ndar, I should just have it out, what? OK. I'm well connected, K'ndar, I represent clients, wealthy men who want valuable things, who will pay you what you demand for a valuable thing, and won't ask questions. Nor will I. You bring me something that you can't tell is an artifact or is merely something of value, and I'll assess it. I'll see to it that you're compensated for it in amounts like this coin-only better. This ten mark coin? It's NOTHING, K'ndar, nothing in comparison to what you COULD get," Shawn said.

K'ndar rolled his eyes. "So, again, you're short changing me?"

He almost laughed at the expressions racing across Shawn's face.

"You're taking it all wrong, K'ndar! I've been a jerk to you in the past, and I apologize. But you can rest assured, if you should find another art ..valuable thing, bring it to me first. I'll determine if it's an artifact or just a thing, and I'll pay you handsomely for it," Shawn said. "In the meantime, this ten mark coin, it's yours. It's up front money, it's your finder's fee, you know, something to make life a little easier even before you bring me a valuable. Just something for you, I know dragonriders don't make much money," Shawn said.

"And no one at Landing need know about this...transaction? Just between us 'partners'?" he almost choked on the word 'partner'. He was now thoroughly disgusted.

"Ah, there you have it, lad! I see you've grasped it!"

"Hmmm. I'll have to discuss this with.." he said, to smoke the man out.

"NO!" Shawn shrieked, then, afraid he'd drawn attention, made himself small, and said, in a low voice, "No, um, K'ndar, that wouldn't be necessary, this is a 'business arrangement' just between you and me, you see. Just a private arrangement, like the private conversation we're having. People would be jealous, you know, seeing that I'd pay you far more than Landing's miserly finance people. Don't you see?" Shawn said, pleading.

K'ndar stood up, unable to tolerate any more.

"And, let me guess, you'd turn around and sell it to Toric, all on the quiet, yes? For an even more handsome price, what? No one the wiser, and should K'ndar actually ask someone here where is the ''valuable'' that he found and turned into Shawn, why, something bad would happen to that dungbooted arse, now wouldn't it? He might just disappear, dragon and all, right? Like other dragonriders who've crossed Toric? Just vanish, with no one knowing where or how?"

Shawn looked stricken…and furious.

Suddenly, understanding flooded his mind. Ah, now I know why he's almost begging me. I know. He's skimming Toric's money, charging Toric a lot more than he actually paid the finder. Or, he's sold it to a higher bidder. Toric's wondering where his toys are after paying him a lot of money. Either way, Shawn's nuts are in a vise.

He laughed behind his eyes.

"Bugger off, Shawn, and your master, Toric, too," he snapped.

"You bastard, you'll be sorry you crossed ME," Shawn hissed.

"I seriously doubt that, Shawn. Actually, I found it enjoyable. Good day."

He started to walk off.

Shawn jumped up and took his arm.

K'ndar turned and looked into Shawn's eyes. They'd turned from feigned friendship to something cold and deadly.

He shook the hand off. "Touch me again, and I'll rip your arm off and beat you over the head with the bloody end" he snarled.

Shawn wasn't impressed.

"Don't say a word about our conversation, K'ndar, or I'll report that you tried to bribe me," Shawn said.

"ME? Didn't you just say you know we dragonriders don't have any money? You're right, I don't have a coin to my name. You tried buying me, Shawn, but there is no amount of money you can shove at me that will make me throw in with you OR your master. Threats don't frighten me," he said.

"It's not a threat, K'ndar, it's a promise," Shawn growled, "I could have you banished from Landing, just like that, it's my word against yours."

K'ndar couldn't keep from laughing.

"Really!! You are truly an idiot, Shawn, such a dumbshit. You forget, I had a witness. He heard the entire conversation," K'ndar said, louder than necessary.

Shawn scoffed. "Nice try, arsehole, but there's no one close enough to have heard us."
K'ndar smirked.

"He's in the dragon meadow, Shawn. Don't you know a thing about dragons? No? They hear everything, every word, that's said to their rider. My dragon heard the entire thing, every word out of your mouth. When asked, he will testify, through any dragon on Pern. Every dragonrider-you do know that Lord Lytol is a dragonrider? Every dragonrider knows dragons are incapable of lying. I'm dead certain my dragon's testimony will stand up in any trial. So you might want to reconsider your attempt at threatening me." He picked up his untouched tray and walked off.

Shawn paled, but then snapped, "You'll regret this, K'ndar," at his retreating back.

K'ndar turned.

"Not as much as you, when Toric hears that you've been overcharging him and still not producing 'valuables'. Good day, Shawn. Enjoy your head while it's still attached."