“Actually, I'm not walking to Sernos, Festor is waiting for me a little further on.”
“Festor? Who is Festor, your lover? I don't think it's a Stoltz name and you're human.”
“He's a friend, he's a soldier in Kushan.”
“Kushan is far away.”
“He's not in Kushan. He's aboard the Crystal. A ship. He...”
“What do we know about the Crystal?" he asked his men.
“Not much," one of them answered. It's the latest Helarieal ceremonial ship. It came out of the Neiso shipyards less than three months ago. New techniques, still being tested. It has three hulls instead of two. The Helariaseny have a lot of problems with it. Apparently, it’s not very reliable, but it compensates by its speed. It was observed at twenty-nine lengths per monsihon.”
The figure triggered a series of admiring whistles in the
