“I resent that it’s true,” Naomi answers serenely, both hands folded on the high curve of her stomach.
“Lila, rounder by the diurnal. Leah, second one cooking. Jana…”
“Don’t,” Jana warns.
“Jana is already pregnantagain, gods help that male’s stamina.”
“He’s very proud,” Jana laughs.
“Which means,” Roxy concludes, pouring two generous glasses, “that of the entire adult female population of this household, exactly two of us are physically capable of drinking this bottle of Timbur red. Me.” She slides one glass across the table. “And you, Hallie. Somebody has to represent. For the team.” She lifts her own glass. “I’ll carry us as far as I can. I have a high tolerance and a noble heart.”
“She has neither of those things,” Jana snorts.
“I have at least one of those things,” I say.
The pregnant five get sweet traq in delicate little cups, which they sip while watching Roxy and me with the frank envy of women who have given up wine for a higher cause. I sip at my wine, thrilled to be sitting happily with a group of women, which hasn’t happened in ages.
“So,” Jana says, propping her chin on her hand and fixing me with a bright, dangerous look. “I have a question, and it’s a courtyard question, which means you have to answer it honestly.” She doesn’t wait for me to agree. “You’ve beenhunched over that little board with Rook every single day. What is that game you’re playing? I’m so curious.”
“It’s chess,” I say.
Six blank faces look back at me.
“I know how to play a game called Chess, which is an original planet game that is still often played on New Earth. I learned to play it when I was young. And it turns out that Maxon plays a similar game, a Xylan variant called Karrec. You move pieces, each one moves differently and you’re trying to trap the other person’s king.”
“I’ve heard of it,” Leah offers from the end of the table. “I knew someone back when I was growing up who’d gotten it off the black market too, directly from the original planet. It became a big thing, lots of people playing it because they wanted to be like the humans from the original planet.”
“But you actually play Chess.” Naomi is studying me with her thoughtful artist’s eyes. “You know all the pieces and play-the-real-thing for reals?”
“Yes. My grandfather taught me. I still love it to this day, but I don’t often find anyone who knows how to play it. Maxon and I are both feeling lucky to have found someone else who likes playing that game.”
“Okay, but,” Roxy says, leaning in, “be honest. How good is Rook, really? Because he’s got that whole wall of little trophies in his room and we always assumed it was, you know.” She waves a hand. “A cute hobby. A little-boy thing he never grew out of. He goes to that gaming hall and we tease him about his club and he gets all dignified about it.”
“Are you being serious. You guys, Maxon is the best Karrec player on the planet. I had to actually learn the variant just to keep up with him. He’s the colony champion. He’s beaten every challenger they’ve ever sent at him, including ones from off planet. That’s not a hobby. Roxy, the male is a genius at Karrec.”
“I’m sorry.” Jana sets her cup down. “Rook?Our Rook? Best on the entire planet?”
“You didn’t know?”
“We thought it was a little-kid thing,” Lila says, distressed and delighted at once. “He keeps the trophies so neatly lined up. We thought it was sweet.”
“None of you ever watched him play?”
“It’s easy to forget he even plays this game called Karrec because he doesn’t play it here at all, usually. He plays at theclub. We thought the club was, a little sad, in an endearing way.”
I am laughing now, really laughing. “He is the reigning champion of an entire planet and his own family thinks his life’s great talent is a sad little hobby.”
“In our defense,” Roxy says, “he never told us. He just absorbs us teasing him about it with this wounded dignity and never once goes, ‘actually I’m the best in the world.’”
“And actually he’s not the champion anymore,” I say, because the wine wants me to and because I can’t help it, the pride sitting bright and unfamiliar in my chest. “I beat him. Yesterday. Clean.”
The courtyard erupts.
“You didnot.”
“You beat the champion?”
“I beat the champion,” I confirm. “I didn’t even know it was happening until it was done. He never saw it coming.” I’m trying not to grin and failing completely. “It wasn’t close, at the end.”
