'Kiely deserves the glory for being first. I wasn't even sure what the things were. I called Commander Vandermeer because I thought she should see what Kiely'd found' 'And here Kiely's been down-playing his part...' Gravy trailed off and then her grin was smug. 'Well, we'll just see about that!' Thian was well pleased.

I am, too, son of mine, said Damia. That will go a long way to discredit rumours.

You've heard some?

He heard his mother's sigh flutter in his mind. No more than usual.

Have you found my a.s.sailant?

I shall perhaps have better luck now. Your touch is much surer today. Everyone will be overjoyed to hear my report of your return to health - with one notable exception. I'll be 'listening' for that!

'Considering the trauma to nerve, bone and tissue, you've recovered amazingly, young man,' Exeter told him when Thian was allowed out of the restorative fluid. 'I thought that stunner was supposed to work as effectively in vacuum as in atmosphere, but maybe not. Can't think how else you could have survived.' 'Oh, I was raised hardy on Aurigae, you know, Thian said easily.

Exeter scratched his close-shaven pate and grinned wryly. 'So I'm led to believe. Amazing woman, your mother. Ah, here's the orderly to escort you to your quarters. Now, you're still on sick leave, Thian.

My orders are for you to take it easy: report to Lieutenant Clark for physiotherapy to get those muscles toned up. You'll be on the special diet for a while but that's not going to hurt anyone's feelings the way your mother's been hauling in provender for us.' Thian thanked Exeter for his attendance and followed the orderly into the pa.s.sageway.

To his surprise, Flk was waiting and rubbed its silky furred arm up and down his in affectionate greeting.

FLK MOST WELCOME OF OLD FRIENDS. HOW GOOD TO BE SO GREETED.

DAMIA ASKS. FLK AGREES. ThN WALKS SAFELY Thian gave the orderly a quick glance and smile but the man seemed unconcerned by their quick 'Dini exchange.

DAMIA SAYS ENEMY HERE? Thian asked, swinging his voice upward in query.

ENEMY EXISTS UNTIL REVELATION. CLEVER ONE.

HIDES IN CROWDS. TIGHT MINDED. FIRST SON CANNOT BE VULNERABLE IN PRESENT WEAKNESS.

NONSENSE! Thian said with such angry authority that Flk skipped a step and tipped its poll eye down to Thian's face. SORRY! DAMIA HAS UNNECESSARY ANXIETY. THN WELL ABLE TO CARE FOR THN.

THAT WILL BE SEEN. And the downward note of the last sound was the end of that discussion.

To his surprise, Thian was escorted up to officer country.

'Your gear's all stowed here, Mr Lyon,' the orderly said, pulling back the door into one of the visitors' cabins, far more s.p.a.cious affairs than his previous quarters.

'Thank You very much indeed, Tedwars,' he said, peering in, but he gestured for Flk to precede him.

'Checked the place out myself, Amba.s.sador Flk,' Tedwars said in mild reprimand.

Thian laughed. 'I guess I'd better get used to being treated like eggs.' 'No, sir, the eggs get treated much better'n you, Tedwars said in an aggrieved tone but closed the door before Thian could recover from his surprise.

He did shoot a quick probe at the orderly whose mind he had found to be open and honest. Tedwars privately thought all the trouble about the beetle eggs was vastly overdone. Eggs as could survive a b.l.o.o.d.y nova wouldn't be harmed by much else.

'Ah!' Thian turned excitedly to FIk. ThE SAILOR SAYS ThE WRECK WAS DAMAGED BY STAR NOVA?

Flk gestured for Thian to seat himself which he was quite willing to do for even the short walk up from sick-bay proved tiring. 'Dini seating had been included in the furnishings of this stateroom and FIk made itself comfortable on the padded stool.

a.n.a.lYSIS SUPPORTS NOVA THEORY. ONE RECENT NOVA IS IN ESTIMATeD TRAJECTORY OF WRECK.

SIZE OF VESSEL SUGGESTS FINAL Ma.s.s EXODUS. UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF STORAGE s.p.a.cE ON VESSEL PLUS EXTRA SHIELDING AROUND EGG REPOSITORIES AND QUEENS' QUARTERS. TWO QUEEN quarters WERE NOT TOTALLY DESTROYED BUT BODIES REDUCED TO RUBBLE. VALUABLE STILL. BIGGEST QUEENS EVER NOThD. THEORY IS THAT VESSEL WAS ESCAPING WHEN STAR ABRUPTLY EXPANDED.

THEORY IS THAT PREVIOUS ThREE SHIPS WERE ALSO FLEEING, IN TIME, FROM NOVA.

ESCAPE PODS? Thian asked, having such facilities much in the fore of his mind.

Flk gave the rasping noise of 'Dini amus.e.m.e.nt.

SOME ESCAPE PODS RELEASED ON OUTWARD SIDE.

TWO QUEEN SKELETONS FOUND IN PODS ADJACENT TO QUARTERS. FOUR MORE PODS WERE NOT OCCUPIED AND HAD NOT BEEN ACTIVATed. ThREE WERE GONE.

ALWAYS SAVE THE WORST NEWS FOR ThE LAST, MMMM, FLK?

Fik shrugged its upper limbs and bent its poll eye on him. NOT WORST NEWS BUT REQUIRES ALTeRATION OF CURRENT PLANS.

IN WHAT WAY?.

Flk tapped its feet, which included the toe wriggling that had fascinated Thian since he was a child and found his toes could not duplicate the motion.

SPKTM VOThS TO CONTINUE VOYAGE TO INVESTIGATE NOVA, DISCOVER WHAT DEBRIS MIGHT EXIST OF THAT STAR system.

Thian grinned. TO BE ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE THAT ThE HIVE WORLD WAS VICTIM OF NOVA?

EXACTLY.

THN CAN HARDLY FAULT THAT.

THN WOULD NOT AND THE HUMANS VOTE?.

THEY WISH TO PICK UP TRACE OF ESCAPE PODS AND FOLLOW THAT COULD TAKE A LONG TIME AND A WIDE AREA TO SEARCH.

NOT SO WIDE. TRACES ALREADY FOUND. THREE PODS, THREE HUMAN SHIPS. GOOD CHASE. NO REAL DANGER BUT MUCH LEARNING AND MUCH GLORY.

SO LONG AS IT IS THE HUMANS WHO ACQUIRE GLORY. Thian heard a trace of bitterness in his tone and corrected his thinking.

IF GLORY IS GOAL. Fik shrugged.

THAT LEAVES ONE HUMAN ONE DINI SHIP?.

WRECK MUST BE BROUGHT BACK FOR INTENSIVE INVESTIGATION.

THAT COULD BE DONE ON SITh, Thian said, thinking of the monumental salvage operation that would mean.

CAN ALSO BE started NOW AND CONTINUED UNTIL FINISHED. THAT WILL TAKE ME. ThIS VESSEL SALVAGES WRECK. ThN REST NOW. ORDERS.

WHOSE? Thian asked even as he swung his legs around to the bed.

And it was a bed, not a bunk, and a double one at that.

FROM ThIS TRP, DMA, MEDIC, CAPTAIN, SECURITY PERSON, ENGINEER AGREED. ACQUIESCE. GRAt.i.thDE. DREAM WELL.

TRP STAYS. ThN MAY SAFELY DREAM.

BODYGUARD? Thian half-rose from the comfortable bed, disgusted but oddly rea.s.sured. That triumphantly hateful 'GOTCHA' lingered in his mind like a glowing canker.

REST GUARD SO SLEEP WILL RESTORE STRENGTh, THN. And FIk spoke as gently as to a 'Dini pup.

Sleep, Thian, or shall I a.s.sist? his mother said.

Oh, very well, he said and drew the cover over him.

Over the next few days, Thian learned more of what had been done and discovered during his convalescence. Once the yellow alert was cancelled, sh.o.r.e leaves were granted and, when Damia 'ported them to their various destinations, she 'ported in specialists, civilian and naval, who were excited to be able to examine a more or less intact Hive facility. There were many new faces in the officers' mess and he realized how very lucky he was to have such a fine stateroom to himself. Two ensigns had shift usage of his old cabin while scientists bunked in theirs.

The six ships had taken up positions for easy access to the wreck.

It was ablaze with lights, in '9' every corridor, tunnel and chamber, colour coded by area so that the ship blazed like a minor galaxy.

Big drones had been 'ported in to transport sections as well as the invaluable larvae, the charcoal and dust and anything else that could be detached from the sh.e.l.l.

Three distinctly separate types of Hive larvae had been identified and sufficient numbers of each so that, as his mother dryly remarked, the diverse theories on how to stimulate and mature the life forms could be tried. Scientific debates raged more fiercely than any armed encounter.

'A full-scale war would probably be quieter,' Damia remarked, 'and with fewer battles.' 'It's all bloodless,' Captain Ashiant said.

'There are nevertheless casualties, bloodless or not,' Damia added.

"And no discharge in the war",' Thian put in, not quite sure what he was quoting.

ThE MRDINI POET KPLNG, FIk said, THN IS WELL VERSED IN CLa.s.sICAL STUDIES.

Captain Ashiant blinked in surprise at that for he was now able to follow most 'Dini conversations.

'Kping? It means Kipling!' 'whoever,' Damia said, smiling. Then she turned to Thian. 'You go back to work tomorrow, Thn!' And she used the affectionate 'Dini of his name.

'I'll be b.l.o.o.d.y glad to, too.' Damia tsk-tsked at his language but she approved his att.i.tude.

'We've a lot to 'port back and team-work will reduce the load for me and ease you back into the job. As soon as I'm certain you're fully operational, I've got to go back. Your father can NOT handle big-daddies with just Rojer.' 'Zara's old enough, isn't she?' Damia wrinkled her nose. She's too inattentive to be of any real a.s.sistance.

Heaving big-daddies requires full concentration.

'But surely the mines will be slowing down if the Hive sun went nova,' Thian said.

The captain snorted and his mother regarded him oddly.

'The sun may have gone down on the Hive homeworld but there're all those hundreds of Hive ships and Hive-dominated worlds out there! Oh, no, Thian, this is just a brief chapter even if a very illuminating one,' his mother said.

'The other squadrons, lad,' Captain Ashiant took up, for evidently the subject had been much under discussion, 'that are in pursuit of the three outwardbound ones, will need support. And then there's mopping up all the worlds that the Hive ships have already ah ... appropriated.

They must be discovered and . .. cleared.' 'Aren't we then doing exactly what the Hivers tried to do to the 'Dinis and us?' 'which would you rather have? Them on the loose or contained?' the captain asked.

Damia leaned forward. 'That's another bloodless war that's being raged in the High Council. Total destruction or planetary containment.' 'That's species suppression which is against the finest principles of both human and 'Dini morality,' Thian said, beginning to be annoyed with their intransigence. what had happened to his mother?

where were the values she had instilled in him and his sisters and brothers?

THN VIEWS BLACK AND WHITE. GREY IS A VERY GOOD COLOUR, Fik said, surprising the three humans by entering the conversation.

But its remark caused Thian and Damia to burst out laughing.

which required a rather long explanation to Captain Ashiant because Fik had been unusually witty; 'grey' was one of the most prestigious pelt shades for 'Dinis.

'Fik is grey!' Ashiant exclaimed, slightly more puzzled than enlightened. 'what would be called battleship grey - if that matters.' VERY GOOD GREY AS TRP HAS SAID, was the rejoinder and Fik, in an excess of camaraderie, bobbed its head up and down, blinking several lids.

'We'd better stop,' Damia said, struggling with her laughter, 'or Flk'll be impossible.

'By the way, where's Tri?' Thian asked his mother.

'I thought it'd join us for dinner.' TRP IS NEEDED ON THE KLTi, FIk replied. TRP WILL BE PLEASED TO BE MISSED.

when Thian returned to his stateroom that evening, he realized that somehow he had been subtly diverted from what might have been a fierce debate over the morality of the courses open to humans and 'Dinis on how to end the Hive menace. Or did you just apply your ethics to your own species?

His intercom buzzed. He hesitated before answering. Very few people knew where he was now billeted. He might have very little pre-cog, though turning into that tube might have been in response to a subliminal forewarning. He didn't 'feel' any premonition and depressed the acknowledge toggle.

'Lieutenant Greevy speaking...' 'Gravy!' he said and pressed full visual.

'Am I glad to find you! Look, you should know this: one of the ensigns in your old quarters is in here with a knife wound. He got attacked as he was opening the door. Knife just missed his lung. You being careful? who knows where you are now?' 'Very few. How'd you get through?' 'Ted Exeter told me to warn you. He's still operating.' Anxiety kept flickering across her expressive face.

'I'm fine. I've a 'Dini guard out front and, with so many important experts on board, this deck's well patrolled.' Seeing Gravy reminded him that such vigilance could also be a disadvantage. 'Are you on duty, Gravy?' 'No,' she began with a frown and then her face brightened into a broad, happy and eager smile.

'No, Thian, I'm not. I just ended my watch.' He was also exceedingly well pleased with his 'portation of her. Though he felt an uncomfortable surge of awkwardness when she was amazed by the luxurious amenities of his stateroom, it was hard to stay tense in Gravy's company. She had him laughing over her queries about some of the unusual items in one locker. In the next she found the bottles of exotic spirits, and couldn't make up her mind which to try first, so she poured judicious levels of each one into a big gla.s.s, careful not to disrupt the lower layers, finishing up with a remarkably colourful 'lethal c.o.c.ktail' which she made him sample, too. By the time he fell asleep with his arms about her, he decided that the most exotic spirit in the room wasn't bottled!

It was great to be working again, and with his mother. They accomplished a great deal before their 'day' ended: auxiliary engines, propulsion units thrusters and communications gear were 'ported' from Earth, Betelgeuse, Altair and Procyon for installation on the wreck for its outbound journey.

The impetus given the vessel by the searing wave of nova force was nearly spent and, even on tow, it would need some independent impulsion. One of the large shuttles had been altered and then anch.o.r.ed to the most stable level to serve as bridge and quarters for the watch.

Once the wreck was close enough for a 'portation, it would be 'lifted' to its final destination, at the moment a point equidistant between the 'Dini homeworld and Earth was being discussed, though as all the Primes pointed out, its exact location was relatively unimportant. Scientists could be transported from anywhere. There was also controversy that the very presence of the hulk might somehow attract other Hive ships to its position - therefore it should be as far away from either homeworld as possible. This was a theory more voiced on human worlds than 'Dini.

'Perhaps,' Thian had remarked when the subject was discussed in the wardroom where he was lunching, 'because 'Dinis have already had Hive ships in their skies and survived. But then, so have we!' There was a moment of stunned silence, broken by such a whispered curse from Malice that Thian wondered if he had imagined it. He took himself heavily to task for being so lax, and slow. He ought to have followed that whisper as quickly as thought.

But he hadn't. He should have been ready, especially since the attack on the ensign who was recovering slowly. Thian hoped that Malice had had a shock over that miscalculation. With his mother, he'd gone over the names of the boarding party in the hope that some clue might be triggered. Except that twelve of the other fourteen members had attended his language cla.s.ses, there was nothing to trigger ident.i.ty Although there were still deliveries of equipment, most of what Damia and Thian 'ported now was food and water to provision the three human ships that were to pursue the three Queen pods, and the KLTL which was continuing on to the suspect nova. Spectroscopic a.n.a.lysis said that the flaring star contained all the elements which had permeated the wreck. The 'Dinis would not accept that evidence as proof positive that the Hive world had been involved in, and not survived, the holocaustic disaster.

Thian wondered if his tour of duty would soon be over and was almost relieved when he had a summons to appear in the captain's ready room.

'Come in, young Lyon, and be seated.' The captain steepled his fingers, once again rubbing the fleshy end of his nose before speaking.

Today Thian sensed that the hard mind shield was not so firmly in place and the captain was not certain how his next words would be taken. 'I'm given to understand that you've an illwisher on board the Vadim.' Thian nodded.

'Your mother has not been able to apprehend your a.s.sailant and, although the gunnery officer discovered one of the weapons had been discharged, unfortunately no record was kept of which weapon was issued to which member of the boarding party.