"We shall endeavor not to get caught."

"Oh lovely! Universal beauty and logic! Kurita smite me if I've ever heard such lucidity in the midst of storm. We will avoid being shot by dodging the nerve-beams. I rhapsodize!" He was so upset he spoke in pidgin Centaurian, a tongue especially suited to flights of sarcasm.

"A poor analogy," said Kitten.

"A poorer idea," Mal replied.

"Well, we're going anyway. Aren't we, Pots?"

The Tolian sighed. "I suppose so, soft-and-warm. I know that tone too we'll to try mere reason on you."

"Marvelous, fine, delightful. I hope you have a charming tour, and that when the AAnn prepare you. they use plenty of hot pepper!" He turned away from them and began refiling the charts and maps.

Kitten turned as if to leave, stopped short, and turned again, smiling. She performed one of the many small things she was adept at, that of relaxing her body in certain specific places.

"Mal? Mister Hammu-rabi? I ... I'd really feel better if you'd come along. Even if only as a gesture. To sort of, well, stay on top of things, you know."

"That won't work with me," he mumbled. "And stop blowing in my ear. It only gives me a headache."

"Oh, I don't really believe that. Besides, if you don't come ...' she did something educated with her tongue, "... I'll inform the Major that you're withholding information and material evidence concerning the transfer of bloodhype. Specifically, the drug itself."

"That's my word against yours. And the stuff can, and will, be obliterated if anyone, anyone at all, tries to grab it."

"Of course you can do that," she whispered, "but the charges and resultant official actions during investigation would tie you up in orbit for the longest time. Wouldn't that be awkward? You wouldn't be able to perform your primary function, that of moving things from here to there in a reasonable amount of time, like. your customers like you to."

The freighter-captain wheeled slowly, like a tank, to face her.

"All right. Have done, then." To her surprise, he smiled back. "You've acquired a companion candidate for suicide, I promise. And I'll add another promise. If we get out of this with neural networks intact, I shall, despite whatever obstacles, writs, legislation, weaponry and so forth you try to put in my path, despite arguments, questionings, philosophy and couth, whale the tar out of yon."

"I knew you'd agree with me," she said briskly. "Most people do, sooner or later. And I might add that my body contains no petroleum extracts. or by-products of any kind. Nor am I affected by archaic threats which invoke the cetacea as a verb." She stared hard.

"That's good," he said, deactivating the computer terminal. "You keep telling yourself that."

It had been a difficult day, but the AAnn officer was too tired to be more than moderately upset. First, an unchecked circuit had accidentally tripped, setting off the alarm at one of the new, hastily installed subsurface warning points scattered about the island. This automatically activated two remote underwater defense stations and a whole subsection of personnel directly attached to his command. The result being that a large school ofcorvat , a medium-sized skate-like fish, had been incinerated before he could bring things under control.

But Tivven hadn't been punished. He hadn't even received a dressing down. His superior, with unusual restraint, recognized that the result was entirely due to the haste with which the alarm unit bad been installed. And he'd shared Tivven's disgust at the hysteria which attended the absurdly complex system's installation, secret project or no.

Besides, his superior had problems of his own, equally upsetting to the liver.

And now this.

He stared again at the assemblage before him, debating again whether or not to trouble the base commander with it. According to Colonel Korpt's dictates, it shouldn't be necessary. Tivven saw no real reason to argue with an easy way out.

True, two violations of the Concession boundary in as many days was unusual. Still, there was nothing to distinguish the antics of this particular group from any other, nor to ascribe hidden purposes to their arrival. They were nothing as extraordinary as the single crazy human who'd sauntered in deliberately the other day, as though he owned the place. What Tivven and the others couldn't understand was why the Commander hadn't ordered the arrogant primate dressed and potted immediately.

So here he was, stuck with an obnoxious Terran female, an impatient, gaudily dressed Tolian, and a stolid Terran male of dull aspect and rather formidable size and strength.

The Terran female had been, rambling non-stop for a good twenty time-parts now .

. . . and rest assured that once the governor hears my complaint, this is going to be brought to the attention of the highest authorities ... !"

"Madame, silence!" Tivven tried to substitute belligerence for boredom, partially succeeded. "I shall explain one more time. You are guilty of territorial incursion into a restricted area. As such, by law you are now in Imperial Territory. This places you under my jurisdiction: not that of this planet, not that of the Commonwealth. Whatsoever I decide should be done with you, will be done."

The female threw him a sharp expression. Tivven was good at primate expressions. He could recognize a sneer. It suggested several things, among them that his threats had been somewhat less than intimidating.

"Confine them to their vessel and secure them for the usual day-period." Those were the suggestions of Colonel Korpt. "And issue the standard protest to the governor win our representative in the capitol.

Yolk, it's damp in here! Now get out."

A check with Commander Parquit had produced similar action. "Do whatever Korpt says. I'll sign the orders later- whenever. I'm busy now. Oh, and make certain, Lieutenant, that they stay on board their craft ... I assume they came by hoveraft?"

"Yes, Excellency."

"I don't want them wandering around, They sound like a typical tourist hunch, and so I don't expect-otherwise from them. But if one is found strolling about loose, front canines will be lost.

Understand?"

Tivven understood.

He looked up at the group, tired, .

"You are hereby confined to your ship until further notice..."'

"Just who do you think you are, ordering us around, mister luggage-covers?" piped the Tolian. His whiskers bristled angrily. "Such an insulting attitude is here perpetrated! By a scaly underling, no less, who ... !"

" ... where you will be placed under guard. You are not to leave the vessel under any circumstances under penalty of. a swift death," Tivven concluded doggedly. He gestured to the guard at the door.

"Escort them back to their vessel, sergeant, and post guard on it. They are not to depart until ordered. If ordered:"

The sergeant, who had played this game before, saluted snappily-he was a fifteen-year veteran of this egg-forsaken post. He gestured towards the door with his stungun.

Tivven could hear the shrill voice of the Terran female echoing back up the corridor long after the three had departed. Swiveling in his chair, he activated the autolog and commenced dictating the ponderous official report. He wondered if anyone ever read the things. He doubted it. This particular time he would be right. But not for the reasons he suspected.

The guard, like all guards since the beginning of time assigned to boring, monotonous, unrelieved, insipid night duty when most sensible beings were asleep, was wishing he was. Perhaps the wishes were effective. More likely it was just coincidence. Certainly, if he'd been questioned about it later, it wasn't likely he'd recall the small sting at the back of his neck immediately prior to his lapsing into a period of extended sleep.

He probably would have wished to observe the being responsible for inviting Morpheus. Likely, though, he would have argued the method.

Kitten approached quietly after spotting the all-well Signal from Porsupah. The Tolian stood by the body, searching the surrounding darkness. She ran lightly over to him. Her goggles picked up and intensified the starlight to the point where it seemed bright as day. Porsupah didn't wear them. He didn't need any.

She joined him in scanning the grounds, paying special attention to the three big crates stacked on the pier. That was one of their prearranged ambush points. She bent over the inert reptile, felt for its pulse.

The tiny puncture made by the drug-carrying dart had already closed. There was practically no blood.

After a moment's consideration she put a second dart next to the first, just to the left of the armored spine.

A larger, blocky figure joined the two.

"Other one's taken care of," Mal murmured. "No sign of activity from the building we were herded out of. I'm a bit surprised its been so easy."

"They weren't exactly expecting it," she replied.

"Witherest fly we now; and how, princess?"