"Yes, ma'am."

"Nor was I aware that you and Aygar were friends."

This time Aygar spoke up, with almost Tim's eagerness.

"He's stronger than he looks, this little one. We began working out in the gym together, at the marine commander's suggestion." Clever Currald, Sa.s.sinak thought. These two might even do each other good.

"Even so, he can't come downside. Sorry. And you're going with me. You'll be busy enough yourself."

Timran still looked disconsolate. Sa.s.sinak grinned at him.

"Come now. I need the best shuttle-jockeys up here, just in case something breaks loose."

He brightened at once and Sa.s.sinak led Aygar through the access tube toward the Station shuttle bay.

They had met nothing to arouse suspicion, but Sa.s.sinak felt as tight-drawn as a strangling wire. Aygar had long since quit pointing out interesting shops or odd costumes. He'd lapsed into an almost sullen silence. Sa.s.sinak was more annoyed by this than she wanted to be. He was not, after all, Fleet. He could not be expected to react as a trained sailor or marine would.

They had walked out of the shuttle port with no visible tail, into a stifling afternoon made worse by the stinging brown haze over the city. Sa.s.sinak was no expert but she had made full use of the gleaming show windows of the shuttleport shopping mall. No one seemed to be following them. No one paused repeatedly to look in the windows when she did. She had beep downside with Aygar before. Unless someone knew specifically of the meeting with Coromell, this ought to look very much like the previous trips.

She would be expected to take him to one of the monotonous gray buildings in which the prosecution attorneys were working up the case against Tanegli, or to Fleet's own gray precincts. Then on yet another walking tour of the sights, such as they were.

She had started as if for the Fleet offices, then, as instructed, boarded one of the express subways bound for Ceylar East, one of the suburbs. None of those who boarded with them were still in their module when they got off and transferred to another line. They had zlgged and zagged back and forth under the vast city until Sa.s.sinak herself was hardly sure exactly where they were.

Now, only a short distance from the designated meeting place, she wished she'd been born a Weft, with the ability to make eyes in the back of her head. The hot gun and smog made her head ache. She wanted to call Engineering and complain. There, Eklarik's Fantasies and Creations. Its sign was purple curlicues on green with mythical beasts in the corners. Not the sort of dace she would ever go on her own; a signal to any follower, as far as she was concerned.

Did Admiral Coromell have a secret pa.s.sion for historical costumes or antique musical instruments? She gave Aygar a nudge. His shoulders twitched, but he moved across the sh'deway traffic that way. Sa.s.sinak pushed aside the bead curtain and let it rattle closed behind her.

Inside, the shop smelled of potpourri and incense. A ihread of smoke rose to a blue haze overhead. Close on either hand were two suits of armor, one smoothly burnished as if it were but iron skin, and the other ed into fantastic peaks and points, decorated with silk ta.s.sels. Racks of costumes, topped with what Sa.s.sinak supposed were the appropriate headgear. Floppy spiked helms, flat straw circles, bonnets drowned in ruffles and bows, a row of tiny red enameled cylinders like oversized pillboxes.

She took a step forward, kicked something that clattered, and realized that she had b.u.mped a tall ceramic jar filled with swords. Swords? She lifted one, then realized it had neither edge nor point-a stage sword? It was not steel; the metal made a flat, unpromising sound when she tapped it with her finger. Cluttering the narrow aisles were toppling piles of boots, shoes, sandals; the footgear for the racked costumes, no doubt. Suspended overhead were masks, dozens-no, hundreds-in shapes and colors Sa.s.sinak had never imagined. She blinked. Aygar b.u.mped into her from behind. "What is this?" he began, as Sa.s.sinak caught a glimpse of someone moving toward them from the back of the shop. She raised her hand, and he quieted, though she could practically feel his resentment.

"May I help?" asked a breathy voice from the dimness. "I'm afraid Eklarik's not here right now, but if it's just normal rental?"

"I'm... not sure." The message from Coromell had not specified whether Eklarik's shop a.s.sistant would do as well as the man himself. "It's about the Pirates of Penzance," she said, feeling like an idiot.

Her knowledge of musical productions was small. She'd had to look up that reference, and although it told her Gilbert and Sullivan were contemporaneous with Kipling, she knew nothing of the work itself. Or what result should follow from the mention of it.

"Ah," said the colorless little person who now came into view between another pair of mounted costumes, these obviously meant for the female form. One was white, a clinging drapery that left one shoulder bare; the other, a vast pouf of pale blue, heavily ornamented with bows, braid, ruching, b.u.t.tons as if the maker had to prove that he knew how to do all that, bulged halfway across the aisle.

The a.s.sistant, between the two, looked so meek and unimportant, that Sa.s.sinak was instantly alarmed. No one could be that self-effacing.

"A policeman's lot..." said the a.s.sistant.

"Is not a happy one," Sa.s.sinak replied dutifully, thinking the same thing about the lot of Fleet commanders stuck onplanet in civilian clothes trying to play spy.

"You are the dark lady," said the a.s.sistant. Sa.s.sinak was still not sure what s.e.x-and was beginning to wonder what race-the a.s.sistant might be. Short, slim, dressed in something darkish that rippled. "Your star is That had to refer to Admiral Coromell. She opened r mouth to say something, but found herself confronted with a crystal sphere slightly larger than she tioukt have held in one hand. The a.s.sistant had two hands under it. The crystal gleamed.

"The star you follow," the a.s.sistant was saying in a lone that Sa.s.sinak would have a.s.sumed meant drunk, if one of her crew had used it. "It is dimly seen, in dark places, and often occluded by maleficent planets."

"You have a message for me?" prompted Sa.s.sinak when a long silence had followed that after the crystal globe had vanished again into the dimness.

"That was your message." A quizzical expression crossed that face, followed by: "You are familiar with Ifae local bars, aren't you? You are a sailor?"

Behind her, Aygar choked and Sa.s.sinak barely man-id not to gulp herself.

No," she said gently. "I'm not any more familiar with local bars than with... uh... costumes."

"Oh." Another long silence, during which Sa.s.sinak realized that the a.s.sistant's pupils were elliptical, and that the dark costume was actually for. "I thought you would be. Try the Eclipse, two blocks down, and order " Planetwiper."

-,. That was clear enough, but Sa.s.sinak wasn't sure she believed it was genuine.

.^ou..." she began.

Ine a.s.sistant withdrew behind the billowing blue Mttn skirt, and opened its mouth fully, revealing a double row of pointed teeth.

"I'm an orphan, too," it said, and vanished.

Sa.s.sinak shook her head.

"What was (hat?" breathed Aygar.

"I don't know. Let's go."

She didn't like admitting she'd never seen an alien like that before. She didn't like this whole setup.

The Eclipse displayed a violently pink and yellow sign, which at night must have made sleep difficult for anyone across the street. Sa.s.sinak glanced that way and saw only blank walls above the street-level shops. No beaded curtain here but a heavy door that opened to a hard shove and closed solidly behind them. A heavy-worlder in gleaming gray plastic armor stood at one side-evidence of potential trouble, and its cure, all in one. A glance around showed Sa.s.sinak that her clothes did not quite fit in. Except for the overdressed trio at one table, clearly there to prey on customers, the women wore merchant-s.p.a.cers' coveralls, good quality but not stylish. Most of the men wore the same, although two men had on business clothes, one with the crumpled gown of an attorney at court piled on the seat beside him. Sa.s.sinak supposed the little gray coil atop it was his ceremonial wig.

She was aware of sideways glances, but conversation did not stop. These people were too experienced for that. She led Aygar to one of the booths and dialled their order. Planetwipers had never been her favorite but, of course, she didn't have to drink the thing. Aygar leaned ma.s.sive elbows on the table.

"Can you tell me what is going on, or are you trying to drive me crazy?"

"I'm not, and I don't know. I presume that at some point our party will arrive. At least I know what he looks like."

She was trying not to be too obvious about looking around No one here of Coromell's age, or close to it. Surely they wouldn't have a third meetingplace to find. Aygar took a long swallow of his drink.

"That's potent," she said quietly. "Best be careful." He glowered at her. "I'm not a child. I don't even know why you..."

He stopped as someone stopped by their table. Tall, silver-haired, erect. If Sa.s.sinak had not known Coro-mell, she might have believed this was he.

"Commander," he said quietly. "May I sit down?" "Do join us," Sa.s.sinak said. She gestured to Aygar.

The young Iretan you may have heard so much about." The older man nodded, but did not offer to shake Jumds. He wore an impeccable blue coverall, what she Mould have expected of a merchanter captain off-duty.

'One hand bore a ring that might have been an Academy ring, but the face was turned under where she could not see it. And his movements, his a.s.surance, came from years of command, some kind of command.

If he was not Admiral Coromell-and he wasn't-then who or what was he?

"There's been a slight misunderstanding," he said.

"It is necessary to stay out of reach of compromised Surveillance devices until..."

Sa.s.sinak never saw the flicker of light, only the surprised look on his face and the neat, crisped holes, five of them, in his face.

Instinct had her under the table and scrambling before the first blood oozed out. She heard a bellow and Crash as Aygar tossed the table aside and came after her. Something sizzled and Aygar yelped. Then the whole place erupted in noise and motion.

Like all fights, it was over in less time than she could have described it. The experienced hit the floor and ^Guttled for shelter. The inexperienced screamed, flailed, ted threw things that crashed and tinkled. Fumes from shattered bottles stung her nose and eyes. Gla.s.s shards p.r.i.c.ked her palms and knees. Sa.s.sinak b.u.mped into other scuttlers, caught sight of Aygar and yanked him down just as a pink streak ripped air where he'd been and burst the windows out.

She jerked hard on his wrist, trusting him to follow, as she worked her way through the undergrowth of the Table standards, chair legs, bodies. Through the door, and into a white-tiled kitchen. She was to realize that the place sold food as well. She slipped on the wet floor, staggered, and yanked Aygar again. on, dammit!" it..." He threw a last glance over his shoulder, and whatever he saw propelled him in a great leap that ended with Aygar and Sa.s.sinak tangled out the back door, and flames bursting out behind them. "Snarks in a bucketl"

Sa.s.sinak struggled out from under the younger man and shook her head. Screams, more sounds of mayhem. She looked down the alley they'd landed in. She hated planets... living on them, at least. No one to keep things really shipshape. On the other hand, this filthy and disreputable bit of real estate offered hiding places no clean ship would. Aygar, she noted, had a bleeding gash down his face and several rips in his coverall, but no serious injury.

He was already up on one knee, looking surprisingly relaxed and comfortable for someone who had narrowly escaped death. He had probably saved her life with that last lunge for the back door.

"Hanks," she said, trying to figure out what to do with him. She'd thought of him more as deterrence than serious help if things turned nasty. And at the moment, they were about as nasty as she had seen in awhile.

"We should go," he pointed out. "I was told only Insystem had that sort of weaponary."

"We're going."

Another quick glance, and she chose the shorter end of the alley. Nothing happened on the first quick dash to cover behind a stinking trash bin with rusty streaks down its sides. Sa.s.sinak eyed the other back doors opening on the alley. Surely someone should have peeked? Unless the neighborhood were really that tough, in which case...

"There's someone behind the next one of these," Aygar said softly in her ear.

She eyed him with respect. "How d'you know?"

He shrugged. "I lived by hunting, remember? On Ireta, the things you didn't notice would hunt you. I heard something wrong."

"Great."

No weapons. No armor. And all her tricks were back in childhood, the tricks that worked on screen, and not in real life. Real life worked a lot better with real weapons.

"I can take them," Aygar went on.

"She looked at him: all the eagerness appropriate to a young male in the prime of his pride and no military training whatever. And he wasn't hers, the way young Linran would have been. He was a civilian, under her oath of protection. She started to shake her head, but he hadn't waited.

Even knowing about the great strength his genes and his upbringing had developed, she was still surprised. Aygar picked up the entire trash bin with all its clink-teg, rattling, dripping, smelly contents, and hurled it down the alley to crash into the next. Someone yelped.

Sa.s.sinak heard the flat crack of smallarms fire, then nothing.

Aygar was moving, rushing the barrier of the two bins crunched together With a quick shrug, she followed, vaulting neatly into the mash of rotten vegetable and fruit peels on the far side. Aygar had neatly broken the neck of the ambusher. Sa.s.sinak picked herself out of the disgusting mess carefully and smiled at Aygar.

"Try not to kill them unless you have to," she heard herself say.

"I did," he said seriously. "Look!"

And sure enough, the In system guard had managed to hang onto his weapon even with a trash bin pinning him by the legs.

"Right. There are times.... good job." At least she Wouldn't have to worry about this one having hysterics. "Let's get out of this." Aygar hesitated. "Should I take his weapon?" "No, it's illegal. We'll be in enough trouble." We're in enough trouble, she thought. "On second it, yes. Take it. Why should the bad guys have all advantages?"

Aygar pried it out of the man's hand and courteously offered it to her. Surprised, Sa.s.sinak let her eyebrows as she took it and tucked it into a side pocket. swiping futilely at the stains on her coverall, she them down the alley to the street.

By this time, sirens wailed nearby. With any luck, they would be on the other street. Sa.s.sinak motioned Aygar back. With that blood dripping down his face, he'd be better in hiding. Cautiously, she put her head around the corner. As if he'd been waiting for her, a stocky man in bright orange uniform bellowed and then blew a piercing whistle. Sa.s.sinak muttered a curse, and yanked Aygar into a run. No good going back into the alley. They'd have someone at the other end.

TTiey pelted down the street, dodging oncoming pedestrians. Sa.s.sinak expected at least one of diem to try stopping them, but none did. Behind them, the whistle-blower fell steadily behind. Sa.s.sinak led them right at the first corner, slowing to an almost-polite jog as she stepped on the first slideway. Aygar, beside her, wasn't even breathing hard.

Then he gripped her wrist. Across the street they were on, ahead, was a cordon of orange-uniforms on the pedestrian overpa.s.s above the slideways. They carried something that looked uncomfortably like riot-control weapons. Sa.s.sinak and Aygar edged back off the slide-way. This street, like the other, had a miscellany of small shops and bars.

No time to choose. Sa.s.sinak ducked into the first she saw, hoping it had a useful back entrance.

"You look terrible, dearie," said someone out of the dimness.

Sa.s.sinak started to answer when she realized the young woman was looking at Aygar. Who was looking at her.

"We don't have time for this," she said, tugging at Aygar's suddenly immobile bulk.

"Men always have time for this," said the young woman, setting her various fringes in motion. "As for you, hon, why don't you take a look in the other room " Someone from there had already come to the archway. Sa.s.sinak ignored him and tried the only thing she could think of.

"We need to find Fleur. Now. It's an emergency."

"Fleurl What do you know about her?"

An older woman stormed through the draperies of the archway. Somewhat to Sa.s.sinak's surprise, she had the trim, brisk appearance of a successful profes-which, in a sense, she was. "Who are you, yway?"

"I need to find her. That's all I can say." "Security after you?" When Sa.s.sinak didn't answer icdiately, the woman moved past them to peer nigh the outer window. "They're after somebody you've got bloodstains and G.o.ds know what stinking your clothes. Tell me now! You?" "Yes. I'm..." "Don't tell me." Sa.s.sinak obeyed. Here, in this place, someone else manded.

"Come." When Aygar cast a last look after the young who had greeted him, their guide snorted. "Lis-laddy-o, you're looking at a week's salary, unless 're ranked higher than I think, and you'd be dead you enjoyed it if we don't get you under cover." Then, as she led them down a pa.s.sage, she shouted to her household, "Lee, get yourself in three with I don't think the locals know you yet. Pearl, you Lee come in. The woman with him, if they think saw one, was our street tout." She muttered over shoulder to Sa.s.sinak. "Not that that'll hold five ites if they really saw you, but they might not It's getting to our busy time of day, so there's a In here." here was a tiny square office, crowded with desk two chairs. The woman pulled open a drawer and an aid kit down on the surface. He won't pa.s.s anywhere, with all that blood. Clean up. Ill be back with another coverall for you." Aygar sat in one of the chairs while Sa.s.sinak cleaned Shallow gash and put a sticker over it. He did look conspicuous with the blood off his face. She used more stickers to hold the rents in his coverall. The scratches under them had long stopped. The woman came back with a cheap working coverall tan fabric and tossed it to Sa.s.sinak.

"Get that smelly thing off so I can run it through the shredder in the kitchen. What'd you do, camp out in a grocer's trash bin?"

"Not exactly " Sa.s.smak didn't want to explain. She handed Aygar the gun out of her pocket before peeling off her coverall and slipping into the other one. Aygar, she noticed, was trying not to watch while the woman stared at her.

"You must be Fleet," she said, more quietly. "You've got muscles, for a woman your age. Over forty, aren't you?"

"A little, yes."

The tan coverall was a bit short in the arms and legs, but ample in the body Sa.s.smak transferred her ID and the handcom into its pockets and then took the gun back from Aygar.

"Ever heard of Samizdat?" The woman's voice was even lower, barely above a murmur.

Sa.s.smak stared, remembering that bleak afternoon when Abe had told her a tiny bit about that organization "A little," she said cautiously. "Hmm. Fleet. Samizdat. Fleur. Tell you what, honey, you'd better be honest, or I swear 111 hunt you to the last corner of the galaxy, my own self, and stake your gizzard in the light of some alien sun, so I will. That Fleur's a lady, saved my life more'n once, and never thinks the worse of a girl for doing what she has to." "She's a Fleet captain," said Aygar. Both women glared at him.

"I didn't want to know that," said the woman. "A Fleet captain with undisciplined crew..."

Before Aygar could say anything, Sa.s.smak said, "He's not crew; he's civilian, an important witness against planet pirates, and they're trying to silence him. Wt were supposed to have a quiet meeting but it didn't stay quiet."

"Ah. Then you do know about Samizdat. Well, we'll have to get you out of here later, and 111 send word to Fleur..." She stopped, as voices erupted down the pa.s.sage. "Rats. Up out of that chair, laddy-o, and quick about it."

Aygar stood, and the woman shoved until he flat-tened against the wall. Sa.s.sinak, guessing what she wanted, lifted the chairs onto the desk. Beneath the worn carpet was the outline of a trap door. The woman didn't have to urge quickness, not with the words "search" and "illegal aliens" and "renegade posing as Fleet" booming down the hall.