"Lead the way."

In response, she opened a door on their left, this one a panel that silently slid to a tight close behind them.

They found themselves in a hall or walkway about five feet wide that completely encircled a sealed chamber walled off from them by a barrier of some colorless, transparent material. The ceiling above the enclosed place was a ma.s.s of lights and odd instruments as complex in appearance as the bridge of the Solar Queen. The floor was a seamless sheet of dull-finished metal.

The whole place was empty save for a single metal sphere approximately one foot in diameter resting in splendid isolation in what appeared to be its exact center.

"The control panel's over here," the technician told them.

They followed her a quarter around the perimeter of the room until they came to a two-foot-square board of dials and gauges that made a fitting complement to the bewildering ceiling inside.

"That ball is a miniature laboratory," Adroo explained.

"We put the substance to be tested in the bottom half, seal on the top, and introduce whatever forces or elements we want while the sensors fixed on the interior monitor the results. Despite being easily handled, it's a st.u.r.dy little device and is equipped with escape valves to release gases before they can build up dangerous pressure levels."

Jellico tapped the crystal wall separating them from the ball. "Shatterproof?"

"Of course. We don't take chances when dealing with potentially hazardous materials. Those b.a.l.l.s are strong, but they're not invincible, and neither are my staff members who have to deal with them."

"What now?"

"We're more or less simulating the hold of a freighter. We packed a proportionally equivalent volume of ammonium nitrate in the lab, and now we're going to subject it to some abuse."

"Electricity first, sir?" the white-garbed woman asked. "Or a spark?"

"I believe Doctor Cofort mentioned a sudden, sharp rise in temperature. Try direct contact with fire."

"Very good, sir."

She bent over her console. Her fingers deftly touched one b.u.t.ton, then moved to a finely calibrated dial. Immediately, a slender wire descended from the ceiling. It hovered over the sphere an instant before finding and entering a small hole at its top. "We'll start out with a relatively cool flame, like that of a normal fire," she said, "and increase the temperature every few milliseconds until there's a reaction ..."

A sudden, searing flash lit the sealed chamber followed almost in the same instant by a sharp clap of sound clearly audible through the screening walls confining it. Rael stifled a scream as she threw her hands before her face in an instinctive effort to ward off the glowing objects hurtling toward them from the shattered ball.

It was over seemingly in the moment it began. When the observers collected themselves once more, they stared in awe at the place where the miniature laboratory had been.

All that remained of it now was a blackened patch on the floor and some twisted fragments scattered throughout the chamber.

"Lord of Light and Dark," whispered the Canuchean woman. "The valves were operational . . ."

"They just couldn't handle this," Jellico responded briskly. His fingers followed the line of the scratch a piece of shrapnel had gouged in the shielding material in front of him. If the barrier had not held, it would have sliced through his throat. "Your little lab wasn't designed to endure old-fashioned brute force," he told her. "It was meant to conduct sane experiments, not contain a bomb blast."

"A what?" Macgregory demanded sharply.

Van Rycke shrugged. "What else would you call it? It even fitted the stereotype image-a round, explosive-filled metal ball with a fuse sticking out of it, or sticking into it in this case."

"It behaved like one at any rate," Adroo agreed. He turned to his employee. "You recorded the whole thing, of course?"

"Naturally." There was no diffidence in that answer. This was her job; she knew how to do it. "There were some returns from the lab as well. I won't know how much we got until I go over the recordings."

"Get on it, then see if you can replicate the results under a variety of circ.u.mstances. Use less expensive bomb cases. We can recoup our costs later as part of a civic service claim, but we're not likely to collect in a hurry."

She smiled. "Yes, sir."

"And for the Lord of Light's sake, don't get yourself or anyone else killed. That may be a safe room, but it's not going to hold a baby planetbuster."

"I'll be careful. - What're we going to do, Mr. Macgregory? If a cargo goes up, the blast'll be almost literally infinitely worse than this little pop we just made. It won't be confined to a sterile, empty, shielded chamber, and more than one hold will almost certainly be involved even at the outset. Once the inevitable happens and the chain reaction starts, all the Federation's h.e.l.ls will be on us for a fact."

"We don't panic. - First, we've got to charge our blasters, get all our evidence together, then I hit the City Council with it. Luckily, everyone on it has some interest in the harbor. That should help jab a needle in their tails. - Doctor Cofort, I'll need your historical information for a backup."

"I've just got a temporary berth on the Queen and have nothing with me. However, I can tell you where to set your researchers looking."

"Good enough. Fasmit the details to me as soon as you get back to your ship. Mr. Van Rycke has the code."

The industrialist gave his head a sharp shake. "I've been remiss. It's past time for another evacuation drill."

"Evacuation?" Jan inquired.

"Canuche was spared during the Crater War. A lot of other worlds weren't. I've seen the tapes, both of those struck by the combatants and those hit even more viciously by jacks taking advantage of the general chaos. I've also seen evidence of what can happen when people don't respond correctly or in time to natural upheavals-storms, earthquakes, and the like.

"All my employees are required to keep on hand a week's supply of concentrates, water, first aid supplies, any necessary specific medications, and blankets for every human and animal member of their household plus a tent or other portable shelter for them all and a surplanetary transceiver to keep abreast of news. Periodically, I order them to carefully shut down the plant and feeder lines, take their emergency gear, and leave the city for the hardpan beyond. The only concession I make is to exclude ailing or handicapped persons and a caregiver if one is needed. I'm out to save lives, not take or endanger them."

"They put up with that?" Rael asked.

Macgregory smiled. All s.p.a.cers had to accept discipline, but such blind obedience would be an alien concept to the mind of a Free Trader. "There's always something extra to sweeten the paychecks of those who comply. The odd one who doesn't finds a dismissal notice. Besides, one of the very few times in its history that Canuche Town suffered real injury from the ocean occurred only a few years back. Our weather forecasters told us to expect trouble, and, because my people were concentrated in the most immediately threatened neighborhoods, I forced a full evacuation early. They spent one h.e.l.l of a miserable night, but when the waters came, n.o.body was hurt, and those whose property was damaged received financial help to repair or replace it.

"The rest of the populace wasn't told to leave until much later. There was haste some confusion, and a little panic at the end. A handful of injuries occurred as a result and a few deaths, all of those among the fools who refused to go at all.

"My policy proved itself in the time of testing, and since then, I haven't gotten much static when I've demanded a refresher course on the procedures."

His lips tightened. "Now I see how much more important it is than even I'd realized. Danger's a lot closer to us than a chance attack from the stars or a freak, fairly readily predicted combination of foul weather or geophysical events."

Adroo squared his shoulders. "That's my business and Canuche Town's. Thank you, all three of you, for your help thus far. I may also want a deposition from you, just a description of our conversation today and what you observed here plus any knowledge you have about ammonium nitrate."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Miceal answered for his party. "I can't help with background detail, unfortunately, but I'll apply to Trade records and see if we can't uncover more for you. Van and Rael will, of course, do what they can as well."

"Again, my thanks.-In the meantime, I have a living to make. To get back to our original reason for meeting, Captain, how soon can you begin to accept deliveries?"

"Right away."

"We'll start tomorrow morning, then." He turned to Rael.

"Here's my card, Doctor. It lists my private code. I haven't forgotten my offer. h.e.l.l, after all this, you needn't take a sales job. Name what you want, and if it isn't on the books now, I'll create a post to your specifications."

She nodded gravely. "I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Macgregory, and if I turn it down, it won't be for want of grat.i.tude."

20.

Miceal Jellico watched the s.p.a.ceport manipulator swing a huge, metal-banded crate to the Solar Queen's wide-open hatch. There, Rael deftly guided the clamps of the starship's smaller version of the all-purpose large-cargo handler into place and signaled to Van Rycke, who was at the controls of their machine, to lock them. A second wave to the outer world caused the holds on the port manipulator to be released.

Once more, the crate rose. It disappeared through the hatch, where it would be delivered to Dane in the bulk cargo hold for final stowing.

Jellico walked over to the Cargo-Master. "That the last of the big stun?"

"Aye," he said as he switched off the motor and swung down from the control seat. "Just those boxes now." He pointed to a tall stack of s.p.a.ce-sealed containers of several different types and sizes. "We could handle those manually if need be, not that anyone's Whisperer bait enough to do it while better's available. We won't be getting the real small stuff until tomorrow morning."

"You and Thorson can manage without your a.s.sistant?"

"We had to manage before she came." He turned his head. "Cofort!" he shouted. "Come on down! Our Captain's pulling rank and commandeering your services."

Seconds later, the woman joined them. "What now?" she asked, smiling. As she spoke, she rubbed her hands against the legs of her trousers to dry them. Machine help or none, loading and sorting bulk cargo was still heavy work.

"As Van says, I want to borrow you for a few hours."

"Sure thing." She saw that he had rented a flier and glanced back at the ship. "It'll only take a few minutes to wash and change ..."

"No need. Just grab your cap and silicates to screen out Halio's rays."

"Will do," she responded.

The Medic returned to the waiting men an edifyingly short time later. "All set," she informed them.

"Excellent." Jellico pointed to the flier's front pa.s.senger seat. "Hop in."

"Good luck with your lizards," Van Rycke called after him.

His commander scowled but then raised his hand in farewell. "Just see that none of this valuable cargo's left out to face the rigors of the night air."

With that, he activated the controls, and the vehicle, a light-duty pa.s.senger four-seater, shot away from the Queen.

Miceal laughed softly. "He's right about the lizards. I am stealing you to help me on a personal project."

"So I gathered," Rael responded. "That's tri-dee gear I see on the rear seat unless I'm very much mistaken. - What's the story about the lizards?" she asked curiously. "I thought Canuche didn't have anything worth mentioning in the way of wildlife, especially here in the north."

"Nothing much in terms of variety, size, or high development on the intelligence scale," he corrected. "What's here is both interesting and important, simply because they are here, if for no other reason.

"The lizards we're seeking are a prime example. They're small-three inches long excluding that much again of tail-winged, and a beautiful deep green in color. They're relatively common in their natural range but can't be kept in captivity-Canuchean conservation and anticruelty laws forbid any further attempts to do so-and no one's ever been able to study or make any sort of pictorial record of them in the wild. As soon as a person gets even within long-lens range, every lizard present drops into the foliage. If they can be discovered at all, they're hunched up in tight little b.a.l.l.s that won't release again until the intruder is gone, depending on camouflage and the poison in their skins to protect them.

"A number of theories have been proposed to account for the acuity of their senses, particularly since they're equally adept at avoiding time-set, unmanned equipment, and I've got one of my own that I wouldn't go about propounding before too many people for fear I'd be thought straight Whisperer bait."

"I'm flattered. - What's your explanation?"

"Some sort of telepathy would account for it." He raised his hand when he saw her look of incredulity. "I'm not talking about the fancy stuff beloved of novelists and video writers. This would be more basic, the ability to sense interest in them, perhaps. In the wild, that'd mean only a couple of things-either a potential mate or a potential predator. An excited xen.o.biologist would come across as the latter, I should imagine."

"You may well be right," she agreed slowly. "Biologically, they wouldn't have any reason to develop the power to differentiate more finely, and humans haven't been on the scene long enough to have had much effect on that aspect of their lives."

"That's about the way I've reasoned it out."

"What's my part in this?"

"I want to try an experiment, to see if your presence or your active efforts will calm them sufficiently for me to get some shots."

"But I have no power to draw them! I told you I didn't..."

"Not directly, maybe, but I've seen how Sinbad and Queex respond to you. Cats have been a.s.sociated with humans a long time and are noted for the affection they sometimes bestow on those they favor. The same can't be said for hoobats. You've worked your own brand of magic on my six-legged comrade, and I'm hoping something similar might occur with Canuche of Halio's green lizards. At any rate, it'll do no harm to give it a try."

"No, I suppose not."

When the Medic remained silent for several seconds, he glanced at her. She was sitting quietly, her expression grave, her eyes lowered.

Miceal sighed. "This isn't meant to be a trial, Rael. If you really don't want to do it, you can just watch, or we can turn back altogether."

She looked up. "I know what a coup this would be for you if you could pull it off. I just don't want to disappoint you."

"No way. It's a chance worth taking, but if it doesn't work out, it doesn't."

The project was important to him, all right, but Jellico reined in his eagerness. Cofort's gift, a.s.suming she had one in the first place, probably would not work if she was too upset. - s.p.a.ce, he did not want to upset her at all. "You never got a chance to eat," he said. "Reach back there and pull out the sandwiches Frank thoughtfully produced for us. I fear he innocently imagines we'll be stopping for a formal picnic someplace, but we'll be too busy if we succeed and back in good time for dinner if we don't. Either way, you won't have another crack at a meal for a while."

The woman was not slow to comply. She eagerly wolfed down the Steward's offering, both because she was hungry and because it was extremely good. "Treat Mr. Mura kindly," she advised. "He's an a.s.set not to be underrated."

"I doubt any member of the Queen's crew would be guilty of that particular error, my friend."

The flier had not left the s.p.a.ceport and city very far behind before the nature of the country flowing by beneath them changed abruptly and to Rael's mind much for the worse.

The yellowish ground was hard, compacted to the point that it could be cla.s.sed as soft rock rather than soil, and dry save where streams and small rivers knifed their way through it. Vegetation was spa.r.s.e and low even along the watercourses. It did not exist anywhere in sufficient quant.i.ty to significantly hold the particles worked loose from the miserly ground by the forces of weathering.

"Much of the interior's hardpan like this," Jellico informed her.

"It seems to go on forever," she replied with distaste.

"This patch runs about twenty miles wide and some three hundred long. Once we get across it, we'll see some more typical inner coastal land. That's not particularly pretty, either, but it's got some variety, at least."

The transition was sharp when they reached the end of the hardpan. The countryside now beneath them was wetter than the barren place they had left behind. Its soil was real, and a fairly continuous blanket of plants grew upon it, most of them ranging from ankle to knee high. The common color, varied by a number of lighter and darker exceptions, was a fine, deep green, and Miceal informed his companion that among these fronds, stems, and roots dwelled almost the total roster of the north's terrestrial wildlife, most of which was quite small and very low on the intelligence scale.

The Captain eased their vehicle to the ground. "Let's see if we can't rouse some photogenic green lizards. Doctor."

Taking his tri-dee equipment and a pair of distance lenses, he started moving slowly away from the machine, walking carefully, as if he was trying to become part of the natural world around them. Catching up her share of the equipment, Rael did her best to emulate him.

They traveled several hundred yards, then he raised his hand to signal a halt. "This should be far enough. There ought to be a few around. Whether we'll be able to get a glimpse of them's another matter."

Jellico trained his lenses on a patch of vegetation and began to quarter it visually. It betrayed no sign of the little creatures he was seeking, and he moved on to the next clump.

A quarter of an hour pa.s.sed before he straightened in satisfaction. "There! I can make out a couple of them. - See. They look like little b.a.l.l.s of moss."