Lieutenant Commander Moslin looked from one to the other. "You're . . . satisfied, Sera Saenz?"

"With Lieutenant Suiza? Of course. Best personal assistant I ever had. Excuse me; I mustn't be late to meet Admiral Serrano." With a wave, Marta departed, leaving Esmay under the lieutenant commander's mistrustful gaze.

"Well . . . I thought she was Lord Thornbuckle's friend, and here she's sticking up for you . . ."

"I think," Esmay said, following Marta's briefing, "I remind her of a niece or something. But of course I did my best."

"Yes. Well. I suppose you can get back to that report you were working on . . ."

Esmay could feel his gaze on her as she walked off. She knew he had sensed some difference, but couldn't pinpoint it. She could . . . and was amazed that she had never bothered to learn such simple things before. She saw Casea Ferradi coming toward her, and assumed the expression Marta had recommended. Sure enough, Casea almost stumbled.

"Lieutenant Suiza-"

"Hello, Casea," Esmay said, inwardly amazed and delighted.

"You're-I thought you were on leave."

"I'm back," Esmay said. "But busy-see you later." It could be fun. It could actually be fun.

Buoyed up by that thought, she smiled serenely at Admiral Hornan around the next corner.

Barin came to attention. "Ensign Serrano reporting, sir."

His grandmother looked up. "At ease, Ensign. Have a seat. We have family business to discuss."

Family business did not put him at ease, but he sat and waited. His grandmother sighed.

"Marta Saenz tells me that you and Lieutenant Suiza had a row over Brun Meager."

Barin almost let his jaw drop, but tightened it in time. "That's . . . not exactly how it

happened, sir."

"Mmm. Well, however it happened, and whatever the current status of your feeling for Lieutenant Suiza may be, I wanted you to know that from my perspective, as your grandmother, I have no advice to give. About her, at least. About someone else you've been seen with, I have the advice you can probably guess. As an admiral, I would like to see Lieutenant Suiza perform at her best-she has a strikingly good best-and would like whatever circumstances might contribute to that end, to happen. So if you feel you can do her some good, go ahead."

"She's-not speaking to me."

"Are you sure? Perhaps she thinks you're not speaking to her. Especially since there are others who might have an interest in keeping you two apart."

"Lieutenant Ferradi-" Barin said, through clenched teeth.

His grandmother looked at him as if he were a toddler; he knew that look. "Among others. Barin, you're old enough to know how our family name attracts envy as well as admiration. Lieutenant Suiza's rapid rise to fame and promotion has had a similar effect. It has come to my attention that there are people who feel it in their interests to have you and Lieutenant Suiza at cross purposes. If you did not care for her, it would be one thing, but since you do, it seems to me that it is a matter of family honor not to let them succeed. Subject, of course, to your own feelings."

"Ah . . . yes, sir-Grandmother."

She gave him a frank grin. "Sir Grandmother must be an unusual title, but I'll take it. Seriously, Barin-do you love this woman?"

"I thought I did, but-"

"Well, think again. Think, but also feel. It is not for me to play Cupid; if you two are meant for each other, you shouldn't need a Cupid. But take nothing for granted. Clear?"

"Yes . . . Grandmother."

"Good. If there's fallout, I'll deal with it. I trust your judgement, Barin-just be sure you have enough data to base it on." She paused, but he said nothing. What was there to say? With a crisp nod, she reverted from grandmother to admiral. "Now-how's that investigation of Lieutenant Ferradi coming?"

"I don't know," Barin said. "Both my captain and my exec told me to keep my nose somewhere else, so I have."

"Amazing," his grandmother murmured, in a tone that made his ears heat up. "Well, we're closing in on our active dates-it would be a help to me to know what's going on. I'd like you to go mention that to Heris, and let her murmur it to your captain's ear-or whatever it takes. Klaus still wants my job, and since he hasn't commanded anything but a desk for the past nineteen years, I'm unwilling to let him make a hash of it. Your ostensible message to Heris is that we're having a family celebration since the Fleet Birthday festivities will be very restrained this year. This is what you can-and should-tell anyone. But carry this-" she handed over a data strip. "For her hand only, and use the family handshake."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

"She's a natural-born weasel," Koutsoudas said, pointing out the graphic he had made of Lieutenant Ferradi's illicit activities in the legal database. "If we hadn't had that primed datawand, she might've got away with it, even with me on scan."

"Well, what has she done?" asked Captain Escovar.

"She used Pell's access codes into the first level, and then someone else's-would you believe Admiral Hornan's?"

"How'd she get those?"

"I have no idea, sir." Koutsoudas was watching the vid screen now, on which Lieutenant Ferradi's neat blonde head was bent studiously over a console. "Possibly from Pell . . . and while it's none of my business, you should probably know there's rumors that Pell's been called in for an off- cycle physical."

"So he has," Escovar said.

"And three other master chiefs here as well . . . it's making some of us nervous, tell you the truth."

"In what way?"

"Beyond my area of expertise, sir." Koutsoudas had the expression of a man not in the mood to trust anyone.

"Mm. Concerns have been expressed at higher levels than mine, as well."

"Just as well, sir. Ah-there she goes." Onscreen, Ferradi inserted her datawand into a port in the console. "Bet she inputs a file this time-look at her left hand. Yeah-there it is." On Koutsoudas'

graphic, an orange line snaked along a tangle of other lines, and made its way into a blue box, where it flashed steadily. "Altering data, sir: that's one hundred percent clear."

"Do we know what the data were prior to alteration?"

"I don't, no sir. But I do know there was a secure backup made last night, blind copy to a storage unit she'll never find. And the trace on her wand will prove she altered something, and where in the file it is."

"These are very serious charges, Commander Escovar," Admiral Hornan said. "I've found Lieutenant Ferradi to be a most efficient officer . . ." His glance at Barin mixed suspicion and resentment in equal portions. Barin reminded himself that this man was his grandmother's rival.

"The admiral is right-these are serious charges. That is why I brought them to you rather than calling Lieutenant Ferradi in myself. Under the circumstances-political as well as military-it seemed preferable to have you in on this from the beginning-"

"Not the beginning, if you've already done the investigation-"