Indignantly, Klyd rounded on the Gen. "Hugh, do you know what he'd have done to me?" Bending, he scooped up the long stiletto, which gleamed wickedly in his hand. "Today is the thirteenth day in the Death Count of Feleho Ambrov Zeor. And the first installment on his Death Price has been paid by Sectuib of Householding Zeor."

Valleroy bowed his head. The icy control in Klyd's voice was more passionate than any ferocity could have been. "Unto Zeor, forever. Would that the next installment be paid by my hand." He raised his eyes. He didn't know in just what form that petition would be granted. Had he known, he might not have made it.

Silently, Klyd nodded.

"I just wish," said Valleroy, regarding the body, "we could have questioned him first."

"He was junct... and approaching need. I could never have kept him away from you. And I wouldn't have enjoyed trying. The sadistic streak of the junct is missing in the channel. Can you imagine what kind of mixture of masochist and sadist a Sime must be to threaten another Sime with one of these?" He brandished the slim weapon.

"When it comes to sadism, the licensed raiders must be the worst of the lot."

"And of all the licensed raiders, the Runzi have the reputation of being the most sadistic. They consider channels lesser creatures then Gens. A Gen is merely an animal to be used. A channel is a pervert who seduces other into perversion. If they capture one, they make an object lesson out of him. Not in public, of course, but word spreads."

"Cheerful thought," said Valleroy, unwilling to ask what they did with Companions they captured. They couldn't sell them to the Choice Auction since Companions didn't make satisfactory kills. "I wonder what this fellow was doing up here? Are there any more around?"

"No. But something is going on down there. Let's have a look."

They climbed up to the vantage point the Raider had been using and inched into prone position on the cold stone. Valleroy remembered to allow plenty of distance between him and his partner. Then he cupped his hands around his eyes and peered into the hazy valley.

"So!" hissed Klyd. "That's why the Runzi detachment that was chasing us never caught up. They were called to defend the border!"

Way off to his left, the foothills rose precipitously, broken only by the artificial cleft of the Ancient's road and Hanrahan Pass. Valleroy could see parts of the glittering ribbon that was the river, the border with Gen Territory. It descended from the mountains and meandered across the plain toward Valzor and Zeor. Below them spread the fertile valley floor that had been ceded to the Simes when the border was fixed. It was the best pasture land in the area, but the Simes didn't run cattle and wouldn't plant so close to the border. Its main usage in recent years had been as a battle ground for border skirmishes. That seemed to be what was going on at the moment.

Valleroy could just make out the rifles carried by the Gen forces. He wasn't the world's greatest military tactician, but even he could see that the Gens had ridden into an ambush and were being massacred. Rifles were little use against a well-coordinated Sime infighting team, or individual Sime whip-masters.

As he watched, three separate Gen riders were unhorsed by groups of Simes. The system seemed to be to confuse the soldier's mount while one Sime vaulted up behind the victim and disarmed him. Then a third Sime slipped a complex harness over the Gen's head. With the help of a fourth, they had the Gen immobilized, blindfolded, and on the ground within seconds... not even bruising the merchandise. Two of the attackers would lead the helpless captive away while the others combined with new partners to attack a new victim. A well-rehearsed ballet.

The strategy worked repeatedly despite the Gen's best efforts to remain in formation. Puzzled, Valleroy said, "I never realized that Gen troops were so stupid."

"They're not stupid, Hugh, they're frightened. From the cradle to the grave, they are taught that Simes are devils with superhuman powers. Surely you've heard all the superstitious nonsense they believe?"

"Never made too much impression on me."

"From the way you reacted at our first meeting, I'd say you'd received the full measure of anti-Sime indoctrination."

"But I got over that."

"It only takes a small measure of that kind of fear to shatter any military maneuver. The Raider's strategy is to pick off one or two of the point men first... even though it may cost many casualties. They kill the first few captives in plain view, leaving the bodies with the burn bruises for all to see. One look and Gen formations fall apart in panic."

"Diabolical."

"No, just good business. Remember, raiding is a high-risk profession demanding extensive periods of augmentation. Runzi is smart enough to use men in hard need as an advance spearpoint. The reward is immediately the most exquisite type of kill known to a junct... or death. The policy weeds out the weaklings from the Kunzi ranks. And there is nothing so terrifying to a Gen as the attack of a Sime in hard need."

"We can't just sit here and watch all those soldiers taken captive!"

"There's absolutely nothing we can do about it. That's one of the harsh realities of the Householder's existence. That Raider I executed was enjoying this show. But he was also frustrated. We still don't know why he was up here and not down there."

"Maybe he was sent to watch the way station?"

"Then why wasn't he watching it?"

"Maybe he was. He'd require help to handle you, but all his help was engaged in that battle, so he was frustrated."

"If he knew we were in that building, why wasn't he aware that we'd left it? No, I believe the building's insulation held even against your field."

"Could be. But it's still possible he was watching us and just got interested in the battle."

"As I said, Runzi's methods weed out the irresponsible and the weaklings. If he knew we were there, he would have called in help immediately or been denied his next transfer on time. But suppose..." Klyd stopped as if struck by a new idea. Then he began worming his way back from the edge and searching the ground about him.

"What are you looking for?"

"Message tube... here!" What he fished out of a nearby crevice was a tube about a foot long and four inches in diameter. The outside was carved in an intricate design and painted in shades of red. The ends were sealed by blank caps of metal.

"He was a messenger on detached duty! Now, to get this open," said Klyd, "without destroying the contents. There's probably more in here than you could have learned by questioning him."

Valleroy examined the cylinder curiously. He could see no way to open it "If we had a saw, we could slice it in half."

"No. It would burst into Same the minute the air entered."

"Neat. Stacy would pay a fortune to learn that one."

"Simple chemistry. There are things we'd pay a fortune to learn from Stacy. Aisha may be the key to a future where such exchanges become common. And this case may be the key to Aisha."

"How do the Raiders open it, then?"

"There's a tricky combination. Secret, of course, and always different." Klyd seated himself on a rock and probed the carvings with all eight handling tentacles and all ten fingers.

Valleroy crawled back up to watch the battle. It was nearly over by now. The shattered Gen squad had regrouped and was racing toward the river in full retreat. At least some of them had got away alive, thought Valleroy. A thrill of grim triumph rose in him as he counted the red cloaks on the field. The Runzi tactic wasn't a hundred per cent effective against trained sharpshooters. Maybe next time it would be the Simes who'd blunder into an ambush. But that would require better rifles than the Gens now had. The Simes could sense the selyn field of the Gens in hiding-unless they were beyond extreme rifle range.

Klyd called, "What are you so sadistically gleeful about?"

Valleroy told him and finished, "You weren't very sorry for murdering that Raider, so don't be so smug."

"It was an execution in self-defense. But I didn't enjoy it. Death is never gentle and never quite painless. Need sensitizes."

"You mean you..."

"Died with him. Yes, you could put it that way."

With a sigh, Valleroy went to stand over the corpse. "He doesn't deserve it, but I think we ought to bury him."

"He does deserve our respect. He became a slave to an instinct greater than any man should have to face alone. The results of that are not his fault."

"Klyd!" Valleroy was amazed. "He'd have done to you just like they did to Feleho!"

"Yes. And he had to die. It is good that he is dead. I am honored to be the instrument of that death. But still I can respect him and the battle he fought. That is a difference between Sime and Gen."

Valleroy shook his head, baffled.