"That's the easy part," the copilot said. "We're supposed to have a three man crew. Our gunner -- a loyal citizen of the Alliance -- got a little drunk before this mission. No one will think much of it when three of us disembark at Cloudcroft, especially since we are normally based on Persephone. If anyone stops you, tell them that you're just one more flight monkey trying to get some sleep before the shooting starts."

"Uniform?"

"We've got one for you. It might be a little big for you. No one told us your size. Still, you ought to pass muster."

As the copilot had said, no one took a second look as Sands crossed the cavernlike expanse of the Cloudcroft landing bay. He was just one more Alliance airman among hundreds. It felt odd to be aboard Cloudcroft again, especially, in this particular bay. For it had been here thatSparrowHawk had loaded her loot.

As he followed the two sleeper agents to the exit from the bay, he took in the frenzied activity around him without appearing to do so. The bay was alive with prowlers. There were dozens of them. The ships were jammed so close together that Sands and his two companions had to thread their way between wing tips. After they had crossed half the distance to the exit portal, he was able to catch a glimpse into the next bay, the one where ships were normally parked. It, too, was filled with warships. Most had access panels removed and maintenance crews swarming over them.

Murphy and Yarbro reached the exit portal and got in line to go through the guarded checkpoint. Sands got in line behind them. When it came his turn, he inserted the identification card the two agents had given him. No alarm sounded and the three of them took a tube car to a district deep inside the support truss.

They were soon walking down a corridor flanked on both sides by the oversize doors that marked a manufacturing area.

They stopped in front of a nondescript door on which Murphy knocked three times. It slid a centimeter into its recess as someone gazed cautiously out through the resulting crack. The pilot spoke a code phrase and the door slid wide. A pudgy man with red hair gazed at them with hands on hips.

"Inside," he ordered.

Sands stepped forward. Behind him, the two prowler pilots turned to go.

"Aren't you coming in?"

Yarbro shook his head. "We have other work to do."

"Well, thanks for the pickup."

"You're welcome. Good luck!"

"You, too."Sands crossed the threshold and heard the door snap closed behind him. The compartment was similar to the one where he had met Micah Bolin that night aboard Port Gregson. It consisted of a large square room with a mezzanine office overlooking the main floor. The compartment was filled with machinery of the sort used to synthesize the lightweight and decorative wall panels used to enclose living space throughout the cloud city.

Sands gestured after the two officers. "I wonder what they will do when the shooting starts."

"They'll go out with their squadron, and at a critical moment, will turn their guns on people they've lived and worked with for years. They will do as much damage as they can before they are shot down themselves."

Sands felt a cold chill go through him. He had faced death in the sky before, but always as a privateer.

No matter how good the money, privateers did not sign up for suicide missions.

"The name's Caen. Rugillio Caen. I've been ordered to place myself and my team under your command, Captain Sands."

"You don't sound very happy about it."

Green eyes stared unwaveringly at him from beneath folds of skin. "I'm not."

"Care to tell me why?"

"It's nothing personal. I just do not like last minute changes. We were supposed to hit the main data bus serving Alliance Military Headquarters. Now we have been diverted to this rescue mission, andthen have to hit the bus after they have been alerted. Complications like that are what get people killed."

"I understand your objections, Caen. We will try to pull this mission off with a minimum of risk. How many others are there in your team?"

"Three."

"Where are they?"

"In safe houses spread around the city."

"Can you contact them?"

"Through a blind message drop in the city computer. We have a meeting arranged for this evening. You'll get to meet them then."

"What about Kimber Crawford and Halley Trevanon? Where are they being held?"

The agent guided Sands to a bench where a multilevel map of Cloudcroft had been spread out.

Apparently, he had been going over the route before Sands's arrival.

"We've had some luck on that score. Theywere being held in cells deep within Military Headquarters.

We could never have gotten them out of there. Last night, they were moved to Government Tower.

"How do you know that?"

The look Caen gave Lars was one of suffering tolerance. "I wouldn't be much of a spy if I didn't, would I?"Sands ignored the comment "Any reason for the move?"

"Word is that the first councilor has taken them into custody."

"Dalishaar himself?"

"That's what the rumor is."

Sands thought about that for a moment. He did not like the implications. "Where are they being held in Government Tower?"

"Here," Caen said, pointing to a residential section in the upper third of the tower.

Sands smiled. That was the same section where he had first met Kimber. They might even be keeping her in the same VIP apartment.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just that this is turning into Old Home Week!"

Sands noticed the cryptic look Caen gave him, but did not elaborate.

Chapter 32: Peace Talks.

Kimber Crawford's eyes opened to narrow slits. She was lying on her right side with her head pillowed on her arm. In front of her was an open window framed by the leaves of trees sprouting from foam filled planters at the edge of a balcony. Intermittent chirping noises told her the trees were infested with songbirds. A beam of sunlight shone through the window. It washed over her and made an abstract design on the bed. From somewhere close by came the smell of cooking eggs and yeast strips.

She lay half awake for a moment, thinking she was back in her dormitory room at college. She wasn't, of course. Her college quarters had not been one-quarter this spacious, nor had they possessed a window overlooking Oxford-in-the-Clouds. As she came slowly awake, her disorientation slipped quietly away and the memory of the previous day came flooding back. She remembered where she was and how she had come to be there. What was missing waswhy she suddenly found herself ensconced in this luxury apartment.

A figure came through the door at the edge of her peripheral vision. Kimber turned to see Halley Trevanon carrying a tray piled high with steaming plates of food and a teapot.

"Oh, good, you're awake! Breakfast is ready."

Kimber rolled over, sat up, and propped herself against a pair of pillows. She draped a sheet over herself, tucking it in under her arms, as Halley sat the tray across her lap. The food odors reminded her of how hungry she was.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Halley was clad in a robe and her hair was tied atop her head. She was far more relaxed than the previous evening when the two of them had been transferred from the military hospital to this apartment.

"I've already had breakfast. I've been up for hours.""What time is it?" Kimber asked, looking at the slanting sunlight coming in the window.

"Just after Second Dawn."

"No wonder I feel so rested! I thought it was morning. Any sign of our hosts?"

"None," Halley replied. "They must want us rested and fed before they bring in the red hot pincers."

"Just so they hold off until after breakfast," Kimber said around the edges of a piece of toast.

Halley sat on the edge of the bed and watched her eat. Neither woman spoke, but after days in isolation, neither wanted to be alone either.

It had been three days since Kimber had awakened alone in the Alliance military hospital. After the visit from Captain Berghoff, she had seen no one but the Marines who brought her meals and the nurse who changed her sheets. That had ended the previous evening when she had been roused by a commotion outside her door. Several angry voices had argued about something, and then subsided as someone had opened her door.

The people who filled the hospital corridor were neither medical personnel nor Marines. Their uniforms were those of the ruling council's civilian security force. They were, she realized with a shock, Kelt Dalishaar's men.

The officer in charge had ordered her out into the corridor, where she had been quickly surrounded by a squad of security officers. It had occurred to her that the formation bore a frightening resemblance to a movie firing squad.

She stood still while a guard fastened a webbed belt and wrist restraints to her. Kimber had taken the opportunity to look around. Several Marines were watching the procedure from just down the corridor.

None of them looked happy.

Two files of men had formed around her and marched a few paces down the corridor to the next room.

There they had halted and the guards had gone to collect Halley Trevanon. The two women had given each other quick smiles of reassurance as their eyes met. After Halley had been shackled, the squad formed up and marched them to a tube station. There had ensued another argument between the civil guards and the military. The argument had ended with the chief security officer waving a piece of writing plastic beneath the nose of a Major of Marines. They had then climbed into several tube cars and disappeared into the transport system.

Kimber had not been surprised when the cars surfaced inside the Government Tower tube station. She and Halley had then been taken to an apartment in the upper reaches of the tower. There they had been unshackled and left alone.

They had allowed themselves the luxury of a tearful reunion. Kimber had never realized how much a friendly face could mean to a person, even one as tear streaked as her own. She and Halley had then spent most of the night talking over what the future might hold. Sometime after Second Midnight, they had parted and gone to sleep in separate bedrooms.

"Finished?" Halley asked after Kimber had sipped a second cup of tea.

"Finished," she confirmed. "I guess I'll get up, take a shower, and see if I can't make myself more presentable.

"Take your time."Kimber felt almost happy after washing her hair, combing it out, and putting on a bare minimum of makeup. She found a robe like Halley's and put it on. Let them do their damnedest, she thought, as she opened the door from her bedroom. She found Halley just replacing the comm unit handset in its cradle.

"What's up?"

"That was Kelt Dalishaar's secretary. She asked if we would be able to meet with him in an hour."

"I wonder how he knew we were awake."

Halley glanced up at the ceiling. Her manner was of someone looking for listening and spy devices.

Kimber felt stupid for having asked such a silly question. "Well then, I suppose we'd best get dressed."

Halley nodded. "Something tells me that it's time for those hot pincers."

Dalishaar strode into the apartment like a long lost relative. Kimber had chosen to meet him in a black jumpsuit while Halley was in a red dress. Both outfits had come from the apartment's well-stocked closets.

"Good afternoon, Miss Trevanon. Hello, Kimber. It's good to see both of you again." Dalishaar bowed deeply and kissed each of their hands in turn.

"First Councilor," Kimber replied, nodding.

When Halley said nothing, Dalishaar glanced up with a quizzical look on his face. He still held her hand as he smiled. "Wehave met, have we not, Miss Trevanon? You were the one who stayed behind in my office and pirated my private computer files, I believe."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Come now. You are being disingenuous. You left me a note telling me what you had done. Sort of a last taunt. It worked, by the way. I was furious at you for wrecking my plan to gain dominance over the ruling council."

"I still don't know what you're talking about."

Dalishaar sighed and released her hand. "I can see that you will need convincing. May I be seated?"

"Please," Kimber said, gesturing at the sofa that dominated the suite's living room. Dalishaar sprawled across the sofa and waited for the two women to seat themselves in chairs before him. He seemed entirely at ease.

"First of all, you should thank me for getting you away from the Navy. With what you both know of their activities, you might not have lived very long in their custody."

"And we will do better as your prisoners?"

"Considerably better, Miss Crawford, if we come to an agreement."

"Are you saying the Navy didn't approve our transfers?" Halley asked.

Dalishaar laughed. "Approve, Miss Trevanon? They hated it! Admiral Samorset was furious when hefound out. Luckily, I chose a time when he and Blount were away organizing the defense. You should be safe here, at least, for now."

"Why do you care about what happens to us?"

"That should be obvious. The Navy has possession of the energy screen data. The two of you were on Earth, so you know what it means to have a monopoly on such knowledge. It was my original plan to obtain that information secretly, and then present it as afait accompli to the ruling council. It would have been a considerable feather in my cap, as well as being a good thing for humanity."

"I don't think it would have been good for humanity at all," Halley said.