Freedom's Challenge

Chapter Nine.

RETREAT BUZZED WITH A BARELY CONtained excitement when Kris brought Zane up to the crlche before reporting to her shift on the com watch in the hangar. Some of the buzz sounded ominous but then there had been a lot of criticism about taking on more problem groups: like sick and disabled ex-slaves. The Victims could not have been left on Barevi: everyone admitted that. Now! Especially since all but thirty of the original group had responded to the trauma therapy. The remainder, Dorothy sadly reported, had been too damaged to reach.

But the psychologist felt that the ratio of recoveries was very good indeed. Even Dr. Hessian had had to admit that her program had been the proper one… in this instance. He was happily at work helping the disturbed children in a blend, Dorothy had said with a perfectly straight face, of both traditional therapies.

Kris always allowed ample time to walk Zane up to the crlche so she had some to spare and stopped in the main mess hall to sample the general temper.

"Are they still trying to burst our Bubble?" asked Fred Gambino, who was serving coffee. "Only one cup allowed, you know."

"That's better than none. I've really missed my caffeine hits," she said.

"And no, the Bubble's holding."

Fred leaned across the counter. "I got a place picked out where I'll never be found."

"You do?" Kris managed to imbue her tone with surprise and amusement. "I doubt you'll need it."

"You sure?"

"Sure as I can be about anything apart from death and taxes, and we don't pay taxes here, now do we?"

"Hmm. Well, it may come to that… taxes, I mean."

"Weren't you among those who met the Farmers, Fred?"

He gave her a long look. "Yeah…"

"Haven't they done what they promised? Kept us safe here on Botany?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, hold that thought because that Bubble's there to stay."

"Yeah, but where are the Farmers if we need them? They don't have any satellites buzzing about us like the Catt-'cuse me-Eosi do."

"Who's to say they haven't?"

That brought his eyebrows up but she put one finger to her lips and winked. A harmless enough white lie if it helped reduce panic.

"Thought the Farmers were sent a message?"

"They were. I suspect that they have a lot of other planets and systems to manage, too. If we really get into trouble, they'll be back. They don't approve of injuring any species."

"I know one I'd like to take apart, bit by bit," Fred said, making tearing motions with his hands.

Kris merely smiled at him, took her coffee and a hunk of fresh bread, and found a table at the side where she had a good view of those eating.

Fred had probably expressed what many were thinking or fretting about.

And he had a hidey-hole picked out? Interesting.

Fragments of arguments, some of them heated, reached her. Most concerned the possibility that the Bubble would be breached. She heard snatches of complaint about being saddled with more groups who wouldn't pull their own weight. Community service hours were long enough as it was and why did they have to keep on increasing the population. There were already enough here. Some were earnestly discussing the deplorable conditions on Earth and would they have to go back and help rebuild, just when Botany was beginning to have at least some amenities. Where would coffee grow on this planet? All right, rationing at least gave everyone a cup a day but when you were used to having as much as you wanted, a cup barely got you started. How much more food crops would they have to plant to feed more new arrivals? What would happen if a Catteni warship did manage to sneak through the Bubble? Or one of the ships that left so precipitously got captured and was used to penetrate the Bubble with all the Eosi ships right after it? That could happen, couldn't it? There were Humans who were vile enough to collaborate with the Catteni, weren't there? Shocking to turn against your own kind like that. One of the nearer tables composed of women only were discussing how best to cope with the outrageous behavior of their foster children. The waifs had initially seemed so happy to have the basic essentials instead of having to scrounge whatever they could, you'd think they'd be more grateful to be well fed, well housed and not complain about the chores they were assigned. Everyone worked on Botany. This colony didn't tolerate freeloaders. Didn't hurt anyone to sweat? Making bricks wasn't that hard. Or weeding.

Then Kris realized she'd better make tracks for the hangar and her shift.

BABY WASN'T THERE, but then, the plan had been for it to be used for a fast round-trip to obtain sufficient olkiloriti. One of the K's was gone but not the KDL, which she had crewed on so often with Zainal. She took over the com watch from Matt Su.

"They're still pounding away," he told her as he rose from the station.

"My ears burn from some of the stuff they're saying about us and… what they'll do when they get in."

"Well, they can't and they won't," Kris said because there was just the hint in the Chinese's dark eyes that he was worried. "They have tried the heaviest stuff they have, haven't they?"

"Then why haven't they just left?" Matt asked, dubious.

"Well, the shah will hit the fit if they fail. More likely, they just don't know when to give up."

"That Mentat Ix is some mule," Matt said. "It's roaring more and more, and I think it axed some of the captains. I'm hearing new names."

"Maybe it'll have another fit and die," Kris said, very much wishing that was possible. Though how Lenvec's subsumed personality could have had any' effect on his host Eosi, she didn't know. She'd ask Zainal. The Ix was certainly the b amp;e no/re-wanting Zainal's hide for sure.

SHE STOOD HER WATCH, collected Zane, and took a turn at playing with other children: some of the five-year-olds who had been rescued. Most of them had to be taught games that children seemed to know instinctively.

"Well, none of them had a childhood, did they?" Anna Bollinger said, treating Kris in a very stiff and almost insulting manner, as if somehow this were Kris' fault. "Some of their personal habits are revolting:'

Ah, thought Kris, she doesn't want her litde darlings corrupted, does she?

"At least they have good role models now," Kris said mildly, pointing to Anna's well-grown youngster, nattering away to two boys, so undernourished at five that her three-year-old appeared older.

"I'd prefer that Jackie had proper children his own age to play with."

"Jackie seems to feel that it is his job to rectify their ignorance;' Kris said. Chattering away, Jackie was showing the others how to build a little cabin out of the small logs that had been whittled as toys. They watched, their faces expressionless, even if their faces were now clean and their cheeks rounder and tanned.

One of them sent a foot into the log cabin and scattered the blocks.

Anna gave an exclamation of concern but Kris caught her arm. "Let's see how Jackie handles it first:'

"Really, Kris, you exceed your authority. I'm in charge of the…:' Her voice trailed off as Jackie's reached the two women.

"Now that was very naughty of you," he said, hands on his hips and sounding exactly like his mother. "You collect them, and we'll start over. On Botany, we make things. We don't break them. That's what the Catteni do and you don't want to be Catteni, do you?"

The boys glanced over at the two women watching: Anna's expression was stern enough to frighten anyone. Kris grinned and made a gesture that suggested that it was wiser to obey. After a little more hesitation, possibly to show that they were making up their own minds about this, they bent to gather up the logs.

A little girl caught her finger on something sharp and she came rushing over to them, sobbing. Anna's whole countenance altered to one of concern and sympathy. Kris let her handle the consolation and first aid. For all her other faults, Anna was a very good mother and the children-at least the Botany-born-trusted her.

ZAINAL WAS IN THEIR CABIN when she returned with Zane and their evening rations from the main mess hall. He was busy with lists and diagrams and a curious gadget on the table, which, when she picked it up, Kris recognized as an inhaler bulb. The sort she'd seen asthmatics on earth use to forestall an attack.

"Think you can get close enough to a Mentat to give him a dose of this?" she asked.

Zainal looked up, saw the bulb, and took it from her. He squeezed it.

"There's nothing in it," he said as she instinctively swatted it away from his face.

Her heart pounding, she exhaled. "Don't scare me like that:'

Zainal chuckled.

"Baby got off all right? The Ix was still at it when I finished my shift."

"They must have ordnance-that's the English word, isn't it-"

"Right on;' Kris grinned.

"Resupply vessels. Only a Mentat would continue like this," he said.

"The Mentat, who once was your brother," she said and when he nodded, she continued. "Is there any connection? I mean, would… the Lenvec personality have any influence on the Mentat?"

Zainal leaned back, idly sliding a pencil through his fingers, up and down on the surface of the table.

"It could, but I'm,not certain how. The subsumation takes in the entire personality and then the dominant Mentat is in total control…" He paused. "Although it was the Ix Mentat, once my brother, who investigated Ayres Rock and then seemed to be searching over the sea we were safely under… possibly for me."

Kris began to assemble dishes and utensils to serve their meal. Zane was playing with his goes-inters-the shapes that Zainal had made for him to fit together. These afforded the child hours of pleasure. As she leaned over to put a glass before Zainal, she got a better look at the diagrams.

"Isn't that the space station?"

He nodded.

"When is the brave captain Venlik and his crew likely to set out for another mining expedition?"

Zainal gave a shrug. "First Baby has to return. Then we have to wait to see what Beverly finds out about the other drop planets.

"There's a good deal of feeling that Botany's population is large enough right now," she said.

"We know," he said and jotted down something else in a combination of Catteni and English. He gave her a wry smile as she chuckled at the mish-mash. "It is difficult for me now to remember which language to think in for the words I need."

The barrage of the Bubble continued but in nowhere near the force that had been first launched against it. All four Catteni found that amusing as well as reassuring.

"It takes time to call in sufficient Mentats and senior Eosi to deal with an obsession like the Ix's," Zainal explained. "I will worry more when it stops," OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, certainly while Baby was on her mission, Kris sensed that Zainal was hiding something. She couldn't think what because they had had no previous secrets from each other, and he was as willing as ever to talk about any subject: especially the upcoming forays.

Several times Zainal was dragged out of bed in the middle of their sleep period to race to the hangar to speak to some of the Catteni dissidents on the com link. He used a code that had proved successful. At least none of their group had been arrested by Eosi, or suspected by High Emassi supervisors.

The bombardment turned sporadic and occasionally a force tried to penetrate another point on the Bubble, or several at once, since they had failed to pierce it with all their might.

Kasturi, Tubdin, and Kamiton-not so much Nitin, though the older man, for all his pessimism, seemed to be a vital key in the subversive ac-tions-were able, by means of careful codes, to be in contact with many of their adherents. What was being set up, Zainal did not say, or if even something was. Contact had to be made, though, especially with those dissidents in command positions on other Catteni-dominated planets.

"We have to be sure our people are warned, and ready, to take over.

They must take control;' Zainal did tell her. "We could lose one or two but more would be disastrous. We've worked so long and hard to get our men where they are right now."

"A good point. Have you someone on all the Eosi-controlled planets and installations?"

He shook his head. "Hardly. There are a great many more than we have personnel to cover but the most critical positions are."

BABY RETURNED with the harvest of olkiloriti leaves. Raisha had reminded Chief Materu that this dust was a weapon of significant power so he helped to make it on that condition. Parmitoro had shown them how he preferred to prepare the powder and taken his turn at the mortar, working alongside the other Humans of the crew.

Although the back of the job had been broken on the way home, Leon had off-duty personnel from the infirmary helping to complete the manufacturing process. There was also a small, very dirty, and scraped box of inhalers among the supplies Baby had had time to collect, but the bulbs had not been broken.

"We went all over the place," Raisha said, presenting it with due ceremony to Leon. "I thought we'd have to scavenge from drugstores, where we could find any not already cleaned out. But we got in touch with the underground, and they found us these. Are they enough?"

Leon rubbed away enough of the mud to check the quantity. "Three dozen ought to be enough."

"Enough for what?" Kris asked.

"For the job to be done."

"There are a hundred Eosi," she said.

"Catch 'em all in the same spot and that'll do it."

"And here, we got the nose plugs in a scuba diving place Bert Put suggested."

And Raisha handed over a smaller rectangular box.

"For them who shouldn't breath deeply;' Kris said, quite relieved to know that Zainal and his friends weren't going on some sort of a suicide mission, sacrificing themselves to get all the Eosi.

JOHN BEVERLY RETURNED with cheering news, having left behind some volunteers to help. And bad news, because two of the planets were inimical to Humans. Remnants of the usual Catteni crates and supplies had been found, bits and pieces of gnawed leather but no sign of a Human, even when they had done a low-altitude search for life signs. Nor any Deski, Ru-garians, Turs, or other known "slave" species. On the other three planets that had been used as experimental colonies, people had made the best of what was available. Although on one, even the Human groups had widely separated and wished no contact with others, especially the other species.

The other two had not turned to any form of anarchy or lawlessness but formed communities not unlike Botany's.

"Common sense prevailed," John Beverly told those who assembled in the open hangar to hear him, "although they were very grateful indeed for some of the supplies we brought:'

"Did they give you any shopping lists?" Sandy Areson called out.

"Oh, yes," John agreed. "Our compatriots on Dystopia…:' some of the audience groaned, others laughed, "offered the most amazing amount of metals, gemstones, gold, silver, and stuff to purchase any spare ship we'd give them."

"Do 'em no good unless they have an Emassi," someone else said, and Kris smiled appreciatively at this oblique salute to Zainal.

Since Kris was privy to so many of the Head Council meetings, she knew that the medical situation on Dystopia, NoName (because no one had come up with a name which a majority could approve) and Dorado's attitude toward alien species made it low on the list of help. Dystopia and NoName were at the top for whatever could be spared of medical instruments and medicines that would supplement what the colonists had found useful and effective by the same sort of trial-and-error method the colonists on Botany had used. That meeting concluded that basic medications, part of the results of their raids on Catteni-held Earth, and what extra medical equipment could be spared should be delivered as soon as feasible.

"When we explained, they did say that they'd even consider working with an Emassi, if this is what resulted/' and he waved over at the G-ship.

"So we got friendly neighbors, establishing the banners of Humankind.

Kinda good to know."

NATHAN BAXTER had been one of John's crew in his professional capacity as photographer. He had brought back pictures of the other planets, both from space and on the surface, including some group photos of inhabitants and examples of how they had settled in. When these were developed, there were lines of those waiting to see the pictures up on the bulletin board outside the mess hall.

The infirmary actually treated more work injuries than diseases so, between what Kris had got on Barevi and others had found on Earth, they had enough to share. A second trip, and three cargo holds of wheat and dried rocksquat and loo-cow flesh, was planned. Microscopes, surgical tools, and other basic supplies were packed. Dystopia had only Humans while both NoName and Dorado had mixed populations. So some plursaw was sent along for the Deski inhabitants. The Turs had killed each other off in some sort of a bloody battle that had also taken many Human lives.

There had been no official census taken on any of the other planets but, during his flyby of the surfaces, John Beverly estimated that all three had more inhabitants than Botany.

"Basically, we're way ahead on the amenities," he told the Council. "I'd suggest we try to set up some sort of a com link…"

"Not with the Catteni ships likely to make more drops," Rastancil said.

"Which reminds me, John/' Ray began, "did you see much Catteni traffic in space?"

"We kept our com open all the time and there was a lot of chatter on the various channels, but I'd no really fluent Catteni speaker aboard. There was a lot of interference, too. Jamming, I think."

"Possibly high-security messages," Zainal said, after asking Kamiton a quick question in Catteni. To which Kamiton nodded. "Many?"

"com officers logged them if you want to check the records," John said.

Kasturi leaned forward eagerly. "Ask if they kept voice records?"

"Oh yes," Beverly grinned toothily. "We figured you guys might be able to understand them;'

"You have them?" Kasturi stood up, eagerly holding out his hand.

The ex-air force general laughed as he reached for the sack that he had deposited on the floor at the beginning of the meeting and handed it over.

"Every last one we caught;'

"We leave. We listen. Where?" Kamiton asked Ray.

Ray glanced at Kris, jerking his thumb toward his private office, and she pushed back her chair to lead the way. She stayed to help because while Kamiton had been learning English with almost the same speed that Zainal had, neither could write English without a lot of false starts. So Kasturi made the initial transcriptions and then she and Kamiton translated them.

"They are convening the Mentats," Kamiton said suddenly, when they had gone through about half the recordings. He raised both arms, waving his fists with great satisfaction. He and Kasturi exchanged broad and gratified smiles.

"So how are you going to dust them?" Kris said, leaning back to rub the taut muscles of her neck and shoulders.

"Dust?" Kamiton asked.

She pantomimed inhaling and then fell to one side, twitching, as Kami-ton had done.

"Ah, plant dust. Yes, we are thinking;'

That was the same answer that Zainal gave her later that night when they finally returned home. Once again she had had to leave Zane to sleep over in the crlche but instinctively her head had turned to where his crib was when they entered the door.

"He is safe," Zainal said gently, circling her shoulders with one arm and drawing her toward the bedroom.

"I know that," she said, almost peevishly. "Sorry," she added instantly, rubbing at her neck again. "All that thinking in one language and writing down in another gave me a headache."

His strong fingers pushed hers out of the way and he began a restorative massage, all the time easing her toward their room. She chuckled. But she was not at all unwilling. Especially when the fingers of his other hand began to massage elsewhere.

WHEN SHE WOKE the next morning, and it was morning, not dawn, so she had been very tired indeed, his space in the bed was empty. She allowed herself the luxury of a leisurely awakening. She needed a shower so she took that, since the solar panel would have warmed the cistern water by now. Her hair was growing out from its last crop but she'd have to endure that again for the KDL's next spurious trip back to Catten. It was while she was soaping herself that she noticed a bulge in her abdomen and felt it. Firm and… She stopped and didn't move until the water turned cold once the tank had emptied. Her mind rapidly did a series of figuring, taking into account the length of the Botany day, the number of days since her last period and when she had had it."Could she have been fertile on Catten? Could she be pregnant by Chuck Micford? He'd been too drunk to… hadn't he?

But when she began to fasten the belt to her overall, she realized that she was buckling it two holes up from the usual one. She sat down heavily, as much because she needed to sit to put on her boots as to gather her stunned wits. Not that she would really mind having Chuck's child. But she hadn't been nauseated or had any morning sickness and her breasts weren't that tender-yes, they were a tad sore, but last night could account for that.

"Stop fooling yourself, Kris Bjornsen," she said out loud.

Well, it could be worse. But she couldn't tell Zainal. At least not yet.

He wouldn't let her crew the KDL, not if it was going back to the heavy gravity of Catten. Though gravity oughtn't to interfere with her pregnancy, not if she wasn't even showing the usual discomforts. She figured again. She was well into the first trimester. But she didn't want to have to admit a preg nancy, just when things were getting so interesting. And Zainal would need her help, wouldn't he?

She looked at the time. She did a swift deduction for the longer Botany day, reset the watch to what would be the local hour and figured she had time to see Zane, take him along to the mess hall and get her cup of coffee and something to eat while she played with her son. Boy, there'd be some explaining later on when each separately sired child wanted to know why.

No, why should they know why? That was the Botany way of doing things, not the Terran one. And even if they did manage to get Earth back-no, Kris Bjornsen, not if but when Earth was returned to its proper owners and governments-she intended to stay here on Botany. Catteni, even erstwhile heroes like Zainal, might not be appreciated on Earth for some time to come.

TODAY she had to comply with Botany ethics, which required everyone to do some "dirty work." She had drawn KP but that happened so infrequently that she could almost consider it a vacation day. Well, a change was as good as a rest.

She had her breakfast with Zane who was a vacuum cleaner at breakfast time the way he gobbled his cereal. Sarah joined her with her three children and offered to take Zane to the crche.

"Maizie's getting to be quite a help," Sarah said, smiling at the much-too-sober-faced orphan she was fostering. "Will you hold Zane's hand?"

Maizie nodded after a quick, too-mature evaluation of Zane. Then, with what was for this five-year-old an almost daring action, she picked another piece of toast from the plate in the center of the table. In an absent fashion, Sarah passed her the jar of sweet berry jam. Sighing with relief, Maizie slathered the jam over her piece.

"Yes, I saw that;' Sarah said without turning toward Maizie. "She is improving.

Now if we can get her to talk. I know she understands every word I say. Maybe I should have made her ask for the toast;' and Sarah made a grimace, then sighed. "It's hard to know:'

"What does Dorothy say?"

Sarah made a second, self-accusing grimace, "That I shouldn't just give her what I know she wants but make her ask for it." Then she laughed in a self-deprecating way. "When I think how firm I was with Tony here…"

and she broke off with a weak laugh.

"She may just start talking all on her own once she knows she's really, truly, genuinely safe, won't you, Maizie dear?" Kris said, smiling as she leaned toward the girl.

"Yes," Maizie said quite distinctly and continued licking the jam off her mouth with a pink tongue.

Kris and Sarah exchanged stunned glances.

"Would you like another piece of toast, Maizie?"

"Yes;' She reached toward the last one on the plate.

Sarah immediately snatched it out of reach, and Maizie sort of crouched in surprised terror. Quickly Sarah shoved the plate back in reach but Kris intercepted.

"First, it's good manners to say, 'yes, thank you: Can you manage that after 'yes'?"

Maizie, her face recovering its color, looked from Kris to the plate Sarah still held.

"Thank you;' came the almost inaudible reply.

"You're quite welcome," Kris said formally and removed her hand.

Still watching her, Maizie took the piece of toast but she didn't pick up the spoon to spread the jam.

"Would you like more jam with your toast?" Sarah asked.

"Yes… thank you." This time it was more audible.

"You may have jam with your tea, too," Kris said, as proud of Maizie's little step forward as Sarah was.

As it was time for Kris to start her day's work, she hunkered down by her son.

"Maizie's going to take you with her to the crche, Zane. Give me a hug and be a good boy."

Zane threw his arms about her neck and she could tell she had jam there for she had missed a patch earlier in wiping his mouth. Then she put his hand into Maizie's and watched, with a deep sigh, as the two small people followed Sarah who was carrying her youngest.

BABY REACHED THE HOLLOW ASTEROID where Kamiton had stashed his spaceship. They could take no chances with a ship of dubious identity. Nitin, ever the pessimist, had voiced a serious concern that, especially with a convocation of Mentats requiring extra security measures, a vessel that had supposedly been destroyed or lost could not suddenly appear. Security checks could be extremely thorough. They must cover every contingency, including the two non-Catteni crew members. Chuck Mitford at least passed, and his knowledge of both Catten and Barevi was an asset. Lean and tall, the Australian Bert Put, who might have to pilot Kamiton's ship, would never pass as a Catten. A hide must be constructed for him.

It was Bert who suggested it. The lower crew bunk in each bank had three drawers for the personal belongings. That meant just enough space under the lower bunk to accommodate Bert if the drawers were left ajar. As the general mess in any crew quarters, short of an inspection by a High Emassi, was never very tidy, half-open drawers, with contents half-in and half-out would be unexceptional. The credentials which Nitin had supplied for the unquestionably Catteni members had been genuine with support documentation on the files of the administration. There were even a few more that would pass the most rigorous inspection.

It was as well that such attention to detail had been observed for Kami-tons vessel had to pass five separate full inspections to be passed to land on Catten. There would have been more had the conspirators tried to land on the station.

There had, however, been a very tense moment when an Emassi captain who knew Kamiton quite well was the inspecting officer. He had given the vessel and the documentation only a cursory inspection but settled himself in the mess for an update on Kamiton's latest exploration.

Kamiton had played out his part with laudable indolence, ordering Chuck and Nitin to provide food for their guest.

Bert, sweating in his hiding hole, worried about Zainai, Tubelin, and Kasturi on the KDL. But it was laden with ores-all in the useful platinum groups-that would make it so welcome any suspicion of its genuineness would be overlooked. Nitin had also supplied the nonCatteni members of the crew with equally authentic documentation. Since their destination was the refinery area of the planet, well away from the main city, they ought not to be in any danger.

Nitin had so picked at that first part of the overall scheme that even he had come to be satisfied with its high chance of success. About the rest he was only certain that he had done all he could to ensure the possibility of success: not, he was quick to add, the prot, ahility.

"Too many things could go wrong. Our group could have been infiltrated and our plans known…"

"Only so much of the plan," Karoiron interjected. "When"' Karoitoh stressed the conjunction, "we get down on Catten and when we have contacted the rest of us, I think you will raise the odds in favor of probability:'

Karoitoh turned his head ever so slightly to see ZainaI taking a few more sips of water, all that he was allowing himself since he had designated his role in their plan. He hoped that Zainal would not overdo the starvation he had deemed necessary to the success of their stratagem. One did not underestimate an Emassi of Zainal's proven ability.

He was however glad to change into his own ship and let others do what was necessary to improve on Zainal's disguise.

Well, as soon as this niggit left, Karoitoh thought, they could proceed.

This appeared to be the last of the space inspections. He had never seen so many security shuttles and craft zipping around the planet before. Ah, well, there hadn't been a full convocation of Mentats during his lifetime.

And, with any luck, this would be the last. The most that ever had assembled since he had taken up his adult duties had been ten; He rather doubted that some of those farthest from Catten would make the journey but who ever came would receive a lasting reward for their trouble. He did spare a thought for those on the KDL. He really wanted to get the dependents away to the safety of Botany. Good idea of Zainal's on several counts: one of them being that Kasturi had a girl child and so didTubelin: mates for Bazil and Peran. That way some of their families would survive the blood bath that would be certain to follow a failure. But this time, they would not fail.

Karoitoh grinned and fortunately his smile coincided with some fatuous remark of the security Emassi, and Karoitoh rose, able to signal that they really had best end their conversation.

They landed on the field they had been directed by security to use.

Then proceeded, as planned, in a ground vehicle to Kamiton's quarters in a secluded area of the city where many Emassi kept temporary units. As Kamiton disarmed the alarm system, it blinked its message that persons still within the apartment had recently deactivated it. Kamiton warned the others by silently pointing at the message and took out his stun weapon, setting it on medium.

"Kamiton?" and, as that was Zainal's voice, Kamiton reholstered the weapon with relief.

He stopped in the doorway to his main room, shocked at Zainal's altered appearance, and quickly looked beyond the haggard man to the other members of the KDL group and ignored Zainal's battered and nerve-whip lashed body.

ZAINAL REMAINED IN SECLUSION when the others went out on their individual errands of contacting other dissidents and setting in motion the next step of the scheme. If some of the dependents objected to being forced to leave their comfortable homes in the middle of the night, carrying only basic necessities, they were silenced by the dire consequences of ignoble deaths or futures if they chose to stay behind. By dawn, the empty ore carrier, the KDL was aloft and received only the most cursory of queries by security patrol ships as it proceeded at a leisurely speed out of Catteni space. As soon as it was in relatively empty space, the KDL would run at maximum speed, red-lining if necessary to be sure the dependents were safely at Botany before the last of the Mentats arrived, and more were assembling in their fast and comfortable ships every time period.

ON THE FIFTH DAY after the KDL had departed, Kamiton received the short burst of code from their space station colleague.

"Ugred;' said Kamiton when he had translated the message, "says that there are only two more Mentats and four juniors scheduled to arrive. All should be in place by morning."

"Everything else is ready?" Zainal asked. He spent a lot of time on his belly buffered by the softest material Kamiton's quarters contained since his back had been lashed by nerve whips. He rather thought Kasturi had enjoyed that exercise a little too much, but the disguise had to pass any close inspection. He wasn't sure, at this point, which annoyed him most-the necessary wounds or the equally necessary starvation.

The medic among their secret group had injections ready to sustain him-but these would only last so long and would have to be administered in the last safe moment on the space station. If they made it that far.

"Everything essential to the operation is in place, or so Ugred said in his last message. The presence of so many Mentats has everyone nervous, agreed, but one more security vessel is not likely to cause any unnecessary attention. And Ugred will have issued a special clearance to the duty officer in case he cannot himself be there."

"Waiting is always hard," Kasturi remarked to no one in particular.

No one had an answer for such a truism.

"Any message from Chuck and Bert?" Zainal broke the silence to ask.

Kamiton shook his head. "No message is good:'

Zainal fell into a light dose, which he did more often than he liked, but it helped him to conserve energy. He went over and over the plan, fretting that Chuck and Bert who had remained aboard Kamiton's ship might be discovered. He reassured himself that the ex-marine sergeant, with his knowledge of both Barevi and Catteni, could handle any eventuality. He would be able to move about the huge field, would be able to listen to any rumor in the mess on the field where other Drassi were awaiting the return of their captains. Most of the talk was about the Mentats coming to Cat-ten and everyone wondering what it was all about.

The variety of speculations amused Chuck, but he added a few little tweaks to find out just how popular Eosi rule was. It was not. No one said so in so many words, for that was dangerous, but many lowly Drassi were unhappy with their lot, with their Emassi, and the crazy planet that was resisting unexpectedly. Some Drassi boasted of the loot they and their officer had come back with, though a lot of the stuff that wasn't edible or potable hadn't seemed worth the fuel to transport it back to Catten.

As it was normal for a ship to be securely locked when empty, Chuck did so, which meant Bert had some freedom of movement. Chuck had arranged a code remark so that Bert would know to resume hiding if someone might be snooping about the scout ship. And Bert was also there in case they received emergency messages and had to hightail it back to Botany. The package containing the new ID decals had arrived by special messenger on the first day, a fact that they confirmed to Kamiton in an innocuous report by his Drassi that the ship had been serviced and was awaiting his convenience.

Chuck never found waiting easy, and it was almost twice as bad in the heavier gravity of Catten. At least, when he and Bert were safely alone on the ship, they could play poker. Right now, Bert owed him a small fortune and had suggested bezique as a change of game. Chuck had learned that game from an English commando and, though he didn't win as often, he didn't lose much either.

WORKING KITCHEN DUTY on Botany had a few rewards, like first samplings of the day s baking and first serving of lunch, before the crowds started in. There were always options: sandwiches which people could take to eat elsewhere, or a quick snack of soup and bread at a table, or a more leisurely meal. On a fair summer's day like today, many chose to take their food outside and enjoy the fine weather. That meant less washing up to be done. Paper plates had once been discussed but paper was too valuable for other necessities to be wasted when pottery was available. Pottery and some finer china as well, now that Sandy had a full kiln again, bigger than her first ones at Ayres Rock on the Farmers' continent. Those who had bartered for a fine china plate did not use it to eat off ofespecially the hand-painted ones, which were hung as wall decorations or displayed on the mantelpiece.

Since this sort of mechanical work required no great mental effort, Kris occupied her thoughts with whether or not she should say anything about her pregnancy. She had imaginary discussions with Mavis, who did a lot of the midwifery, about the effects of heavier gravity on an unborn child. She ran several scenarios on telling Chuck that he was going to be a father-even if both of them had been too drunk to know what they were doing.

That was almost a pity, in a way, but in another, a relief. Chuck might well be mortified to think he had abused her-but, hell, she hadn't resisted and she could have-since he seemed to be seeing a lot of Dorothy Dwardie.

Kris rather hoped her having Chuck's child wouldn't complicate that arrangement.

She'd be quite willing to explain the circumstances to Dorothy. It certainly hadn't been premeditated… not in that gravity! She shook her head because she kept trying to imagine how they had managed, both of them damned near wrecked with the heaviness and alcohol. But not completely wrecked, Kris told herself. Let's face that fact squarely. I'll simply have to give up drinking any more than a glass of hooch unless Zainal is with me.

About then, she realized that she had seen none of the Council eating in the mess hall. She'd been out in the main hall often enough, making sure that surfaces were clean for the next diners or picking up stray cups and glasses. There were still folks who did not know to clear their tables off.

She had an hour's rest before she was expected to help with the supper.

So, though she had half an urge to go spend it with Zane, her feet and legs were aching and, if she wished to be efficient this evening, she'd better put them up now.

She almost fell asleep but someone dropping a kettle in the kitchen roused her, and she jumped to her feet and went back in to her duties.

She was tired enough when she got home to shower with Zane, who loved mommy showers, before stowing him in bed. Then she stretched out her weary legs and aching feet up on the bed and arranged the pillows behind her. In broad daylight, she thought in self-deprecation, but she'd just take a short nap.

She was roused, in the dark, wondering what had awakened her. Zainal wasn't back yet from wherever he'd been working that day. He'd been on the duty roster in the hangar with the other Catteni. Probably kept late at a session of the infamous Ways and Means Committee. That thought amused her as she turned over on her side, the one that would face Zainal when he came to bed, and she went back to sleep.

She had the next morning off, but was due on shift at the com unit for the afternoon. But when she and Zane reached the mess hall for breakfast, the place was full of the exciting news that, sometime during the night, the Eosi ships had given up their attack and left.

She was as excited as everyone else and wondered where Zainal and the other Catteni were. Everyone was as dizzy with relief as she was. But that didn't mean she'd have the shift off. For all anyone knew, the Eosi had only taken a breather to reload or something.

She did look around for Chuck, but didn't spot him. She should inform him of his imminent fatherhood. She should also, she told herself sternly, make an appointment for a prenatal checkup at the infirmary. And find out, if she could, about the effects of gravity on the unborn. What had that tide been: "The Effects of Moonlight on Man in the Moon Marigolds"? No, no, no. So she bored around in her memory for the exact title. She'd read the book-oh so very long ago now. In another life entirely. "The Man in the Moon Marigolds…;' no, that wasn't it, either.

Suddenly Mavis rushed up to her. "Kris, can you help us? We have a concussion patient. Needs someone with him, and we're short of staff since John took a bunch off on his run to Dystopia and the other two."

"I'm due on com watch," she said, and Mavis waved that aside.

"Beth can take that. She's got enough Catteni. It's Bart, and I know you like him and he likes you."

"Bart?" Kris was instantly on her feet. "What happened?" she asked as she and Mavis made their way out of the hall. 'I'll just drop Zane off.

How'd Bart get a concussion?"

"Fell off his ladder putting slates on the roof. Nearly splattered his brains on the flagstones. He should pull round but we need some one to monitor him in case there's a significant change."

"That's me."

Maizie was at the gate into the fenced area, and she blinked in pleasure at the sight of Zane in Kris' arms.

"One day that child will surprise herself and smile;' Mavis said.

"Maizie, Maizie, Maizie;' Zane chanted, reaching for her and Kris lifted him over the pickets.

"Yes, thank you," Maizie said very distinctly.

"You're quite welcome," and to Sally Stoffer, "I'll be at the infirmary."

B Y THE FIFTH H OUR, Kris would have changed duties with anyone.

Glad as she was to sit after yesterday's kitchen duty, enough was enough.

Bart was on one of the cardiac monitors but that didn't give much indication of what was happening in his cranium. His color, generally a dark creamed-coffee, was not tinged with any lividity. The wound had been sutured and sealed with nu-skin, another of the items "liberated" from hospital stores on Earth. She'd seen enough of Mayock's neat handiwork to recognize it. Nine stitches from just above the hairline, skewed to the right brow. Quite a gash but it would be the fracture under the skin that would be worrying. Whatever X-ray had been taken was at the nurses' duty station.

Did no one notice that a state-of-the-art X-ray unit had gone missing on Earth?

IN HIS AIR-CONDITIONED OFFICE ON EARTH, Emassi Plovine, struggling with the printouts of ship IDs registered as landing in Catteni fields across the globe, was puzzled by some anomalies in the records. He had received a stern reprimand from the Mentat who had ordered the use of three G-class ships for the bombardment of that wretched enclosed planet, and Plovine had been unable to locate them. He had had interviews with four indignant Emassi who had reported, as ordered, to the bays where the G-ships should have been awaiting them, to find them gone.

Two from the main Catteni landing site, once named Houston, and one from the eastern continent. Reports of the departure of these ships seemed perfectly normal and the ships had taken off with no untoward problems.

Except that the duty officers had been told that the crew assignments had been altered. Since that happened frequently enough these days, with the Mentats being more erratic than ever, no one had questioned the changes.

Until the Ix Mentat had demanded, not requested, the Mentat in charge of subduing the Terran rebellions, to deliver all G-and-over-class ships available to help bombard the planet, which was defying Eosi control.

Plovine's search had been thorough but the results mystifying. Indeed, one cargo vessel full of slaves, due to be sent to one of the cold planets that had far too many slave deaths, had taken off with them on schedule but never arrived at its destination. The Emassi governor of that planet was now demanding more slaves or he would have to close down operations. Even Rassi could do this sort of work. Probably better. But, by edict of the Eosi, no Rassi was ever taken from Catten.

There was also the matter of huge charges made against the accounts of three K-class ships which he finally discovered have been written off as no longer in service: one had blown up in space, with suitable debris to make a positive identification of the KDL. Another had disappeared on a routine voyage. The third had taken off from Barevi with a full cargo but never arrived at its destination, and it had been in the company of a KDI of which there seemed to be two by that designation.

Not to mention the duplication of cargo vessels, both sent to a mining planet to collect ores. The cargo had been duly loaded onto a carrier, and later the ore had been logged into the refinery on Catteni, but a second ship had arrived at the mining planet two days after the first, expecting to load up immediately. The captain had lodged a formal complaint since he had had to wait until the mine superintendent had been able-by increasing the hours of his workforce-to extract enough ore to fill the second ship, as the Emassi of the cargo ship had no wish to return empty of goods and receive reprimands from his superiors.

"Very irregular, very irregular," Emassi Plovine said as he wrote up his findings. At least he had concrete proof that what he had discovered could be verified. Only where had so many ships disappeared? And did it matter?

WHEN ORDERS HAD COME from nineteen Mentats that the Ix Men-tat was to cease and desist its attempt to penetrate the Bubble, the juniors expected it to have a second seizure. The Ix Mentat could not, however, disobey such an order. It had to issue the commands to cease the barrage, despite the fact that resupply ships were on their way to this quadrant.

The Ix replied to that desist order by issuing a demand for a general meeting of Mentats to discuss an alarming and dangerous situation: one, which must be countered as quickly and efficiently as possible.

As the Ix Mentat had the power to call such a meeting, and most of the others of its age and service were as desirous of a meeting to find out why the Ix Mentat was wasting so much in its attempt to penetrate an obviously impenetrable barrier, the summons were sent out in coded bursts to those who would comprise such an assembly. Such a convocation of Mentats occurred rarely enough to provoke considerable speculation among the Emassi who zealously guarding their Mentats. For some, it meant a rare chance to visit the home world and families unseen in the decades of their service to a Mentat. For others, it meant giving up comfortable quarters to squeeze into whatever accommodations might be available on the space station. Of course, the Mentats would be safe on the station. Safer than they would be in the luxurious homes they kept on the surface of the planet.

Many other Emassi, not in personal service to the Eosi, decided to take the chance of arranging for personal interviews with Mentats about this favor or that new condition. So, many ships converged on Catten over the next few weeks while the Mentats returned from their far-flung dominions.

Codes had been set and, if the incoming ships properly answered these, the guardian ships protecting the space station allowed them to pass. A few could not and were immediately taken to one of Cattens moons until the Mentat convocation had ended.

Had Emassi Plovine been recalled from Earth, some of the anomalies he was searching for might have been solved: two vessels, a K-class and an exploratory scout, both listed as lost in space, would have been of particular interest to him. But he had forwarded his report to the Mentat Governor of Earth.

Ships that left Catten outward-bound were neither stopped nor searched by the patrols, though their departures were noted on the duty sheets.

BY THE TIME THE KDL RETURNED to Botany with the mates and families of fifty Emassi, Kris had already discovered that Zainal with his Catteni colleagues had left Botany and that the Ways and Means Committee had been disbanded. A lot of her usual friends, who had never been used as crew, were also missing. She finally cornered Coo who gave her a big Deski smile and said, "All gone. Fix valley."

"Fix? Fix for what, Coo?" Although images of Eosi trapped in an enclosed valley for the rest of their unnatural lives had a certain appeal to her, she did not think those were the intended "guests."

"I go help fix. Good idea."

No one else seemed to know, even Bart, who usually heard rumors other people didn't. He was on light duties since he was still on the sick list from the skull fracture.

"I don't know, and I gotta tell you, Kris, I hate like hell not knowing."

She agreed completely with Bart. Leon Dane was missing from the infirmary, and all Mavis could say, and she was telling the truth, was that he had taken off for a few days' rest.

She had Zane and, when she discovered that Sarah and Joe had gone off as well, leaving Maizie and Tony in the crche, she opted for a change of duty and worked in the crche instead of hangar duty. Maizie seemed to like her and, because Zane was learning to speak, it seemed a good idea to include Maizie in her informal lessons.

Ray Scott didn't avoid her and she could almost believe him when he said he didn't know where Zainal was, but that they'd gone off to make personal contact with other crucially situated dissidents.

"Every important position has to be covered by an Emassi who can be trusted, you know."

"Why?"

"That I don't know. Zainal got very reticent about his strategy," Ray said, and he seemed a bit annoyed with such reticence.

Bull Fetterman didn't know. Jim Rastancil was wherever everyone else had gone. Ainger was so annoyed that she wouldn't have asked him if he'd been the only person who did know.

Maizie learned to say "please," "thank you," "may I have…" and some other useful words and enunciated them more clearly than Zane did.

Clearly Maizie felt safer with him and Tony than with any of the other children, even those who had taken her into their orphan group.

Then one morning at the crche, Kris' com unit bleeped. It was Beggs.

"Admiral Scott requests that you proceed immediately to the hangar, and be prepared to stay at your destination for several days."

"How several? Can I bring Zane with me?"

"I have given you the information I have, and no, the child would not be an asset."

Just like Beggs to consider Zane an "asset" but she gave him a long smacking kiss and told Maizie that she would be back soon and left Maizie clinging to Zane as if he were the elder of the two. That didn't do her mood any good but she borrowed a runabout, slammed into her cabin and, as she was throwing a change and other needs into a pack, realized she had liquid dribbles drying all down the front of her. Fortunately she did have a recent issue of clothing and changed, cursing under her breath as she hauled the belt tight and then had to let it out over her expanding middle. As she stormed out, she got madder and madder-with Beggs and Scott. She was only halfway to the hangar when she heard the familiar sound of a space-ship coming in to land. Her heart beating faster, she threw the speed bar as far across as it would go and had the pleasure of being on the landing field when the KDL landed.

"Now, Emassi Zainal' she murmured, "you've some explaining to do."

"Kris, come on. It's only touching down to pick us up," Scott called over the loud noise of the idling ship engine, beckoning her to hurry. He looked her up and down with a very admiralish stare that made her realize that he was sharply dressed, too.

"If you don't tell me what's going on, Admiral Scott…:' she began as the ramp extruded partway: enough to jump up to the personnel hatch open in the cargo door.

'I'll explain it when we get where we're going. Climb aboard:'

She did because he was hauling away at her arms, and she refused to be manhandled even by Admiral Ray Scott.

She caught just a glimpse of a lot of people sitting or lying on the cargo level, and then he was guiding her toward the bridge, past Ninety who seemed to be standing guard. Which he well might have been because she realized that all the faces had been Catteni.

"What the hell…"

"They're the women and children of the dissidents who were based on Catten and therefore at risk;' Ray said, briskly urging her toward the bridge.

Well, she could understand the wisdom of getting dependants safely away from Eosian retaliation. The abuse that Zainal's two sons had suffered certainly made that a priority.

"Zainal got them out?"

"Ah, more or less. We're installing them in the largest of the enclosed valleys. They'll be safe there."

That made sense because not all of the Headquarters valley's buildings had been taken down, so expanding that facility was a perfect solution.

Then there was another aspect of a shipload of Catteni arriving at Retreat.

One Catteni, even four, wouldn't raise much resentment at Retreat, but an influx of mates and children could be a source of irritation.

Gino waved a backhanded "hi" in her direction, and Raisha shot a quick look around as the two pilots lifted the ship from the hangar field.

Everyone else on the bridge gave her a nod or a smile. They were all, Kris noticed, those who had a fair knowledge of Catten.

"Kris," Gino began in an odd voice and paused to clear his throat, "the plan is that you'll act Emassi to our… guests. Zainal said you'd had practice. He said them knowing there was someone in charge of them might help in the long run."

"What long run?" Kris asked casually.

There was a long pause.

"Oh, it's just a contingency idea."

"Gino, you don't lie very well," Kris said, folding her arms across her chest and glaring around, her gaze ending at Ray Scott.

"It is a contingency," Ray said, but he stopped right there, without specifying for what. "We agreed to give sanctuary to relatives of Kasturi, Tubelin, Kamiton, and several other key dissidents. A precaution. When the dust settles, they can return:'

"I've a letter from Zainal explaining…:' Gino paused again. "It's in my cabin. Just let me land, and help us get these people settled. It explains everything. Ah, see, we're nearly there."

"I'm not a fool." And Kris swept the entire bridge complement with a stare.

"No one has ever accused you of that]' Ray said. "But you're tall, imposing, you speak good Catteni, and you act Emassi without half-trying.

It'll make settling the dependants easier. I will pretend;' and Ray accorded her a smile and a little bow, "to be under your command. Now assume it!"

His last three words were tantamount to an order that he intended she would obey. She looked him in the eyes long and hard, and he did not flinch. He did, however, steady her when they landed with a little thump.

Wheeling, she looked out to the quiet scene of the HQ valley. The main hall, only half-finished when she had last been here, was completed.

There was even smoke coming out of the chimney. Several large houses, with half dormers for sleeping lofts, were interspersed with small accommodations, scattered throughout the lodge-pole forestry. It was certainly a lot better housing than the First Drop had had. She took a deep breath.

"Ninety]' she called, turning again on one heel and moving back down the corridor.

"Yo!" was Ninety's unexpectedly army response.

"Prepare to unloadS' she said in Catteni, having no trouble at all sounding harsh. "Is there a list of who's who?" she asked in English over her shoulder.

Ray offered her a clipboard, presenting it to her with a smart bow, thus showing the women that Kris was the superior officer. Kris looked down at the board. All the names were in Catteni glyphs, which she couldn't read, but also in English and she recognized the English script was written in the bold, forceful style Zainal used. Unexpectedly her eyes filled with tears. She blinked them away, pretending that the sun was glaring in her eyes and shielding them as she took a position at the head of the ramp.

Ninety had opened the cargo hatch and the loading ramp was down.

"just this level, Drassi?" she asked in Catteni.

"Yes, Emassi Khriss," he said, staring straight ahead.

Emassi Khriss turned to the passengers, the sunlight streaming in. The women were all standing now: the children, the youngest showing some fright, the others very silent and wary, grouped around them.

"As your name is called, come forward and leave the ship. Follow the Drassi who will lead you to your quarters." She noticed that each name had a number after it, indicating the number in the party. Flipping the top sheets, she noticed that each family had already been assigned quarters.

She had only to call them out. She had no trouble remembering Catten/ counting. She also remembered enough of what Zainal had told her about Catteni women: that they were almost as subservient as Drassi or Tudo and would have to be shown what to do. "You will be safe here."

One woman stepped forward and cleared her throat, bowing her head for addressing an Emassi without first being spoken to.

"We were told that no Eosi can come here. Is that true?"

"You are…" and Emassi Khriss impassively awaited an answer.

"Sibbo, Kasturi's mate. These are his sons and his child." She bowed again.

Well, at least one of them had some guts, Kris thought with relief.

"Ah, I know Kasturi well. He has been here," Kris said. "Eosi have not been able to penetrate the shield that surrounds this planet;' she added with as smug a smile as she had ever seen on any Catteni face. "You are safe. We have made you safe. Go with this Drassi to the quarters prepared, Sibbo.

Place twelve."

Sibbo and her children picked up their bundles and they started down the ramp after Ninety. Crew members stepped forward to escort each group called.

It took a while to work her way down the list. She had one interruption, an older woman, who bowed.

"Drassi Khriss," and she bowed an almost embarrassing depth, "are there no Rassi or slaves to assist us?"

Kris was so surprised that she blinked, her mind racing to find an answer. She pretended to consult her list. This was the oldest of the women… ah, Nitin's wife. How like him to have a critical mate!

"Rassi do not leave Catten, as you know, Milista. There are no slaves on this planet. You will do what is necessary yourselves."

"But;' and there was real consternation on the woman's lined face as she spread out her hands in a helpless appeal, "we have never been without slaves:'

"Oh, my God," Gino muttered behind Kris. "Never thought of that."

"Well, by God," was Scott's equally low but quite firm addition, "they're going to damned well learn how to cope without them."

"All the food is Catteni, with pictures on the sacks or boxes," Ninety said. "We did that special."

"With recipes?" Gino put in hopefully.

"I dunno. Can't read that much Catten," Ninety added.

"Bummer," was Gino's final remark.

"Any ration bars?" Kris asked.

"Yeah, lots of those."

"Let them eat rations, then," Kris said, startled to find herself paraphrasing Marie Antoinette. She turned back to Milista. "It is enough that you are safe and have food to eat and shelter. You will take what is provided and be grateful."

Kris didn't have any trouble acting Catteni just then. She was thoroughly annoyed. Surely Kasturi or even Tubelin would have thought to tell Zainal, or someone, that the women were accustomed to servants. Not that she'd ask anyone to serve Catteni women. They could bloody well learn how to do for themselves as the colonists had.

"All work will be shared, Milista. Learn that now." She gave a curt dismissal to the woman who backed away before she turned. Indignation and fury were obvious in the way she stalked down the ramp, carrying a very small bundle, which she kept hitching or changing from hand to hand.

Briefly Kris wondered what Milista had brought with her that could be heavy. She didn't know if Catteni women had jewelry, and if that was all Milista had brought, instead of clothing, she was going to get very tired of the one wrap she was wearing.

With mixed emotions of chagrin and irritation-and the latter was stronger-Kris crisply called out the next name. The gall of the woman, wanting servants as well as safety. Maybe once she'd had a taste of-Shut up, Kris, it's not Milista's fault.

She got through the rest of the unexpected and generally unhappy guests. She'd been so busy ushering them out, she hadn't seen that there were Humans boarding the KDL on the far side of the ramp. Some carried just tools while others humped excess building materials aboard.

The last few arrived as the final Catteni family of seven was led off to cabin thirty-five. So Kris nearly gasped when Sarah passed her with a wink.

Joe was right behind her, carrying carpentry tools. Sandy stalked up the ramp last.

"They wanted servants," Kris muttered savagely to Sandy, who burst out laughing.

"That'll be the day. Did you hear what Kris just said?" And Sandy was spreading the remark, causing both chuckles and exclamations of surprise.

Kris was about to turn away, to retract the landing ramp, to get away from her before she lost her cool entirely. Then she paused, looking out at the tranquil valley. The scene was all wrong, even disturbing. Not a soul was in sight and the mess hall and quarters looked as empty as when they had landed.

"Kris?" Sandy came to stand beside her. "What the hey?" And she frowned. "What's wrong with them? Sulking?"

Kris listened intently, but apart from an odd mechanical creak or a hiss from a vent, she didn't even hear crying or angry voices.

"Hell, any normal kid would have been out and snooping about by now."

"Maybe when we leave," Kris said. "They've had a bit of a shock."

"Ha! About time!" Sandy took Kris' arm and drew her inside. "D'you know how to close this?"

Almost absentmindedly, Kris depressed the right switch and the ramp slid up and inside, and the cargo hatch made a low, well-oiled rumble as it slid shut.

Kris strode along the corridor to the bridge.

"We're ready then?" Raisha asked, looking up from her pre-flight check.

"Can I have a rear-view screen as we take off, Raisha, and do a slow ascent, huh?"

"Sure, Emassi Khriss, whatever you say, Emassi Khriss," and Kris managed a little smile for Raisha's teasing.

"You do a swell Emassi act," Gino said, entering from the captain's ready room. He had an envelope in his hand and his expression was carefully neutral as he gave it to her.

"Positions, please, for takeoff;' Raisha said in warning. Not that strapping in was needed with the smooth vertical lift she achieved.

Kris watched the rearview screen as long as she could but the valley might have been uninhabited for all she could see. Then the KDL was over the enclosing wall and beginning to level out for the flight back to Retreat.

"Well done, Kris;' Ray said, clapping one hand lightly on her shoulder.

Then silently he gestured toward the captain's room Gino had just vacated.

Kris looked down at the envelope in her hand as she walked toward the privacy the room would offer. She had an awful feeling about what the letter would say to her. Sliding the panel shut behind her, she sat on the nearest surface and looked down at the message. It was upside down and Zainal's distinctive script made an interesting pattern of her name from that angle.

She turned it around. "Kris." She spoke her name aloud.

"Well, waiting's not going to change a single word inside," she said and, with a decisive nail, opened the edge of the sealed flap and then ran her finger up, spreading the paper. She also tore the corner out of the envelope with the force of her action.

There were two sheets. Well, he tended to sprawl his words across a page, even if the sentences were exceedingly straight… as if he'd followed a ruled line.

Kris, love, Don't look back in anger or be angry with anyone if I do not come back to you.

It was my plan.

She stopped reading, her eyes filling with tears, terrified of what he would say next.

There is only one way to get into the Mentat meeting, and we shall take it.

"We," he had written. He had specified "we," not just himself. But which we? Had the old pessimist Nitin been included in that plural noun?

You will understand why the mates and children must be sent to safety. The Ways and Means Committee agreed as Scott will tell you.

Somehow Kris couldn't really believe in that plurality. Zainal led the others.

He would lead them into whatever it was he had decided to do. But that didn't mean "he" would be safe.

We know that, should things not turn out as we have carefully planned, You leave him alone, now, you hear, Murphy? Your damned Law doesn't operate in Catteni space, d'you hear me, Murphy?

you and the rest of the Botany colonists will allow them to live in peace. The Council has promised us that and you will understand why Humans must learn to live with Catteni for the good that really is in us as a species, misguided by those who have controlled us for so long.

If we fail, and I do not (she gave a sob when she saw that fierce underlining) return to Botany, this letter authorizes you and Chuck Milford to be guardians of my sons, to rear them as near as your hearts will let you to be good Catteni hut better Botanists. They will need to know all they can learn from you and Chuck. He will teach them what young men need to know.

Chuck and Bert will be able to get home in Baby. We have every intention of being in that ship on its way back to Botany.

I did not like keeping the plan from you who have invaded my heart and spirit.

I never expected the wealth of love would be mine. And I have been so very happy with you that even this Catteni can ache with longingfor you. You would have insisted on coming. I could not allow you to be in such jeopardy.

You have been my only love.

And the final letter was the bold crossed "Z" that he liked using.

"Well, you were right, weren't you, Kris, m'girl," she murmured aloud, her voice sounding scratchy in the quiet cabin. "He was planning something dire. And he really doesn't expect to survive."

She folded the two pages with very careful motions and replaced the precious letter in the envelope, smoothing the ragged edges down, over and over, until they remained flat.

She opened the door and, although everyone was studiously looking elsewhere, she flagged Ray Scott and beckoned him into the room.

"Okay, I've had my Dear John letter. What are he and those other madmen planning to do?"

Ray exhaled and gave her a long look. "I don't know either;' he said slowly. "Unless I was sure of its success, he knew I'd try to talk him out of it. Therefore, he's taking unacceptable risks." Ray sighed again. "They left before they could be stopped." Another pause as Ray looked down at his hands and dug something from under one fingernail before he made eye contact again. "! didn't think I'd ever say it of a Catteni, but I admire that man. I will always admire that man. And I hope to hell he gets away with whatever it is he went to do."

"I'm glad you're rooting for him, too, Ray. More than you would have done when you first got here, but better late than never," Kris said wryly.

"Is there any of Mayock's brew on board this ship?"

Ray took one step to the wall units and pulled out a drawer. She heard the click of glassware as he extracted two glasses and a bottle of the somewhat ale-pale alcohol.

Solemnly he filled the glasses and handed her one.

"Down the hatch!" Ray said, lifting his in a toast.

"Murphy," Kris said raising her glass, "stay the hell away from my man!"

They both knocked back the toast and turned as one to symbolically smash the glasses against the outer wall.