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A little study of the recordings showed the facs were just that." Trigger pondered again. "Did they find anything on Tranest?" "Yes. One combat-strength squadron of those souped-up frigates of the Aurora class they're allowed by treaty can't be accounted for." Trigger cupped her chin in her hands and looked at him. "Is that why we've stayed on Luscious, Holati the four of us?" "It's one reason.
"It also instructed us to treat the First Lady of Tranest with the courtesy due to her station meanwhile." "Brother!" Trigger said, outraged. "Just too bad I couldn't read that message," said Holati Tate. "Some gravitic disturbance! Rendezvous point's hours behind us. They'll never catch up." "Ho-ho!" said Trigger. "But that's being pretty insubordinate, Holati!" "It was till just now," he said.
"How did you get her to talk?" he asked. "We went back into the woods a bit. I tied her over a stump and broke two sticks across the first seat of Tranest. Got the idea from Mihul sort of," Trigger added vaguely. "When I picked up a third stick, Lyad got awfully anxious to keep things at just a fast conversational level. We kept it there." "Hm," said the Commissioner.
The Federation's undercover boys have been scanning the Devagas worlds and Tranest very closely of late, naturally. The report is that there isn't the slightest evidence that a single one of the top members of the Devagas hierarchy has been on any of their worlds in the past two months." "Oh," she said. "They think they're out here? In that dome?" "That's what's suspected." "But why?"
Trigger turned in the direction he'd indicated. "They do look like they're somebody important," she said. "Do you know them?" "Some of them. That gentleman who looks like he almost has to be the Dawn City's First Captain really is the Dawn City's First Captain. The lady he's escorting into the lounge is Lyad Ermetyne. The Ermetyne. You've heard of the Ermetynes?" "The Ermetyne Wars? Tranest?"
Naturally, Major Quillan's personal habits were none of her business. It was just that in less than an hour he was to pick her up and take her to the Ermetyne suite for that dinner. She was wondering how she should behave towards him. Reasonably pleasant but cool, she decided. But again, not too cool, since she'd obligated herself to help him find out what the Tranest tycooness was after.
"I've been conditioned against them, of course," Lyad said. "I'm an Ermetyne of Tranest. By the time I was twelve years old, that toy of yours couldn't have registered a reaction from me that I didn't want it to show." Quillan slipped the toy back in his pocket. "True enough, First Lady," he said. "And that's one small strike in your favor. We thought you might try to gimmick the gadget.
"The worst part of that," he went on, "is that it would be completely obvious. The Council's right when it worries about fumbles here. Tranest and the Devagas know the thing is in there. If the Federation can't produce it, both those outfits have the Council over a barrel. Or we could be setting the Hub up for fifty years of fighting among the member worlds, sometime in the next few hours."
Nothing to worry about as such. It's just a heavy armed frigate, which is the limit Tranest is allowed to build. Since it's Lyad's private boat, I imagine it's been souped up with everything they could throw in. Anyway, the fact that she sent it here ahead of her indicates she isn't just dropping in for a casual visit." "She made that pretty clear herself!" Trigger said.
Now we'll just pitch you some questions. A recorder's on. Don't stall on the answers." And he and the Commissioner started flipping out questions. The Ermetyne flipped back the answers. So far as Trigger could tell, there wasn't any stalling. Or any time for it. Azol: Doctor Azol had been her boy from the start. He was now on Tranest.
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