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That was standard in every Empire he'd visited or heard of, but since neither had applied to this one, it'd seemed best to ask rather than assume. "Record everything I say about Sandemans, then, and pass it along to IntelDiv for summary and conversion to a teaching tape. They should include a caveat that this information comes from Alpha Prime and may or may not apply to the Zeta Prime Sandemans."
That was bad enough, but a good percentage on this particular ship were from Clan Leras, so even the ones not directly related to him would know him on sight. And they weren't IntelDiv; they wouldn't know not to recognize him. He turned and began walking away, hoping against hope that the crew was still all aboard ship.
And something in the information she'd arranged for him would tell him why she said his report would ask for some kind of intervention. He was starting to enjoy himself. This was the sort of puzzle IntelDiv people liked to set up for each other, and it let him be sure there was nothing seriously wrong. "Let me see.
IntelDiv had some nasty moves picked up from combat techniques developed by a couple of decade cultures; he'd decked three of his assailants before reinforcements arrived and took him down, handcuffing him and confining him to a padded holding cell. An indeterminate, almost painfully frustrating amount of time later, he felt some relief and slumped to the padded floor; a Kin was approaching.
He'd never met Owajima, though he'd wanted to, and when Nevan had left IntelDiv on swearing fealty to Ranger Losinj, Owajima had taken over the top field agent rating. Owajima was no Sandeman, but IntelDiv rumor had him close; he was supposed to have been a Kai-school ninja before joining the Corps, and his exploits since hadn't done anything to contradict the rumor.
"Since you are head of an E-Team, I'm sure you saw at least part of yesterday's `Narvon Tonight, and read the spaceport newsjournals while you were waiting for your test results. I hope you weren't too distressed at finding yourself susceptible." "Not overly, my Lady." She'd been IntelDiv, all right, Thompson thought.
The Sandeman would neither confirm nor deny that occupation, of course, but the simple fact that he was attempting to trace an IntelDiv field agent lent still further credence to the informant's conclusion. Owajima would have liked more information, but it seemed prudent to act on the informant's suspicions.
"I'm afraid she was in IntelDiv herself, on an E-Team, before her brother died and she was named to succeed. I'd guess one of her former teammates let her know we were assigned here." That sounded likely; it was just a good thing the problem had solved itself before his team had to file its evaluation. "Was she upset?" "No, sir. Pleased." "That's good, I suppose."
"My pleasure," Dave replied, wanting to be polite though he wasn't quite sure which statement he was responding to. Then curiosity took over. "How did you know me? And why're you here now instead of tomorrow?" "Two questions, one answer." Chiun frowned. "One of the rebels reported the torture and rescue to us, through the local IntelDiv office.
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