She was brooding over her own plotting scope when a small Arlai climbed up out of the bottom margin and words crawled across: Privately, Krinata, may I beg you to go with Jindigar/ Rndeel? It so increases the odds of success and.., and, I discovered grief when I thought Thirlein was dead. I wanted to blast Act out of existence! I'm not supposed to be able to entertain such thoughts. If grief causes that in me, and so soon after the shock of Thirlein's "death" I have to face Jindigar's ... Krinata, he's been with me since I came out of training. He commissioned me built. Please. Help him.

She hardly believed such a plea could come from a Sentient. She glanced over at Rndeel's back but, no. How could he be inserting this message onto her screen? And something about it rang true. It fit Arlai's personality.

She drew the ragged tatters of her nerves together and focused on the job yet to be done, shoving aside all other thoughts. "AH right, Rndeel, I'll go down with you. I'll make it." Her mouth was dry as she spoke. Fear was becoming her perpetual companion.

Five hours later, they inserted into Cassr orbit under local orbital control and announced themselves as here to trade Sentient parts for pharmacogenetics from Trassle.

It only took Arlai an hour to arrange with his Sentient friend in Cassr Port Authority to let him take over some of her port-of-entry duties, such as the idento-scanners at clerk's counters. At Krinata's amazement, he said, "I just told her I get terribly bored sitting in orbit waiting for cargo. She knows I 'used to be' an Oliat Sentient, accustomed to being too busy to be bored. So even though it's bending the rules, she agreed to help me out. Of course, I did bribe her with an info-dump from our last mission, but I'm sure that had little to do with it."

"I think I get the picture," said Krinata. She hadn't realized the higher-level Sentients were so sociable, but it made sense. They were people of a sort.

When they reached the port-of-entry desk at Cassr's central landing field, the bored Cassrian clerk came alive. "Trassle. Trassle—I've heard that name."

Rndeel offered, "He be owin' us cargo fera year, and we a'come collectin' now. Doubt not, he be remiss in other deals, and you'd his name nestin' among others' curses." He fondled the piol with a pure Skhe gesture.

Much to Krinata's amazement, the pup hadn't messed onthem, or wandered away, or clawed their clothing since Arlai presented him. The Sentient was one terrific trainer.

The Cassrian clicked one shelled forearm against his carapace in a gesture of retrieving a memory. But after a moment, he allowed, "Could be that's it. Trassle. Common enough name." He added their certification from the scanner beam controlled by Arlai and closed their files with a flourish

"Next."

They were free on Cassr. At the door to the surface transport,

Krinata donned goggles. Arlai had already weighted her down with radiation shielded underwear, insisting she was young enough to have healthy children. Since she had given up that idea long ago, she'd not even considered it when debating the excursion onto Cassr. As they emerged into the searing light, not a speck of her skin was exposed.

Thankfully, it was winter here, and cold enough to make her grateful for the underwear. The weight of it also served to change her overall shape and her gait. She weighed less than normal, but her mass was greater, so she moved ponderously, trying not to think of herself as comical.

They had hours of daylight left in the long winter afternoon, for the planet's day was over thirty-three hours long, the season more than a year long. Cassr was not a hospitable place for humans, so only those with urgent business would be aground. Rndeel, with the cosmopolitan touch she was learning to take for granted, got them into a rented vehicle and onto the road as if he were going home.

Imp perched on Rndeel's lap and cluttered for Krinata's attention, but didn't grab for her hair as he had been wont to do. Absently, she petted the beast and asked, "You said Trassle has a warehouse near here?"

"A few moments being in this car, we'll arrive, Captain. Alert to that cheater, must we be."

"I hear your advice." Her heart was pounding, and she wanted to go over their careful plan. If all went well, they'd be offplanet within the hour.

They swerved around a bend, and the car veered to the side of the street and stopped, pinging for attention. "Police barricade ahead. All traffic diverted from Cossrrik Alley. Please enter a new destination or depart."

Rndeel inserted their credit chit to be debited for the ride, and said, "Request to wait for us here one hour."

Outside, Rndeel said. "Captain, be there only one occupied building on Cossrrik Alley: Trassle's."

They walked around a bend—nothing on Cassr was cornered—and saw official barricades set across the alley strewn with flags bearing the symbol Krinata had quickly come to recognize: the dark blue x on a white background—Dushau traitor. Dark blue xs were painted over the doors and windows of the domed building.

Rndeel started forward, but Krinata restrained him with a hand on his elbow. He was wearing the fur cloak, only the crossed belts under it, with the slick shrinksuit of the Skhe disguise. Dushau weren't nearly so sensitive to cold or radiation as humans. "We don't want to attract attention."

"Findin' Trassle, my Captain, is *ur purpose."

"Well, obviously, they've confiscated his goods. Ostensibly, we're here for his goods, not him. So if we ask, we'll be bound to deal with the government and ignore Trassle. Don't you know anyplace else you might find him?"

Rndeel tossed Imp in a somersault, and the piol squealed in delight, then preened himself. The Skhe said, "He once lived south of city, by the river. I'm knowing the house."

"Then let's go. We can come back if we have to."

"A prudent human, you're being, Captain," said the Skhe with grudging approval. She'd noticed he never swore at her or human characteristics.

Back in their car, Rndeel gave instructions. After a scenic tour of the heart of the city's swirling streets, they wound out of the settled area and into a wilderness dotted with an occasional dwelling.

Bright clean pastels and vivid primary colors mixed riotously under the searingly brilliant sun. The vegetation was pale, some leaves mirroring back most of the light to dazzle offworld eyes. Trassle's house was atop a rutted hillock overlooking a broad river. An inlet from the river washed up to a wing of the house that rambled down the hill.

"Ah, a proper livin' place," breathed Rndeel in Skhe delight. "Not supposin' we'd be with time to swim, Captain?"

The hope in his voice was very real, but Krinata knew Jindigar had no such intentions. However, she wasn't sure Jindigar was really still "in there" with Rndeel, and in a fit of insecurity, she tested him. "Of course we might. If Trassle isn't home, we'll wait."

He threw her a peculiar glance, but said only, "Your judgment, Captain, but still targets be easier to hit. We've competition in this business."

She mulled that over and decided the Dushau was still rational, but playing his part to the hilt. She stopped the car and led the way up to the entry. It was a black hole at the top of a winding stair. It turned out to be a long, winding tunnel, mirror lined, well lit, warm, but dim after the glare of the outdoors. It led to the top of the house where it opened into a large atrium, skylighted and filled with offworld plants. Before them was a hinged door overgrown with a thick, spongy moss.

She looked about, having never been in a Cassrian home before. "Isn't there a signal?"

"You be standing on it, Captain."

She stared at her feet. She was on a section of moss inset into the tile flooring.