Part 7 (2/2)

”I already have, thanks.”

”Just hold everyone here and no communications! Vett-pos, I know this s.h.i.+p. TGO has a simulation, and I memorized it.”

”TGO!” Althis and Lhari simultaneously exclaimed, as Vettering and Janja followed the Jarp out of the 103.

cabin. Janja thoughtfully made sure the door was locked.

”Janja,” Vettering said, as they moved cautiously along the luxuriously paneled tunnel.

”Name's Najendra, Captain Vettering.”

”Oh, pos. Firm. I just thought I'd tell you that your hair has paled out to a sort of beery amber, on its way back to whi-well, I remember it as white.”

”Oh. Thanks. It's called platinum blond, I've learned. Found that in a very old edutape. Here comes our turn to the right. That tunnel leads all the way to the con-cabin. You don't by chance have two straws, do you?”

”No,” Vettering said, ”but I'll go first,” and that was how he ran into the ravening bolt from a pulsar beamer, and died fierily, horribly, with a scream-and yet he died quickly.

Janja was still in the side-tunnel. Just beyond the main corridor from whence the pirate's death had come, Janja fell flat. She lay there with her stopper out in both hands, covering the intersection. Vettering wasn't moving or making a sound, now, while flames ate his clothing.

As she waited Janja considered her prejudice against killing; against the Three-setting. She came from a planet called Light. She was pale, in a universe of dark skin, dark eyes, and black hair except when dye was used. Less than a standard year and a half ago she had been innocent; Aristoteleanly white. With each pa.s.sing month she had adapted more to their environment; adopted more of their ways; the ways of the Galactics she called Thingmakers, and them. More and more she had become one of them-in Aristotelean terms, mingling more and more black with the white to form what Aristotle and Rand had mistakenly thought could not 104.

exist: gray. She had become gray, then grayer. She had joined, not quite voluntarily and yet in the end consciously and by choice, TGO-The Gray Organization. Gray because it was shadowy and gray because it did bad in the name of good, to achieve good.

She still did not like it but she knew now that it was good. In the universe they had created and called civilization, there had to be what Ratran Yao, her recruiter and prime trainer-indoctrinator, had called James Bonds. TGO could and did at least interfere, and hold down the victimization of the innocent. Naturally it still went on, and on. Yet there had been no war-the ultimate victimization of the innocent by their leaders' personal needs-since the inception of TGO.

Now, thoughtfully, thinking sensibly, Janja took her left hand off the stopper's grip and changed its setting. She moved it up to Three. Thus the second barrel within the slim cylinder was made active. The disintegrator beam; the Poof or kill beam. And she lay flat in the corridor of an enemy s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, and waited.

Hours seemed to pa.s.s, and she leaked sweat. She heard nothing, but that ability to cherm, that extra sense that set her race apart from the Galactics who did not know about Aglayan women and their abilities, told her that nemesis lay around the corner. He had not left after killing Vettering. He was waiting, or advancing. Her stopper remained trained on the corner. What remained of Vettering stank, because it was burned dead meat.

At last, at last his killer appeared. The ruthless murderer Javad, his pulsar beamer ready for another enemy, its powerpak strapped to his leg and the awful barrel and nozzle gripped in both hands. He came carefully, slowly, a killer and a pro at killing, seeking another enemy . . .

But he did not expect another enemy to be p.r.o.ne and 105.

silent and motionless on the floor of the s.p.a.cer's tunnel. He turned the corner, saw nothing. His eyes started to widen as his lower peripheral vision picked up his danger, and he started to look down at the same time as he lowered the beamer's nozzle. Janja was intelligently already squeezing her stopper, and the killer Javad was killed.

He went spectacularly and yet in seconds, as his latest employer had died. Nothing remained of him but the pulsar beamer that rattle-clanked to the floor and rolled a little.

Janja ignored it, pacing through the molecular dust that had been Javad. She squatted beside Vettering. The pirate who would also have been an admiral, and who had fallen on hard times and then worse. Too bad his needs would not allow him to let a woman go first. And it was not Vettering beside whom or rather which she squatted; the corpse that had been Captain Vettering was hideous.

”Sorry, Vett, pirate. I hope there is an afterlife, and a Loophole Bar. I'd have gone first.”

9.

My Mission is that I want Jonuta. That is my purpose and my life. Since he destroyed my life on Aglaya, he provides its purpose.

-Janjaheriohir of Aglaya Janja rose and went up the tunnel toward Starwolfs con-cabin. Her caution was unnecessary; she met no one. Quietly she approached the open door to the control cabin and looked in at the backs of the chairs before the console. Third chair, set behind the others, was empty. So was the captain's chair. Just above the high back of the mate's chair she could see a curly-haired head.

”Knock knock,” she said, and entered.

The chair spun as if kicked and a harried-looking man stared at her with dilated eyes. Very long, very lean, tightly chiseled face. He wore drab tans.

”Najendra, mate of Lewuvul,” Janja identified herself. ”I just returned that failed pirate, Vetter-some-thing. Javad's putting him away. I don't know you either...”

”Paridon, s.p.a.cefarer First and DS man, Mate Najendra. Is Javad coming? You see Skive? I can't raise him on ins.h.i.+p comm.”

”Skive's over on Lewuvul, where the Admiral is.

106.

107.

Javad won't be here right away, no. What's the problem, Paridon? You look shaken.”

Paridon's face changed. He had found what he sought. The harried look became the relieved expression of a man about to transfer a heavy problem to someone with more responsibility. This woman was in the organization, after all: Manjanungo's. Paridon blurted, spinning in his chair to gesture at the console with its multicolored gauges, scan-winkers, keys, telits, alerters.

”I've been trying to conta-I just took an incoming comm. It's TGW! A Captin R.O. Farz, mighty grim and stiff-lipped type. Says he's boarding us, right away. Routine, he says. Probably already started over! Two yachts hove to in s.p.a.ce naturally attracted attention, he says. That's trouble! And the Admiral's over there, and Skive's over there too, and Javad's not here ner even Jenk and I don't know what to do!”

”Easy, s.p.a.cefarer Paridon. What did you tell this Captain Farz?” Do I know the name? No. Do I know all TGW captains' names? Of course not. Lhari Had-dad, sure-because she disappeared. R. O. Farz, hmmm? Well, fine! A lucky happenstance. / can use some TGW strength to help with these s.h.i.+ps and all these people.

”I told him the captain was over on the s.h.i.+p we're coupled to and I couldn't raise the mate on ons.h.i.+p comm. He said that was 'regrettable' and he understood my anxiety, he said, but he's coming right over and onboard, he said.”

”Ummm. The airlock's coupled with Lewuvul's by an S-tunnel. How's he going to board? Ah-emergency airlock!”

”Right, right! What do we do, Mate? This is-1 shouldn't even be-I don't know how to cope with this!”

108.

”We're going to have to let him board. It's either that or put you to work on DS, but only fools blow away TGW s.h.i.+ps-or try. I have a crewmember off Lewuvul with me, Paridon. We'll send it back to apprise the Admiral.”

Paridon gestured at the commsender suspended in front of his face. ”We can just-”

”The TGW s.h.i.+p will be monitoring our comms, of course.”

”Oh.”

”I'm here, Najendra,” a new voice said, and both Paridon and Janja swung to find Vermillion gazing at them from big round Jarp eyes. ”Mighty empty s.h.i.+p's tunnels around here,” it said, to let Janja know it had met no one.

”This is Vermillion, Paridon. I can't say I like doing it,” Janja said slowly, as if both pondering and reluctant, ”but I'm here and that TGW jacko is Red Rover-ing. So-I'll meet him. Vermillion, why don't you and Paridon both go on over to Lewuvul and tell the Admiral. He'll want it direct from you, s.p.a.cefarer Paridon, right? Go ahead; I'll take care of this Captain Farz until Manjanungo comes over to settle the matter.”

Paridon shot her a glance. ”I shouldn't leave my sh- I should be at DS ... no, I guess not... I guess that- he'll be here any sec and the Admiral's got to know . . . Thank you, Mate Najendra!”

Paridon scurried with Vermillion right behind. The Jarp paused to give Janja a significant look, then hurried after the other s.p.a.cefarer.

Janja swung to the console and flipped on the outs.h.i.+p comm. She a.s.sumed it was still set on the tightest link with the TransGalactic Watch s.h.i.+p.

<script>