[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
expression Bala-chandran couldn't be 'Ossminid.' He had voted for the bill.
Yet it would have been suspicious if an Explorer Corps Rep had voted against
exploration. Was he smug because he knew that he could safely vote for a bill
he had to have defeated? Zref needed more data.
Hungry and tired, Zref forged his way out into the busy corridor just as the
Representatives were pouring from the main hall. People were waiting for a
word with them. Others were milling about at the bottom of the gallery stairs,
and some bhirhir pairs headed purposefully toward the expression rooms behind
Zref. He set his course for the exit.
"Zref?" It was a kren voice, somewhat familiar.
And again, "Itis Zref!" from a human.
He turned. Making their way toward him were Khelin and Ley. Startled, he
opened. They were now working for the Diplomatic Services Administration,
helping govern-ment employees adjust to life on Eiltherm.
Khelin said, "They told me at the hotel there was an-other MorZdersh'n
registered, but I couldn't imagine who it could be. You've got to tell us the
whole story. What are you doing here? What's to using the family name? How
long are you going to stay? Can we have dinner, perhaps?"
"Have you been home lately?" Ley asked. "And how come you never send so much
as a holiday greeting?"
"Not here," said Zref. The crowd was thinning and moving swiftly. "And I have
a few questions of my own." "The hotel restaurant," Ley suggested. "They have
pri-vacy screens on the pool terrace, and the weather should be good."
"We have our flier right here," said Khelin, "and since we're all staying in
the same hotel "
"That's something of a coincidence," Zref interrupted. "Not really," answered
Ley as they walked. "You're MorZdersh'n, too."
Zref smiled. He and Ley, even as outsiders, had picked up a mark of the
family's style.Never skimp and never waste. He'd chosen the hotel that best
fit the family style. "I'm glad to see you can still smile," said Khelin. Zref
covered his teeth. "Sorry." "I meant only, after the operations and " "Not
here," Zref snapped.
Page 134
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
They were entering the parking structure. On their level, a line was forming
for a bus. Khelin led the way to an orange-coded bounce tube. Zref was last up
and found that Ley had already gotten the flier started. They took off from
the rail, right into the sunset, with the front windshield darkening against
the glare.
Zref had the rear passenger seat; Khelin and Ley were in the front pilot
positions. When they'd programmed their route, Khelin swiveled his chair about
to face Zref.
"Something is wrong. No, don't argue with me. It's my business, and my
talent, to know. You're not wearing your medallion."
Guild security or no, Zref would have to tell them a little or they'd have it
all over the planet that their relative the Interface was in town. Averting
his gaze a moment, he used the comnet to check the security of the flier.
"All right, I'll tell you here, but don't let it go any farther, not even to
the rest of the family."
"What is it, Zref?" Ley asked. "The Guild hasn't found another Wild
Interface?"
Things were really bad if that was the thought upper-most in Ley's prosaic
mind. "No. But listen, I came through Eiltherm customs as Zref MorZdersh'n, a
Cranston-trained freelancer. So far, no one has suspected I'm an Interface."
Ley examined him critically. "No scars showing. There really isn't anything
they could tell by. But I never knew the Guild did things like that."
"They never have before. I talked them into it." He ex-plained that he was on
Eiltherm to pick up 'Ossminid' 's trail. As they parked at the hotel, Ley
flashed him a clear smile.
"With all the fancy surgery, you're still our Zref!"
Dinner was spent catching up on family news. Later, in Zref's room, Khelin
shed his clothing and relaxed in the water while Ley sat on the side of the
pond, dangling his feet in it. The room, too, was secure. Nobody had any
rea-son to target them for surveillance yet.
"Khelin," said Ley, catching at his bhirhir, "surface a moment. I want to
talk to you."
"Hmmm?" said the kren, letting his face rise out of the water. "I doubt if
much talking is necessary. I say we should."
"Good. You tell him."
The kren raised himself to a sitting position and said, "Zref, do we really
have to volunteer formally? Or aren't you just assuming we're going to help
you any way we can?"
With the closed-lip grin that came back to him so naturally, Zref answered,
"MorZdersh'n, right? 1 asked for it."
"Then it's settled. We'll start tomorrow." Khelin settled back into the
water. "Awfully shallow pool, Zref."
"A single, unemployed security guard can't afford deeper." Zref was beginning
Page 135
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
to understand why the Guild insisted on separating recruits so completely from
their families. The emotion wasn't there anymore, but the im-plicit family
loyalty was still a part of the fabric of his personality. Yet an Interface
dared have no loyalty except to the Guild, cutting across all lines of species
or politics.
Khelin was submerged again. Ley, still wearing street clothes, bent over and
yanked at his bhirhir's head fluff, forcing the kren to surface again. "What
do you mean, to-morrow? We have the Horthane reception!"
"Well, get on the phone and order up an invitation for Zref."
Ley just looked at him.
"You don't expect me to do it, do you?" Khelin stood up, naked and dripping.
"What do you suppose Ireda May-
torn, for example, would make of a call fromthis?" He gestured to his long,
perfect, but distinctively kren male body.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]