RenSime

The woman's fields penetrated to Laneff’s core, but without the delicate dimensionality of a First Order cha

Instantly embarrassed, Laneff apologized.

"That's all right," soothed the cha

Jarmi smiled, the relief she felt pulsing through her nager. "I'll handle her carefully, all right! She deserves the best!"

At that point, Yuan swung into the room, talking before his eyes focused on them. "I certainly hope you have good news for me tonight, because– Laneff! Jarmi!" He beamed. "Paired?"

Jarmi answered, shyly, "For just one transfer, but I'm hoping."

The ponderous brilliance of his field lit the whole office as he turned to the cha

In that single moment before Yuan let her go, Laneff sensed a spear of quickly suppressed jealousy from the cha

"I knew something had to go right today!" said Yuan.

The cha

"First tell me, how's our prisoner?"

The cha

Jarmi said, "That just shows how his people would torture any Sime they caught."

What happened to my world of law and order? Adventure novels were no fun to live in. Her arms still remembered the feel of that leather belt, the rough hands, the hard gun barrel.

Yuan hooked one knee over a corner of the desk and perched on a stack of chart folders, one of which, Laneff now noticed, had the black flashing that indicated a Farris's records. Mine. The cha

"Then we could release this Odeah Polk anytime now?" "Yes, Sosectu," answered the cha

"How?" asked Nen, the Companion. "The Tecton thinks you were captive in that chopper. They never heard your radio signal. As far as they know, you and Laneff were flown into that Diet hideout which their choppers promptly blew sky high with one of those new missiles. I saw the Tecton tapes on the news. Tha| cave must have been a munitions dump to have gone up like that. Nobody survived. You're both officially dead."

Bianka said, "You could let yourself be found wandering dazed in those hills, survivor by a miracle."

"I don't have any explanation for why I swept Laneff into the Diet chopper instead of away into the crowd, letting the Tecton guards deal with the terrorists. Do you think even I could fool Mairis Farris in a face-to-face interrogation? Five minutes, and he'd know Yuan Sirat Tiernan is Sosectu ambrov Rior." His overcharged nager ached. "I could never come back here again for fear of revealing everything. I don't think I could live like that for long."

Bianka said, "You obviously can't live like this for long, either." Her nager cried out her sympathy for the Gen's need for a good transfer with a First Order cha

"You're my best cha

She glanced at Nen, who assented to her unspoken question with a shrug while his nager throbbed denial. She said, "I'm willing to try a transfer, Yuan, but I don't think I can help you much. You're a First."

Yuan fixed Nen with a meditative stare. Then he shook his head. "No, Nen, I won't try to take her from you. Even if it would help me, I wouldn't. What is our way of Me worth if we discard it at a moment's discomfort?" Nen smiled, a relief radiating from him that weakened Laneff’s knees. "You are my Sosectu."

"Some Sosectu! I may have gotten us into more of a war with the Diet than we can handle."

"But there couldn't have been any survivors from that Diet hideout. As far as they know, you're as dead as the Tecton thinks you are."

He shook his head. "In an organization this size, there is no way to eliminate spies. We have to assume that they know what Sosectu ambrov Rior looks like. With Yuan Sirat Tiernan's face plastered all over the media these last few days, we have to assume the Diet now knows Yuan Sirat Tiernan is Sosectu ambrov Rior. Their spy or spies would know that the Sosectu is alive and well, and might also know that Laneff is here, alive and well. If they don't know it, they can deduce it from the fact that I am here. They would figure that we'll provide her with time and a place to work—and then use her results to breed Gens for our juncts to kill. And they have more bombs—and suicide volunteers."

"Yuan," said Bianka when he'd run down, "you're building a remote possibility that's been with us for years into an acute threat. Are you sure you're not suffering underdraw?"

"My governors work well enough," countered Yuan. "My selyn production will level off soon. I just feel rotten, that's all. Look, I know it's a remote chance, but I haven't built this organization by ignoring remote chances."

"You have a plan," accused Nen.

"I didn't until I walked in here and found Laneff paired already," replied Yuan gri

Laneff objected, "Mairis would never agree to that! It would have been cha

"I know, but the Diet doesn't think that way. By now, they've convinced themselves that we're using your process to breed Gen babies in test tubes, to take the whole world back onto the kill. They'll try to convince Mairis and the rest of the world of that, so when they attack and destroy us, they'll be taken as heroes."

"It won't work," said Nen.

"I hope not," said Yuan. He rubbed his red-blond mustache thoughtfully. "Laneff, I just got word that Sat'htine has mourned your death, and inscribed your name with their disjuncts in their Memorial."

Logically, she had known her father would have accepted her death by now. But to have ignored her final kill? Jarmi's hand, cool and Gen, closed about her shoulder. Laneff leaned gratefully on the Gen's field, fighting tears.