JANISSARIES

She thought about it. But it was all so strange. "What's in the truck? Your travel equipment? What-who are you? CIA?"

"What if I were?"

"I-wouldn't like that."

"Then I'm not," he said. "Let's see. Other question. The gear in the truck is for travel, but it is not mine. I get equipment for others. Get it and deliver it."

"But always at night-"

"Generally," he agreed.

"Les, where are we going? I thought Mexico for a moment, but we're going northeast. Where-"

"Can't tell you. But will you come with me?"

"If I don't?"

He let the truck slow. "I turn around and take you home."

"And then?"

"And then I leave. I have to go, Gwen. I'm sorry I haven't been able to tell you much, but I can't. I do want you to go with me, but you don't have much time to make up your mind."

"How long-how long will we be gone?"

"A long time. Years. But you'll see exotic places, faraway places, places you'll never see unless you come with me."

"I didn't pack very much," she said. "Not for being away that long. Will you buy me a grass skirt?"

The truck ran on for a second more. Then he stopped, turned, and kissed her. "I'm glad," he said. Then he started up. "We don't have a lot of time. They won't wait all night."

"Who won't?" she asked.

An hour later she knew.

2

Gwen was on the Moon. She had to keep telling herself that. She was on the Moon and talking to a TV set.

The face on the TV was human. Strange, but human, and after what Gwen had seen on the ship, any human face was a relief.

The man looked bored. "You have come voluntarily?" he asked.

An embarrassing question. Gwen was naked, except for a sheet that she wrapped around herself when she realized that the TV screen worked both ways. She sat on the edge of the bed to talk to the man in the rust-colored tunic who'd appeared on the screen. Les lay partly covered on the bed, and his expression was-worried? Why worried, she wondered.

"Yes, I came voluntarily," she said. "Les asked me to come. He said I would visit strange and exotic lands and-"

"You boarded voluntarily," the man said. "Will you be missed? Will your disappearance cause difficulties? Widespread search by the authorities?"

"I don't think so. I left a note for my landlady that said I was going for a weekend trip. She'll worry when I don't come back after that. She may call the police."

"They will probably assume you were murdered. That is no problem of mine." The screen went blank.

"That's over," Les said. He looked relieved.

Why relieved? And why had he been worried?

There was a lot that Gwen didn't understand. But certainly she was glad she had come. There were marvels enough, even here in the compartment. It was lavishly furnished, mostly with goods from Earth; but some of the furnishings were new and strange. There was the TV with its strange control box that could call up books and maps and all kinds of interesting material-the only problem was that she couldn't read a word of it. And there had been the aliens, and the experience of seeing Earth from space. Now she felt the low gravity of the Moon and could see the lunar surface on the TV screen. It was all frightening, but exciting, too.

"Who was that man?" she asked.

"A policeman," Les said.

"What would have happened if I had said you kidnapped me?"

"He probably would not have believed you. But if you had said the Shalnuksis had kidnapped you, there would have been trouble."

Gwen shuddered, but not in fear. It was all so marvelous. Aliens. Spaceships. And they were so nice to her. Les had given her clothes and jewelry-not that the gifts meant anything, but he had got them for her. He cared. She knew that. He cared.

"And you don't come from anywhere on Earth?" she asked. "I still can't believe that."

"It's true, though," he said. "My home is twenty light-years from here."

"How long have you been on Earth?"

"Four years. A bit more than that."

"But you speak English so well! No wonder I couldn't tell where you came from. How did you learn to speak English so well in four years?"

"It's a gift," he said. "I speak a number of human languages. Four from your planet."

"A number of human languages-Les, what do you do for these-for the aliens?"

"You can think of me as a civil servant," he said. "I pilot ships, make studies of primitives, buy equipment and see that it gets aboard ship -any number of activities that the traders or the confederacy need done."

"A civil servant."

"Sort of," Les told her. "That is, most humans work for the confederacy, but they sometimes rent us out to traders when the work involves other humans. Just now I'm doing some errands for the

Shalnuksis."

"But why don't you go to Washington and tell them? Or someone? Why such secrecy?"

"Time enough for questions later," he said. "We will have a lot of time. For the moment, we are together, and we have a few hours before we go to the other ship."

"Another ship?"

"Yes. I'm supposed to take some people-human volunteers, soldiers-to another planet. I'll have to brief them on the way."

"Soldiers. Volunteers. You mean mercenaries." She made no attempt to disguise the contempt in her voice.

He laughed. "You don't like warriors? You ought to feel a bit sorry for these. They've got their work cut out. More than they know."

"Who will they fight? What are they going to be doing?"

"All in good time. You'll know more about them than you want to by the time we get to Tran. For now-" He reached for her.

For a moment she resisted, but she could feel his urgency.

Why resist? she thought. Why resent his need? A need for me. He cares. I can lose myself in him. And he keeps his promises.

He'd already showed her marvels beyond her imagination. What more would there be? She shuddered in anticipation.

The screen came to life while the troops were cooking lunch. Rick Galloway went over carrying his new lists of equipment. There was a lot they needed, and they hadn't received much of what they'd asked for.

"No time," Agzaral said. "No time at all. Gather your equipment. You must leave this cavern immediately. There is a ship outside, and you must be aboard it with everything you propose to take with you. You have two hours." He seemed very excited. "You must hurry."

"Why? We can't go now. We don't have anything like the gear we asked for-"

"Some is aboard the ship. The rest may be supplied later. But hurry. Those who remain behind will not be happy with the consequences."

"Why?"

"You will learn," Agzaral said. "But you will not go at all if you do not board the ship now. Recall the alternatives I gave you. They have not changed."

"This is ridiculous," Rick said. "It makes no sense at all."

There was no reply. Agzaral continued to stare out from the screen.

At least, Rick thought, at least he doesn't look bored. Is that a good sign? It seems pretty frightening, actually.

"I ca

"You would be surprised at how little that matters to me," Agzaral said. "But you will regret not having boarded the ship."

Parsons shrugged, then looked to Rick. "I think we should do it."

"Agreed," Rick said. "Load it up. Elliot, get them moving. We board ship."

"Move your equipment to the upper corridor," Agzaral said. "The ship will be ready to board shortly, and you should have all your possessions at the airlock."

They sweated the weapons and other equipment up the corridor. "Now get that other stuff," Rick ordered. "Clean out the cavern."

"Why?" Warner demanded. "What do we do with a gasoline lawnmower?"