“They’re mostly Noinad work. I made some of them myself,” said Joachim. “But here’s a curiosity.” He got up and took a ‘@oiig-steinn-.ied hoorah from the rack. “A Narraconan depth pipe. Enemies smoke it togetber-notice, it has two moutb-oieces?-before a duel.”
“Are you inviting me to have a pnff?” asked Trevelyan blandly.
“Well, r I ovv, that depends. Joachim sat down on the edge of his desk, swii,,girig one le,,. “Would you answer so.-no questions’?”
“Of course.”
Joachim went over to a closet and took out a small instrument. Treve’iyaTi stiffened; be hadn’t thought Nomads would have lie detectors.
“I got this one at Spica some vears ago,” said Joachim. “Comes in handy noA, and then. You don’t mind?”
“No-no, go right ahead.”’ Trevelyaii sat back, and took conscious control of his be,@rtl-,cat, edcep’llalic rhythms, and sweat secretion.
Joachim ittacbed the electrodes to determine eiicepbalic output and cardiac rate. The Dainaclhva be detector depended on sensing the abnormal pulsations created bv the strain of telling a falsehood; but it had to be adjusted for eaci-i st3lject. As he answered the ‘.,armless calibrating questions, Trevelyan’s rervous system maintained itself at an artifici,illv Iii-h level, a camouflage.
“All r to busin Joachim rel@‘It his ,@gbt, lad, let’s get —, s s.
pipe and looked up at Trevelyan through tangled brows. “You’re a Cordy?”
“Yes, 1 im. And I did pick Sean up and get myself brought aboard your ship on purpose. 11
Joachim grinned. “You just pushed the buttons and we danced for you like little robot dolls. Well, wbyp”
“Because it seemed the best way to contact vou. If I’m correct, Joachim, the Pereciiiie is actidcr on a basis of information badly needed by the Stellar Union. I want to go along on your voyage.”
“Mmmmmm-hm. And just what do you know?’ 7’ravelyan detailed what the integrators on Earth bad gathered. “I’m pretty sure that there’s another civilization in the Great Cross region,” be went on, “that it knows of us, and that it is either actively hostile to us or damned suspicious. Why, I have no idea, but you can see that the Coordinators have to take immediate action. I decided that my best chance lay in joining forces with you. But you Nomads are all so wary of civilization that I had to manipulate things to get myself aboard.”
“Ummm-yes, all right. Only bow’d you know you’d be picked up by the one and only Nomad ship which is going to investigate this business?”
“I didn’t, for sure. But it seemed reasonable that it would be the Peregrine-after all, it was her captain who was doing research in Stellamont.”
“I see. And now what?”
“Now I want to go along with you and learn what you learn. There’ll be other Coordinators worldng on this prob-
lem, of course, but I think my approach is the fastest. And it’s urgent, joacbiml”
The Nomad rubbed his chin. “All right, you’re aboard. I suppose you’ll help us out, and I admit a trained Cordy could be migbty useful at times. Only suppose we break some Union laws, as could happen?”
“If it’s not too serious, I won’t bother about it.”
“And suppose, if and when we come back, our decision on the matter is one you won’t like?”
Trevelyaii shrugged. “We can argue that out later.’ “So we can. What else have you in mind?”
Up to then, Trevelyan bad been truthful enough, as far as be went. Now, when be said, “Nothing in particular, except to make a full report to the integrators,’ it wasn’t stretching verity too far.
Joachim asked a few more questions, then unclipped the electrodes and sat back with his feet on the desk and his hands clasped behind his neck. ‘Tair enough,” be said.
“All right, consider yourself the guest of the ship. Now,
sball we pool what we know?”
The picture grew as they talked it out. Trevelyan had been aware of the old Tiunran voyages, but not of their or
the Nomads’ losses.
“I suspect that the aliens are colonizing the planets of G-type suiis-or, at least, controlling them in some manner. They could easily scout around in our civilization. There are so many space-traveling s-oecies today that an intruder can easilv pass himself off @s anative of some Union planet. But their suspicion of us must be culturally based.”