Flandry stood motionless.
“I know,” Abrams said. “They rammed you through your education. You were supposed to learn what civilization is about, but there wasn’t really time, they get so damned few cadets with promise these days. So here you are, nineteen years old, loaded to the hatches with technical information and condemned to make for yourself every philosophical mistake recorded in history. I’d like you to read some books I pack around in micro. Ancient stuff mostly, a smidgin of Aristotle, Machiavelli, Jefferson, Clausewitz, Jouvenel, Michaelis. But that’ll take a while. You just go back to quarters today. Sit. Think over what I said.”
“Has the Fodaich not seen the report I filed?” asked Dwyr the Hook.
“Yes, of course,” Runei answered. “But I want to inquire about certain details. Having gotten into the Terran base, even though your objective was too well guarded to burgle, why did you not wait for an opportunity?”
“The likelihood did not appear great, Fodaich. And dawn was coming. Someone might have addressed me, and my reply might have provoked suspicion. My orders were to avoid unnecessary risks. The decision to leave at once is justified in retrospect, since I did not find my vehicle in the canyon when I returned. A Terran patrol must have come upon it. Thus I had to travel overland to our hidden depot, and hence my delay in returning here.”
“What about that other patrol you encountered on the way? How much did they see?”
“Very little, I believe, Fodaich. We were in thick forest, and they shot blindly when I failed to answer their challenge. They did, as you know, inflict considerable damage on me, and it is fortunate that I was then so close to my goal that I could crawl the rest of the way after escaping them.”
“Khr-r-r,” Runei sighed. “Well, the attempt was worth making. But this seems to make you supernumerary on Starkad, doesn’t it?”
“I trust I may continue to serve in honor.” Dwyr gathered nerve. “Fodaich, I did observe one thing from afar while in Highport, which may or may not be significant. Abrams himself walked downstreet in close conversation with a civilian who had several attendants—I suspect the delegate from Terra.”
“Who is most wonderfully officious,” Runei mused, “and who is proceeding on from here. Did you catch anything of what was said?”
“The noise level was high, Fodaich. With the help of aural amplification and focusing, I could identify a few words like ‘Merseia.’ My impression is that Abrams may be going with him. In such case, Abrams had better be kept under special watch.”
“Yes.” Runei stroked his chin. “A possibility. I shall consider it. Hold yourself in readiness for a quick departure.”
Dwyr saluted and left. Runei sat alone. The whirr of ventilators filled his lair. Presently he nodded to himself, got out his chessboard, and pondered his next move. A smile touched his lips.