“Two scientists, who work with Hunt and Danchekker,” Langerif
replied. “Also the Terran who was in charge of security here.”
Eubeleus looked gratified. “Perfect! Get a laser link to whoever is in command of the Shapieron and have those three brought up to where you are, right away. We’ll have that ship out of harm’s way within an hour.” He looked across at Iduane. “Suspend all further action concerning the Awakening for the time being,” he ordered.
Iduane nodded but didn’t look happy about it. “What about the Prophet? He’s still there with all the people, waiting for you to take over.”
Eubeleus waved a hand impatiently. “Oh. . . go back and tell them to sing a few more hymns or something,” he replied.
Duncan and Sandy were sitting together among the group of security guards, Ganymeans, and other captives inside PAC.
“How’s that for a bummer?” Duncan said. “We come all this way, to a new city and a totally different culture, and we end up like this.”
“We never even got to see the town,” Sandy agreed dismally.
Duncan looked idly around at the others sitting around the room, not saying much, waiting. “What do you like to do when you get to go out?” he asked.
“Go out? What’s that? I work for Chris Danchekker, remember? A vacation is eating lunch that didn’t come out of a paper bag.”
“Guys like that ought to get married,” Duncan said.
“Maybe he did, years ago, and forgot all about it. I’ve seen him show up at the lab in odd shoes.”
“How about San Francisco?” Duncan said. “Ever get out that way? Fisherman’s Wharf, Enrico’s Coffee House? Do you know, I reckon that if they handed this city over to the people who run Chinatown in S.F., they’d have the place up and running in a month without ever needing JEVEX.”
Sandy stretched and thought about it. “I think I’ll take the south,” she said. “New Orleans, some places out along Texas. Maybe I’m just cut out for the slow, lazy life.”
“Tell you what,” Duncan said. “When we get back after this, we’ll go off on a tour and see all of it. Thinking back, I’d say I’ve spent too much of my time shut up in labs, too. Vic’s always saying, Why change your job? It’s just more of the same. Change your life. What do you think? Does that sound good?”
Sandy looked at him sideways. “Are your intentions strictly honorable, Mr. Watt?”
“Absolutely not.”
“It’s a deal.”
Some police came into the room and started talking to the ones who had been standing guard. The newcomers seemed excited, with a lot of waving and gesticulating. The captives watched and waited with mixed reactions. While it was going on, Del Cullen moved over to where Sandy and Duncan were sitting. “Looks like the war’s not over yet,” he murmured.
“Why? What’s happening?” Duncan asked.
“I only caught pieces of it, but it sounds like something’s just come down through the roof of the city. I think one of them said it was the Shapieron.”
Sandy looked aghast. “You mean it crashed?”
“Hell, no. It took off again. . . But there’s still something going on out there. The others are up to something.”
Then the police who had entered came over and pointed to the three of them. The guards motioned for them to get up and follow. In the background, Koberg and Lebansky started objecting, but held back when other guards lowered their weapons threateningly. Cullen shrugged. “I guess we don’t have a lot of choice,” he said. The prisoners left, accompanied by the escort that had been sent for them.
They were taken up to the communications room, where Garuth was standing with Langerif and a group of other Jevlenese in front of a screen showing Eubeleus. On another screen they saw Hunt, Danchekker, and a mixed group of others in brightly lit surroundings of display consoles and control stations, which Duncan guessed to be the inside of the Shapieron.
“It’s them!” he exclaimed. “They got out! They’re—”
“Quiet!” Langerif snapped.
On the other screen, Eubeleus was speaking. “We do indeed have all of them as you can see for yourselves. I’m not in a mood to make long speeches. The implications are too obvious to require spelling out. My instructions are that—”