That will make a marvelous epitaph. But at the same time, Krinata surmised Jindigar was functioning normally.

Whereas Krinata's response had barely affected the Emperor, Jindigar's tapped a deep anger that twisted the Lehiroh countenance. A moment later, the oily Superiority was back, barely masking ferocity. "You do not impress me, Jindigar. You will be brought to heel. Publicly." The Lehiroh were evolved predators. But Zinzik, she thought, was not so evolved. Amazingly, Jindigar stood unflinching before that ferocity. She could hear the rapid breathing of the other Dushau behind her, barely able to abort a flee impulse. Desdinda whimpered.

Zinzik strolled along the double rank of prisoners, until he came to Bell and her husbands. He came closer, despite the nervousness of his guards who flanked him tightly. His lip curled in disgust. "Ensyvians!"

Then he glanced thoughtfully at Jindigar, still standing front and center, impassive. He snapped to a Holot trotting along behind him, "Get all these aboard immediately, except the Ensyvians." He considered Jindigar's expression. "No, include these five, but not the mob. Then get me Nodrial, and tell him to bring all the documents pertaining to this case. I will know why it took so long to notify me!"

With that, Zinzik stomped off amid the pomp and honors offered by the suddenly bewildered staff of the prison.

Within the hour, they were on their way offplanet. During a commotion started when the family members, anguished at parting, apologized to the newlyweds for treating them badly, Jindigar contrived to hide the scrawny piol under his shirt.

There was hardly a bulge. Jindigar had lost weight since he'd carried Imp to the Emperor's audience chamber.

They were hustled aboard Timespike, the imperial flagship, by cargo carrier. Without g-seats, they arrived bruised and strained. They were paraded into the brig, a narrow corridor lined with four-person cells. Two extra cots had been jammed into each cell, leaving virtually no room to stand. Krinata could see the very unprivate all-species toilets in the rear of each cell.

Taking roll as they were divided into groups, Krinata discovered that all twenty-seven Truth passengers plus Storm and his mates were there.

The guards, three women and eight men charged with putting them in their cells, were all human. When they were lined up along the center of the brig corridor, the commander ordered the Dushau sprinkled throughout the group. Then he had them count off into two groups of six and four groups of five, deliberately separating the Lehiroh as well.

Krinata contrived to stick beside Jindigar, and ended up with him, Desdinda, Bell and Storm in a five-person cell. But when the guards tried to crowd them into the cell before them, Desdinda went wild—prey cornered. Emitting a feral scream, she leaped on the guard who stood between her and the gate at the end of the brig shaftway, tore at his throat with her teeth, and left him bleeding on the deck to charge into the Holot guards who stood beside the gate.

Before she'd gone three steps, she was dropped by stunner fire. Jindigar had charged after her, for all the world as if he'd lay down his life for her. But two human guards stopped him with crossed weapons. A little sound escaped him before he subsided.

Two guards carried Desdinda off to the infirmary, swearing all the while. Frey was shifted into Desdinda's place and forced into their cell as if he might resist also. Bars slammed across the doors, in addition to the snapfield. Power failures on battleships were too frequent to trust prisoners to force fields alone.

Jindigar stayed by the bars, watching the guards leave, before he turned and extracted Rita from her place under his shirt. Placing her on one of the beds as if she were a decorative doll, he said, "Now there's hope."

He's blown a circuit at last!

But Storm said, "Let's not say it too loudly, though."

Jindigar eyed their bare surroundings. There must be monitoring devices; prisons always had them. But Jindigar said, "There's nobody listening now. As soon as they bring Desdinda back, and as soon as Arlai contacts us, we must be ready to move."

Afraid to accuse him of insanity, Krinata said, "Jindigar, do you know how that sounds?"

Bell said, "Insane, that's how." Krinata glared at her.

Frey was clinging to the bars, gazing after Desdinda, oblivious. Jindigar considered Bell and Krinata as if Storm, Frey and he shared a special Oliat rapport, an understanding of their environment all her ecological training couldn't emulate. Jindigar explained patiently, "I'm better now. Really I am. I can know things. The rest I can deduce."

Krinata inspected him. He was standing normally again. His teeth seemed a healthy blue, his voice resonated. Was he just pulling himself together to deal with another crisis, or had he overcome the ordeal Grisnilter had put him through? "What do you mean, know things?" asked Krinata.

"Frey and I... sense environment. Rhythms. Even without Oliat."

Frey turned. His eyes were haunted. "Desdinda."

"I think she's going to make it," said Jindigar.

"You wish she's going to make it," corrected Frey.

Krinata saw the boy's fear, and she could understand it. Desdinda had undergone the shattering of her Oliat, as Jindigar had, but Jindigar had survived. Prey's ambition had been to officer an Oliat. And now he saw the danger of it.

Heavily, Jindigar admitted, "Wish. Yes."

Into the bleak silence, Storm said, "Arlai."

Jindigar turned from Frey. "He's nearby. That I know. Knowing Arlai, I deduce he set this situation up. There was no way to get us out of that prison, except by the decree of someone superior to Duke Nodrial. Meaning, the Emperor.

Nodrial is plotting against the Emperor. I think Zinzik knows it because Arlai contrived to get word of our presence to Zinzik, making it clear that Nodrial had no intention of just handing us over to Zinzik. Nodrial is vulnerable because he's already using Rashions to control his populace. What do you think the Emperor will do?"

"Squash Nodrial," answered Krinata. "Take the Rashions for himself." She almost gagged at the thought.

Jindigar nodded, then crawled onto the bed next to one wall, cuddling the piol in his lap. "Arlai's smart enough to see that as soon as he discovered the Rashions."

Krinata said glumly, "To me, this looks like one of Arlai's spectacular failures. I'd rather spend the rest of my life in that prison than in Zinzik's grasp."

"We're in Arlai's environment now," answered Jindigar. He stroked Rita, and then turned to Krinata with a start. "I never really apologized to you for not reprogramming that bus. It was a good idea, Krinata. It might have worked."

"Leaving us in the middle of a desert."

"We might have been able to reprogram without setting off all the alarms. And the spaceport... I don't know. We could have improvised something."

"Look. I think I understand why you had to do what you did. We may yet make it, now that you're back with us."

He hugged Rita, then handed her to Krinata. "Can you sit down a moment? I want to move this cot."

Awkwardly in the packed room, he unfastened his cot, moved it closer to the bars, and climbed back onto it. "You all may as well try to get some sleep. I'll watch for Desdinda. Nothing will happen before she gets back."

Krinata was sure she couldn't sleep with the lights on. She sat staring at Jindigar and Frey who gazed fixedly up the shaft-way. At intervals, Jindigar pointed to the overhead spy eyes, indicating they were active. After a while, Frey motioned to them first, apparently having learned how to detect observation. She watched them, noting very little difference in the way he treated Frey and the way he treated her, except he didn't teach her anything but piloting.