She held the rod by its ends and concentrated. More of her aura passed through it, aligning the molecular structure. It was not much, for an aura was a very diffuse thing, even one as intense as hers. But even the barest smell of her aura might deceive the magnet. It was certainly worth the try.
She set the rod down and took out another. As she held it and concentrated, she explored other facets of the problem. Because the magnets oriented on an aspect of aura, and aura did not extend far from the host, the creatures would not be able to perceive her from very far away. In fact, beyond a certain distance, she should be able to see the magnets far better than they could perceive her.
The trouble was, the halls were metal—and narrow. A magnet could shoot the full length, and if Melody were anywhere in that hall, there was no way she could escape detection and destruction. Perhaps they had been designed with just this sort of thing in mind. The magnets could cruise up and down with such velocity that she was bound to be caught. So her long-distance vision would not help her much, unless she happened to be at an intersection and could get far enough out of the magnet’s path before it passed. Even then, it was a deadly gamble, for the thing might turn into the new passage. Or two magnets might approach, one in each passage.
But her charged rods might give her the chance she needed. The magnet could be confused.
Her life depended on it. “Lord God of Hosts,” she breathed, “be with us yet.”
“Is it safe to come out now?” Yael inquired.
Melody jumped. “I forgot all about you, child! Did you enjoy the action?”
“No,” Yael admitted. “When the shooting started, and I saw that it was all-the-way real, I was so scared I just… hid. I never thought adventure would be like this.”
“I was afraid it would be like this,” Melody said. “I really didn’t have much time to get scared—but I’m terrified now.”
“That’s my terror you feel!”
Oh? That was possible, Melody realized. “Unfortunately, there is more coming. We may not survive.”
“I thought I liked adventure,” Yael said. “But when I saw what a heel that captain really was, and that magnet—”
Heeclass="underline" a Solarian portion of anatomy, back of the foot or of the shoe covering that foot. That portion whose weight would fall on whatever was below. Implication: The man’s whole personality resembled the crushing force of such stepping-on, and an attitude heedless of the sensitivities of others. One who used and deceived others without regret.
“The Captain’s not a heel,” Melody said. “He is fascinated by your body and my aura, but he is the dedicated agent of a hostile power. His personal interest conflicts with his duty. He tried to bring them into alignment, and failed, so now the stronger loyalty governs.”
“Heel,” Yael repeated firmly, though her mood had changed.
“To do otherwise would make him a traitor to his galaxy.”
“Heel,” Yael said again. “Not him, now. You.”
Melody almost dropped the rod. “Me?”
“You don’t love him. You analyze him without caring. You made him make love to me thinking it was you. You took his gift of the Tarot cube, but you didn’t give anything back. You wouldn’t go with him when he asked you. You let Skot and Llume sacrifice themselves. You wouldn’t even save our segment—”
Yael halted. She was crying, and the tears coursed down Melody’s cheeks. Where was the truth?
Melody had been sorely tempted by Dash’s offer; but a combination of factors had balked her acceptance. Not least among them was the horror of accepting reprieve for her segment at the price of the rest of her galaxy. She thought she had done right, but she wasn’t sure. And how could she expect Yael to comprehend the complex weighing of values that was involved? Sometimes a principle, such as the greatest good for the greatest number, required the painful sacrifice of purely personal considerations.
She took a new rod. It resembled a wand, as in the Tarot Suit of Energy. That suit suggested life and work, while the Ten of Wands signified oppression. But this was not the tenth rod; she was dissembling. This was the fifth rod, and it signified competition and strife. How fitting!
“Oh, damn your Tarot!” Yael cried. “Don’t you have any feelings for yourself?”
And suddenly, surprising herself, Melody told her: “My personal feelings died in Sphere Mintaka when I was your age. Now I am an old neuter. I cannot love an alien male; it would destroy me.”
Yael was silent.
“We don’t have sexes in Mintaka. We reproduce by budding; any two entities joining to form the new shoot. Our sexual identity is only a convention, a convenience in dealing with other Spheres whose creatures don’t comprehend our changeability. As young entities we are neuter; as mature ones we are female until we first bud. Thereafter we are male, to one degree or another. I—lost my prospective mate, and chose never to give up my status for a lesser entity. So I am, in your terms, an old maid. Or as we put it in my culture, I have nine feet.”
“I don’t see how—”
“Don’t you understand, girl? Your female nature is protected for the duration of your life; you will always be as you are now, only older. If I mated now, not only would I be false to my lost love—I would become a male.”
“God of Hosts!” Yael cried, appalled. “I can’t believe that… but I feel its truth in your mind. You can’t—”
“I can’t love,” Melody finished simply. Temporarily numbed by her confession, she took up the sixth rod.
Now Yael was contrite. “I’m sorry. I—”
“You didn’t know. I should not have told you. I know the concept disgusts you.”
“I mean about the—the heel business. I’m frightened and mixed up and I didn’t really mean it. I really like March better than the Captain, even if he weren’t Andromedan, and—”
March—the crewman they had met on the shuttle coming in. Low Kirlian, low rank, an exile of some sort new to space, pretty much an average Solarian. Of such stuff was a girl like Yael’s ambition fashioned. Where was he now?
Yet Yael had not responded to the sex-change matter. That was answer enough. The concept did disgust her.
Armed with the six rods, Melody moved out. She headed directly for the nearest barrier. Since chance would probably determine her interception by the magnet, her best strategy was to minimize her exposure.
But just in case: She set the first rod at the entrance to the storeroom. “Ace of Wands… the beginning,” she murmured to Yael. “If Slammer passes this way, it may think I’m in this room.”
She walked rapidly down the hall, trying to keep her progress silent. Her shoes insisted on clattering. She stopped, drew them off, and tucked them into the crook of her left arm along with the five remaining rods. Now she could move quietly.
She turned a corner—and almost ran into Hath of Conquest, the first Solarian officer she had interviewed via Tarot, and found to be Hath of *.
Melody tried to bluff, hoping the man had yet learned about the events in the Captain’s office. She was still wearing her provocative clothing, fortunately. She made a little forward bow, exposing her cleavage. “Good day, sir.”
Hath hesitated. Then his hand shot out to grasp her arm. “Yael of Aura, come with me.”
He knew! Melody had one arm taken with the rods and shoes, the other captive to his strong hand. She felt helpless. She tilted back her head to look at his face…