"Yes, do not give the ship clearance, Commander Ladade. Two of the prisoners have been cleared of the charges falsely registered against them and therefore must be off-loaded: It is entirely nec-essary Commander: Yes, and I am on my way to ensure their re-lease. I have the required form: No, not murderers, Commander, but merchants who have been unjustly accused: Yes, yes, most unusual." He paused a moment, listening to Ladade. There was a flicker in his eyes as if he were experiencing some trouble in con-vincing Ladade of this necessity. "And I agree, Ladade. Neither of us needs these troublesome little problems, but I must maintain my rep- utation as a fair market manager. This matter touches on my honor: Yes, yes, we shall be on our way with the release form."
Kapash was on his feet, then, disconnecting the call and hastily keying in another command. "Have my gig ready to depart by the time I reach my dock," he said and returned the hand unit to its hol ster. "Come, give it over, Zainal." He all but snatched the signed re-lease from Zainal's hand. Zainal reluctantly let it go but, if somehow Kapash reneged on the deal, he would have it back-and break Ka-pash's neck. he throb of the ship's engines ceased and Kris began to hope again.
"Has he made them stop?" Kathy asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Something has," Kris said. "Wherever they are taking us, they haven't had time to go far." She struggled to recall station protocol. "Don't they have to get an all-clear from the station?" Kathy asked. "Yes, they do," Kris replied, in some relief. "To be sure all their debts have been paid and to announce their destination. At least that's what Zainal said. Oh, we haven't left this system."
"No, we can't have." adade met Kapash and Zainal at the airlock, clearly annoyed at this interruption to his schedule, but he obviously recognized Zainal and that seemed to alter his attitude.
"Ah, Emassi Zainal, I had not looked to encounter you again," Ladade said almost genially, bringing his hand to his chest in a salute of respect.
Zainal duplicated the salute. "Nor I, Ladade."
"You know the two released prisoners?"
"My mate and one of my KDM captains," Zainal said.
"An officious and spurious complaint was laid against them," Ka-pash said, dismissing the matter with a flick of his fingers.
Zainal handed Ladade the release form.
"You know how abrupt such slave traders as Fartov are, lifting be-fore he obtained my clearance for his cargo," Kapash said, trying to shift some of the onus to Ladade.
From Ladade's expression, Zainal surmised that Kapash was not high in the station commander's estimation or guilty of much fair dealing. Of course, Kapash would get a cut of whatever profit Fartov made on his slavery mission. He shifted his feet restlessly, wanting them to get on with the release of Kris and Kathy before they expe-rienced too much trauma in the fetid hold of the slave carrier.
"Please," he said, trying not to sound too anxious. Zainal didn't know Ladade except as a very competent station manager. "Let us get to the business at hand."
"Of course," the commander said and gestured for them to return to the gig. "I have ordered Fartov to await clearance, which he will not receive until we have released the unfairly detained persons. I don't know how you and Kapash settled this most unusual last-minute rescue, but I do not like disrupting my schedule unnecessarily." Zainal knew a request for a bribe when he heard one. He consid-ered what valuables he had left and could think of nothing that might tempt the man. "Have you any suggestion, Ladade, as to how I might ease such disruption?"
"You were to host an Eosi called Pe?"
"You surely are not another person who thinks I know where Pe hid his treasures?" Zainal scoffed. "If his assistants had no idea, then why would I? I met him twice, I never hosted him."
Ladade looked unsure.
"Besides which, don't you two think it was odd that a Catteni
Emassi was left in the common prison to be transported so oppor-tunely for someone?"
"But you were to be a host," Ladade said, his eyes bulging with disbelief. Kapash made no comment. In fact, he held himself ex-tremely rigid, a fact that suggested to Zainal that Kapash had been in volved in his abduction in some way. Paid to ignore a Catteni in a mixed group, no doubt, since Kapash was notorious for his greed. "Someone," and Zainal looked from one to the other, "evidently saw a chance to get me out of the way permanently."
"Hadn't thought of that," Ladade said, rubbing his chin in a pen-sive manner as he regarded Zainal steadily.
"By the time I was called to be a host, I had already been dropped, and therefore I stayed."
Ladade regarded Zainal with veiled approval. Once again, Zainal wondered who had been on prison duty at that time. Possibly a vac-illating member of the dissidents had betrayed him for whatever profit such information had reaped.
"I do have one idea, though, which you, Commander, are re-markably well situated to explore."
"Yes?"
"This station keeps track of all ships in and out of the system, as well as their destinations, does it not?" he asked Ladade.
"You know it does."
"Have you never considered tracking Eosi ships to see if they made frequent stops at some out-of-the-way or unlikely port?" Ladade considered this, glancing at the personnel currently busy on routine duties. The three men had been speaking quietly and now both Ladade and Kapash glanced around to be sure that no one had been close to them when Zainal made his suggestion.
"I would happily discuss this with you once my friends have been released," Zainal said.
"As I would be happy to discuss such a strategy with you, Zainal," Ladade said. "Tell Captain Fartov that we are on our way to release two prisoners."
Then he peremptorily gestured for Zainal and Kapash to board Kapash's gig. t was awful waiting in the stinking dark, Kris thought, but she would not give up hope until-no, even if-the ship's engines started up again. Zainal was resourceful. He would not let them be sent to a slave colony. But the waiting was terrible. And as everyone else in the compartment realized that they were being transported be-yond hope or help, their moans and weeping were pathetic as well as contagious, and Kris caught back a sob in her own throat. Zainal will come. It was both prayer and litany.
She felt a bump reverberate through the ship's hull. More of an echo than a real concussion. As if a ship had connected with the airlock.
Oh, Zainal! Zainal!
She felt hands on her ankle, rough hands actually caressing her foot. She kicked against the grip as hard as she could and felt her foot connect with something soft. Someone groaned and cursed but the grasp on her foot had been broken.
"Don't do that again," she muttered, her growl very determinedly Cattenish, as much from fright as lack of moisture in her mouth. Almost stunned, she heard the door to their enclosure slide open, the door guide grating against its groove, and a hand light shining in, flickering across faces.
"Zainal?" she cried, hoping against hope that it was him and they were being rescued. Beside her, Kathy stirred and struggled to her feet. "Kris? Kathy?" an unmistakable voice called.
It was Zainal! "To the right, Zainal," she said, needing light to find her way among the tangle of bodies covering the floor.
The hand light swept to shine on her and Kathy. Kathy, already on her feet, gave a little shriek of relief and fled to the doorway. Kris, her knees sore from the earlier fall, had more difficulty getting up. But Zainal closed the distance between them, clasping her tightly in his arms and lifting her out of the prison. The door clanged shut as soon as they were in the corridor. Zainal set her on her feet and gestured to the Catteni she did not know. Kapash she knew all too well, and she looked through him.