The Devagas, said Lyad, while not too happy with their ally's attitude, were more than to see the progress to the stage. As an of its usefulness, the had provided them with a of robots, to their own specifications.
"What of specifications?" Trigger inquired.
Lyad hadn't learned in detail, but some of the appeared to have possibilities. Those possibilities, however, were what the most.
Mantelish his and his head. "Not good!" he said. "Not at all good! I'm to think—" He paused a moment. "Go on, Lyad."
The was now to a the had almost as soon as Balmordan of it. The had been to and 113-A.
The Ermetyne's to Trigger. "Shall I?" she asked.
Trigger nodded.
And a being. The Devagas already had that this being must be Trigger Argee.
"What?" Mantelish's thick white up. "113-A we can understand—it is of being in some way under control. But why Trigger?"
"Because," Lyad said carefully, "112 was aware that 113-A to condition Trigger into being its interpreter."
Professor Mantelish's dropped. He his toward Trigger. "Is that true?"
She nodded. "It's true, all right. We've been on it, but we haven't got too along. Tell you later. Go ahead, Lyad."
The Devagas, naturally, hadn't on the king plasmoid's suggestion. Whatever it was more than likely to be very useful to them. Instead they to 113-A and Trigger Argee into their possession. They would then have a new, point in their with their partner. But they that neither Trigger 113-A were at all easy to come by.
Balmordan now a of p. 315tactics. The had to it that a number of were available for 112; Balmordan in had much of his early and was to it. His was that all should be at 113-A. Once it was obtained, he himself would to its interpreter. Trigger Argee, of the she might to others, should be destroyed—a operation than attempting to take her alive.
This was to; and Balmordan was to out operations.
Mantelish had his again. "No!" he said and loudly. He looked at Lyad, then at Trigger. "Trigger!" he said.
"Yes?" said Trigger.
"Take that woman to her cabin," Mantelish ordered. "Lock her up. I have something to say to the Commissioner."
Trigger arose. "All right," she said. "Come on, Lyad."
The two of them left the lounge. Mantelish up and over to the Commissioner. He the Commissioner's jacket lapels.
"Holati, old friend!" he emotionally.
"What is it, old friend?" the Commissioner inquired.
"What I have to say," Mantelish rumbled, "will you. Profoundly."
"No!" the Commissioner.
"Yes," said Mantelish. "That 112—it has, of course, an almost value to civilization."
"Of course," the Commissioner agreed.
"But it also," said Mantelish, "represents a threat to civilization."
"Mantelish!" the Commissioner.
"It does. You don't these as I do. Holati, that must be destroyed! Secretly, if possible. And by us!"
"Mantelish!" the Commissioner. "You can't be serious!"
"I am."
"Well," said Commissioner Tate, "sit down. I'm open to suggestions." Space-armor hadn't been much in the Colonial School's curriculum. But the Commissioner out one of the ship's two heavy-duty suits; and when Trigger wasn't at the controls, eating, sleeping, or taking of the ship's with Lyad and Mantelish, she drilled.
She wasn't at the too often. When she was, they had to surface and in normal space. But Lyad, not too surprisingly, out to be a pilot. Even less surprisingly, she already had a study of the ship's controls. After a hours of instruction, she on shift with the Commissioner along the less stretches. In this area, none of the were smooth.
When not on duty, Lyad on her and brooded.
Mantelish to be useful.
Repulsive might have been too. He didn't make himself noticeable.
Time passed. The got rougher. The last ten hours, the Commissioner didn't out of the seat. Lyad had been locked in her again as the period approached. In normal space, the should have been in clear range by now. Here, the gave occasional blurry, that in the about them might be something more material. It was like through the point where a lurked.
They on the points. They came out two twisters. The to life.
"Ship!" said the Commissioner. He swore. "Frigate class," he said an later. He his toward Trigger. "Get Lyad! They're in range. We'll let her communicate."
Trigger, hammering, ran to Lyad. The Commissioner had the short-range on when they came to the room together.
"That the Aurora?" he asked.
Lyad at the in the detectors. "It is!" Her white.
"Talk to 'em," he ordered. "Know their call number?"
"Of course," Lyad sat at the communicator. Her hands for a moment, then steadied. "What am I to say?"
"Just out what's happened, to start with. Why they're still here. Then we'll improvise. Get p. 318them to come to the screen if you can."
Lyad's over the tabs. The contact.
Lyad said evenly, "Come in, Aurora! This is the Ermetyne."
There was a pause, a long pause, Trigger thought. Then a voice said, "Yes, First Lady?"
Lyad's for an instant. "Come in on visual, Captain!" There was the of in the words.
Again a pause. Then the was looking into the Aurora's room. A brown-bearded, lumpy-faced man in sat the other screen. There were other men him. Trigger the Ermetyne's in and to watch Lyad's face.
"Why haven't you out your instructions, Captain?" The voice was still even.
"There was a with the engines, First Lady."
Lyad nodded. "Very well. Stand by for new instructions."
She off the communicator. She around toward the Commissioner. "Get us out of here!" she said, chalk-faced. "Fast! Those aren't my men."
Flame about them in subspace. The Commissioner's hand a button. The and all around. The them forward. Twelve later, they and again. Subspace reappeared.
"Guess you were right!" the Commissioner said. He the and his chin. "But what were they?"
"Everything about it was wrong!" Lyad was saying presently, her still white. "Their faces, in particular, were deformed!" She looked at Trigger. "You saw it?"
Trigger nodded. She she was on the white-faced herself. "The captain," she said. "I didn't look at the others. It looked as if his and were pushed out of shape!"
There was a silence. "Well," said the Commissioner, "seems like that has been doing some more experimenting. Question is, how did it to them?"
They didn't any to that. Lyad the Aurora had been orders to avoid the of the substation. Its only purpose there was to and report on anything that to be going on in the area. She couldn't her the orders.
"That mind-level business," Trigger said finally. "Maybe it a way of going out to them."
She see by their that the idea had occurred, and that they didn't like it. Well, neither did she.
They a more ideas around. None of them helpful.
"Unless we just want to it," the Commissioner said finally, "about the only thing we can do is go and it out with the p. 320first. We can't around the station while she's there and likely to start on our any second."
Mantelish looked startled. "Holati," he cautioned, "That's a warship!"
"Mantelish," the Commissioner said, a coldly, "what you've been in isn't a canoe." He at Lyad. "I you'd if you weren't locked up in your the ruckus?"
Lyad gave him a smile. "Commissioner," she said, "You're so right!"
"Then keep your seat," he said. "We'll start prowling."
They prowled. It took an hour to the Aurora, the Aurora was also for them. Suddenly the came alive.
The ship's off at once. Then past in the screens. Trigger looked at the screens for a seconds, and started studying the floor.
Whatever the had done to the frigate's crew, they appeared to have none of their ability to give battle. It was a very affair. But neither had the Squadron Commander Tate much of his along those lines. The had many more but no range. And he had the ship. Four minutes after the were exchanged, the Aurora up.
The of the Aurora's which the Commissioner presently into the lock appeared to have had three p. 321quarter-inch at a through it, which had been again. The material was in character.
"There were two in another piece," the Commissioner said, very thoughtfully. "If that's the average, she was in a thousand spots. Let's go have a look."
He and Mantelish the the of steel-alloy into the ship's workshop. Lyad was locked into her cabin, and Trigger on in the room and looked out at the of normal space.
Half an hour later, the two men came up the passage and joined her. They appeared preoccupied.
"It's an picture, Trigger girl," the Commissioner said. "Those look of through. Whatever did the was also of up the it as it along. What it did to the men when it got we don't know. Mantelish we might it to the of ordinary invasion. It doesn't matter. It them."
"Mighty large germs!" Trigger said. "Why didn't their stop them?"
"If the ship was to and these just in gradually—"
"Oh, I see. That wouldn't the reflectors. Then, if we keep moving ourselves—"
"That," said the Commissioner, "was what I had in mind."
