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ripe.
You have got to be the sourest . . .
It some kind of crime not to like kids? Speaking of which, I never saw you
get along with any but Jupp s boy and that Greta. And she was sixteen going on
twenty-six.
Jupp von Drachau had been their classmate in Academy. He was now High
Command s special errand boy. He had helped with their operation on The Broken
Wings. Later, it had been his assignment to provide the firepower when it had
come time to seize Payne s Fleet. They had thought. His premature approach and
detection had left them stranded for the full year they had contracted to work
for the Seiners.
Horst-Johann. I didn t see him last time we were in Luna Command. That s two
years ago now. Damn, time flies. Bet he s grown half a meter.
Their male guide said, People, we ll lunch in one of the worker s commons
before we show you a typical creche. Don t be shy. Visit. People here are as
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curious about you as you are about them. We d appreciate it if you d stay
close, though. If one of you gets lost, we ll both have trouble explaining.
Great, Mouse said. Still more brand new same old thing. Doesn t anybody
ever eat anywhere but in these goddamned cafeterias? I d sell my soul for a go
at a decent kitchen on my own.
You cook?
I m a man of myriad talents, Moyshe. Think that s what I ll do when we hit
The Broken Wings. Figure out how to make myself a home-cooked meal. And devour
it in private. Not out in the middle of a goddamned football field with five
thousand other people.
You ve got one classic case of the crankies this morning, my friend.
I didn t get any last night. Besides, I m not patient with crap, and this
whole field trip is main course horseshit without the hollandaise.
The commons was as predictable as Mouse feared. So was the food. The
conversation did not sparkle either, till Mouse took the offensive. Grace,
what s the point of this exercise?
I don t understand your question, Mister Storm.
Moyshe grinned behind his hand. The woman was sensitive to that overpowering
Mouse charm. She had become as decorous as a schoolteacher by way of
compensation.
This bullshit exercise. You dragged us away from work we don t have time to
get done right anyway. You run us out on a goddamned wire, then walk us all to
hell and gone when we could have done the whole thing on a bus. You tell us
we re going to see how Seiners live when they re not in the fleet, but you
just show us the same old stuff. And since you ve only kidnapped us for today,
you re not really serious about showing us anything. I mean, an idiot would
realize that it would take weeks just to skim the surface of a civilization
like yours.
The woman s dusky face darkened with embarrassment.
I mean, here we sit, eight former landsmen, all with that much figured out,
and all of us on our best behavior figuring it s some kind of test or someone
wants us offDanion for a while . . . Whichever, it s dumb. You re wasting our
time and yours.
Mister Storm . . .
Don t mind him, Moyshe interjected. It s old age creeping up on him. He s
not as tolerant of games-playing as he used to be.
Mouse grinned and winked. BenRabi grinned back.
Their guides surveyed the other landsmen. They said nothing, but aggravated
agreement marked each of their faces.
There s no point in going ahead, then, the male guide said. Your response
is data enough. Finish your meals. I ll be right back. He disappeared.
Whatis the point? benRabi asked.
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Grace shrugged. I just work here.
Psychologist?
She was startled. How did you know?
I can smell them. You really married to him?
No. She laughed weakly. He s my brother.
Ooh. Mouse said it softly. Only Moyshe heard.
You swallow something radioactive, Mouse?
What?
You just started glowing.
The lady psychologist was not immune. Mouse wangled a date before her brother
returned. BenRabi did not doubt that Mouse would make the date an interesting
experience.
He could not fathom Mouse s method. Even knowing they were being manipulated,
knowing Mouse s reputation, women walked right in. Indeed, Mouse s reputation
seemed to make him more interesting.
Their guide returned. He deposited his half-finished tray on the conveyor to
the sculleries. He waited impatiently while his flock followed suit. He
scowled at Mouse, who had opened up with the big guns and had Grace laughing
like a teenager at stories woollier than the mammoths they antedated.
Style, benRabi told himself. That s what he s got.
Excuse me? one of the ladies asked.
Talking to myself, Ellen. It s the only way to hold an intelligent
conversation.
You think they ll be mad at us because of this?
Maybe. More likely at each other. Like Mouse said, it was a dumb idea, no
matter what the point was.
Unless it s a cover.
That s a possibility.
The man had a bus waiting outside the cafeteria. In ten minutes it reached
the departure bay they had left so laboriously earlier. By then Mouse was
holding Grace s hand. He had her purring and almost unable to wait till he got
off work.
Come on, Storm, her brother snapped. Back to your assigned department. The
rest of you, go back to your jobs. Grace, for god s sake . . .
Oh, shut up, Burt.
He s got a name, one of the ladies crowed. Mouse s mutinous attitude was
catching. The Seiners had tried to put something over on the landsmen and they
were responding with a mocking camaraderie.
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Come on, Mouse, Moyshe grumbled. Let s don t start anything.
Right. At eight, Grace? Bye. Storm bounced onto the scooter he had
commandeered for the ride to the departure station. Moyshe took the seat
behind him.
New worlds to conquer, eh?
That s one way of looking at it, Moyshe. This old one is starting to wear.
They must have some kind of open contract on me. Some kind of bounty for the
girl who cons me into the I dos. They won t take no for an answer. Not and
stay friends. Weird people.
What the hell are you doing here? Kindervoort demanded when they strolled
into the coliseum, where he was overseeing some especially poor marksmen.
Surprise, Mouse crowed. The game was called on account of rain.
What s he talking about, Moyshe?
It was some kind of dumb exercise. I m sure you know what it was all about.
I told him it was stupid.
Who?
The Ship s Commander. He s up to something with you two. I don t know what.
Remind him that one of the reasons I crossed over was because people
wouldn t play games with me here. I d have a job I knew what it was. I d have
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