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impatience to his voice. “Get busy and start checking, and give me some choices. With almost a week to work in we’ll be able to pull this off, but only if we get going immediately. Eavamon, let me know if you hear anything else, no matter how insignificant it is, and start preparing the leak that will tell Clero Bellna has left secretly with mercenaries. Don’t release it until I give you the word, but have it ready.”
    “Will do,” Eavamon agreed already sounding thoughtful. “I’ll also get in touch with Grigon and have him begin preparing a way to keep Bellna away from those mercenaries and around for the Escort. He’ll need the time.”
    “He probably will,” Dameron said with a nod he seemed to think the absent Eavamon could see. “We’ll call you if we need anything else, but right now it’s up to us. Base out.” he flipped off the orange light, then turned his head. “Valdon, get on that search fast. I want that information as soon as the files can be programmed.”
    He turned away from the console without seeing Valdon’s preoccupied nod, the big man having already settled in front of what was probably a computer terminal. Dameron was heading for the door I was standing beside, deep in thought, and wouldn’t have seen me even if I’d been dressed in flashing sun-sign. I had no interest in being left behind as a permanent wall post, so I accepted the risk of being run down and stepped directly in his path. The commander stopped short, frowned at me for a minute or two without recognition, then memory flashed briefly in his eyes. he took my arm and led me out of the room, then waited for the door to slide closed again behind us before giving me an apologetic look.
    “I’m sorry that took so long, but we have a crisis,” he said, trying hard to really look sorry. “At least you got to see something of the way we operate. Did you find it interesting?”
    “Oh, yes, very,” I nodded, keeping my tone solemn. “I get a real kick out of being in the true thick of things. You said my ship was this way?”
    “Your ship,” he echoed, not doing well with hiding his impatience at the thought of being distracted from his crisis. “That’s right, we were going to your ship, weren’t we?” I could almost see his mind going clickety-clickety-click behind his eyes, but be was obviously the type who considered business before visitors. he made up his mind fast, apparently feeling no guilt over the decision. “I can’t take the time for that now,” he admitted, giving me the bad news without flinching. “Once I have this problem squared away we can program your course computer, and I promise it will be the first thing I do.”
    “The first thing after a planetary week’s worth of waiting?” I asked, trying not to sound as boorish as I was feeling. he and his people had saved my life – but I’d been looking forward to going home. “You won’t mind my wandering around here alone and – amusing – myself?”
    His expression changed at that, just the way I’d wanted it to, but the semi-panic he must have been feeling didn’t push him in the direction I was hoping for. He pasted a friendly expression on his face, took my arm again, then started guiding me up the corridor in our original direction.
    “You know, now that you mention it, I think it might interest you more if you knew exactly what we’re in the middle of,” he said, sounding as if he were selling magazines. “Let’s get comfortable in my office, and I’ll fill you in.”
    “There’s an old saying about interesting times,” I commented, not letting him hurry me as fast as he wanted to. “Suppose you give me your coordinates and the proper quadrant and I do my own programming?”
    “You may remember what I said about not wanting you too overburdened with unnecessary information,” he said, glancing down at me as he put a little more muscle into his hauling. “The coordinates of this base come under the heading of