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agents-biologists working as law - enforcement agents who'd been trained to
    recognize illegally obtained wildlife a rt ifacts."
    He opened the case again. In it was the feathered skin. Tesa was drawn by
    its beauty, but repelled by its b ru tal o ri gin. Rob gestured for her to take it.
    Reverently she spread it between them on the couch, marveling at its size.
    Here was the long white neck , with tiny black feathers where the head
    had been joined, and bits of the knubby red skin that made the c ro wn,
    now an ashy plum color. There we re the impossibly huge wings . Tesa shudde re d as her hand
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    touched the black primaries and she felt the delicate bones that made the
    three-fingered, almost palmless hand.
    How could anyone do this? There were ragged tear holes by the spine.
    "When this was confiscated," Rob signed, "it had a datacard identifying it as a genetic reconstruction. The card was an incredibly sophisticated
    counterfeit that got the skin past a lot of spaceport checkpoints. We traced it
    as far back as we could, but the trail died when it entered Sorozssow
    Sector."
    Tesa started in surprise. Rob had spelled the Mizari word that most Terrans
    translated to Sorrow or Outlaw Sector. Literally, the Mizari word meant
    "place outside the law," or "place with no ethics," since, to the Mizari, law and personal ethics were one and the same. It was all the more astounding
    that the notorious criminal underworld operating out of a mysterious, distant
    cluster of systems was supposedly run by a very old Mizari-a Mizari without
    ethics. To Tesa's knowledge, the ancient renegade had never actually been
    seen, but then, no law officer or journalist who'd entered Sorrow undercover
    had ever emerged to confirm or deny his existence.
    Sorrow Sector was home to anyone needing refuge from the law and willing
    to support the operations of its network, which included the best in illegal
    technology. In Sorrow Sector, everything was available-for the right price.
    "When Scott and Meg found out about the skins," Rob signed, "they were
    stunned. Because of the connection to Sorozssow, no one can find out
    who's obtaining the skins, how they're getting off-planet, or who's fencing
    them. Those marks on the hide are from a predator attack, so it was
    presumed at first that privateers had found the planet, and were stealing
    dead Grus from predators and salvaging the skins." He paused for a
    moment.
    "However," Rob signed, "things are getting worse. Lately, flawless skins have been impounded-hides that could've only come from Grus killed with
    modern weapons. Of course, our staff isn't permitted to have weapons, so
    they're exonerated."
    "Aren't the League Irenics doing anything?" Tesa asked. The CLS
    peacekeepers were charged with protecting intelligent life.
    Rob nodded. "Meg and Scott petitioned the CLS board for protective status
    for the Grus until the First Contact could be resolved. However, a Terran on
    the board vetoed that request."
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    Tesa's eyes widened indignantly. "What the hel for?" Rob smiled ruefully.
    "Because , of the two Terrans on the board, one is a past president of Jamestown Founders. She, and others like her, believe that membership will
    severely limit Earth's ability to colonize newly discovered planets. If the CLS
    intervenes on Trinity, it could set a precedent, giving the CLS a say in all
    Earth's colonizing expeditions. If the Grus aren't intelligent , Trinity belongs to Earth-and Jamestown Founders. If the CLS steps in now, Trinity might
    never belong to anyone."
    Tesa felt as though she'd traveled back in time and was hearing Columbus
    tell Queen Isabella how he had "discovere d" an inhabited continent , and how all its re sources we re now hers.
    "The corporations' opponents," Rob continued, "insist the companies would be happy to thumb their noses at CLS membership and all it represents in
    long-term achievements just so they can have unfettered opportunities to
    pursue short-term profits."
    Tesa