“True, though I doubt it will matter when Probables tell me it’s not going to work the way he’s hoping, on a big scale—though he seems to think it will, and can cause a lot of grief in the trying.”
“Why not? It worked perfectly on Sunder.”
“Yes, because Sunder was a global unity that shared power between the military and science departments, and they didn’t have world communication systems like this one does, where everyone can be apprised of what’s going on in their world by just turning on a box in their homes and listening. On Sunder, the leaders could step down and appoint anyone they wanted to take their place, and most of the planet’s people never knew the difference. On this planet the leaders are either elected by the people, born into the position, or take power by might. The general populace knows what’s going on and if they don’t like it, they most definitely aren’t quiet about it. And he’s picked the elected form of government, so he can’t just use the rods to have one of the leaders resign and appoint him in his place.”
“But won’t that approach take much longer?”
“You betcha.” Martha switched to a smirking tone. “It would take years for him to work his way up through the hierarchy. And it’s a good guess that Jorran won’t figure that out before he runs out of time.”
“Then couldn’t we just sit back and wait for him to run out of time and go home? If he’s back on Century III, we can file theft charges against him and get the rods back through normal diplomatic channels.”
“We could,” Martha replied. “But we won’t, when he could decide to take the risk and strand himself here, the old do-or-die approach. And there is one other possibility we have to take into account.”
“You mean you haven’t told us everything yet?”
“It’s those slow computers,” Martha’s new tone was thick with complaint. “I was concentrating on retrieving their history, military, science, and governmental records first, but I’m now getting information that introduces new options. Jorran doesn’t have to get into a position of leadership to be in a position of power on this particular planet. Wealth is a highly motivating, highly powerful commodity here, so he could obtain his own empire in the field of finance instead. And in that case, those rods can do exactly what he needs.”
“Have people shower him with their riches, without knowing why, and with nothing to prevent them from doing so?” Shanelle guessed.
“Exactly.”
Chapter 8
“IS ALL THAT SILENCE BROODING,DALDEN,OR BECAUSEyou’ve been paying attention?” Martha asked.
They were alone in the control room. Shanelle had been informed that Falon was showing signs of impatience in wanting to search for Jorran himself. Sending fifty seven-foot Sha-Ka’ani warriors to the surface for a mass search for Jorran would have hastened the search, but was out of the question. There might be humans of an equivalent size on the planet, but they were a rarity, not the norm.
Sending down even two warriors would be pushing it for drawing unwanted notice, which was why Martha was insisting the search begin with just Dalden. Shanelle, being in agreement, had rushed off to remind her lifemate of that.
“I understand what worries you, Martha,” Dalden replied. “I would not let the woman know that I am what she would call a barbarian.”
Chuckling floated about the room. “She wouldn’t think that. No, her word for you would be an alien. It would have no meaning to her that other worlds consider your world a bit barbaric in nature. She’d recognize only one thing, that you aren’t fromherworld, and that would shock the hell out of her, taking precedence over anything she might have been feeling about you. I’d then have to bring her aboard the ship, erase her memories of you, and hope that it works on these humanoids. And you know I don’t deal well with ‘hope it works.’ So why don’t we just avoid all that—”
“I need someone who will immediately recognize another visitor like me,” he interrupted. “I will not be able to know the difference, since they all sound strange to me. Jorran I will recognize.”
“Not guaranteed, when he could change his looks. Did we say your task was going to be easy?”
Dalden ignored the commentary to continue to make his point. “The rest of his people I would not know. But she would know. She knew immediately that I was not from her town. She already thinks I am part of her world, a foreigner, she called me.”
“I was there, remember? I heard every word.”
“Then you can agree that to have her help would be a benefit to us.”
“Of course I agree, but that doesn’t mean it can be allowed. Other factors have to be taken into account, Dalden, the main one being that the longer you deal with one of those humans, the greater the risk of giving yourself away. The woman Brittany isn’t even in a position of authority, yet she asks the same questions you will run into from everyone. Those are a curious, bold people. Butting into others’ business is a natural process for them. And she will continue to grill you with questions until you end up slipping and telling her something that you shouldn’t.”
“With most of those questions already dealt with, the risk has been lessened.”
Martha chuckled. “I just love it when warriors prove they aren’t all brawn.”
“Does this mean—”
“Not so fast, kiddo.” Martha did the interrupting this time. “I sent your sister out of here so I could speak plainly without embarrassing you. The woman Brittany does happen to be ideal for what you need, and you’ve passed with flying colors, making her think you’re just someone from a different part of her world. I could wish you weren’t attracted to her, so let me just stress: Jorran first, then rods, girl last on the agenda. If your reproductive instincts become a problem, get them out of the way. Too much trouble can be caused if that’s all you’re thinking about. So if it becomes a problem, take care of it, then get back to business. Can you do that?”
“Certainly.”
“Why do I get the feeling that would have been your answer whether you believe it to be true or not? Never mind,” was said with an accompanying sigh. “I know you wouldn’t lie to me intentionally. I know youthinkyou can do what needs doing. I’ve come to expect an abundance of confidence from any of you warriors, no matter the endeavor, and you and your father have proven time and again that your own confidence is rarely off the mark.”
“Is the woman still in that place you sent me to?” Dalden questioned.
