Colonization 03 - Aftershocks by Harry Turtledove

Author:Harry Turtledove
Language: eng
Format: epub

"Good enough," Felless said. "The next obvious question is, can we trust his insights? Or is he still in some degree loyal to the Big Uglies who sheltered him for so long?"

Ttomalss made the negative gesture. "He has been interrogated under truth-revealing drugs. His comments about the authorities in the United States, though less coherent than when he is undrugged, are of the same sardonic tenor. The only loyalty to a Tosevite that he does exhibit is a personal one to Sam Yeager, whom he truly reckons a friend."

"All right. We may discount that, then," Felless agreed. "A pity we do not have such drugs to use on the Big Uglies."

"We tried some during the first round of fighting," Ttomalss said. "They worked imperfectly when they worked at all. And, because males relied too much on the false results they got with them, they turned out to be worse than interrogation with no drugs at all."

"That is unfortunate," Felless said.

"It often turned out to be very unfortunate for the

males involved," Ttomalss said. "Most of them can explain their misfortune only to spirits of Emperors past, however." He stopped. "Here is your room. Mine, as I told you, is across the hall. By all means let me know if you need anything. I suspect we will be meeting too often to let you taste ginger without complicating your life and everyone else's. I do not mean that as criticism, merely as a statement of fact."

"And as a warning," Felless said. Ttomalss made the affirmative gesture. Felless sighed. "I thank you.

The habit is hard to break." It was especially hard to break when she didn't want to break it. She asked,

"When will the first meeting be?"

"After breakfast tomorrow morning," Ttomalss answered. "That will give you a chance to relax and recover from your flight."

"Good enough," Felless said again. "I thank you for your help." She went into the room and closed the door behind her. Her eye turrets swiveled. Like the hall, the room had been built for Tosevites, and so struck her as outsized. Some of the plumbing fixtures were also left over from the days when Big Uglies had come here. But the rest had been modernized, and the appointments suited her well enough.

When she made her way to the refectory, she found the food quite good. Then she noticed the fleetlord of the conquest fleet at a table in one corner of the room, in animated discussion with a shiplord whose body paint was almost as complex as his. If the fleetlord ate here, the food would be good, or someone would hear about it in short order.

Breakfast the next morning was good, too. She used a map of the complex to find the meeting room.

Diffal and Ttomalss were already there. A male with the body paint of a shuttlecraft pilot came in right behind her. Ttomalss said,

"Senior Researcher, I present to you the returned defector and former shiplord, Straha."

"I greet you," Felless said.

Page 226

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