text: have. But whatever her plans are, whatever her motivations might be, she's smart enough to know she's been outmaneuvered.
  
  She takes a seat in the far corner of the room, her back symbolically to the wall. "Before you ask," she says, "this is Selrahc. Folvans are neither male nor female. They are an ungendered species. I've equipped jim with a standard translator. Je can understand you, you can understand jim. Be careful with your pronouns. Folvans find the concept of gender repulsive, and don't like being identified as male or female."
  
  "But of course," the captain says. Turning to Selrahc, he adds, "My name is Captain Javid Ynthramanni, Starship Orion. Welcome aboard. Feel free to have a seat."
  
  "Folvans find human furniture uncomfortable," Dr. Munro interjects again. "Their bodies are too tall, and at any rate your fine furniture probably couldn't bear the weight." Her smugness is becoming more overt and insufferable, perhaps because she now has an even larger audience to play for. That, or she is needling the captain, trying to provoke an emotional outburst from him.
  
  "Oh, I see," the captain says. "I hope you don't mind if I sit. My body doesn't like this gravity."
  
  Before he settles into his chair, which is centrally located in the front of the compartment with small end tables on each side, Ynthramanni gestures to you and his senior staff to join them. You jump at the invitation to relieve the weight off your legs, and you choose a spot on a settee on the port side of the room, away from both the captain and the researcher. You've been on the move for several hours now, with more than a little sweat to show for it, so you figure that a seat in the corner of the room will be the least offensive.
  
  The lounge area has seating for about eight people total, with two settees and four large chairs arranged around a low, glass-topped table. There are large windows extending from floor to ceiling on the port and starboard sides of the room, and a partition dividing this space from the forward control section. The window behind you shows the rock under which you were taking shelter a moment ago; the twin viewport on the far side of the room shows a corner of Hinju's parked shuttle, with a vast stretch of wet prairie beyond. The rain is pounding hard on the roof of the shuttle.
  
  Dr. Asmeld, an older gentleman with thick gray hair that somehow managed to never recede with age, nods politely and smiles as he settles into the other end of your settee, either unconcerned or unaware of any aroma you may be emanating. There are still a few spots available for more people to sit, but your team members seem altogether hesitant to enter the room; instead they have found jumpseats near the main hatch, where they can view the proceedings without mingling with the participants. Lieutenant Wyte is standing a few steps behind the captain, more like a servant waiting for someone to need him than a useful member of the crew.
  
  All this furniture looked comfortable at first, but when the cushion sags underneath you it reminds you of the disappointment you felt back in your own quarters, after Dansmith had the gravplates adjusted. The settee was designed to accommodate your normal weight, not your Folvan weight.
  
  "I believe you've already met our promising young lieutenant," the captain says, meaning you. "And you probably remember Lieutenant Commander Andrade, my Second Officer."
  
  "It's like a Giri Minor reunion," Dr. Munro says dryly. Andrade looks at you and winks, but maintains a polite smile for Dr. Munro's sake.
  
  "How is your husband?" Andrade asks. She is sitting on the settee directly opposite you, next to Dr. Munro's chair. She leans slightly over the arm of her settee in the doctor's direction, as if they are old friends happy to see each other again. It is quite the pretense.
  
  "Ander is doing fine," Dr. Munro says. "He'll be happy to see you." The doctor is very guarded in the company of all these naval officers, and completely unlike the cheerful, optimistic woman who tended to the wounded passengers in the shell of the cargo hold on Giri Minor four years ago—the person you were expecting to find today.
  
  Captain Ynthramanni continues the introductions. "This is Dr. Tetro Asmeld, my Chief Medical Officer and one of my most trusted advisors. And Lieutenant Wyte, my aide."
  
  "Am I to assume I am under arrest, Captain?" Dr. Munro says.
  
  "Probably," he replies. "Just based on what few facts I've already pieced together, it seems you have been false in your reports to Star Base Ishtria. But I'm sure there is a very good explanation."
  
  He signals to Lieutenant Wyte. "I could use some coffee. Would anybody else like anything? Dr. Munro? You've gone without real human food for four years. I'm sure you must be eager to have something special."
  
  "I'm good," she says. "Thank you."
  
  Lieutenant Wyte, who has been your liaison with the Orion's bridge, brings the captain his coffee in a cup and saucer. As he does so, he says softly, "Lieutenant Skaxa reports her mission has been a success, sir. The target has been neutralized, no casualties."
  
  "Thank you, Lieutenant." The captain doesn't react to the news or explain what Skaxa's target was to the other people in the room; he merely takes a moment to savor the coffee. "That is some rain out there," he says finally.
  
  Dr. Munro seems unsure if she's expected to answer, but after a brief hesitation she responds, "Folvan's climate is mostly dry, but we do get a lot of lake-effect showers this time of the year."
  
  "Are you sure you wouldn't like any coffee?"
  
  "I don't drink it, to be honest. But it smells good, though," Dr. Munro says.
  
  "The beans are from Usul," Ynthramanni continues. "There is a variety I'm fond of that grows only in one location, on the rainy side of Mount Quilu. I couldn't go without it. Quilu beans are hard to find, but I know a supplier who has a few kilos shipped to Ishtria for me once a month."
  
  Dr. Munro watches Captain Ynthramanni with a stony gaze, her jaw muscles tight.
  
  "I'm assuming you know something about supply ships," he continues. "While my Lieutenant here has been down on Folvan looking for you, I've been conducting an investigation of my own. It began when we detected an ion trail above the planet. Our analysis showed it was created by a Katanyan ship that had recently left orbit."
  
  Dr. Munro's foot begins to twitch nervously.
  
  "It was easy to track, because the ship hadn't left the system yet," Ynthramanni says. "We made contact with the captain. As you know, Katanyans identify as male and female, similar to humans. This one identified as male. He mentioned something about delivering weapons. Does that sound right to you? Small arms mostly, but he also told us about a delivery of some used cobel-based antiaircraft weapons that he dropped off a year ago. I got the impression he's been to Folvan quite a few times.
  
  "Of course, we've tried to scan this area, but this entire valley is coated with large amounts of iron. It's in everything here: the soil, the earthen mounds under which the Folvans have hidden their settlement. I'm told the iron is the result of a meteor impact many eons ago. But at these quantities, it interferes with our ability to scan the surface. Thus the need to send a team down to search for you in person."
  
  Still Dr. Munro says nothing.
  
  "I should inform you that we had some trouble getting here this morning," the captain continues. "As it turns out, this very shuttle that you're sitting on now was targeted by a cobel-based plasma cannon that was cleverly concealed on the lakeshore. Perhaps you noticed the burn marks outside as you were coming in? Fortunately, since we had some foreknowledge of its existence, we were able to avoid any significant damage. But to prevent it from being a problem for us in the future, I had my security chief, Lieutenant Skaxa of Tyuu, capture the installation and destroy the gun."
  
  What began as a low-key mission with non-interference orders seven hours ago has now taken on a more militarized aspect. Neither Selrahc or Dr. Munro respond to the news of Lieutenant Skaxa's operation, although the doctor does seem to be holding something back.
  
  "We came with the expectation we'd need to render assistance to you and your team," Ynthramanni says. "We never expected to find a genuine mystery. Now I assume it wasn't us you were intending to shoot when you installed the thing. Therefore I can only conclude you were expecting somebody else."
  
  "Dr. Munro was helping us defend ourselves against the Iib Ch'iib."
  
  Everyone in the room except for Munro turns; the conversation between her and the captain has been so intense that you forgot about Selrahc standing in the corner.
  
  "The Iib Ch'iib?" the captain says. "What about them?"
  
  "They are coming for the Anywhere Device," Selrahc says.
  
  "Coming? When?"
  
  "Very soon, I'd say," Dr. Munro says. "In fact, I was heading home to prepare for them. If you aren't in too much of a rush to leave, you might just bump into them."
  
  For the first time, Captain Ynthramanni acts alarmed. He puts his coffee down and stands. "Lieutenant Wyte, get me Commander Diston."
  
  "Yes, sir."
  
  A moment later, a holographic image of the first officer appears on top of the glass table in the middle of the room, directly facing the captain. The hologram is scaled down so that the first officer and the captain can see each other eye-to-eye.
  
  "Yes, Captain?" Diston says.
  
  "Jonn, this is important. I need you to scan the system for an incoming Iib Ch'iib ship."
  
  "The Iib Ch'iib, sir?" Diston says, surprised. "We're nowhere near their space. Are you sure?"
  
  "No," the captain says, "but if they are coming we need to be prepared. According to Dr. Munro those surplus naval weapon shipments were in preparation for an Iib Ch'iib attack. How many ships, Doctor?"
  
  "Just the one," Munro says. "A scout ship. Now that you're here, they should be no match for the Orion. Which is good, because you've just destroyed the Folvans' ability to defend themselves against a raid."
  
  "Did you get that, Jonn?" the captain says.
  
  "Yes, I got that," Commander Diston says. "We're on it."
  
  "Good. I'll be back soon, after I wrap up some loose ends here. Ynthramanni out." And the holographic image of Commander Diston blinks out.
  
  "Now, Selrahc, that's your name, right?"
  
  "Yes, Captain."
  
  "Perhaps you can help me," Ynthramanni says. "I don't know how much you know about the Iib Ch'iib, and in fact until today I was under the impression your people knew nothing about people from other worlds. My people and the Iib Ch'iib have been adversaries for a long time, ever since they wiped out one of our colonies over three centuries ago. We are unable to negotiate with them because the Iib Ch'iib do not value anything we have to offer. It's a long and complicated story, and maybe Dr. Munro has told you some of it."
  
  "Je has," Selrahc says.
  
  "So if the Iib Ch'iib do not seek peace with humans, only our extermination, then our only response can be to maintain the balance of power. When the Iib Ch'iib wiped out all twelve million people on Chodry, the remaining twelve colonies, along with our homeworld called Earth, united to form the Astral Navy as a common defense. That's what all of us do, all the people in this room who are wearing a uniform. We're one of three military forces sworn to maintain a balance of power with the Iib Ch'iib.
  
  "If Dr. Munro's threat assessment is correct," the captain continues, "then my ship, the Orion, can handle the alien vessel she says is on its way here. But what I need to know is why are the Iib Ch'iib interested in your world at all?"
  
  "They are coming for the Anywhere Device," Selrahc says.
  
  "Yes, I've heard that term before, the 'Anywhere Device.' What is it?"
  
  "It was a gift from the Elders of Emar," Selrahc says.
  
  "The Elders of Emar? I'm afraid I don't know who they are."
  
  "No one does," Dr. Munro says. "We're not even sure where Emar is, only that it's a very small planet, well below the norm for life-bearing worlds. The atmosphere is too thin for any of us to breathe, but somehow it works for the Emarians."
  
  "But these Elders gifted the Anywhere Device to the Folvans?" the captain says.
  
  "Yes," Selrahc replies. "More than a thousand seasons ago. It appeared right here on Mount Kaspoot. The Elders can't leave their world, so they hoped we would visit theirs. But my people are unable to breathe on their world, so we never go."
  
  "Actually, Selrahc here is the only Folvan who's ever been to Emar, so far as we know," Dr. Munro says. "With one of our environmental suits, of course."
  
  "So I'm confused," you say, deciding that it's worth breaking into this conversation. "Are we talking about that Anyhere Device we saw back in the village, or are there more than one?"
  
  "There are dozens of Anywhere Devices on Folvan," Dr. Munro says. "But only the original one up on the mountain is capable of making a link to Emar."
  
  "And the Iib Ch'iib want these devices?" the captain says.
  
  "They want that original one," the doctor says. "That's the only one on the planet that can lead off-world. Specifically, the Iib Ch'iib are looking for Emar, and so far this is the only known way to get there."
  
  "But why? I admit this sounds like an interesting toy, but I don't see why the Iib Ch'iib would want it, or why you'd arm the Folvans so heavily to defend it."
  
  "It's because of that balance of power you were just talking about," the doctor says. "The Anywhere Devices create a microwormhole that can be pointed at any location, and only the Elders of Emar have mastered the technology to make them. The actual mechanism might be located in one place, but you can use it to go almost literally anywhere you want. For instance, if I knew the exact coordinates of your ship, I could walk from here to your bridge in a single step...."
  
  "I see," the captain says. "So how did the Iib Ch'iib come to know about this wormhole device, then, before we did?"
  
  "For that you'll have to ask Ander," Dr. Munro says. "Ander Dyo, my husband. He can tell that story better than I can."
  
  "And where is he?"
  
  "Just up the mountain," she says. "There is a trail that begins just behind that big rock out there; it leads straight to one of my old research blinds. Ander converted it into a living space a few years ago, so he can keep an eye on the Anywhere Device. In fact, I was about to take your lieutenant up there a moment ago, before you arrived."
  
  The captain is about to ask another question when he is interrupted by an incoming comm signal. "Captain, this is Commander Diston. We have a lock on that incoming Iib Ch'iib vessel. You might want to wrap things up down there, because things are going to get very hot up here in about an hour."
  
  "Confirmed. I'll be back aboard soon."
  
  The captain then turns to you. "How are you holding up in this gravity, Lieutenant?" he asks.
  
  "I can't wait to be done, sir," you say, "but my team and I are holding up fine."
  
  "No one is experiencing heart problems?" Dr. Asmeld says. "No difficulty breathing? No joint or muscle pain since you've landed? No dizziness?"
  
  "No, sir," you say.
  
  "Good," Ynthramanni says, "because I need you to remain here for a little longer. Find Ander Dyo and learn more about this Anywhere Device. I need to know what it is I'm defending—I need to know what the Iib Ch'iib already seem to know."
  
  "Yes, sir," you say.
  
  "Now Doctor," the captain says to Dr. Munro. "I hope you don't mind coming with me."
  
  "Of course not," Munro says. "I was expecting as much."
  
  Dr. Asmeld and Commander Andrade stand, and you rise from the settee on cue as well.
  
  "That's wonderful," the captain says. "Now if you'll excuse me, we need to prepare for liftoff."
  
  You notice out the window that the rain shower has apparently passed, and that the clouds may be starting to break up over the grassland. That will be good, especially if finding Ander Dyo means hiking up this mountain. But before you have a chance to go anywhere and gather your team, Commander Andrade steps across the room to talk to you.
  
  "So how is the mission going, Lieutenant?" she says.
  
  "Good, ma'am," you say. "It's not what I expected, though."
  
  "Things often don't go the way we expect them to," she says. "But a good officer can adapt to changing circumstances. That's why you were selected."
  
  "I'm curious, did you suspect that Dr. Munro was capable of any of this?" you say.
  
  "If you mean from that time on Giri Minor, then no," the lieutenant commander says. "I did talk with her and her husband a bit before the crash, and it seemed like they were both exactly what they said they were. Hm."
  
  "What?" you say.
  
  "But the captain and Commander Diston did have suspicions going into this mission," she says hesitantly, like she is uncomfortable being the one who has to tell you this part of the story. "I didn't agree with the decision not to tell you. But there had been some indication from Admiral Stackhouse on Star Base Ishtria that something might be amiss here, and he wanted boots on the ground to take a look. I'm not sure anyone expected what you've uncovered, though."
  
  You're not quite sure what to say; if Andrade is correct, then it's like you were sent on this mission without being told just how dangerous it could be. You suddenly feel a little angry at the senior officers for withholding what might have been important information.
  
  "Anyway, you should probably be resuming your search," Andrade says. "The captain will be wanting to leave right away. But again, good job, Lieutenant."
  
  You turn to go join your team members, only to find Dr. Asmeld standing in your path, waiting for a chance to greet you as well. "Great work, Lieutenant," he says, giving you a fatherly pat behind your shoulders.
  
  Captain Ynthramanni is across the room discussing something with Lieutenant Wyte, but when he sees you with the CMO he immediately comes over to join you. "I just want to say before we leave that you did well here," he says. "All that stuff that Commander Diston said about contact with the Folvans, just forget about it, obviously. Clearly the situation has changed."
  
  "Yes, sir. Thank you."
  
  "In fact, I was thinking," the captain continues. "This Selrahc person seems pretty knowledgeable. I don't know what your experience has been with him—excuse me, with jim. Je seemed willing to answer my questions a moment ago, but I've never dealt with these people before. Do you trust this Folvan? Do you think it would be a good idea to ask Selrahc to help you find Ander Dyo?"
  
  Do you trust Selrahc?
  
  > Perhaps Selrahc left you suspiciously in the tunnel, and now all you can think about is that tense encounter this morning in the research post. If you tell Captain Ynthramanni that you don't trust Selrahc, turn to page 207.
  "To be honest, Captain," you say, "no I don't trust him." You use the word intentionally; strangely, it feels satisfying to spite Dr. Munro, who is still within earshot.
  
  "Why is that?" Captain Ynthramanni asks.
  
  "We've encountered Selrahc twice this morning," you say. "The first time was inside one of Dr. Munro's abandoned research posts, just minutes after we landed. He entered the post and ordered us to leave; when we went outside, we were surrounded by five village elders, all armed with plasguns."
  
  "Interesting."
  
  "That was when we first knew something was wrong here," you say. "So after pretending we were leaving, we circled back to the other side of the Folvan village. That's where we found the Anywhere Device, Dr. Munro, and, for the second time, our friend Selrahc."
  
  "This should all make for an interesting report," the captain says. "I look forward to reading it when all this is over."
  
  "Yes, sir."
  
  "Now I need to get back to the Orion before this Iib Ch'iib raider arrives," he says. "Good luck finding Ander Dyo. Bring me back answers. Right now what we need is information!"
  
  "Will do, sir."
  
  Dr. Munro is still sitting in her corner chair, watching with a bored interest all of the pre-flight preparation that is occurring in the forward half of the executive shuttle. She almost certainly overheard your chat with the captain, but when your eyes briefly make contact all she does is shake her head "no." What for? Does she not think you'll find her husband? You don't see how you could possibly miss him, as she practically gave the directions to everybody on the shuttle just a few minutes ago.
  
  "Selrahc, this may be the last time we see each other for a while," she says to her Folvan friend. "I doubt they'll let me return here anytime soon."
  
  "I can't come with you?" it says. It occurs to you that Selrahc probably overheard you talking about him to the captain too, as he was standing in that one corner the entire time he's been on the shuttle.
  
  "Not where they're taking me, no," she says. "And it seems that you made a poor first impression today on the young lieutenant over there."
  
  Selrahc doesn't turn to look at you. He merely reaches out to shake the doctor's hand.
  
  "Lieutenant, what are your orders?"
  
  You turn and see Chief Dansmith, flanked by Lieutenant Hun-Spruk, Dr. Wildon, and Starman Quabiss.
  
  "First I think we need to get off this shuttle," you say.
  
  The senior officers nod once more in your direction as you and your team make your way to the hatch. You step back down onto Folvan soil, with the big, overhanging rock once more above you. It indeed has stopped raining, but water still drips from the edge of the overhang. Somewhere in the distance you hear what sounds like a raging waterfall—probably a rain-swollen stream tumbling off the mountainside.
  
  "What do you think will happen to him?" Dr. Wildon says, nodding back towards the shuttle. You turn and see Selrahc stepping down out of the craft. He is by himself.
  
  "I don't know what he plans to do next," Dansmith says. "But for starters, he might want to move away from the shuttle, or else that grass kilt he's wearing might get a little singed from the thrusters."
  
  Selrahc doesn't look toward your group, but once again it's obvious he must have heard you because he promptly moves back from the shuttle. He returns to the same boulder he had been sitting on earlier, when you emerged from the tunnel. Right now he looks like someone who his lost even on his own world.
  
  "He creeps me out," Hun-Spruk whispers.
  
  Your conversation is washed out in the loud hum of the shuttle's antigrav generators, which are working twice as hard to raise the ship off the ground in this gravity. Then the propulsion thrusters kick in, and the captain's executive shuttle takes off over the prairie, eventually arcing upward through the clouds and out of sight.
  
  The senior officers are gone, but your own shuttle is still waiting for you just beyond. With the rain having cleared out, Hinju is standing outside. He leans with his back against the hull, the open hatch to his right.
  
  "What the hell was going on in there?" he says as you and your team members walk toward him. "It was like you were having a party with the captain and no one invited me."
  
  "I wouldn't say it was a party, Warrant Officer," you say. "Do you mind if we come aboard? We have some things we need to discuss."
  
  "You mean we're not done?" Hinju says. You climb back up into his shuttle, which seems so much smaller and more basic compared to the luxury liner from which you just came. When the last member of the team steps inside, the pilot closes the hatch.
  
  "And who's your friend?" he adds.
  
  "He's not our friend," Dansmith says. "That's the dude who told us to leave first thing this morning."
  
  "I think he's missing Dr. Munro right now," Dr. Wildon says.
  
  That's enough about Selrahc, you think. You look at your team. Everyone is tired and hungry; you've been on Folvan for almost eight hours now, and if you were back on the Orion most of you would be off-duty already. But instead, you've been tasked with one additional assignment. While it's just mid-morning local time here on the planet, it would be evening back on the ship—and that's the clock your bodies are set to. Hungry, tired, sweaty—but still on assignment.
  
  "OK," you say. "You heard the captain; our next task is to find Ander Dy