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“Very distressing thing,” Spano declared. “Maybe it hit them so suddenly they didn’t know it was building.”

“You and Blynn get over to the ship right away for deep-probing,” Han Vollard ordered, as both began to speak at once. “It’s the only way I’ll be able to get a coherent report.”

After the results came through, her anger was cold, searing, unwomanly. “You knew a year ago that things were beginning to go wrong and you didn’t even mention it on the tapes! I could have both of you broken for this.”

“If only that were all there was to worry about,” Clarey sighed wistfully.

She whirled on him. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself!” The sudden loss of control in that dark amazon was more threatening than anything that had happened yet.

“I’m not feeling sorry for myself,” he said. “It’s the Damorlanti I feel sorry for.”

“You feel sorry for them because you identify with them. That makes you sorry for yourself.”

She misunderstood his motives as she misunderstood everything he did or said, but their rapport wasn’t at stake now. “What are you going to do?” he forced himself to ask.