weren't of
Betan extraction." He grimaced painfully. "I've done some soul-searching
myself, and it hasn't been a pleasant task."

"But it's nothing like mine," Alexander said in a low voice. "I
suspected they were human when I was younger, but I denied my suspicions
and accepted false facts instead of investigating."

"You would have found nothing."

"Unfortunately, that's not true. We discovered quite a bit from the
experimental station you left us when you disappeared ten years ago. But
we stopped when we found the age that was being indoctrinated with Lani
tabus. We could have gone farther, but I didn't think it was necessary."

"Didn't Douglas tell you?" Kennon asked curiously. "I told him when I
turned him loose."

"Douglas didn't tell anything except that you had somehow gotten a
spaceship. I assumed it was one of those that were involved in that
commercial raid a few decades ago, but I see it wasn't. No--I knew
nothing about this development. And Douglas, I guess, wanted to keep
it hidden. He gave your co-ordinates and ordered Mullins to launch a
missile. But he apparently forgot to turn on his IFF. At any rate
the missile lost you--but found Douglas. Douglas was still talking to
Alexandria when it struck."

"He might have informed you," Kennon said. "If he had more time."

"I doubt it. He ordered the missile first. He was trying to destroy you
before you could destroy Outworld Enterprises. His motives were selfish
as usual." Alexander looked at Kennon with a haggard eye. "I owe you an
apology," he said. "I've considered you responsible for Douglas's death
for ten years. I've searched for you on a hundred worlds. My agents in
every branch office have had standing orders to report any unusual
arrivals. I have hunted you personally. I wanted to break you--I wanted
to kill you."

"I couldn't help the delay," Kennon said. "The ship was old."

"I know. You've told me more than you think. I'm a telepath, you know."

"I've never forgotten it," Kennon said. "That was one of the principal
reasons I came here. I wanted to see how you'd react when you learned
the whole truth."

"And I suppose you gloat--no--you're not doing that. But you are right.
I could have checked it further. But I didn't. Outworld Enterprises is
far bigger than Flora--and I was busy. Galactic trade is a snake-pit.
And, after all, there was Douglas's death--and the Family with their
never-ending clamor for money and their threats when it d