to have her killed, especially in the way he did, and
then by dismissing her to seek the death of one who has hurt or
dishonored his thakur, Jason has forfeited all claim to honor."

The two men in Jason's hotel suite looked at each other, and the head
of Jason Interstellar's Sandeman operation said feelingly, "Oh, shit.
That tears it, boss. We won't do a centi's worth of business here for
a year."

"They'll get over it, Gunter. We'll make up the loss elsewhere, and
you can keep things going until business picks up again here. I'll see
to it that your pay doesn't suffer--though you'll probably have to cut
staffing for a while."

"I can live with that, I guess. Not that I'll have any choice."

Killian spoke again. "Alanna thanks Vader, and Alanna says this." He
hoped Jason could read Sandeman expressions better than he could their
way of thinking. Obviously he didn't realize that Miklos controlled
two-way access to any set tuned in to a conference call, and that his
conversation had been heard in all the clans. "There is precedent for
a clan to give countenance to an off-worlder, and others have adopted
our customs; our Earl Klaes and his family even use the clan-prefixes
offered them by Shona."

He paused, turning to Dana and smiling. "Dana Manfredi."

Dana was startled to hear herself addressed, but she responded quickly.
"Yes, Chief Killian?"

"Will you accept Alanna's countenance?"

Would she accept the First Clan's countenance? Dana could feel tears
welling up, though she managed to keep her voice under control. She
had been rejected by her thakur, had a planet-wide conference called to
discuss her fate, been commended by the arbiters of honor, and now
offered membership in the First Clan! Thank the gods they didn't
consider tears a sign of weakness . . . "I would be honored, Alanna."

"Good." Killian smiled at her, then sobered. "The Terran woman known
as Dana Manfredi has accepted Alanna's countenance. Be it known that
she is henceforth Dana, a clanswoman of Alanna. As chief of her clan I
say her actions deserve not punishment but praise; the honorable
service she gave was to one unworthy of it, and he had no right to
order her death. It is my personal belief that Dana merits the black
and a place in the warrior caste, but that decision is not mine alone.

"It is my decision, however, that Clan Alanna take appropriate action
against Richard Jason and every thing or person associated wi