or, but it wasn't light, and it was clumsy in anything
approaching a full standard gee. Clumping over to the lock, Tarlac
cycled through.

He stood for a moment on the Lindner's hull. He enjoyed being EVA,
especially near a planet, and the blue-white world off to his right was
achingly reminiscent of Terra. Then he spotted a blinking white light
"above" and to his left, on a Traiti ship. He released his boots'
mag-field and pushed off toward the light, waiting until he was perhaps
five meters off the hull before activating his thrustpac.

When he'd gone roughly a kilometer--a diameter out from the Lindner--a
soft Traiti voice told him to cut power. He did, and the pressure at
the small of his back died.

"You have control." He kept his voice impassive, as though he were
giving the most routine of responses.

With that, he felt the pull of a tractor beam. At least, he thought,
he'd aimed for the right ship; he was being drawn toward and into an
open airlock. It was bigger than the lock he'd used on the Lindner, and
different in detail, but it served the same function and had been
designed by humanoids, so it couldn't be too different. When the
tractor beam released him and the lock's outer door closed, radiant
heaters came on.

His suit indicators showed rapidly-increasing air pressure. He
removed his helmet when it reached Terra-normal, but it didn't stop
until the indicators showed air pressure, like the gravity, about ten
percent greater than Terra's, with a fraction over a quarter oxygen.
Like recycled air anywhere, it smelled flat.

Finally the inner door cycled open and Tarlac stepped through, to
confront what he thought of as a commando squad. There were seven of
them, with insignia indicating what Intelligence evaluations said
should be six troopers and a junior officer. They were unarmored but
otherwise in full battle gear, all standing in what the Ranger guessed
might be the Traiti version of attention: relaxed yet alert, holding
grounded blast rifles, right hands resting on dagger hilts. He had
time to notice disruptors and shortswords on the commandos' belts in
addition to the daggers, before the officer snapped him a salute that
would have done credit to an Imperial Marine.

He was motionless for an instant in surprise, then he returned the
salute as crisply as his spacesuit would allow. "Ranger Esteban Tarlac
of the Terran Empire."

"Team-Leader Hovan of Clan Ch'kara. Need you hel