first contact
again. When it ended the second time, he looked haunted. "All right,
Steve. Finish your report."

Tarlac did so, conscious that after the contact tape, the story he was
telling sounded a bit anticlimactic. "I had to tell them about our
common heritage, of course," he finished, "and to be believed, I had to
finish the Ordeal. So here I am, with Honor scars. And that's it,
sir."

Davis touched his controls again, and Tarlac was suddenly conscious of
his intense scrutiny, his reputation for almost telepathic discernment.
"Is it, Steve?" he asked quietly.

"He is close to the truth," Kranath's thought came. "Will you deny it
to him?"

"No," Tarlac replied. "I told him it was up to the individual, and if
he figures it out, okay. Working it like this, not many should, even
though the Traiti won't keep it any secret."

"Will you then confirm it for him?"

"He won't need it."

The Emperor nodded slowly. "You never could play poker, Steve. You've
been holding out on me, and just now you were thinking of . . .
something. And maybe you've made a couple of mistakes. Your
transmission--or should I say illusion?--doesn't have a background.
That might have a lot of causes, but could Kranath's Vision have been a
reenactment? There were no mindprobes around five thousand years ago
to record it." He glanced again at the comscreen control panel, its
master switch turned off. "You, or part of you, is right here, Lord
Esteban Tarlac--isn't it?"

"Yes, sir," Tarlac admitted, unable to repress a smile and a rueful
headshake. "A moment ago Lord Kranath told me you were close to the
truth and asked me what I intended to do about it. Absolutely nothing,
except to ask you not to make it official. If I'm being so obvious,
too many people may pick up on it anyway."

"It wasn't obvious, except to someone who knows you well. I don't
think anyone but your . . . former . . . colleagues will catch it. And
I won't make it official; you know the Empire doesn't promote any
religion. But--will you give the Empire the same support your new
colleagues give the Traiti?"

Tarlac laughed, relieved that the Emperor could see and grasp this
opportunity as readily as ever, in spite of the circumstances. "Your
Majesty, if this succeeds, all of us will be working for the interests
of both races combined."

A driving surge of hope erased some of the Emperor's fatigue. "What do
you want me to do?"

The next morning