Muffled sounds issued from the speaker. Then, “I will go along with whatever Dr. Rijseen and the science staff advise. My sole concern is for the safety of the civ—of the human-inhabited worlds, and for government property, of which you are presently in unlawful possession. If that is returned undamaged, then I am perfectly willing to stay out of this.” His voice dropped to an irritated rumble. “I would far rather stay out of this. Would you people please make up your minds?”

“I believe you, Colonel,” Bonnie continued. “There’s just one problem. We’re not dealing solely with scientific decisions anymore.” She glanced at Sanchez, who returned a comforting smile.

Bonnie took a deep breath. Her voice trembled slightly. “In Service Corridor Two-Four Dee you’ll find … you’ll find …” She hesitated, forced herself to go on. “You’ll find the bodies of Loo Hua-sung and Seeker maintenance consultant Richard Weldon.”

Rijseen’s voice did not change as he asked, “Bodies? Both dead?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Weren’t you and engineer Hua-sung engaged to be married at one time?”

“There was—we talked about it, yes.”

Ryo was staring at her. Finally he understood the relationship that had existed between his two closest human friends. They were, not quite premated, but living in similar status. It explained a great many things.

“Weldon suspected our intentions,” Bonnie rushed on. “He managed to follow one of us, maybe more. I don’t know.”

“I wonder why he didn’t sound the alarm, if he knew,” said Colonel Davis.

“He had other plans,” Bonnie told him. “Plans of his own. You know how restricted access was to Ryo. Of the Seeker’s crew, generally only Loo and I were allowed to see him once he’d been established in his own burrow—his quarters.

“When Weldon became suspicious of our actions, he bided his time. He was waiting for us in the service corridor. He didn’t have the slightest interest in stopping us. All he wanted was to kill Ryo. Loo—Loo stepped between them.”

“Cocontroller Taourit here,” said the man on Sanchez’s right “I’m the one who shot Weldon. For the record.” He said it proudly.

“I don’t understand,” Davis was muttering. “Two men dead. Why did this Weldon want to kill the alien?”

“Because to Weldon, Ryo was an ugly, stinking, hard- shelled, smelly slimy bug. That’s why, Colonel. That’s the attitude we’re going to have to contend with and that’s why we have to be allowed to establish formal contact with Ryo’s race before word of their existence is leaked to the general populace.

“By the way, you ought to put a seal on environmental specialist Mila Renstaad. She felt the same’ way as Weldon and could cause trouble.”

“I’ll handle that,” Davis said curtly.