But Rather had the words straight in his mind now. "I followed you here, but the idea was to face the Admiralty in the company of my friends and my elders! And my father. Are we all going to join the Navy now? Is that what we're talking about?"

Clave said, "Jeffer?"

The door said, "I'm for it, of course, but the boy's got

a point. It's his risk, not ours."

Rather wasn't finished. "You're asking me to swear to something that isn't true. I am not loyal to the Navy. If you thought I was, you wouldn't like it."

Nobody wanted to answer.

"You can feed your secrets to the tree. I will not join the Navy. But I can go talk to Wheeler, if you think it'll help. I'll do that."

"I go with him," Debby said firmly.

"And Booce, you tell me how to look unsuitable." A black depression was settling over him. He felt rejected by all of his companions save Debby; but Carlot wanted him out of the way. For Raff Belmy.

Chapter Eighteen

Headquarters

from the Citizens Tree cassettes, year 384, day 2050:

JEFFER THE SCIENTIST SPEAKING. CANDIDATES ARE CONSIDERED UNSUITABLE FOR THE NAVY IF THEY ARE SICKLY, OR UNDEFENDABLE, OR EASILY LOST OR DISTRACTED, OR LOYAL TO SOME ENTITY OTHER THAN THE NAVY. THEY MAY HAVE UNACCEPTABLE MOTIVES FOR JOINING. IF A FAMILY MEMBER ACCOMPANIES, CANDIDATE MAY BE RELUCTANT OR MAY NEED SUPERVISION.

ACCEPTABLE CANDIDATES WOULD PRESUMABLY HAVE OPPOSITE TRAITS. DATA ARE AS ACQUIRED FROM BOOCE AND CARLOT SERJENT.

HEADQUARTERS WAS A PILLBOX: A SHORT, WIDE cylinder, blurred to Rather's weeping eyes. The rim was dark wood. The nearer flat face was concrete covered with a variety of doors, platforms, winches, coils of line . . . and a broad strip of glittering stuff very like the hull of the CARM. Two rockets were moored near the hub. A third, larger, was being winched in nozzle-foremost.

Debby looked back. Rather was far behind. When she stopped flapping, a gust of wind caught her wings and turned her on a random axis. She sighed and flapped back to rejoin him. "I wish I could help," she said.

Rather made himself laugh. "I did it to myself. Debby, you fly better than me."

"I watched the crew when we went to Market. Keep up a steady kick. Don't try too hard. If you kick with all your might the wings just bend and don't take you anywhere."

"What I need is longer legs."

"Longer wings might do it. Try the Navy wings too. Now, what door did Carlot say?"

"I can't tell. Pick one."

"No, I-"

"Debby, pick one at random. I don't mind if Wheeler thinks I got lost."

"Oh. The one in the middle, with the guards. We'll ask them."