Discipline accelerated, drive swinging out to point at the stars, to hold the ship close above the L4 point against its own spin. Rather was exploring the room; his pulse and breath rate were rapid. He was bored and anxious. Jeffer, crouched above CARM #6's control board, was in similar shape. The neudar view of Admiralty Headquarters showed fog-spots clumping, then moving in two streams toward the Library.

Something was happening. Little lights brightened and dimmed on the CARM control panel. His helmet hummed. It wasn't particularly entertaining. Rather said, "Kendy?"

"It's working, Rather. Don't bother me."

"Jeffer?"

"Here."

"Kendy's busy and happy."

"You've got more than two hours-about half a day- before Mickl's on duty. Nobody should bother you."

"I'm hungry enough to eat a swordbird, and may the best entity win."

"Did everything go all right?"

"I'm scared, Jeffer. I may never get over being scared. Why on Earth are we doing-"

The door opened.

Rather saw a silver suit pointing a crossbow a few degrees wide of his navel. The insignia was familiar. He and Booce had spent half a day painting it on the silver suit, from pictures taken by the silver suit's camera.

The door-

Rather's radio spoke in his helmet. "I know who you are," said the voice he'd been trying to imitate. "What I want to know is why. Let's-"

Rather leapt straight at Wayne Mickl, and fired a burst from his jets for extra force. He couldn't let the door close.

The silver man swung his crossbow aside and braced to kick, too slowly. He'd expected the jump but not the jets. Rather slammed into him. Mickl bounced away. Rather struck the jamb and, spinning, was through the door and out into a horde of Navy crew.

"I know who you are-" Wayne Mickl's voice, pressure suit #5, radio frequency badly distorted by time, and Kendy locked on it. He beamed instructions to the Library: Record the view through pressure suit #5 cameras, one snap per ten minutes, henceforth.

It was a nice bonus. He welcomed it, because he was about to lose Rather Citizen. A dozen Navy crew in the fisheye view, unknown numbers out of camera range-

Jeffer bellowed, "Rather! What's going on?"

"Wayne Mickl came back. Can't talk."

Kendy sent, "Get outside if you can, Rather. Mickl's jets aren't fueled."

"I've got the whole treefeeding Navy here!" They were hesitating, but they wouldn't for long. "They'll swarm all over me like honey hornets- Hey!" Rather's hands came in view holding a bag; ripped it open and flung it. The corridor became vague and golden.

Wayne Mickl could pull the cable! Was he still in the Library? CARM #2 had a hundred years of records to go ... a solid block of data was running now, data that must have been beamed long ago by Discipline itself. Kendy knew he wouldn't want to read that in full, not if it was records of the mutiny. He'd spot-check.