Curt stood quite still for a moment, staring around. The room was a dream. Magnificent tapestries, interwoven with _kra_ plumes, covered the walls. Beneath his feet an imperial Martian rug was a splash of vari-colored splendor. He saw furniture of extinct _jragua_ wood, inlaid with mosaics of semi-precious stones. Then Curt's eyes widened, as he gazed across the room and saw the person who rose to greet them. She was tall, for a girl. Auburn hair brushed smoothly back from her forehead fell in waves to the shoulders of a close-fitting uniform. Her eyes were blue but unsmiling, her lips smiled thinly but didn't mean it. "I am Lorine Landreth," she said without emotion. "If you must be amazed, please do it quickly. We have work to do!" * * * * * Curt was beyond being amazed. Thoughtfully his gaze took in her trim figure, the pale but determined face, the electro held loosely in a belt at her waist. She gave the impression of knowing how to use it. "Captain Landreth, I presume." Curt's voice was serious. "George Landreth's daughter?" "Correct! On both counts." She turned to Jeffers. "You made it clear that their status is not altered by their being here?" "Of course. Don't worry, I'll see that they remember it, Lorine." Her eyes blazed quickly. "Captain to you! See that you remember _that_ Jeffers!" He nodded, smiling with faint insolence as he leaned against the door. The girl turned back to the three prisoners. "There is one difference. At the Prison mines you worked hard. And for a life-time. And you died. You will work where we are going, too--perhaps not so hard, but dangerously! You may die, but at least I offer you a chance. If we succeed in our mission, you are free men. Free to change your identities and go where you will." "That's okay by me, miss!" Rikert was enthusiastic. "Er, I mean--Captain. But look! Don't we get to see Landreth, George Landreth? I was counting on--" The girl turned a gaze upon Rikert which reduced him to silence. "It is my wish that we all may see George Landreth! I may as well tell you now. The purpose of our mission--is to find my father." For the merest instant, Curt saw a deepening look in her eyes which dissolved the mask of hardness. She turned quickly away, seized a sheaf of papers. "We are wasting time here! Jeffers! Show them their assignments." Kueelo and Rikert followed the man from the room. Curt hesitated, then stepped into the control-room where the girl had gone. He may have been mistaken, but for a moment she had shown signs of being almost human. Curt stood silent, watching her at the navigator's table. She consulted pencilled data on the papers, then swiftly, with practised fingers, she adjusted the sliding sheathes on the robot control. At last it was finished. She glanced up, saw him watching. "Venus!" Curt exclaimed. "So that's where we're going!" Her blue eyes surveyed him coolly. "So. You can read a robot-wheel, can you? What else can you do?"