"When they set up an ambush," Tarlac observed quietly, "it's a good one. There's enough firepower out there to vaporize us three times over." "Yeah," Willis agreed, equally quiet. "Well, let's see how many of them we can take out with us." She raised her voice, addressing her Weapons Officer. "Lieutenant Dawes, concentrated primary fire on their flagship--" "Hold it," Tarlac interrupted. "There's something peculiar here. If they'd wanted us dead, they could've opened fire as soon as we out-transitioned. Since they didn't, let's see if we can find out just what they do want." "Yes, sir," Willis said. "Hold your fire, Lieutenant, but be ready." "Aye, Captain." Dawes was poised, tense, his fingers hovering almost in contact with his firing studs. "What the--!" came an exclamation from the Communications Officer. "Sir, I'm getting a signal from them!" "Put it on the screen," Willis ordered, inwardly amused. The idea of a Traiti who wanted to talk instead of fight ought to be astonishing--but not much could astonish an IBC's crew. They were too used to the out-of-the-ordinary events a Ranger seemed to attract to be astonished by much less than a divine manifestation. Even a Traiti appearing on a communicator screen didn't justify much more than Matthews' startlement. While few humans could honestly claim to have seen a live Traiti in the nearly ten years the Terran Empire had been at war with them, everyone knew what they looked like. They were big, the males at least averaging about 250 kilos, two meters tall--heavy, but not fat because of greater-than-human tissue density. They also had skin like soft but armor-tough gray leather, an ovoid head with bulges at top and sides set more horizontally on the short neck than a human's, with small eyes, slit nostrils, lipless shark-toothed mouth, and no external ears--but except for those and semi-retractile claws on their hands, the biologists insisted that Traiti were so much like humans it ought to indicate a common ancestor somewhere. What did surprise the people on the Lindner's bridge was that the Traiti on the screen was smiling, exposing those shark-like teeth in an expression that might or might not mean pleasure but that certainly looked menacing. When Arjen spoke, his voice provided another surprise. It was deep, not unexpectedly, but it was also soft, carrying an almost lilting intonation that made his Imperial English oddly attractive. "We no harm mean, Ship-Captain. I must to your superior speak." He turned his attention to the green-clad Ranger, crossing his arms over his chest and inclining his head briefly in courtesy. "Ranger Esteban Tarlac. I you greetings bring, from the Supreme and First Speaker. I Fleet-Captain Arjen am." Tarlac was surprised, but Rangers were adaptable; he returned the Traiti's salutation with a crossed-arm bow of his own and a quiet, "Fleet-Captain." Then he waited for Arjen's next move.