"The idea's occurred to me. Have there been any more raids on Marduk trade-planets since the Battle of Audhumla?" "A couple. The _Bolide_ was on Audhumla a while ago. There were a couple of Mardukan ships there, and they had the _Victrix_ fixed up enough to do some fighting. They ran the _Bolide_ out." A study of the time between the destruction of the _Enterprise_ and _Yo-Yo_ and the appearance of the _Bolide_ could give them a limiting radius around Audhumla. It did; seven hundred light-years, which also included Tanith. So he sent Harkaman in the _Corisande_ and Ravallo in the _Black Star_ to visit the planets Marduk traded with, looking for Dunnan ships and exchanging information and assistance with the Royal Mardukan Navy. Almost at once, he regretted it; the next Gilgamesher into orbit on Tanith brought a story that Prince Viktor was collecting a fleet on Xochitl. He sent warnings off to Amaterasu and Beowulf and Khepera. A ship came in from Bigglersport, a heavily armed chartered freighter. There was sporadic fighting in a dozen places on Gram, now--resistance to efforts on the part of King Angus to collect taxes, and raids by unidentified persons on estates confiscated from alleged traitors and given to Garvan Spasso, who had now been promoted from Baron to Count. And Rovard Grauffis was dead; poisoned, everybody said, either by Spasso or Queen Evita or both. Even with the threat from Xochitl, some of the former Wardshaven nobles began talking about sending ships to Gram. Less than a thousand hours after he had left, Ravallo was back in the _Black Star_. "I went to Gimli, and I wasn't there fifty hours before a Mardukan Navy ship came in. They were glad to see me; it saved them sending off a pinnace for Tanith. They had news for you, and a couple of passengers." "Passengers?" "Yes. You'll see who they are when they come down. And don't let anybody with side-whiskers and buttoned-up coats see them," Ravallo said. "What those people know gets all over the place before long." * * * * * The visitors were Lucile, Princess Bentrik, and her son, the young Count of Ravary. They dined with Trask; only Captain Ravallo was also present. "I didn't want to leave my husband, and I didn't want to come here and impose myself and Steven on you, Prince Trask," she began, "but he insisted. We spent the whole voyage to Gimli concealed in the captain's quarters; only a few of the officers knew we were aboard." "Makann won the election. Is that it?" he asked. "And Prince Bentrik doesn't want to risk you and Steven being used as hostages?"