The man looked startled and shocked. "I suppose that means Rupert is dead. Dead! It came a little before he expected it, then. So you're Bart." He sighed. "My name's Montano. This is Hedrick, and I suppose you recognize Raynor Two." Bart blinked. It was the same face, but it was not grim like Raynor One's, nor expressive and kindly like that of Raynor Three. This one just looked dangerous. "But sit down," Montano said with a wave of his hand, "make yourself comfortable." Hedrick relieved Bart of his cloak; Raynor Two put a cup of some steaming drink in his hand, passed him a tray of small hot fried things that tasted crisp and delicious. Bart relaxed, answering questions. _How old? Only seventeen? And you came all alone on a Lhari ship, working your way as Astrogator? I must say you've got guts, kid!_ It was dangerously like the fantasy he had invented. But Montano interrupted at last. "All right, this isn't a party and we haven't all night. I don't suppose Bart has either. Enough time wasted. Since you walked into this, young Steele, I take it you know what our plans are, after this?" Bart shook his head. "No. Raynor Three sent me to call off your plans, because of my father--" "That sounds like Three," interrupted Raynor Two. "Entirely too squeamish!" Montano said irritably, "We couldn't have done anything without a man on the _Swiftwing_, and you know it. We still can't. Bart, I suppose you know about Lharillis." "Not by that name." "Your next stop. The planetoid of the captive sun. That little hunk of bare rock out there is the first spot the Lhari visited in this galaxy--even before Mentor. It's an inferno of light from that little blue-white sun, so of course they love it--it's just like home to them. When they found that the inner planets of Antares were inhabited, they built their spaceport here, so they'd have a better chance at trade." Montano scowled fiercely. "But they wanted that little worldlet. So we went all over it to be sure there were no rare minerals there, and finally leased it to them, a century at a time. They mine the place for some kind of powdered lubricant that's better than graphite--it's all done by robot machinery, no one's stationed there. Every time a Lhari ship comes through this system they stop there, even though there's nothing on Lharillis except a landing field and some concrete bunkers filled with robot mining machinery. They'll stop there on the way out of this system--and that's where you come in. We need you on board, to put the radiation counter out of commission." He took a chart from a drawer, spread it out on a table top. "The simplest way would be to cut these two wires. When the Lhari land, we'll be there, waiting for them. On board the Lhari ship, there must be full records--coordinates of their home world, of where they go for their catalyst fuel--all that." Bart whistled. "But won't the crew defend the ship? You can't fight energon-ray guns!"