She drew her hand back, looked at the palm, and rubbed it on her suit as she turned away. Zolan ignored the scene. Hodak leaned over the counter and waved the clerk closer. "So you know where we're from, do you?" His voice was a friendly growl and he got a curt nod in reply. "Then you know we came here for sanctuary," Hodak said. "How do we get it?" "Your entry permit is provisional; permanent party status depends on how you adjust to our rules." "This is the only place left to us," Hodak added a whine to his voice. "We're not about to start trouble and wear out our welcome." Switching to a hoarse whisper, he added, "Look, man, we need a place to put our stuff, and then we want to look around. Maybe we can find action in our kind of work that'll build up our credits. We've talked it over." He thumbed to include his companions. "We're available, and we can't afford to be choosy. The Inner Region doesn't mean a thing to us. Know what I mean?" "Sure." The clerk repeated his grin-scowl, snickered, and slapped Hodak on the shoulder. "What's the word on living accommodations under the dome?" Adari cut in. "Gotta register for permanent quarters, and you'll need a permit to build a place of your own. They're almost impossible to get. Try for 'temporary' until you know your way around. Good place to start is the Condor over on Con-man Slash." "How do we get there?" Kumiko asked. "Taxi to dome air lock 22," he replied. "Inside, take the second transit strip. The off-ramps are Smuggler's Alley, Faithhealer's Spread, Plunder Cove, Bunco Crawl, and then Con-Man Slash. It's in the center of town; you can't miss it." He waved them toward the air lock. "On your way, folks; you're cleared." He watched them suit up and enter the air lock. When he heard the whisper of the outer door, he lifted a comm device, pressed buttons and spoke hurriedly. Chapter EIGHT Clearing the outer door, Zolan leaned against the buffer, tightened his bootstrap with one gloved hand, the other pressed against the wall to steady himself. Seconds later, he pulled away, shook his leg to settle the boot for comfort, and caught up with Brad. Grasping Brad's elbow activated the secure to-suit circuit. Myra, Hodak, Adari and Kumiko crowded in close and energized a camouflaging mix of artificial jive and loud laughs on the nature of the terrain, the location of the Transit Strip, the tank town's appearance in the distance, whatever served as a barrier to electronic penetration. "The clerk passed the word about us," Zolan said. "Gave full descriptions and said to notify someone called 'Scarf'. By the way, he did a lot more than check our weapons while we stood at the counter. We were scanned down to our bones. He's sending the file to his control, including the main portal's lock combination on the Raven. He'll have a lifter ready for someone who's to arrive soon. Looks like they're going to search the ship."