name.
'But you said the arkies didn't see any gents.' Frakes shrugged. 'That's what they said. But according to Callifer, Lord Tern was very much alive.'
Then it came together, and after the initial shock of realization had subsided, Paul felt like laughing with relief. Stranded on an isolated world, the Clarion colony had built a religion based on the ancient ruins of the intelligents. Like Bekman, the man named Callifer was probably an official in the religious organization Ogram had called the Holy Order. He must have been devout at that, because to him, Lord Tern was as alive as the god of any monotheistic religion was alive to a true believer. Callifer's belief came across to Parke Sabre as fact, and that was why Sabre was under the mistaken impression that the gents were still around. Paul knew this simple explanation could solve a lot of problems. But he also knew that it would create more of its own. He couldn't put Frakes straight on the issue without revealing that he'd spoken to Selmer Ogram. And if Parke Sabre found out about that, he would insist on trying to find Ogram. That would involve Dorland and Paul, and the mess would become even more complicated. Which meant he would have to keep his revelaCLARION 45
tion to himself. With that sorted out in his mind, he realized that he still didn't have the answer to the question he'd originally asked.
'Finding a misplaced planet is a job for the Explorers,' he said to Frakes. 'If you think there may still be gents, the Blue should be called in. And it seems to me that the arkies would have an interest in it either way. I still don't see where Security fits in.'
'The Archaeology Section's interested, all right,' Frakes admitted. 'They've been battling Sabre for first dibs on Clarion ever since Callifer decided to broil himself in that old scout.' He paused again, and Paul knew he was making up his mind about something. 'Callifer was out of his head when we got to him, like I said. But he kept talking about Lord Tern, and about some kind of machine Lord Tern had given to the people of Clarion. He croaked before we could find out more about it, but what he said made us think the machine was plenty powerful. He called it a chawka.' He paused, cleared his throat. 'We think it might be a weapon of some kind.'
'A weapon?'
Frakes must have detected the skepticism in Paul's voice. 'Sounds crazy to me, too. But—' He stopped, pursed his lips. He looked at the hotel entrance again, turned back to Paul. 'The truth is, we know Hans Maiar is looking for the planet.'
'Maiar?' That only added more confusion. Hans Maiar was chairman of the Fringe Alliance.
'We caught one of his couriers a few months ago,' Frakes went on. 'Maiar doesn't use commsets because he knows UNSA Security listens in on all the stream channels. The courier we ran down had a coded message for Maiar. We unraveled enough of it to know that it had something to do with the Clarion stream coordinates. Not the coordinates themselves—we weren't that lucky—
46 William Greenleaf
but a message about somebody who was zeroing in on them.'
'Why would Maiar be interested in Clarion?' Frakes shrugged. 'An alien race. Maybe still alive. Think about it.'
Paul was gripped by sudden understanding.
'Sabre wants to make sure the gents don't side up with the Fringe Alliance.'
The look on Frakes's face was enough to tell Paul he was right. 'We're following up on the courier's message. We might be able to get something from that, but I'm not holding my breath. Sabre's afraid the Alliance might get its hands on Clarion first. And if the chaw-ka really is a weapon—'
'Maiar might use it to attack UNSA planets?' Paul said. 'Sounds farfetched to me.'
'Yeah, maybe you're right. But Maiar's a little crazy. If he gets his hands on something exotic like a gent weapon, he might get himself pumped up enough to attack, whether the weapon's that useful or not.'
That part wasn't so farfetched, Paul had to admit. Based on what he'd heard, Hans Maiar was looking for any excuse to start a war with UNSA. Frakes glanced down at his wristwatch. 'I gotta get back. If you change your mind, or if you or Mr. Avery thinks of anything, give me a call.' He looked out over the city. 'Let's keep this chat between us. My job isn't all that great, but I'd hate to lose it.' He winked and turned back to the Aire Vega without waiting for a reply. He slid across to the pilot's seat, and the gullwing doors lowered. A moment later the stasis engine hummed and the craft lifted away.
Paul's mind was a jumble as he walked across the roof toward the hotel's entrance. He was sure of only one thing: he and Dorland hadn't seen the last of Parke Sabre—not if Sabre really thought
CLARION 47
Dorland had information that could make a difference in the struggle with the Alliance. The Fringe Alliance was a group of ninety planets along a strip of the stream that reached from the far side of the Omega cluster to the inner loop of the Kiros Spiral. The Alliance had started back when that part of the stream was on the fringe of colonized
