ior on-line and
tell him my name and what I want. If he has any
questions, tell him to check with Brad Curtin on
President Narval's staff. C'mon now. Move, man,
move."

The guard's manner changed with the name-dropping.

"Yes sir," he said. "Right away, sir."

Zolan's comm contact with the guard went on hold
as the guard switched to another line. Ignoring the
guard, Zolan surveyed several nearby utilities.

Moments later his line with the guard reopened.
The guard's voice was deferential.

"Clearance received, sir," he said. "Got a real
good single-seater here for you. Just came out
of the maintenance shops. All systems have been
checked and she's ready to go. Shall I warm her
up and crank in the coordinates for you, sir?"

"That's OK," Zolan replied, "I'll do the set ups
myself. I've got several places to visit and want
to work out the trip on the box so I don't waste
any more time. Which bird?"

"Follow me, sir."

Moving along the line the guard stopped at a
low-slung framework from which a crude cage hung
suspended, held in position by braces angling in
from connecting structures. Behind the cage,
halfway along a shaft running aft, hung a tiny
nuclear power plant. Nozzles of cone-shaped
propulsion units on gimbals hung in neutral.
That would change as soon as Zolan inserted his
coordinates and activated the thrusters.

"Here she is, sir," the guard exclaimed, proudly,
offering Zolan a checklist. "All yours."

"Right," Zolan grunted. Shifting his eyes
critically from the checklist to flitter and back,
he walked around the tiny flyer inspecting the
spars for alignment and cracks. Moving to the
power plant he examined the reactor's cover
and seals for seepage and the thruster nozzles and
gimbals for cracks and wear. Finally, satisfied after
scrutinizing the instrument panel, he stepped back,
initialed the checklist and handed it to the guard.

"Looks OK on the outside," he said. "I'll check out
the warm up. If it cooks OK, I'm out of your way."

He squeezed into the cage, set and activated the
reactor. Observing the power levels rise on the
gauges, his fingers stroked the flitter's keys
and levers. He tapped his coordinates into the
nav-comp as the plant warmed.

The guard moved closer.

"Know how to set her? Maybe I can help, sir."

He stuck his head into the crowded space and
watched the computer screen flip through the
coordinates that Zolan inserted. The screen
stabilized and reflecte