owly. Pilch's face was
reflective.

"That will have to do for now," she said. "Trigger, this ship is working
on an urgent job somewhere else. We'll have to go back and finish that
job. But I'll be able to return to Manon in about ten days, and then
we'll have another session. And I think that will get this little
mystery cleared up."

"All of it?"

"All of it, I'd say. The whole pattern seems to be moving into view.
More details will show up in the ten-day interval; and one more cautious
boost then should bring it out in full."

Trigger nodded. "That's good news. I've been getting a little fed up
with being a kind of walking enigma."

"Don't blame you at all," Pilch said, sounding almost exactly like
Commissioner Tate. "Incidentally, you're a busy lady at present, but if
you do have half an hour to spare from time to time, you might just sit
down comfortably somewhere and listen to yourself thinking. The way
things are going, that should bring quite a bit of information to view."

Trigger looked doubtful. "Listen to myself thinking?"

"You'll find yourself getting the knack of it rather quickly," Pilch
said. She smiled. "Just head off in that general direction whenever you
find the time, and don't work too hard at it. Are there any questions
now before we start back to Manon?"

Trigger studied her a moment. "There's one thing I'd like to be sure
about," she said. "But I suppose you people have your problems with
Security too."

"Who doesn't?" said Pilch. "You're secure enough for me. Fire away."

"All right," Trigger said. "Commissioner Tate told me people like you
don't work much with individuals."

"Not as much as we'd like to. That's true."

"So you wouldn't have been working with me if whatever has been going on
weren't somehow connected with the plasmoids."

"Oh, yes, I would," said Pilch. "Or old Cranadon. Someone like that. We
do give service as required when somebody has the good sense to ask for
it. But obviously, we couldn't have dropped that other job just now and
come to Manon to clear up some individual difficulty."

"So I am involved with the plasmoid mess?"

"You're right in the middle of it, Trigger. That's definite. In just
what way is something we should be able to determine next session."

Pilch turned off the desk light and stood up. "I always hate to run off
and leave something half finished like this," she admitted, "but I'll
have to run anyway. The plasmoids are nowhere near th