Sammy cocked his head. Favors connected with mission success came very dear. "I'm sorry, sir," he said as gently as he could. "Your children will have to compete with everyone else. Have them study hard in college. Have them target the specialties that are announced. That will give them the best chance."

"Yes, Fleet Captain! That is exactly the favor that I am asking. Would you see to it—" He swallowed and looked fiercely at Sammy, ignoring the others. "—would you see to it that they are allowed to undertake college studies?"

"Certainly." A little grease on academic entrance requirements didn't bother Sammy at all. Then he realized what the other was really saying. "Sir, I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you. Thank you!" He touched his business card into Sammy's hand. "There's my name and stats. I'll keep it up-to-date. Please remember."

"Yes, uh, Mr. Bonsol, I'll remember." It was a classic Qeng Ho deal.

The city dropped away beneath the Forestry Department flyer. Grandville had only about half a million inhabitants, but they were crammed into a snarled slum, the air above them shimmering with summer heat. The First Settlers' forest lands spread away for thousands of kilometers around it, virgin terraform wilderness.

They boosted high into clean indigo air, arcing southward. Sammy ignored the Triland "Urban Security" boss sitting right beside him; just now he had neither the need nor the desire to be diplomatic. He punched a connection to his Deputy Fleet Captain. Kira Lisolet's autoreport streamed across his vision. Sum Dotran had agreed to the schedule change: all the fleet would be going to the OnOff star.

"Sammy!" Kira's voice cut across the automatic report. "How did it go?" Kira Lisolet was the only other person in the fleet who knew the true purpose of this mission, the manhunt.