Freedom's Challenge by Anne McCaffrey

Zainal,” and he nodded in his direction, “with your choice of crew but we’ll accept volunteers for both expeditions.”
    â€œWho gets to peek out of the Bubble?”
    Zainal stood. “A full crew.” Then he pointed at individuals. “Gino, Raisha, Bert, Laughrey, Boris, and Hassan. Those only who speak good Catteni and are the right size will come with me,” and his eyes flickered briefly at Kris.
    â€œWe feel we should pack the Earth expedition with as many infiltrators as possible,” Ray said and had to raise his hand to finish his sentence when most of his listeners rose and shouted out their names, “to spread the good word.”
    â€œWhat if there’re some traitors among us?” Dick Aarens asked.
    Ray Scott gave the mechanic a long incredulous look. “How many do you think there could be?”
    There were smothered giggles, and Dick Aarens swung about, trying to find the sources.
    â€œWell, there might be,” he muttered with sullen aggressiveness. “Particularly on the last drop—and even among the Victims. One of them might have been lying ‘doggo’ for very
good
reasons. He kept his brains while others got them wiped.”
    â€œNow, just a cotton-pickin’ minute.” Will Seissmann was on his feet, shaking a fist at Aarens across the audience.
    â€œYoung man…” began Miss Barrow who was puce-faced with indignation.
    Dr. Ansible was so apoplectic at the mere suggestion that he had to be restrained from diving across two rows of seats to Aarens.
    â€œI’d retract that, were I you,” Peter Easley said.
    â€œI won’t because it damned well is a possibility,”Aarens said, jutting his jaw out as if asking for a punch which would have many willing to oblige him.
    Dorothy Dwardie jumped up. “In my professional opinion, Mr. Aarens, there is little possibility of treachery among those who suffered, or even avoided, the Eosi mind-wipe. We have had trauma counseling sessions which would have exposed a quisling.”
    Which, Kris devoutly hoped, was accurate. But the suspicion had been raised and would hang there, a dark doubt in everyone’s mind: even among those who had learned a great deal about each other in the years they had worked together on Botany.
    Another of the psychology team, Ben Bovalan, rose. “We may have neither a lie detector nor any sodium pentathol but there are ways of testing responses. That is, if anyone feels such a procedure is at all necessary above and beyond our trauma counseling.” He gave Aarens a dire look before he sat down.
    â€œI won’t close what has been a very constructive meeting on that kind of sour note,” Ray Scott said. He was not the only one scowling in Aarens’ direction. “I will summarize what we,” and he indicated the others at the table, “have been planning, and why there is some urgency in the scout making a reconnaissance run. We do take Zainal’s advice that Earth would be the last place the Eosi would look for us to appear,” and he grinned, “and the best place for us to set in motion a coup d’état. If Zainal is willing to risk his life returning to Catten for the information he considers vital to our ultimate goal of freedom from the Eosian domination, then I wish him all the luck he’ll need and the support of everyone on this planet. We all have many reasons to be grateful he was on that first drop. Don’t we?”
    The spontaneous cheering, and the warmth of it, brought tears to Kris’ eyes. She never would have expected that sort of public gratitude…especially fromRay Scott who had not always agreed with Zainal. The applause and stamping continued for so long that she gave him a nudge to stand and acknowledge it. He did so, with typical diffidence, but his wave of acceptance took in the entire audience and became a formal salute to Ray Scott.
    That was when Kris noticed