Mutiny on Outstation Zori by John Hegenberger Page A

sound of a general alarm just as the door slid shut and his mind raced. Which way was it to the laundry where he'd hidden his vac suit? Up or down? Before his fingers could touch the controls, the tube began to move. Up it was then, but he'd better get off this public transport system before it was shut down for security reasons.
    The tube door opened and Jamie started to exit, but stopped dead when Cast Janssen stepped aboard.
    The short, thin man appeared distracted, much like most of Zori's residents. His yellow, smooth skin glistened in the tube's dim light. The door shut, and Janssen pressed the indicator for the upper deck.
    Jamie couldn't get over the sight of the Paethorn, after months of speculating that Cast might be dead. He recognized immediately that this was indeed his old friend; Cast had a habit of nervously rattling his fingers against the loose items carried ln his thigh pockets. The familiar jangling sound now came from the hands of the short, golden-hued man before him. Clamber also recognized the stolen pendant hanging from a chain around Cast's neck.
    Jamie didn't know whether to hug the Paethorn or hit him. He'd wanted to believe that Cast would be found, but never imagined that it would happen like this. The circumstance was too complex for a casual reunion.
    There was a station-wide alert out for Jamie; Aura needed locating and rescued; the twelve Esper Shadows were being rebuilt on the station; and here stood Cast Janssen rattling the items in his pocket with one hand and about to pick his nose with the other.
    The lifttube door opened and Cast stepped off. Without conscious thought, Jamie followed.
    They stood in the darkened control room of the telescope array at the very top of the station. A bank of lambent oval screens filled one wall of the room, while the others were cluttered with an ensemble of loosely connected control devices and data recording units. Each screen was lit with dim, blue images of star clusters. Cast moved from one to another, inspecting each as if he expected to see a message written in the cosmos.
    Jamie watched the Paethorn rub the back of his neck in concentration and move to the data recording system on the opposite wall of this small, dimly-lit control chamber.
    Cast seemed frustrated by the results of his inspection. "Nothing," he said aloud to what he must have thought was an empty room. "Just a vacant blankness."
    "Yeah," Jamie said, "I'd say that pretty well describes you, too."
    Cast turned slowly with a look of disgust on his face, as if he'd been expecting such a derisive comment. His expression shifted from resigned disgust to confusion when he confirmed that there no one behind him.
    "Empty-headed and empty-hearted," Jamie went on.
    Cast's face began to twist. His eyes filled with fear.
    Jamie thought, This is kind of neat. Then he said, "You can fake your death, but you can never escape your conscience… to coin a phrase."
    Cast's voice sounded ragged. "Where are you? Who are you?"
    Jamie laughed deep in his throat. "Men call me the Psyche...I know many strange things, for I have looked into your mind, Cast Janssen, and read your past."
    The Paethorn's eyes narrowed. "I know that voice," he charged, still somewhat in awe. "It's not possible ...but it sounds like ...Jamie Clamber, the third-rate circuit jockey."
    The time for nonsense had passed. Jamie shut down the stealth suit. "And you remind me of a useless, dead-head thief."
    Cast took a step back as Jamie appeared before him. His mouth hung open momentarily and then he smiled, his eyes gleaming with genuine delight. "By my pledge, it is you! What are you doing here?"
    "Looking for you," Jamie responded, firmly clasping the Paethorn's hand.
    With a suppressed grunt, Cast pretended to try and throw him over his shoulder. Jamie laughed, twisting, and bringing up a knee which stopped only a centimeter from the short, yellow man's nose.
    "I came to rescue you," Clamber said. "But you're obviously hale and