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they quartered the sky in search of the mystery
noise.
    Finally, it resolved into definite engine
noise.  It approached from the east, volume building as it closed, then the
noise was past them and fading.  Loren never saw anything.
    "What the hell?" he heard Cory
ask.
    "Roger that on the 'what the
hell'," Merritt added.
    "Stealth," Web stated simply. 
"A mag-field like Avenger is the only thing that makes sense."
    Loren nodded again, but the thought was
pretty far-fetched.  Still, it was the only thing that fit.
    Then the noise was back, only this time
it built and seemed to stop moving, instead growing in intensity back by their
transport.  Loren had a split second of panic that this was another Priman
ambush and their ride out of here was about to be destroyed, but it wasn't
anything to fear.
    Over their ship the air shimmered, so
much so that his eyes watered.  He blinked the tears away to see something that
brought a smile to his face.  The shimmer disappeared and in its place was a
smooth, flat black Prowler.  The advanced recon ships carried a crew of four,
with engines above and below each of its short wings.  It pivoted and changed
orientation until it was pointing nose to nose with their much less graceful
looking transport, then dropped gear legs and settled into the sand.  As soon
as it was on the ground, the engines spooled down and the side hatch dropped.
    It was no surprise to Loren that Admiral
Bak stepped down the stairs and onto the sand, smirk on his face.
    "You like my ride?" he asked
casually, sweeping an arm behind him at his ship.
    "I didn't know anyone ever tried to
put a mag-shield generator in something that small," Merritt admitted.
    "That's an 'E' model Prowler,"
Web said approvingly.  "You can tell by the missing hard points and bigger
heat stacks by the engines.  Weren't more than a handful built; they were
intended as test beds for new technologies and were deployed without most of
the sensor systems that they're usually crammed with.  Lots of extra weight
available; if they could built it small enough, that Prowler could definitely
lift it."
    Admiral Bak smiled approvingly. 
"Excellent identification, Commander."
    "No markings that I see," Cory
prodded.
    "No," stated Bak.  "This
particular spaceframe is listed as destroyed after testing.  Of course, you'll
have noticed that the testing seems to have been successful.  The problem was
that the stealth systems worked for the most part, but there was no room left
for the sensor systems that the Prowler needs to carry, so all we really
created was an invisible transport that could move a quartet of lightly armed
infantry.  Frankly, I saw a need for a ship without a registry, IFF beacon, plus stealth systems, and managed to
stash it away against a future need.  I used it now because, as you have
probably guessed, we need this meeting to not have ever officially taken
place.  The Primans can't know, and for the love of all that's holy our
government can't know, either.
    "Why don't you all come into the
Prowler and we can talk?"

CHAPTER
THREE
     
     
     
     
    The five of them crammed into the rear
compartment of the Prowler.  Originally outfitted with sensor stations and
equipment racks, this particular one was stripped down and instead sported a
small table and a half dozen chairs on sliding mounts around it.
    Once seated, Admiral Bak got right to
it.  "We have some big things in the works," he began, "and you
are all going to be involved."  He shifted in his seat and looked at Web. 
"First, Commander Exeter, you've been requested personally by the commander
of a small team we're assembling."  Web's eyebrows shot up in surprise. 
"We're going after the Dennix ring data that Velk told us about."
    Now everyone looked shocked, and Bak held
up his hands to keep them quiet while he continued.  "First, some good
news.  The morning after you captured Ms. Starr and we discovered the fact that
we had Priman moles disguising