At least Hento's voice was soft enough to prevent Daria from hearing him. Her pride would sting if she knew they were discussing her.

Gray kept his voice low, too. "As you have seen."

"May I know the woman's duties, Sarjah?"

"The woman --Daria -- is helping me improve my English."

Hento raised his eyebrows a fraction. "You are a native Earther, Sarjah."

"Yes, but I don't speak as a native does." Enough of these questions. "She needed an occupation. I needed assistance with my English. That is all."

"I see." From his tone, Hento implied that he saw much more than Gray had stated. "And Daria lives here with you?"

A subtle question. Hento was a master of subtlety, yet an indomitable will lurked behind his placid facade.

"Yes, she lives here. With me."

For a time, she had said. A long time, if he could will it so.

Hento studied his clasped hands in silence for a moment. Without looking up, he spoke. "Is she not a distraction?"

Here was a familiar conversation -- Hento chastising him in that gentle, fatherly way. Diplomatically pointing out the problems in Gray's behavior, without ever laying fault in Gray's hands.

"Oh, yes," he agreed blithely. "She's a wonderful distraction. In truth, I can barely recall my own name when she's near me." He spoke in jest, but gods, the words were very near the truth.

Hento glared at him for an instant, then masked his annoyance. "Sarjah, you understand the importance of your duty. I would dishonor us both to remind you of something you know so well."

Difficult to find the true meaning behind those careful words. Did Hento believe Gray would be so far distracted as to blunder in his mission? "I can easily manage my duty and one woman. In the past, I've managed my duty and several women at a time."

Hento didn't smile. "You have never shared quarters with a woman before. Such a thing connotes... involvement."

He heard the unspoken question, but he wasn't about to tell Hento how he felt about her. Not before sharing that information with Daria herself. Hento would think him crazy, to feel attachment for a woman he'd recently met. No doubt Daria would, too.

Since he couldn't be truthful, he'd feign indifference. He shrugged. "It seemed a practical thing. She has nowhere else to go."

"Ah. I will find her lodgings, Sarjah."

"No." The denial came out louder than he'd intended.

Hento's eyebrows lifted for a moment, no doubt at Gray's harsh tone. "Having a woman share one's lodgings can prove inconvenient."

He grinned. "I assure you, sharing quarters with Daria will be very convenient indeed."

Hento's lips thinned, as if he restrained sarcasm. Gray knew the look well. He might as well avert the debate. "She's staying here, Hento." He smiled a little to lighten his vehemence. "I can't think about diplomacy all the time."

Hento gave him a look of pure masculine understanding. "I grant you this." Then he nodded once, briskly. "My duty is clear. To ensure your safety, I will order an inspection of her background."

Gray's hands fisted under the table. Usually he heeded Hento's advice without question, but not this time. He couldn't pry into Daria's background while he kept so many details of his own life private from her. "No."

"Sarjah, it would be unwise --"

"No," he said again, louder. "I've seen her ID records." The first screen, at least. "I know everything I need to know about her."

"Sarjah, you well know that information may be obtained beyond the identikit records. Best for us to learn all we can about her."

Oh, gods. Hento would look into Daria's background -- or worse, have his staff look into it. They'd all learn that she had some low-level occupation, that she supplemented her meager income with prostitution.

With unlicensed prostitution.

And though Gray did not hold this against her, Daria would be shamed before his entire staff. Worse than shamed -- if they discovered her secret, he'd have to find some way to shield her from confinement for her illegal lack of licensing. His staff would turn her in as a matter of duty. They would feel no compassion for her. They would never wonder what might have driven her to break the law.

Better to keep her secret safe, even from Hento. "There is no cause to investigate beyond her identikit records."

Hento looked unconvinced.

"My instincts guide me in every negotiation, Hento. I rarely question the inner voice. And my instincts tell me that Daria is as trustworthy as any of my staff."

Hento gave him a long, steady look. An odd look, as if he saw more beyond Gray's words. What was there to see? He trusted her. A simple thing.

Hento spoke at last. "I am happy you feel this way, Sarjah. But trust is not in my nature. And my foremost duty is to guard you. I have sworn this to the Premier Leader herself."

Sanwar. Gray knew from long experience where this was leading. Hento would stop at nothing to ensure his safety. He'd order an investigation of Daria whether Gray willed it or not. The only way to prevent it was to forbid his loyal retainer from doing his duty.

"Hento, you will not have the staff inspect her background. You will not assign a sentry to observe her actions. You will grant her the same dignity and respect which you grant to me. Is that plain?"

Hento put one hand behind his neck and pulled hard, a massaging gesture he used when he was seriously annoyed. "As you will, Sarjah," he said at last. "I would not dishonor you by daring to question your judgment."

Despite the conciliatory words, Hento sounded completely disgruntled. Being ordered not to ensure the Sarjah's safety challenged the man's cautious nature. Gray smiled at his long-suffering Primary. "Questioning my judgment is your job, Hento. And you perform your duty with admirable skill."

Hento smiled at that. "Perhaps."

"Have no fear, Hento. Daria will never harm me."

Hento's expression grew serious, and his eyes narrowed. "If she does, Sarjah, she will answer to me."

After all the years Hento had served him, he knew the man spoke truth. Thank the gods, he had nothing to fear from Daria.

* * * * * Daria took deep breaths, trying to calm her rapid heartbeat. Even in broad daylight, walking next to a powerful alien sympathizer and his Prendarian friend, she still got the jitters when she had to come to the Civic Center section of the city.

Once the center of city government, the area now housed all of the major branches of the Prendarian oppression. God only knew why the aliens had chosen San Francisco to be their center of operations on Earth -- maybe they liked the rain and fog. A city surrounded by water on three sides must be inconceivable on arid Prendara.

Or maybe they'd picked San Francisco because it hadn't been devastated by the wars like other Earth cities. Washington and New York had been wiped out in the alien invasion; Los Angeles, London, Paris, Beijing and a dozen others were destroyed in the last Earther war, the Third World War. Maybe they'd chosen San Francisco by default. Less need for rebuilding meant more time could be spent enslaving and oppressing the native Earth population.

The Prendarians had prettied up the area, with fountains and row after row of flowering cherry trees. They'd even put in tiny little hills covered with tulips to give the flat grounds some interest. When she'd been a kid, nothing but grass and cement had surrounded these large, stately buildings.

Gray and Hento walked briskly, easily, as if they owned the place. Daria tried not to cringe as they walked past a group of uniforms. Three Prendarians and two Earthers. More and more Earthers were putting on that uniform every day.

She kept her gaze down as they passed the huge Criminal Processing Center. Were Don and Trisha somewhere inside, or had they already been moved to Confinement?

Confinement. A nice euphemism for prison. If Gray got this constitution implemented, more Earthers might end up there. Every time the aliens changed the laws, things got worse.

She should be excited, not nervous. Gray already trusted her enough to take her along to his first meeting with the constitution delegates. Tank would have been so pleased. He'd always worried about her, had never liked putting her in the field where she'd be at risk. God only knew where he was now. Her mentor... her father, really, though not by blood. She could never repay him for everything he'd given her, but she'd do him proud on this last mission.

And things couldn't be going better. Gray was taking her right into the meeting. She'd meet the Earth delegates, and she'd find an ally. She desperately needed an ally.

Gray and Hento spoke to each other quietly as they walked up the wide, low stairs of a beautiful old Romanesque building. Letters blasted into the marble over the staircase proclaimed this the War Memorial Opera House. The former home of the city's opera. God only knew what use the Prendarians had found for it. And God only knew which war it had been built to memorialize.

The lobby was cavernous, with ceilings easily thirty feet high. Elaborate vertical wooden beams on the walls heightened the effect, and a huge, detailed plaster relief covered the ceiling, depicting some ancient Roman or Greek scene. Lots of people in robes up there.

The men fell silent as they approached the security checkpoint in the lobby. Damn, had she missed something confidential? Something they didn't want the guards to overhear? She'd better keep her mind from wandering. She needed to come up with a way to stop this constitution, and daydreaming wouldn't help.

She followed Gray and Hento through the bank of weapon detectors. The guards gave Gray the red-carpet treatment, murmuring polite greetings with downcast eyes as they stood at attention. Daria could barely stand to look at them. Just being around Prendarians in uniform made her want to run -- an impulse she'd learned in childhood that had served her well over the years. Avoiding Prendarians would never do her harm.

But she was with Gray now. If Prendarians looked at her, they'd see the trusted assistant and close acquaintance of their precious Sarjah. Part of his inner circle. She had a cover no one would dare to question. No reason to feel intimidated by a few security guards.

Easier said than done. The guards were stone-faced and silent. Nerve-wracking. She kept her gaze on Gray instead. He looked sharp in that modern, collarless suit. He could almost pass for a regular Earther, except his clothes screamed outrageously expensive. Quite a contrast to his usual minimalist look.

After the weapons detectors, a second set of guards waited. "Just a formality, Sarjah," a female guard assured Gray. He stripped his ID card from his wrist and passed it to the woman with a smile.

A uniformed guard -- an Earther with slightly Asian features -- held out his hand to Daria. With shaking fingers, she found her ID in her small purse and handed it over. She held her breath while the man slid it through a scanner. After no more than an instant, he gave it back with a brief smile and a nod.

When they made it into the elevator -- just her, Gray, and Hento -- she breathed more easily. Getting away from all of those uniforms felt like escape.

Hento inserted a card in a slot in the elevator access panel, and the light for the top floor lit up. After the door closed, he turned to Gray. "Sarjah, you must take the dissension within the Earth faction seriously. If they fight amongst themselves, uniting them to vote as one entity may prove more difficult than you imagine."

She certainly hoped so. But she wouldn't count on it. The Prendarians had thrown a lot of reformist bones to the Earthers over the years, and the Earthers fell for them every time. Still, if they were fighting among themselves, maybe she could find one or two who'd be willing to help her disrupt the meetings or something. A delegate could spread rumors, foster fear and uncertainty about the constitution. Anything to keep it from being passed.

Gray smiled, that arrogant, cocky smile that said I own the world. "Hento, you know I enjoy the illusion that negotiations will be simple and easy. Must you put a stop to my enthusiasm?"

"My sorrow, Sarjah."

Gray turned to her. "Daria, what is the natural way to say that?"

She gave a start. Was he really asking her to correct his Primary? This dignified man hardly looked like the type to welcome a correction. "You'd say, I'm sorry."

"Even though I bear no fault for the dissension?" Hento asked. He didn't sound annoyed at all. "Yes. We Earthers are always ready, willing, and able to apologize for things that aren't our fault."

No laughter, no smiles. Neither man appeared to grasp her sarcasm.

Hento gave her a brief nod, one of those little alien gestures. "Thank you for explaining, Daria."

In all her life, a Prendarian had never thanked her for anything. Hell, none had ever even spoken to her politely. Yet here was Hento, surely a powerful man, giving her a measure of respect. Amazing what screwing a collaborator could do.

"You're welcome." The words sounded strange. She'd never said them to a Prendarian, either.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. A lovely Prendarian woman, tall, pale and blonde, stood just outside the elevator. With her hair swept back in an elegant bun, her expression and bearing so regal, she made that form-fitting navy blue uniform look refined.

Her gaze fixed on Gray with barely a glace at Hento, and no acknowledgement of Daria at all. Just as well. The fewer people who noticed her, the better. Tank always said that invisibility was an asset.

"Greetings, Sarjah." The woman's voice was as elegant as her appearance. She spread her arm out to the right, parallel with the floor. "Your preparation room lies this way. You can enter the delegation chamber from there."

Gray headed down the hall, and the woman and Hento followed, leaving Daria to bring up the rear.

"How many delegates are here?" Gray asked.

"Two hundred eighty-four," the woman replied.

"So few? I wanted at least three hundred."

They came to another hallway, and the woman pointed left. Gray took the lead again.

"There are enough, Sarjah," Hento said.

"No, there aren't," Gray replied. "Three hundred would give this meeting more stature. The perception of adding just a few to make a round number... Well, no matter now."

"My apologies, Sarjah," the woman said. "I should have doubled the number of invitations to ensure enough would attend."

Gray waved a hand dismissively and paused to give the woman a smile. "A trivial thing. I do not hold you at fault, Reema."

Reema. Even her name was regal. And the look she and Gray exchanged... not a heated look, but still --something passed between them. Something that made Daria's stomach knot up.

God, if she was going to get jealous of every woman Gray smiled at, she was in deep trouble. She had no reason to be jealous over him at all.

When they reached the end of the hall, Reema held a door open. A wave of sound came from the room beyond -- voices chattering excitedly, mostly in English, a few in Prendarian. Daria couldn't make out any words over the general roar.

Gray looked back at her and gave her a smile, a confident smile. At least he hadn't completely forgotten her existence. He looked more excited than she'd ever seen him. A collaborator in his element.

She managed to flash a sickly smile at him.

He winked, so he must not have noticed anything wrong with her expression. Then he turned and headed into the room.

A hush descended suddenly... total and absolute quiet.

With Gray, Hento, and Reema all in the doorway, she could barely get a glimpse inside.

She saw a few heads, mostly blonde, but nothing more.

"Greetings," Gray said loudly. Clearly addressing a crowd. "We are fortunate to be here today to fulfill our duty."

A low rumble came from the crowd -- "Greetings, Sarjah," repeated many times. At last Hento and Reema moved, and Daria squeezed into the room.

God, the room was full of dozens of people. A whole roomful of uniforms. All Prendarians -- except for Gray. And her. She shrunk back into a corner. A few people glanced at her, but they looked curious, not hostile. She hoped.

Only a handful of them could get close to Gray, but they all pressed in. One held a hand to Gray's ear, attaching a small device that Daria could barely see.

Gray reached for his ear, twisting something behind it. "Yes, I can hear you," he said, to no one in particular. Then he laughed. "Cease. You must remember, I can only understand one of you at a time."

Someone must be speaking into his ear. Several people, from what he said. Oh, of course. They'd be feeding him information during the meeting -- information to help him get the delegates to toe the line.