Palanth strode beside him with a lithe, tigerish stride which belied his now forgotten languid pose of a few minutes ago. His deceptive exterior—which many to their final regret had found could disappear like lightning, still made him seem a Planetarian fop whom the Council permitted harmless foibles for reasons of their own.
"I never hoped to see you again after that crash on Europa." Palanth exclaimed with a relieved sigh. "You're so reckless, Mark, and death is so permanent!"
"Of course, you are not reckless," Mark taunted with obvious irony, remembering how the Martian International could explode into action like an enraged Martian Hella. "In your superior wisdom, there's no reason to take chances—everything's planned in advance, logically, coldly.... Bah. Do you recall that little incident on Venus when they served you imitation Thassalian and that little Venusian baggage tried to dope you with...."
"Cease! O chattering...." Palanth interrupted as near being embarrassed as it was possible for him to be. The rest of what he said was buried in the perfumed handkerchief which he hastily pressed against his face as they joined the crowds that filled the avenue.
"But what are you here for? It is permissible to know?" Mark asked soberly at last.
"I may as well tell you," Palanth said, his tones muffled by the handkerchief. "You'd never have the imagination to guess!"
"You probably have been appointed to regulate the last batch of outgoing freighters enroute to various space stations, in order to relieve congestion and ease pressure of transportation. There may be something else ... eh?"
"Master mind! But there's that last something else that you'd never guess."
"Inductive reasoning tells me that a freight coordinator would be assigned to freight problems ... let me talk ... but this seems to be the last time that old Terra is going to send freight anywhere. I feel there's one last measure to be taken against the unpredictable—something calculated to checkmate a future result. Oh I know I sound as if I were talking gibberish, Palanth, but well ... it's still sort of foggy in my mind. I'll know more when I read my orders."
"I've already read mine," Palanth said quietly. "I'm persuaded they're not very different from yours—in the last analysis. It's a gigantic game, Mark!"