Parr stared, fascinated. He was surprised to find that he was not afraid. The shock of capture had not yet passed, and he seemed to be watching a drama from which he was removed.
"No!" Lauri said. "No, he wasn't!"
"How can you say that, Lauri? Look what he's done! Look what he's already done!"
"Unshield, Parr, show them," Lauri commanded.
Parr hesitated, trying to divine the plot and see what was required of him.
"It's a trick," the leader said. "They've got some way to fool us, even with an open mind!"
Lauri's eyes were wide.
The leader jerked his hand. "Kill him," he instructed.
The Oholo on Parr's left released Parr's arm and reached inside his coat for a weapon.
Lauri darted across the room and pounced on the weapon lying at the base of the wall. She seized it and rolled over. She aimed it steadily at the Oholo on Parr's left. "Don't do that," she said. "Let him go." She got to one knee.