He waited.
Finally a segment of the door flipped upward out of sight, and three figures entered.
He recognized one of them: Beth. She smiled at him and said, "Good morning, Major."
Harris glared sourly at her. Behind her stood two males—one an ordinary-looking sort of Earther, the other rather special. He was about six feet six, well-proportioned for his height, with a regularity of feature that seemed startlingly beautiful.
Beth said, "Major Abner Harris, formerly Aar Khiilom of Darruu—this is Paul Coburn of Medlin Intelligence and David Wrynn of Earth."
"A real Earthman? Not a phony like the rest of us?"
Wrynn smiled pleasantly and said, "I assure you I'm a home-grown product, Major Harris." His voice was like the mellow boom of a well-tuned cello.
The Darruui folded his arms. "Well. How nice of you to introduce us all. Now what?"
"Still belligerent," he heard Beth murmur to the other Medlin, Coburn. Coburn nodded. The giant Earthman merely looked unhappy in a calm sort of way.
Harris eyed them all coldly. "If you're going to torture me, why not get started with it?"