Jason Vandor stopped beside a machine. "Get the Ardeth on the beam," he ordered.
"Yes, your Lordship!" The beam-man's fingers made clicking contacts with the machine's controls. The vizi-screen became silvery, slowly turned green.
Life grew on the screen. Color swirled, then merged, and Jean Vandor frowned from the screen.
"Yes?" she asked.
Jason Vandor forced the Falcon to the screen with his gun. The Falcon was conscious then of the utter quiet in the room, as though all were afraid to breathe. He could feel the pounding of his heart as he stepped forward.
"Can you hear me, Jean?" he asked quietly.
"I can hear you, Curt."
The Falcon forced all feeling from his voice. "Jean, answer me truthfully; did you plot that I should be captured?"
Tears welled in the girl's eyes, and her head shook slightly.
"No, Curt."