Free The Gripping Hand by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle

him about what happened to me. Doesn't matter who tells him, either. If I don't get back, he'll think Moties were involved, and he'll know just where to look. I take it I'm under the Hand Glacier? You've got a spaceport around here. A secret one. Bury'll find it."
     
     

    "Is there anything you do not know?"
     
     

    "Come on, it all fits once you get the key part about New Utah." Renner hesitated. "Then again, I don't truly know that you aren't dealing with Moties. If you're doing that, you've betrayed the human race, and you should be nuked."
     
     

    Slowly Mister Elder said, "How can we persuade you?"
     
     

    "Easy. We'll clear that up in a couple of hours. I'll tell you then. Meanwhile, let's think about talking Bury out of whatever mischief he's planning. I'd better do that pretty quick."
     
     

    "And after that?"
     
     

    "Then we talk to the Governor. Look, right now you haven't done anything to get you in that much trouble."
     
     

    "Only enough to be hanged for high treason."
     
     

    "Technically," Renner agreed. "But if they hanged everyone who trades with relatives on Outie worlds, they'd run out of rope. The only people killed so far were yours."
     
     

    "This is madness." A voice with a whine in it. "Elders, brothers, this man knows everything . We can't just let him go."
     
     

    "Better what I know than what Bury suspects," Renner said. "Understand something. His Excellency will make sure, I mean really sure, that there aren't any Moties involved. Once he's done that, he'll be so relieved, it won't be hard to get him to talk to the Governor.
     
     

    "What's the Governor got against you? A little trading with Outies. Nothing serious. Jackson will be glad of a chance to convince the Church that the Empire's no real threat. He's been looking for someone to negotiate with. And look, if New Utah is dying for lack of fertilizer , they should be in the Empire. We'll make them another offer while the Jump point's still open."
     
     

    The leading Elder stood. "This must be discussed. Is there anything else you need?"
     
     

    "Yeah. There's some coffee in my backpack." Renner got to his feet. He tried rotating his hips, a standard back exercise. He didn't fall down. "I seem to be recovered. Now, you've been wary of launching your ship while Bury's on the Purchase. Correct?"
     
     

    "Yes."
     
     

    "Take me to it. Show me that ship, no arguments, no phone calls, take me there now. All of you."
     
     

     
     
     

    "I didn't give them time to fool with the ship. They couldn't have done much anyway. They led me right to it. I saw everything, outside and in. There's nothing of Watchmaker manufacture. Horace, I know the Motie touch! There's no mistaking their hand. They make one widget do two or three jobs at once, they don't know from right angles, you remember."
     
     

    Bury was silent, head bowed, eyes hooded in shadow.
     
     

    "I found two variants on the Motie coffeepot. One takes the caffeine out of tea. The other must have been added in the last month, the joins are still new. It niters the hydrogen fuel. There's a layer of Motie superconductor under the reentry shield. All three carried the Imperial Autonetics logo."
     
     

    Ruth Cohen was perched at the edge of her chair. "They took you there right away?"
     
     

    "I damn well made them. Three different elevators, but I took the whole entourage with me. They cooperated. I'm as sure as can be that they didn't phone ahead. Mister Elder had to threaten the guards with damnation when we got there, and then they made calls while I inspected the outside, but I was inside within five minutes. Bury?"
     
     

    Bury's head came up. "Yes?"
     
     

    "Do I have your attention? I wasn't sure. Look, if you had access to Watchmakers and Engineers, and you—"
     
     

    "I'd kill them. You know that." There was no force behind his words. He looked old, old.
     
     

    "Assume, just assume that they're allies. Pretend you trust them. Wouldn't you set