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Asimok
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KGLQA-LangChain-QuALITY

Dataset card Data Studio Files
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Evelyn turned in profile to the beam-gun and stretched luxuriously,
hoping that her grimace of pain could not be detected. With
satisfaction, she sensed a sudden change of determination in the mind
of the Tharn. The gun was lowered, and the man was circling to creep up
behind her. He did not bother to notify his men. He wanted her first.
He had seen her uniform, but that deterred him not a whit. Afterwards,
he would call up the squad. Finally, they would kill her and move on.
Women auxiliaries had no business here, anyway.
Hips dipping, Evelyn sauntered into the shattered copse. The man moved
faster, though still trying to approach quietly. Most of the radions in
the mile-high ceiling had been destroyed, and the light was poor. He
was not surprised when he lost track of his quarry. He tip-toed rapidly
onward, picking his way through the charred and fallen branches,
thinking that she must turn up again soon. He had not gone twenty yards
in this manner when a howl of unbearable fury sounded in his mind, and
the dull light in his brain went out.
She fought for her life under that mile-high ceiling.
Breathing deeply from her mental effort, the woman stepped from
behind a great black tree trunk and hurried to the unconscious man.
For I.Q.'s of 100 and less, telepathic cortical paralysis was quite
effective. With cool efficiency and no trace of distaste she stripped
the odorous uniform from the man, then took his weapon, turned the beam
power down very low, and needled a neat slash across his throat. While
he bled to death, she slipped deftly into the baggy suit, clasped the
beam gun by the handle, and started up the sooty slope. For a time, at
least, it would be safer to pass as a Tharn soldier than as any kind of
a woman.
II
The inquisitor leaned forward, frowning at the girl before him.
"Name?"
"Evelyn Kane."
The eyes of the inquisitor widened. "So you admit to a Terran name.
Well, Terran, you are charged with having stolen passage on a supply
lorry, and you also seem to be wearing the uniform of an infantry
corporal as well as that of a Scythian woman auxiliary. Incidentally,
where is the corporal? Did you kill him?"
He was prepared for a last-ditch denial. He would cut it short, have
the guards remove her, and execution would follow immediately. In a
way, it was unfortunate. The woman was obviously of a high Terran
class. No—he couldn't consider that. His slender means couldn't afford
another woman in his quarters, and besides, he wouldn't feel safe with
this cool murderess.
"Do you not understand the master tongue? Why did you kill the
corporal?" He leaned impatiently over his desk.
The woman stared frankly back at him with her clear blue eyes. The
guards on either side of her dug their nails into her arms, as was
their custom with recalcitrant prisoners, but she took no notice.
She had analyzed the minds of the three men. She could handle the
inquisitor alone or the two guards alone, but not all three.
"If you aren't afraid of me, perhaps you'd be so kind as to send the
guards out for a few minutes," she said, placing a hand on her hip. "I
have interesting information."
So that was it. Buy her freedom by betraying fugitive Terrans. Well, he
could take the information and then kill her. He nodded curtly to the
guards, and they walked out of the hut, exchanging sly winks with one
another.
Evelyn Kane crossed her arms across her chest and felt her broken rib
gingerly. The inquisitor stared up at her in sadistic admiration. He
would certainly be on hand for the execution. His anticipation was cut
short with a horrible realization. Under the paralyzing force of a mind
greater than his own, he reached beneath the desk and switched off the
recorder.
"Who is the Occupational Commandant for this Sector," she asked
tersely. This must be done swiftly before the guards returned.
"Perat, Viscount of Tharn," replied the man mechanically.
"What is the extent of his jurisdiction?"
"From the center of the Terran globe, outward four hundred miles
radius."