Zephyr and Crista, after bidding Master Trader Hajeem fare well, are taken to Rephidim by an airship where Zephyr proceeds to make a very poor impression on the Arch Inquisitor Majoris Melchizedek; Crista is shooed out but manages to eavesdrop on the proceedings. Zephyr receives the language but continues to insult Melchizedek and his assistant, Subaltern Fiji, who in revenge contrives to have Zephyr shaved. This however, proves to be a sufficient threat to cause Zephyr to agree to talk, and he reels off a long lie to Melchizedek who is unimpressed. Crista escapes to give her report on the subject to Hajeem's contact on Rephidim