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Why are you humans always so ready to carry the terrible burdens of your past?

- Kerro Panille, Questions fro out this close to Colony perimeter, even when sheltered behind the crysteel barrier of Lab One’s private exit Creatures of this planet had a way of penetrating the i the most careful defenses

But someone Lewis trusted had to ated on the plain as they were doing thisIt was their most mysterious for answers - no doubt juhed When he looked out on the unprotected surface of Pandora, there was no denying its iers

Absently, he scratched his left elbow When he ht, he could see his own reflection in the Plaz: a blocky ht complexion which he kept e point was not the best available, not as good as the exterior posts which were always manned by the fastest and the best the Colony could risk But Murdoch knew he could argue his importance to the leadership team He was not expendable and this place did serve Lewis’ purpose The crysteel barrier, although it filtered out alht, framed the area they needed to watch

What was it those das did out there?

Murdoch crouched behind a swivel-mounted scope-cum-vidicorder, and touched the controls with a short, stubby finger to focus on the ’lighters More than a hundred of them floated above the plain about six kiloe est for special observation, reading what he saw into a shter looked to be at least fifty meters in dia the top which for sail rasped a large rock which bu up dust, scattering gravel

Thewas cloudless, only one sun in the sky It cast a harsh golden light on the plain, picking out every wrinkle and contraction of the ’lighter’s bag Murdoch couldtentacles cupped beneath the ’lighter, confining so He could not quite identify what the ’lighter carried, but it definitely was alive and trying to escape

The reat curved spread which eeping now across the plain on a diagonal path away froled out anchored the near flank, still confining that flailing so in the tentacle shadows beneath it

What had that da captured? Surely not a Colonist! Murdoch backed off his focus to include the entire round creatures, a hters swept toward the crouching ani Hooded Dashers, Swift Grazers, Flatwings, Spinnerets, Tubetuckers, Clingey demons - all of theerous to hylighters All of the ’lighters carried ballast rocks, Murdoch saw, and now the central segs bounced slightly and tendrils stretched out to snatch up the crouching demons The captive creatures squirmed and flailed, but hters

Now, all but a few of the ballasted ’lighters dropped their rocks and began to soar The few still carrying rocks tacked out away froround for other speci which Murdoch had studied earlier reed the i in on the cupped tendrils beneath the thing’s bag All was quiet there now and, as he watched, the tendrils opened to release their catch

Murdoch dictated his observations into the recorder at his throat: "The big one has just dropped its catch Whatever it is it appears to be desiccated, a large flat area of blac My God! It was a Hooded Dasher! The big ’lighter had a Hooded Dasher tucked up under the bag!"