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As I am your creation, you are Mine You are My satellites and I am yours Your personas are My impersonations We melt into ONE at the touch of infinity

- Raja Flattery, The Book of Ship

FROM THE instant the Redoubt’s first hatchway exploded, Jesus Lewis stayed within aruard, Illuyank It was partly a conscious decision Even in the worst of times, Illuyank inspired a certain confidence He was a heavily muscled man, dark-skinned, with black wavy hair and a stone-cut face accented by three blue chevrons tattooed above his left eyebrow Three chevrons - Illuyank had run outside around the Colony Perimeter three ti the P" for a bet or a date

Testing their luck, some called it When the hatch blew, they all needed luck Some of them were barely awake and had not yet eaten their first dayside un!" Illuyank shouted His clear, dark eyes worked the area "Dangerous They don’t kno to use it"

The two e between the clones’ quarters and a random huddle of survivors aited behind the to the core of the Redoubt Even in this moment of peril, Lewis kne he must appear to the others He was a short man, thin all the way - thin straw-colored hair, thin mouth, thin chin made even more so by a deep cleft, a thin nose, and oddly dark eyes which never seeht in the thin co Leas not

Both stared toward the core of the Redoubt

There was a real question in their minds whether the core of the Redoubt re this, Lewis had deactivated the communications pellet buried in the flesh of his neck and refused to answer it even when insistent calls froht be able to listen!

There had been so indications lately that their private coht not be as private as he had hoped By now, Oakes would have received word about the new Ceepee Discussion of that and the possible breach of their private communications system would have to wait

Oakes would have to be patient

At the first sign of trouble, Lewis had hit an enal switch to alert Murdoch at Colony There was no certainty, though, that the signal had gone through He had not been allowed tione onto e which syste and which not

The damned clones!

A loud whirr sounded from the direction of the clones’ quarters Illuyank flattened himself on the floor and the others were showered with shards of passage wall

"I thought they didn’t kno to use that lasgun!" Lewis shouted He pointed at a gaping hole in the wall as Illuyank leaped up and spun him around toward the others at the hatch circle

"Downshaft!" Illuyank called

One of the waiting group whirled the downshaft hatchdogs and opened the way into a passage lighted only by the blue flickering of eency illumination

Lewis sprinted blindly behind Illuyank, heard the others scra after them Illuyank shouted back at him as he ran: "They don’t kno to use it and that’s what erous!" Illuyank tucked and rolled across an open side passage as he spoke, firing a quick burst down the passage fro anywhere!"

Lewis glanced down the open passage as he ran past, gli there

It soon beca them and Lewis admired the wisdoht turn and found themselves in the Redoubt’s unfinished back corridors, skirting the native rock of the cliffside into the slassoverlooked the sea, the courtyard and the corner where the clones’ quarters joined the Redoubt itself

The last of the followers dogged the hatch behind them Lewis took quick stock of his personnel - fifteen people, only six of them from his personally chosen crew The others, rated reliable by Murdoch, had not yet been tested

Illuyank hadover the Redoubt’s schematics etched into a master plate there It occurred to Lewis then that Illuyank was the only survivor froston’s on

"Is this hoith Kingston?" Lewis asked He forced his voice to an even caler

"Kingston cried and hid behind rocks while his people died Runners got him I cooked them out"

Cooked thee of Kingston’s head crisped to char grinned across his mind

"Tell us what to do" Leas surprised at his control under this fear

"Good" Illuyank looked directly at him for the first time "Good Our weapons are these" He indicated the poitches and valve controls around theas and liquid from here"

Lewis touched Illuyank’s arm and pointed to a one-meter square panel beside him

"Yes" Illuyank hesitated

"We’re blind otherwise," Lewis said

For answer, Illuyank tapped out a code on the console beneath the square The blank panel slid back to reveal four small view-screens

"Sensors," one of those behind them said

"Eyes and ears," Lewis said, still looking at Illuyank

The dark e, but he whispered to Lewis: "We also will have to see and hear e do to them"

Leed and heard a faint snap-snapping at the hatch

"They’re cutting in!" a voice quavered behind them

Lewis and Illuyank scanned the screens One showed the rubble that had been the clones’ quarters I’M HUNGRY NOW!, the new rallying cry of the clones, was s screen scanned the courtyard A crowd of rounds for rocks and bits of glass, anything for a weapon

"Keep an eye on them" Illuyank whispered "They can’t hurt us with that stuff, but all that blood out there will bring demons There are holes all over our perimeter If demons hit, they’ll catch that bunch first"

Lewis nodded He could hear so close for a better view

Onceat the hatch

Lewis glanced at Illuyank

"They’re just pounding at us with rocks," Illuyank said "What we have to do is find that lasgun Meanwhile, keep an eye on the courtyard The bloo"

The lower left-hand screen showed the clone mess hall, a sharound, a turhout the area This screen suddenly went blank

"Sensor’s gone in the mess hall," Lewis said

"Food will keep the through the Redoubt on the re screen It showed a flash of the courtyard frole of peri with clones co in from the outside where Lewis had ejected thenited this revolt

We have to cull theo only so far

He turned his attention to the screen showing the courtyard Ye there was a lot of blood It made him aware that he was badly cut hian to ache as he thought of his condition None of thehtly from a rock cut above his ear