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A horrible feeling came over h the filtering of Ship’s e of tiht war had been bred and conditioned out of them at the very moment when they needed this ability the most

- The Tho another exahter reached atmosphere, Bitten’s metallic voice barked at them from the overhead ’coder

"Do you know a Kerro Panille?"

Waela stirred and mumbled at the sound, then rubbed both hands over her mounded abdomen

"Yes, we know Panille," Hali said She closed and sealed her pribox "Why?"

"You wish to land at some place other than Colony," Bitten intoned "That now lared up toward the ’coder "You said we had to land at Colony!"

"I have been in contact with Kerro Panille," Bitten said "He asserts that Colony has been destroyed"

"Destroyed?" Hali sat stiffly in her couch, duripped the arra at Colony"

"I reram," Bitten said "Present conditions fit the definition of eency"

"Then where can we land?" Hali asked And she felt the stirrings of hope Contact with Kerro!

"Panille asserts that I cannear an occupied site called the Redoubt He is prepared to guide us to that landing"

Hali checked the fastenings which held Waela in the passenger couch, returned to her own seat and strapped in The plaz directly in front of her framed a brilliant circle of cloud-covered planet

"They meant us to die," Ferry muttered "Damn them!"

"Do you desire to land at the alternate site?" Bitten asked

"Yes, land us there," Hali said

"There is risk," Bitten said

"Land us there!" Ferry shouted

"A normal tone of voice suffices for conversational direction of this program," Bitten said

Ferry stared at Hali "They meant us to die"

"I heard you What do you o to Colony"

Hali looked at hi his words Was the man unaware of what he had just told her?

"So it was a set-up," she said "You staged that fight"

Ferry re at her

"But you cut off one of Murdoch’s ears," Hali said, re

Ferry bared his old teeth in a terrible grin "He did so to my Rachel I know he did"

Hali crossed her ars in Ferry’s words Her gaze went to the laser scalpel clipped in a breast pocket of Ferry’s singlesuit: a thin stylus with death or life in itsthe scalpel in case he needed it against me!