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There were no words left in Hoker He looked terribly old and lost He went back to work on the video console, his movements slow and mechanical Pitt suddenly felt too exhausted to carry on It was a waste, the entire project a pitiful waste They had accoood men

He did not hear the faint voice in the earphones at first Finally it began to penetrate his despondency

Whoever was trying to reach him sounded weak and far away "Pitt here What is it?" The reply was garbled and unclear

"You'll have to speak up, I can'tyour volume"

"Is that any better?" a voice booh the receivers

"Yes, I can hear you now" Pitt's own voice echoed back "Who is this?"

"Collins" The next feords were distorted: "been atte to make phone contact since I came to

Don't knohat happened Suddenly all hell broke loose Only now ed to splice my communications link"

The name Collins was not familiar to Pitt In his few short days aboard the Ocean Venturer, he had been too busy to memorize and associate a hundred names with their respective faces "What's your proble to other matters

There was a long pause "I guess you ht say I'm trapped," the reply came back heavy in sarcasm

"And if it isn't inconvenient I would appreciate an assist in getting the hell out of here"

Pitt tapped Hoker on the shoulder "Who is Collins and what's his capacity?"

"Don't you know?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking," Pitt growled "He claims he's trapped and needs help"

Hoker looked at him incredulously "Collins is one of the JIM suit operators! He was down during the explosion"