"Trucks almost here. Y'know what to do?" Naxa asked.
Jason nodded, and looked again at the dead man. Some beast had torn his
arm off and he had bled to death. The severed arm had been tied into the
shirt sleeve, so from a distance it looked normal. Seen close up this
limp arm, plus the white skin and shocked expression on the face, gave
Jason an unhappy sensation. He liked to see his corpses safely buried.
However he could understand its importance today.
"Here they're. Wait until his back's turned," Naxa whispered.
The armored truck had three powered trailers in tow this time. The train
ground up the rock slope and whined to a stop. Krannon climbed out of
the cab and looked carefully around before opening up the trailers. He
had a lift robot along to help him with the loading.
"Now!" Naxa hissed.
Jason burst into the clearing, running, shouting Krannon's name. There
was a crackling behind him as two of the hidden men hurled the corpse
through the foliage after him. He turned and fired without stopping,
setting the thing afire in midair.
There was the crack of another gun as Krannon fired, his shot jarred the
twice-dead corpse before it hit the ground. Then he was lying prone,
firing into the trees behind the running Jason.
Just as Jason reached the truck there was a whirring in the air and hot
pain ripped into his back, throwing him to the ground. He looked around
as Krannon dragged him through the door, and saw the metal shaft of a
crossbow bolt sticking out of his shoulder.
"Lucky," the Pyrran said. "An inch lower would have got your heart. I
warned you about those grubbers. You're lucky to get off with only
this." He lay next to the door and snapped shots into the now quiet
wood.
Taking out the bolt hurt much more than it had going in. Jason cursed
the pain as Krannon put on a dressing, and admired the singleness of
purpose of the people who had shot him. They had risked his life to make
his escape look real. And also risked the chance that he might turn
against them after being shot. They did a job completely and thoroughly
and he cursed them for their efficiency.
Krannon climbed warily out of the truck, after Jason was bandaged.
Finishing the loading quickly, he started the train of trailers back
towards the city. Jason had an anti-pain shot and dozed off as soon as
they started.
* * * * *
While he slept, Krannon must have radioed ahead, because Kerk was
waiting when they arrived. As soon as the truck entered the perimeter he
threw open the door and dragged Jason out. The bandage pulled and Jason
felt the wound tear open. He ground his teeth together; Kerk would not
have the satisfaction of hearing him cry out.
"I told you to stay in the buildings until the ship left. Why did you
leave? Why did you go outside? You talked to the grubbers--didn't you?"
With each question he shook Jason again.
"I didn't talk to--anyone." Jason managed to get the words out. "They
tried to take me, I shot two--hid out until the trucks came back."
"Got another one then," Krannon said. "I saw it. Good shooting. Think I
got some, too. Let him go Kerk, they shot him in the back before he
could reach the truck."
_That's enough explanations_, Jason thought to himself. _Don't overdo
it. Let him make up his mind later. Now's the time to change the
subject. There's one thing that will get his mind off the grubbers._
"I've been fighting your war for you Kerk, while you stayed safely
inside the perimeter." Jason leaned back against the side of the truck
as the other loosened his grip. "I've found out what your battle with
this planet is really about--and how you can win it. Now let me sit down
and I'll tell you."
More Pyrrans had come up while they talked. None of them moved now. Like
Kerk, they stood frozen, looking at Jason. When Kerk talked, he spoke
for all of them.
"_What do you mean?_"
"Just what I said. Pyrrus is fighting you--actively and consciously. Get
far enough out from this city and you can feel the waves of hatred that
are directed at it. No, that's wrong--you can't because you've grown up
with it. But I can, and so could anyone else with any sort of psi
sensitivity. There is a message of war being beamed against you
constantly. The life forms of this planet are psi-sensitive, and respond
to that order. They attack and change and mutate for your destruction.
And they'll keep on doing so until you are all dead. Unless you can stop
the war."
"How?" Kerk snapped the word and every face echoed the question.
"By finding whoever or whatever is sending that message. The life forms
that attack you have no reasoning intelligence. They are being ordered
to do so. I think I know how to find the source of these orders. After
that it will be a matter of getting across a message, asking for a truce
and an eventual end to all hostilities."
A dead silence followed his words as the Pyrrans tried to comprehend the
ideas. Kerk moved first, waving them all away.
"Go back to your work. This is my responsibility and I'll take care of
it. As soon as I find out what truth there is here--if any--I'll make a
complete report." The people drifted away silently, looking back as they
went.
[Illustration]