He waited for the others to land before he left the flyer. He took a pair of binocs from the supply kit and trained them on the city across the Flat, but he couldn’t find Mara’s fallen flyer.

When they were all down he clambered out of the compartment and alighted heavily in the dust. Manning strode quickly to him, wearing twin stunners. He took one from its holster and fingered it thoughtfully as he spoke.

“The main party was back in the pass. They should be here inside half an hour. We’ll storm the temple immediately—we’ve got them outnumbered.”

Rynason made a dubious sound deep in his throat, looking out at the city. He was remembering that he had seen it before from this Flat … and had stormed it before. The defensive walls were high.

“They can fire down on us from the walls,” he said in a low voice. “There’s no cover out there—they’d wipe half of us out before we could get in.”

“We can come around from the pass,” Manning said. “There’s plenty of cover from that direction.”

“And more fortification, too!” Rynason snapped. “Just remember, Manning, that city was built as a fortress. We’d have to come from the Flat.”

Manning paused, frowning. “We’ve got to take them anyway,” he said slowly. “Damn it, we can’t just stand here and wait for them to come out at us. What are they doing, anyway?”

Rynason regarded the older man for several moments, almost amused. “Right now,” he said, “they’re probably having a conference—with the Outsiders. That’s where the machine is, remember.”

“Then the sooner we attack, the better,” Manning said. “Marc, get the main party on the hand-radio—tell them to get here as fast as they can.” He turned for a moment to look out across the Flat at the city. “And you can promise them some action,” he said.

Stoworth dropped the radio from his shoulder and threw back the cover. He switched on the power, and static sounded in the dry air. He lifted the mike … and a voice cut through the static.

“Is anyone picking this up? Is anyone there?”

It was Mara’s voice.

Rynason knelt beside the set and took the mike from Stoworth’s hand. “This is Lee. Are you hurt?”

 Prev. P 56/80 next