hen 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?"

"Lee?"

"I hear you. Are you hurt?"

"Not badly. Lee, what are you doing? I saw the flyers land."

"Manning wants to attack the city as soon as the land party gets here.
What's going on there?"

"I'm ... in the temple. I've been trying to communicate with them. I've
got an interpreter, but they don't listen to what I say. Lee, this is
incredible here! They've brought out a lot of weapons ... some of them
don't work. The hall is half-filled with dust and sand, and they move so
clumsily! They're try