. Now, instead of gloating over his victory, he
seemed troubled over an unnecessary death.

It made sense. Everything on Pyrrus made sense. Now he knew how the
deadly planetary battle had started--and he knew how it could be ended.
All the deaths had _not_ been in vain. Each one had helped him along the
road a little more towards the final destination. There was just one
final thing to be done.

Rhes was watching him now, and he knew they shared the same thoughts.
"Explain yourself," Rhes said. "What did you mean when you said we could
wipe out the junkmen and get our freedom?"

Jason didn't bother to correct the misquote, it was best they consider
him a hundred per cent on their side.

"Get the others together and I'll tell you. I particularly want to see
Naxa and any other talkers who are here."

* * * * *

They gathered quickly when the word was passed. All of them knew that
the junkman had been killed to save this off-worlder, that their hope of
salvation lay with him. Jason looked at the crowd of faces turned
towards him and reached for the right words to tell them what had to be
done. It didn't help to know that many of them would be killed doing it.

"The small star ship can't be used," he said. "You all saw that it was
ruined beyond repair. But that was the easy way out. The hard way is
still left. Though some of you may die, in the long run it will be the
best solution.

"We are going to invade the city, break through the perimeter. I know
how it can be done ..."

[Illustration]

A mutter of sound spread across the crowd. Some of them looked excited,
happy with the thought of killing their hereditary enemies. Others
stared at Jason as if he were mad. A few were dazed at the magnitude of
the thought, this carrying of the battle to the stronghold of the
heavily armed enemy. They quieted when Jason raised his hand.

"I know it sounds impossible," he said. "But let me explain. Something
must be done--and now is the time to do it. The situation can only get
worse from now on. The city Pyrr ... the junkmen can get along without
your food, their concentrates taste awful but they sustain life. But
they are going to turn against you in every way they can. No more metals
for your tools or replacements for your electronic equipment. Their
hatred will probably make them seek out your farms and destroy them from
the ship. All of this won't be comfortable--and there will be worse t