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But he could not be sure. That there had been some slight change he was certain. They could not wait much longer without making an attempt to reopen the air-supply regulator, or could they? Again Ross was hampered by lack of information. Perhaps the Baldies did not need the same amount of oxygen his own kind depended upon.
Had they been sucked up and out in the inferno they had created with their unleashing of energy against the Baldies' installation? "Ross look!" Karara's cry, her upflung arm directed his attention aloft. Under the sullen gathering of the storm a sphere arose as a bubble might seek the surface of a pool before breaking. A ship a Baldy ship taking off from the ruined citadel!
What could a handful of primitively armed and almost primitively minded Terrans do now if they had to dispute Topaz with the Baldies? "Beyond this " Menlik worked his way to the very lip of a drop, raising a finger cautiously "beyond this we do not go."
But Ross refused to accept the cutoff this time, determined to pull Ashe back into the familiar world of the here and now. "That keep could be a trap, about the best on this planet!" The idea was more than just a gambit to attract Ashe's attention, it was true! A perfect trap to catch Baldies. "Don't you see," Ross sat up, slapped his feet down on the deck as he leaned forward eagerly.
Ross had not realized that the salkars could operate out of what he thought was their natural element, but this wild-eyed dragon was plainly bent on reaching its tormentors. For a moment or two the Baldies continued to front the creature, almost, Ross thought, as if they could not believe that their weapons had failed them.
The Baldies from the ancient spaceships, that wholly alien race with whom he had once fought a desperate encounter on the edge of an unnamed sea in the far past of his own world. The galactic voyagers were here and in active, if secret, conflict with the natives! Weapon from the Depths
White head, bare of any hair, thin shoulders a little hunched under the blue-green-lavender stuff of the Baldies' uniforms.... Head turning now so that the eyes could see the necessary switch. An exclamation from the alien and But the Baldy never had a chance to complete that turn, look behind him. Ross sprang and struck with the side of his hand. The hairless head snapped forward.
"Don't you see ... if the Baldies know anything at all about the Foanna, and I'm betting they do and want to learn all they can, they'll visit the citadel. They won't want to depend on second- and third-hand reports of the place, especially ones delivered by primitives such as the Wreckers. They had a sub there. I'll bet the crew are in picking over the loot right now!"
From the prisoners taken at Kyn Add they had learned the invaders believed the Foanna their enemies here, even though the Old Ones had not repulsed them or their activities. Therefore, it followed that, having taken the stronghold, the Baldies would endeavor to rip open every one of its secrets. "A trap with good bait " Ross wondered which one of the Foanna said that.
"The Baldies were so sure of their superiority on this primitive world they set no guards save that field," Ashe explained. "We slipped through five swimmers to reach the ship. And then the field went down, thanks to you." "So I did help that much." Ross grinned wryly. What had he proven by his sortie? Nothing much. But he was not sorry he had made it.
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