14/03/2026 20:37

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You may not appreciate how few Esand Ms there are on Iryala, planet-wide, or on any world; not nearly asmany as there'll be ten years from now. A short distance to his right lay the millpond, roofedgray with massive rotting ice. The second jump should be from 400. He was relaxed now, and it occurredto him that this was not much inferior to sleep itself as a way to kill time.

Everysecond man carried a blast hose, the others rifles, all supplied with blastslugs instead of the solid rounds preferred in jungle righting. Having no artillery of their own, they borrowed some-gunsand gunners-from unit commanders they'd come to know. Even after repairs it hampered him, and he'd been given anadministrative job. Varlik realizedhe'd been heading out of the clearing.