Rick saw her decision clearly by the lines of her face; he backed off, too, and for one moment they shared a brief, small smile-but it was something that warmed them both out of all proportion to the moment.
"We cannot attack," Lron was grant-howling, "because the [here he made an ursine noise that didn't translate into the lingua franca the Sentinels used] is not correct! You are outsiders, and blind to the ways of Karbarra, and yet I tell you: if you go against the [that same word again], then there is nothing but total disaster awaiting you."
It took considerable time to sort out, during which Rick fidgeted. Long-horned Burak and the crystal-bright Baldan spoke in defense of Lron's past accomplishments. Rick felt like pulling a fistful of hair out of his head.
But it seemed that Karbarrans had a certain sense of fate, and Rick got the impression that it was depressingly downbeat and debilitating. And the fate of the bears was that there be no all-out attack on Karbarra at this time. What Lron and Crysta wanted was a very small recon group, a handful, to go down and scout things out.
"That's crazy!" Rick yelled. "We know where the Inorganics and the rest of our targets are!
Let's paste 'em, then go in and save the Karbarrans! My god, is there anybody here who doesn't understand what we're talking about? The Invid aren't going to spare your people, no matter what concessions you make! There'll be another demand, and another!"
Crysta came out of her big chair with a growl, showing her snow-white peglike canines. Rick stood his ground-arguably the bravest thing he had ever done; Lisa's hand was clawing for a pistol that wasn't at her belt.
"The Shapings of the Protoculture do not dictate…that," Crysta said slowly, as if in a dream.
She lowered her head as though she had come at bay. "Do not necessarily say that."
Rick shook his head, unable to understand what it was they were getting at. "What's wrong with you? We hit 'em high, then hit 'em low, and Karbarra's yours again! Your planet's yours again!"
Lron spun on him, one paw raised high, its claws standing out from the splayed hand, looming over Rick. There was almost a debate in the slow orbiting of it, and Rick Hunter knew death hovered close.
"We…won't…hit…them…at…all, yet!" Lron bellowed, at such volume that the others winced.
Lisa Hayes Hunter was the first one to raise her head again and look Lron in the eye. Rick tried to pull her back down, and wished he had thought to bring a firearm. Something in the elephant-gun category.
Lisa looked Lron in the eye. She said, "In case you've forgotten, we didn't come here to be frightened away. Now, do we attack with your help, or without it?"
Lisa had put herself on the other side of the argument without qualification. And Rick was bracing himself to fight, because he was pretty sure the bears were going to charge his wife in a second or so.
But instead, Lron and Crystal subsided, making gnawing sounds but not objecting. Lisa went on. "It's clear that we have the Invid at a disadvantage, since it is highly probable that the ground forces aren't aware that their task force has been wiped out. Computer projections and G-3 evaluations are unanimous: we have a window of advantage at this moment and it won't last long. On the behalf of the Human Sentinels, I say that we should take our shot."
Other Sentinels pounded the table and cried their support. Rick looked at his wife and felt a powerful pulse of love mixed with a certain envy; but when he thought about it, the envy was separated out into equal parts of desire and admiration. Both of those were good for a love affair, better yet for a marriage.
But the Karbarrans were up, like grizzlies on their back haunches, to rebut. "You do not understand the-"
For that, they made a sound incomprehensible to the Sentinels, something the translation computers had to labor at, at last rendering up a marked and qualified interpretation: "the Shaping of Things."
Rick looked to his left, to Kami, the foxlike Gerudan who sat there in his breathing mask that was fed from the tank on his back. "What in the world are they talking about?"
Kami made an exasperated sound that somehow penetrated the mask. Rick leaned his way. "I don't know what to think. Crysta and Lron aren't behaving as they did when we formed our alliance,"
Kami said.
"We could sock into that garrison before they knew what'd hit them, then mop up the remains," Rick pointed out.
Kami nodded. "But something seems to be holding the Karbarrans back," he pointed out.
"Are you gonna let that hold you back?"
Kami regarded him with a long look. "I would give some benefit of the doubt to you or the Praxians or any of the others. There are many things we don't understand about one anothers' species, and so we must proceed with caution. Am I wrong-thinking?"
Rick didn't quite know what to say. "What we must do is make a reconnaissance of the situation below," Lron announced. "Crysta and I and a half dozen of our people-"
"No." Lisa was shaking her head. She wasn't sure what the ursinoids were being so secretive about, but she was wholly opposed to letting them go off on their own. She wanted very much to trust them-had come, in fact, to like Crysta and Lron-but couldn't shake the feeling that they were concealing something.
Everyone had something to say, of course. The Sentinels' alliance was put to its first real test, and for some moments it seemed that the need that bound them together wouldn't hold. Unexpectedly, Cabell was one of those who put things back on track. "Have you all forgotten the horrors the Invid inflicted on my planet? We must work together-compromise! The life and death of whole worlds are at stake!"
In the end, it was agreed that recon would be carried out by living beings rather than by remotes or drones. Veidt, acting as chairman, finally decreed that the unit would be composed of Lron, Kami, Rick, Gnea, and Bela, along with Jack Baker and Karen Penn. Those last names surprised Rick, but then he supposed Veidt had come to know the two lieutenants.
Lisa wanted to object, wanted to be included, but knew that Veidt's selection was right; her place was on the bridge of the starship, especially now. But one last name was added to the roster: at both Cabell's request and his own, Rem was included.
For the insertion, they would take a Karbarran shuttle-craft; with its Sekiton drive, it was much less likely to be detected by the Invid Protoculture instruments. This was no job for a VT or a Hovertank, as even Rick had to concede.
The recon party moved through the ship's armory, gathering handguns and rifles, along with rocket launchers and grenades. Meanwhile, human techs were checking out the assorted survival gear the team would need. Rick noticed that while the women from Praxis had no objection to buckling gunbelts around their waists or slinging Wolverine assault rifles over their shoulders-indeed, they seemed to understand firearms quite well-they still insisted on bringing sword, crossbow, and Gnea's naginata-like halberd.
He shrugged; to each his own. Besides, silent weapons might come in quite handy. Lron seemed set on bringing his pneumatic musket, too, and his huge, cleaverlike knife, but Kami was apparently more than happy to carry Human weapons with their greater firepower.
The equipment and the shuttle were checked while sensors and intel staff people and computers debated over optimal landing sites. There was still no sign that the Invid garrison below had any inkling of the Sentinels' presence in the planetary ring; at least the recon group had that advantage.
Rick had found time to snatch a few hours' sleep before the final briefing was to commence.
He had hoped for a moment or two along with Lisa, but she had been preoccupied with preparations-and with trying to figure out contingency plans for dealing with whatever the scouting mission might run across.