cook, glen - ss - in the wind

7/29/2019 Cook, Glen - SS - In the Wind

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er e i s a stor y set i n a mor e di st ant f ut ur e when humanki nd tr avel s t o f ar st ar s r out i nel y.xobi ol ogy, t he st udy of l i f e f orms beyond t he eart h, i s a young enough br anch of bi ol ogy t o bal l ed "appl i ed sci ence f i ct i on" as pr act i ced by a sci ence speci al i st of one ki nd or anot her .t udi es i n t hi s f i el d i ncl ude char acteri zi ng hypot het i cal pl anet ar y envi r onment s, t he nat i ve l

whi ch mi ght exi st i n such al i en ecol ogi es, and how such l i f e mi ght be obser ved, di r ect l y orndi rect l y. But short of actual l y t ravel i ng to t he pl anet s of ot her sol ar systems, t he onl y l i

whi ch we mi ght be abl e t o det ect at a di st ance ar ound ot her st ar s i s i nt el l i gent l i f e. Dr awi ngackgr ound f r om ast r ophysi cs, exobi ol ogy, pl anet ar y composi t i on, Gl en Cook cr eat es an al i ennvi r onment i nhabi t ed by i nt el l i gent l i f e vast l y di f f er ent f r om us. And i n what i s al so anxci t i ng advent ur e st or y, he manages t o r ai se seri ous et hi cal di l emmas about our possi bl eel at i onshi p t o such i nt el l i gences.. Z.

N THE WI NDl en Cook

t ' s qui et up there, r i di ng the ups and downs over Gi nnunga Gap. Even i n combat t here' s nol i ght est cl amor , onl y a f ai nt scratch and whoosh of st r i ker s t appi ng i gni t er s and rocket smoki ng away. The rest of t he t i me, j ust a sl eepy whi sper of ai r caressi ng your canopy. On patt ' s har d to st ay al er t and war y.f t he aur or a hadn' t been so wi l d behi nd t he hunched backs of t he Har r i dans, pai nt i ng gl aci er snd snowf i el ds i n ropes of var i col or ed f i r e, sequi nni ng snow- cat ches i n t he weat hered nat ur alast l es of t he Gap wi t h moment ary r ef l ect i ons, I mi ght have dozed at t he st i ck t he morni ng Iecame von Dr achau' s wi ngman. The wi ndwhal es were her di ng i n the mountai ns, t hi nki ng mi grat i onnd we were f l yi ng f i ve or si x mi ssi ons per day. The st r ai n was al most unbear abl e.ut t he aur or al di spl ay kept me al er t . I t was t he st r ongest I ' d ever seen. A f er oci ous magnetit orm was devel opi ng. Li ght ni ng gr umbl ed between the Harr i dans' copper peaks, somet i mes evenpear ed down and danced among t he spi r es i n the Gap. We' d al l be grounded soon. The r i si ng wi n

ol d but moi st ur e- heavy, pr omi sed weat her even whal es coul dn' t r i de.Wi nt er was about t o br eak out of t he nor t h, f ur i ousl y, a wi nt er of a Gr eat Mi gr at i on. Pl anet s,moons and sun were r i ght , oracl es and omens predi ct i ng i mmi nent Ar mageddon. Twel ve year s hadi cked i nt o t he ashcan of t i me. Al l t he whal e speci es agai n were her di ng. Soon t he f i ght i ng woe hard and hopel ess.here ar e f our speci es of wi ndwhal e on t he pl anet Camel ot , t he most numer ous bei ng t he Har knes

whal e, whi ch mi gr at es f r om i t s nor t h ar ct i c and nor t h t emper at e f eedi ng ranges t o equat or i almat i ng gr ounds ever y other year . Bef or e begi nni ng t hei r mi gr at i on t hey, as do al l whal es, f ormer ds- whi ch, because t he beast s are t ot al omni vor es, ut t er l y st r i p t he ear t h i n thei r passageout h. The l esser speci es, i n both si ze and numbers , are Okumur a' s Fi r st , whi ch mates each thr

wi nt ers, Rosenberg' s, mat i ng every f our t h, and t he r are Okumur a' s Second, whi ch t r avel s onl y over y si x year s.nf or t unat el y. . .t t akes no mat hemat i cal geni us t o see t he f act or s of t wel ve. And ever y t wel ve year s t he

mi gr at i ons do coi nci de. I n the Gr eat Mi gr at i ons t he massed whal es l eave t ens of t housands of quar e ki l omet er s of devast at i on i n t hei r wake, devast at i on f r om whi ch, because of f ol l owi ngesser mi gr at i ons, t he r out es bar el y recover bef or e t he next Gr eat Mi gr at i on. Er osi on i s

henomenal . The monst ers , subj ect t o no natur al cont r ol other t han t hat apparent l y exact ed byr eat ur es we cal l ed mant as, were dest r oyi ng t he cont i nent on whi ch our empl oyers operated.bi chi Corpor at i on had been on Camel ot t went y- f i ve year s. The or i gi nal expl oi t at i on f orce, t hoqui pped t o f ace t he wor l d' s physi cal pecul i ari t i es, hadn' t been pr epared f or whal e mi gr at i onshey' d been l ost t o a man, whal e supper, because t he Cor porat i on' s pre- expl oi t at i on st udi es haeen so cur sory. Next Gr eat Mi gr at i on another t eam, t hough t hey' d dug i n, hadn' t f ared muchet t er . Ubi chi s t i l l hadn' t done i t s sci ent i f i c i nvest i gat i on. I n f act , i t s onl y act i on was aetermi nat i on t hat t he whal es had to go.i mpl e enough, vi ewed f r om a boar d room at Geneva. But pr act i cal i mpl ement at i on was a ni ght marnder Camel ot ' s t echni cal l y st i f l i ng condi t i ons. And the mant as r ecompl i cat ed ever ythi ng.

My f l i ght l eader' s waggi ng wi ngs di r ect ed my at t ent i on sout h. From a hi l l a dozen ki l omet er s dhe cabl e came f l ashi ng l i ght , Cl onni nger St at i on r epor t i ng saf e ar r i val of a convoy f r om Der ror t he next f ew hour s we' d have to be especi al l y al er t .t woul d t ake t he zeppel i ns t hat l ong t o beat nor t h agai nst t he wi nd, and al l t he whi l e t hey

woul d be vul nerabl e t o mant as f r om over t he Gap. Mant as, as f ar as we coul d see at t he t i me,oul dn' t t el l t he di f f er ence bet ween di r i gi bl es and whal es. Mor e ai r cover shoul d be comi ng up

on Dr achau came t o J aeger Gr uppe XI I I ( Corporat i on Ar med Act i on Command' s unsubt l e t i t l e f or unt er Wi ng, whi ch t hey used as a dump f or pr obl em empl oyees) wi t h t hat convoy, r eassi gned f r oG I V, a uni t st i l l engaged i n an i nsane ef f or t t o anni hi l at e t he Si ckl e I sl ands whal e herds b

means of gl i der at t acks car r i ed out over f or t y- f i ve ki l omet er s of qui et seas. We' d al l hear d oi m ( most J G XI I I per sonnel had come f r om t he Si ckl e I sl ands oper at i on) , t he cl umsi est , orucki est i ncompet ent , pi l ot f l yi ng f or Ubi chi . Whi l e scor i ng onl y f our ki l l s he' d been bol t edown seven t i mes- and had sur vi ved wi t hout a scr atch. He was t he son of J upp von Dr achau, t heonf eder at i on Navy of f i cer who had di r ect ed t he pl anet - bust i ng st r i ke agai nst t he Sangar eeomewor l d, a br ash, somet i mes pompous, al ways sel f - i mport ant ni net een year ol d who t hought t hahe f l ame of hi s f at her' s success shoul d i l l umi nat e hi m equal l y- and yet r esent ed even a ment i of t he man. He was a di l et t ant e, come t o Camel ot onl y t o f l y. Unl i ke t he rest of us, Ol d Ear t ht r uggl i ng t o buy out of t he povert y bequeat hed us by pr odi gal ancest ors , he had no dr i vi ng neo gi ve perf ormance f or pay.n admoni t i on i mmedi at el y i n or der : I ' m not her e t o pr ai se von Dr achau, but t o bur y hi m. To l ei m bur y hi msel f . Aeri al combat f ans, who have never seen Camel ot , who have r ead onl y corporatr opaganda, have made of hi m a cont emporar y "hero", a f l yi ng do- no- wr ong compet i t or f or t he



ewt er cr own al r eady cont est ed by such ant i ques as von Ri cht of f en, Hart mann and Gal l and. Yethese Ar chai ci st s can' t , because t hey need one, make a pl at i num bar f r om a t ur d, nor a soci o-sychol ogi cal f ul f i l l ment f rom a scat t erbrai n ki d. . . *

Most of t he stori es about hi m ar e apocryphal accr et i ons gener at ed to gi ve hi m dept h i n hi s l ather oi c" aspect . Ti me and st or ytel l er s i ncrease hi s st at ur e, as t hey have t hat of Nor se gods,

mi ght ' ve been peopl e who l i ved i n pr el i t erat e t i mes. For t hose who knew hi m ( and no one i s cl ohan a wi ngman) , t hough some of us mi ght l i ke to bel i eve t he l egends, he was j ust a sel f i sh,eadst r ong, t ant r um- t hr owi ng manchi l d- al bei t a f i ght er of super nat ur al abi l i t y. I n t he three

mont hs he spent wi t h us, dur i ng t he Gr eat Mi gr at i on, hi s pecul i ar t al ent s and short comi ngs madf hi m a creat ur e l ar ger t han l i f e. Unpl easant a per son as he was, he became t he phenom pi l ot .Thi s par agr aph i s an edi t or i al i nser t i on f r om a pr i vat e l et t er by Sal vador del Gado. Dogf i ghtel i eves i t cl ar i f i es del Gado' s per sonal f eel i ngs t owar d hi s f or mer wi ngman. Hi s t al e, t akeneparatel y, whi l e unsympat het i c, str i ves f or an obj ecti vi t y f ree of hi s r eal j eal ousi es. I t i s

i gni f i cant t hat he ment i ons Hart mann and Gal l and together wi t h von Ri cht of f en; undoubt edl y t hes he when compared wi t h von Dr achau, were f l yer s bet t er t han the Red Kni ght , yet t hey, and deado, l ack t he essent i al char i sma of t he f l yi ng i mmor t al s. Al so, von Ri cht of f en and von Dr achai ed at t he st i ck; Hart mann and Gal l and went on t o more pr osai c t hi ngs, becomi ng admi ni st r atorommander s of t he Luf t waf f e. I ndi cat i ons are t hat del Gado' s f at e wi t h Ubi chi Cor por at i on' s Arct i on Command wi l l be much t he same.Dogf i ght

I

he si gnal s f r om Cl onni nger came bef or e dawn, whi l e onl y t wo smal l moons and t he auror a l i ght ehe sky. But sunr i se f ol l owed qui ckl y. By t he t i me t he convoy near ed Beadl e St ati on ( us) ,amel ot ' s er r at i c, bl otchy- f aced sun had cl ear ed t he eastern hori zon. The reserve squadr on begat apul t i ng i nt o t he Gap' s f r eneti c dr af t s. The f our of us on cl ose pat r ol descended toward t hi r i gi bl es. The l i ght ni ng i n the Har r i dans had gr own i nt o a Ypr es cannonade. A net of j agged baced together t he t i ps of t he copper t owers i n t he Gap. An el ephant st ampede of angr y cl oudsumbl ed above t he mount ai ns. The wi nds appr oached the edge of bei ng t oo vi ci ous f or f l i ght .

l ashi ng l i ght f r om gr ound cont r ol , sear chl i ght f i nger s st abbi ng nor t h and east , pul sat i ng.Mant as si ght ed. We waggl e- wi nged acknowl edgment , t urned f or t he Gap and updraf t s. My eyes hadeen on the ver ge of r ebel l i on, demandi ng sl eep, but i n t he possi bi l i t y of combat wear i nessemporar i l y f aded.l ack specks were comi ng sout h l ow agai nst t he dayt i me ver di gr i s of t he Gap, a mal e- f emal e pain search of a whal e. I t was obvi ous how t hey' d been named. Anyone f ami l i ar wi t h Ol d Eart h' s sr eat ur es coul d see a r emarkabl e r esembl ance t o t he mant a r ay- t hough these had t en meter bodi ei f t een met er wi ngspans, and t en meter t ai l s t i pped by devi l ' s spades of r udder s. From a di st ahey appear ed bl ack, but at at t ack r ange coul d be seen as deep, uneven gr een on t op and l i ght eear ol i ve beneat h. They had f er oci ous habi t s. Mor e si gnal s f r om t he gr ound. Reser ve shi ps wouake t he mant as. Agai n we t urned, over f l ew t he convoy.t was t he bi ggest ever sent nor t h, f i f t een di r i gi bl es, one f i f t y met er s and l ar ger , dr aggi ng i ne f r om Cl onni nger at hal f ki l omet er i nt er val s, r i di ng l ong reaches of r unni ng cabl e as t heiai l men st r uggl ed to t ack t hem i nt o a f aci ng wi nd. The tal l gl ast eel pyl ons suppor t i ng t he cabr ack wer e ruby t ower s l i nked by a si ngl e si l ver st r and of spi der si l k r unni ng st r ai ght t ol onni nger ' s hi l l s .

We ci r cl ed wi de and sl ow at t wo t housand meters, gr adual l y droppi ng l ower . When we got down t o

i ve hundr ed we were r epl aced by a f l i ght f r om t he r eser ve squadr on whi l e we scooted t o t he Gaor an updr af t . Bel ow us ground cr ews pumped ext r a hydr ogen t o t he barr age bal l oons, l i f t i ngeadl e' s vast pr otect i ve net another hundr ed meters so t he convoy coul d sl i de beneat h. Swi t chmnd wi nchmen hust l ed about wi t h gl ass and pl ast i c t ool s i n a dance of conf usi on. We di dn' t havaci l i t i es f or r ecei vi ng mor e t han a hal f dozen zeppel i ns- t hough t hese, f i ght i ng t he wi nd, mi gome up sl owl y enough t o be handl ed.

Mor e si gnal s. Mor e mant a acti vi t y over t he Gap, t he r eserve squadr on' s squabbl e t ur ni ng i nt o arawl . The r est of my squadr on had come back f r om t he Harr i dans at a run, a dozen mant as i nur sui t . Lat er I l ear ned our shi ps had f ound a smal l wi ndwhal e her d and whi l e one f l i ght busi ehei r mant as t he other had dest r oyed the whal es. Then, ammuni t i on gone, t hey ran f or home,r r i vi ng j ust i n t i me t o compl i cat e t r af f i c pr obl ems.di dn' t get t i me t o wor r y i t . The mant as, i ncompl et el y f ed, spot t ed t he convoy. They don' t

i st i ngui sh between whal e and bal l oon. They went f or t he zeppel i ns.What f ol l owed becomes dul l ed i n memor y, so swi f t l y di d i t happen and so l i t t l e at t ent i on di d Iave t o spar e. The ai r f i l l ed wi t h mant as and l i ght ni ng, gl i der s, smoki ng rocket s, expl osi ons.he brawl spr ead t i l l every shi p i n t he wi ng was i nvol ved. Ar mor er s and cat apul t cr ews wor ked xhaust i on t r yi ng t o keep everyt hi ng up. Gr ound bat t eri es sear ed one another wi t h backbl ast

eepi ng a r ocket scr een between the mant as and st al l ed convoy- whi ch coul dn' t warp i n whi l e t hent r ance to t he def ense net was t i ed up by f i ght i ng cr af t ( a pr obl em unf or eseen but l at erorr ect ed by t he addi t i on of emergency ent r yways) . They wi nched t hei r r unni ng cabl es i n to shot ay and wai t ed i t out . Gr ound peopl e managed t o get barr age bal l oons wi t h tangl e tai l s out t o

make t he mant as' f l yi ng di f f i cul t .ever al of t he di r i gi bl es f ought back. St upi d, I t hought . Thei r l i f t i ng gas was hydr ogen,cr eami ngl y danger ous. To ar m t hem seemed an exer ci se i n sel f - dest r uct i on.o i t pr oved. Most of our casual t i es came when a shi p l oaded wi t h gr ound t r oops bl ew up, l eakias i gni t ed by i t s own rocket s. One hundr ed ei ght y- t hr ee men bur ned or f el l t o t hei r deat hs.osses t o mant as were s i x pi l ots and t he t wel ve man cr ew of a f r ei ght er.

I I

on Dr achau made hi s ent r y i nt o J G XI I I hi st or y j ust as I dr opped f r om my sai l shi p to t he packar t h parki ng apr on. Hi s zepp was t he f i r st i n and, havi ng vent ed gas, had been t owed t o t hepr on to cl ear t he docki ng wi nches. I ' d done t hr ee sor t i es dur i ng t he f i ght i ng, af t er t he si x egul ar pat r ol . I ' d seen my wi ngman cr ash i nt o a dr agl i ne pyl on, was exhaust ed, and possessed



n ut t erl y f oul mood. Von Dr achau hi t di r t l ong- hai r ed, unkempt , and compl ai ni ng, and I was t ho greet hi m. "What do you want t o be when you gr ow up, von Dr achau?"ot or i gi nal , but i t caught hi m of f guar d. He was used t o cri t i ci sm by admi ni st r at or s, but pi lvoi d ant agoni sm. One never knows when a past sl i ght mi ght mean hesi t at i on at t he t r i gger r i ngnd f ai l ur e to bl ow a mant a of f one' s t ai l . Von Dr achau' s hat chet f ace opened and cl osed,ol df i sh- l i ke, and one skel etal hand came up t o an accusat ory poi nt , but he coul dn' t come back

We' d had no real cont act dur i ng t he Si ckl e I sl ands campai gn. Consi der i ng hi s sel f - i nvol vement , oubt ed he knew who I was- - and di dn' t care i f he di d. I st epped past and gr eet ed acquai nt ancesr om my ol d squadr on, made pr omi ses t o get t oget her t o r emi ni sce, t hen r etr eat ed t o bar r acks. her e wer e any j ust i ce at al l , I ' d get f i ve or si x hour s f or sur vi vi ng the mor ni ng.managed f our , a r ecord f or t he week, t hen r ecei ved a summons t o t he of f i ce of Commander

McCl ennon, a r et i r ed Navy man exi l ed t o command of J G XI I I because he' d been so out spoken abouor por at i on pol i cy.The pol i cy t hat i r ked us al l , and whi ch was t he root of count l ess di f f i cul t i es, was Ubi chi ' secret pur pose on Camel ot . Ubi chi deal s i n uni que commodi t i es. I t was sure t hat Camel otperat i ons were r ecover i ng one such, but f ewer t han a hundr ed of a hal f mi l l i on empl oyees knew

what . The rest wer e t her e j ust t o keep t he wi ndwhal es f r om i nt er f er i ng. Even we mer cenari es fl d Ear t h di dn' t l i ke f i ght i ng f or a t ot al unknown. )ommander McCl ennon' s out er of f i ce was packed, ol d f aces f r om t he wi ng and new f r om t he convoyhor t l y, McCl ennon appeared and announced t hat t he wi ng had been assi gned some gl i der s wi t h nermament s, l ow vel oci t y gl ass bar r el gas pressur e cannon, pod of f our i n the nose of a shi pesi gned to car r y t he weapon system. . . i mmedi at e i nt er est . Hi t her t o we' d f l own spor t gl i der sury- r i gged t o car r y cr ude r ocket s, t he ef f ect i veness of whi ch l ay i n t he cyani de shel lur r oundi ng t he war head. Rel i abi l i t y, poor ; accur acy, er r at i c. A pi l ot was near l y as l i kel y toi l l hi msel f as a whal e. But what coul d you do when you coul dn' t use t he smal l est scr ap of metven a si l ver f i l l i ng coul d ki l l you ther e. The wi l dl y osci l l at i ng and unpr edi ctabl e magnet i cmbi ence coul d i nduce sudden, vi ol ent el ect r i cal charges. The onl y met al r i sked i nsi de Camel otan Al i ens was t hat i n t he l i ght er s r unni ng t o and f r om t he sur f ace st at i on at t he sout h magneol e, where f ew l i nes of f orce were cut and magnet i c weat her was r easonabl y predi ct abl e.i f t y t housand years ago t he syst em passed t hr ough t he warped space sur r oundi ng a bl ack hol e.

heory says t hat ' s t he r eason f or i t s eccent r i ci t i es, but I wonder . Maybe i t expl ai ns why al lodi es i n t he syst em have magnet i c f i el ds of f set f r om t he body cent er s, t he di st ance of f anppar ent f unct i on of si ze, mass and r at e of r ot at i on, but i t doesn' t t el l me why the f i el ds expl anetary magnet i sm i s uncommon) , nor why t hey pul sat e r andoml y.ut I di gr ess, and i nt o areas wher e I have no compet ence. I shoul d expl ai n what physi ci st s donnderst and? We were i n the Commander ' s of f i ce and he was sel ect i ng pi l ot s f or t he new shi ps.veryone want ed one. Chances f or survi val appeared that much bet t er .

McCl ennon' s assi gnment s seemed i ndi sput abl e, t he best f l yer s t o t he new craf t , f our f l i ght s of our , t hough those l ef t wi t h ol d shi ps wer e di sappoi nt ed.suf f er ed di sappoi nt ment mysel f . A bl ockbust er dr opped at t he end, af t er I ' d r esi gned mysel f

ont i nui ng i n an ol d cr af t .Von Dr achau, Hor st - J ohann, " sai d McCl ennon, peeri ng at hi s r ost er t hr ough ant i que spect acl es,ne of hi s af f ect at i ons, "at t ack pi l ot . Del Gado, Sal vador Mar t i n, wi ngman. "

Me? Wi t h von Dr achau? I ' d t hought t he ol d man l i ked me, t hought he had a good opi ni on of mybi l i t y. . . why' d he want t o wast e me? Von Dr achau' s wi ngman? Murder.was so st unned I coul dn' t yel l l et me out !

Fami l i ar i zat i on begi ns t hi s af t er noon, on St r i p Thr ee. Fi r st f l i ght checkout s i n t he mor ni ng.

ew mor e words, t i r ed exhor t at i ons t o do our best, al l t hat cr ap t hat ' s been pour ed on men at r ont f r om day one, t hen di smi ssal . Puzzl ed and upset , I st ar t ed f or t he door .Del Gado. Von Dr achau. " The execut i ve of f i cer . "St ay a mi nut e. The Commander want s t o t al k t oou. "

V

My puzzl ement t hi ckened as we ent ered McCl ennon' s i nner of f i ce, a Vi ct ori an- appoi nt ed, cr owdedet comf or t abl e room I hadn' t seen si nce I ' d pai d my f i r st day r espect s. Ther e wer e bi t s of at amp col l ect i on scat t er ed, a desk becl ut t ered, pr esent at i on hol ogr aphs of Navy of f i cer s t hateemed f ami l i ar, another of a woman of t he pal e t hi n mart yr t ype, a model of a Hi gh Sei nerpaceshi p l ooki ng l i ke i t ' d been cobbl ed t oget her f r om pl ast i c t ubi ng and chi l dr en' s bl ocks.

McCl ennon had been t he Naval of f i cer r esponsi bl e f or br i ngi ng t he Sei ner s i nt o Conf eder at i on ii me f or t he Thr ee Races War. Hi s r et i r ement had been a pr otest agai nst t he way t he annexat i on

was handl ed. Upset as I was I had l i t t l e at t ent i on f or sur r oundi ngs, nor car ed what made t he OMan t i ck.nce al one wi t h us, he became a man who f ai l ed t o f i t my concept i on of a commandi ng of f i cer . H

ace, whi ch usual l y seemed about t o sl i de of f hi s skul l bones wi t h t he wei ght of r esponsi bi l i t ypread a warm smi l e. " J ohnnyl " He t hr ust a wr i nkl ed hand at von Dr achau. He knew t he ki d?My new part ner ' s r eact i on was a sur pr i se, t oo. He seemed awed and def erent i al as he ext ended hwn hand. "Uncl e Tom. "

McCl ennon tur ned. " I ' ve known J ohnny si nce t he ni ght he wet hi msel f on my dr ess bl acks j ustef ore t he Gr and Admi r al ' s Bal l . Good ol d days at Luna Command, bef ore t he l ast war. " Hehuckl ed. Von Dr achau bl ushed. And I f r owned i n renewed surpr i se. I hadn' t known von Dr achau

wel l , but had never seen or hear d anyt hi ng t o suggest he was capabl e of bei ng i mpressed by anyuti msel f .Hi s f ather and I were Academy cl assmates. Then ser ved i n t he same shi ps bef ore I went i nt ont el l i gence. Lat er we wor ked t oget her i n operat i ons agai nst t he Sangaree. "on Dr achau di dn' t si t down t i l l i nvi t ed. Even t hough McCl ennon, i n t hose f ew mi nut es, exposed

mor e of hi msel f t han anyone i n t he wi ng had hi t her t o seen, I was mor e i nt er est ed i n t he ki d. Hespect f ul , al most cowed att i t ude was compl et el y out of char act er .J ohnny, " sai d McCl ennon, l eani ng back behi nd hi s desk and sl owl y tur ni ng a dr i nk i n hi s hand,you don' t come wi t h r ecommendat i ons. Not posi t i ve, anyway. We goi ng to go t hr ough t hat up



ere?"on Dr achau st ared at t he carpet , shrugged, r emi nded me of mysel f as a seven year ol d cal l ed txpl ai n some speci al l y noxi ous mi sdeed to my creche- f ather. I t became i ncr easi ngl y obvi ous t ha

McCl ennon was a man wi t h whom von Dr achau was unwi l l i ng t o pl ay games. I ' d hear d gruesome st orf hi s behavi or wi t h t he CO J GI V.You' ve hear d the l ect ur e al r eady, so I won' t gi ve i t . I do under st and, a bi t . Anyway, di sci plere, compared to Derr y or t he I sl ands, i s al most nonexi st ent . Do your j ob and you won' t have ad. But don' t push. I won' t l et you endanger l i ves. Somet hi ng t o t hi nk about . Thi s mor ni ng' scr ap l ef t me wi t h extr a pi l ot s. I can gr ound peopl e who i r r i t at e me. Coul d be a bl ow t o a man

who l oved f l yi ng. "on Dr achau l ocked gazes Wi t h t he Commander . Rebel l i on st i r r ed but he onl y nodded.

McCl ennon t ur ned agai n. "You don' t l i ke t hi s assi gnment . " Not a quest i on. My f ace must ' ve beeni veaway. "Sui ci dal , you thi nk? You wer e i n J G I V a whi l e. Hear d al l about J ohnny. But you don

now hi m. I do, wel l enough t o say he' s got pot ent i al - i f we can get hi m t o real i ze aer i ali ght i ng' s a t eam game. By whi ch I mean hi s f i r st consi der at i on must be br i ngi ng hi msel f , hi swi ngman, and hi s shi p home i nt act . " Von Dr achau gr ew r ed. He' d not onl y l ost seven sai l shi psur i ng t he Si ckl e I sl ands of f ensi ve, he' d l ost t hr ee wi ng- men. Dead. "I t ' s har d to r ememberou' r e part of a t eam whi l e at t acki ng. You know t hat your sel f , del Gado. So be pat i ent . Hel p m

make somet hi ng out of J ohnny. "t r i ed to cont rol my face, f ai l ed.

Why me, eh? Because you' r e t he best f l yer I ' ve got. You can st ay wi t h hi m i f anyone can. know, f avor i t i sm. I ' m t aki ng speci al car e. And that ' s wr ong. You' r e cor r ect, r i ght down the

i ne. But I can' t hel p mysel f . Don' t t hi nk you coul d ei t her , i n my posi t i on. Enough expl anat i ohat ' s t he way i t ' s goi ng t o be. I f you can' t handl e i t , l et me know. I ' l l f i nd someone who car I ' l l gr ound hi m. One t hi ng I mean t o do: send hi m home al i ve. "on Dr achau vai nl y t r i ed t o conceal hi s embar r assment and anger . I f el t f or hi m. Woul dn' t l i keei ng t al ked about t hat way mysel f - t hough McCl ennon was doi ng t he r i ght t hi ng, put t i ng hi s

mot i ves on di spl ay, up f r ont , so ther e' d be no sur pr i ses l at er on, and est abl i shi ng f or vonr achau t he paramet ers al l owed hi m. The Commander was an Ol d Ear t her hi msel f , and on t hatat t l egr ound had l ear ned t hat honesty i s a weapon as powerf ul as any i n the ar senal of decei t .

' l l t r y, " I r epl i ed, t hough wi t h si l ent r eser vat i ons. I ' d have t o do some handy sel f -xami nat i on bef ore I bought t he whol e t r i ck bag.That ' s al l I ask. You can go, t hen. J ohnny and I have some cat chi ng up t o do. "r et ur ned t o bar r acks i n a daze. Ther e I r ecei ved condol ences f r om squadr on mat es mot i vat ed,

uppose, by rel i ef at havi ng escaped t he dr af t t hemsel ves.i r ed t hough I was, I coul dn' t sl eep t i l l I ' d t hought everyt hi ng t hrough.n t he end, of cour se, I deci ded t he Ol d Man had ear ned a f avor . ( Thi s' s a di gr essi on f r om vonr achau' s st or y except i nsof ar as i t r ef l ect s t he t hought s t hat l ed me t o hel p br i ng i nt o bei nhe one r eal l y out st andi ng st ory i n Ubi chi ' s Camel ot operat i on. ) McCl ennon was an al mostr chet ypi cal l y r emot e, secret i ve, Odi n/ Chr i st f i gur e, an embast i oned l i on qui et l y l i cki ng pr i va

wounds i n the ci t adel of hi s of f i ce, shar i ng hi s pai n and pr i vat i on wi t h no one. But per sonalact s t hat had come f l i t t i ng on the wi ngs of r umor made i t cer t ai n he was a r are ol d gent l eman

who' d pai d hi s dues and asked l i t t l e i n r et ur n. He' d bought of f f or hundr eds of Ol d Ear t hers,sual l y by pul l i ng wi r es t o Ser vi ce connect i ons. And, assumi ng t he st or i es are t r ue, t he pr i ceai d t o br i ng t he St ar f i sher s i nt o Conf eder at i on, at a t i me when t hey hel d t he sol e means by

whi ch t he Thr ee Races War coul d be won, was t he dest r uct i on of a deep r el at i onshi p wi t h t he onwoman he' d ever l oved, t he pal e Sei ner gi r l whose hol o por t r ai t sat l i ke an i con on hi s desk.

r eason and bet r ayal . Eart hman who spoke wi t h f or ked t ongue. She mi ght ' ve been t he mot her of ton he was t r yi ng to f i nd i n Hor st - J ohann. But hi s I saac never came back f r om t he al t ar of t heeeds of t he race. Yes, he' d pai d hi s dues, and at usur ous r ates.e had somethi ng comi ng. I ' d gi ve hi m t he chance he want ed f or t he boy. . . Somewhere dur i ng thour s my Ol d Eart her' s pr agmat i sm l apsed. Ol d Number One, survi val , t ook a t emporar y vacat i on.t f el t good.

et t i ng al ong wi t h von Dr achau di dn' t pr ove as di f f i cul t as expect ed. Dur i ng t he f ol l owi ng weewas t he cause of more f r i ct i on t han he. I kept r eact i ng t o t he i mage of t he man r umor and

rej udi ce had bui l t i n my mi nd, not t o t he man i n whose pr esence I was. He was much l ess arr ond abr asi ve t han I ' d hear d- t hough gr i t t y wi t h the usual out wor l der ' s cont empt f or t he dr i vi ngeed t o accompl i sh charact eri st i c of Ol d Eart hers. But I ' d become accust omed t o t hat , evennderst ood. Out worl ders had never endur ed t he hopel essness and pr i vat i on of l i f e on the

motherworl d. They' d never underst and what buyi ng of f r eal l y meant . Nor di d any care t o l ear n.here' r e j ust t wo ki nds of peopl e on Ol d Eart h, but cher s and bovi nes. No one st ar ves, no one

r eezes, but t hose ar e t he onl y posi t i ves of l i f e i n t he Soci al I nsur ance war r ens. Twent y bi l lnempl oyed sar di nes. The hi gh poi nt of many l i ves i s a vi si t t o Conf ederat i on Zone ( ol dwi t zer l and) , wher e gover nment and cor por at i ons mai nt ai n t hei r on- pl anet of f i ces and est at es al l ow smal l bands of ci t i zens t o come nose t he candy st or e wi ndow and l ook at t he l i f est yl e ofhe out wor l ds. . . t hen send t hem home wi t h apathy overcome by r enewed desperat i on.l l Ol d Ear t h i s a sl um/ ghet t o sur r oundi ng one smal l , st out l y def ended bast i on of weal t h andr i vi l ege. That says i t al l , except t hat get t i ng out i s har der t han f r om any hi st or i cal ghet t ot ' s not r eal l y what Ol d Ear t h out wor l der s t hi nk of when t hey dust of f t he raci al war m hear t aal k about t he motherwor l d. What t hey' r e t hi nki ng of i s Luna Command, Ol d Ear t h' s moon and t heeat of Conf eder at i on gover nment . Al l t hey have f or Ol d Ear t h i t sel f i s a l i t t l e shame- f acednder - t he- t abl e wel f ar e money. . . bi t t er . The onl y r esour ce l ef t i s human l i f e, t he cheapest ol l . The out wor l ds have l i t t l e use f or Ter r ans save f or wor k l i ke t hat on Camel ot . So bi t t er . houl dn' t be. I ' ve bought of f . Not my pr obl em anymore.or st ( hi s pr ef er ence) and I got on wel l , qui ckl y advanced t o f i r st names. Af t er f ami l i ar i zi ngur sel ves wi t h t he new equi pment , we ret ur ned to regul ar patr ol s. Hor st scat t er ed no gr i t i n t

machi ner y. He per f or med hi s t asks- wi t hi n- mi ssi on wi t h cl ockwor k preci si on, never st r ayi ng beyohe bor ders of di sci pl i ne. . .



e conf essed, as we paused at t he l i p of Gi nnunga Gap one morni ng, whi l e wal ki ng to t he cat apuor l aunch, t hat he f ear ed bei ng gr ounded mor e than l osi ng i ndi vi dual i t y to mi l i t ar y conf or mi tl yi ng was t he onl y t hi ng hi s f ather hadn' t pr ogr ammed f or hi m ( t he Commander had got t en hi mt art ed) , and he' d become total l y enamored of t he sport . Si gni ng on wi t h Ubi chi had been the o

way t o st i ck wi t h i t af t er hi s f ather had managed hi s appoi nt ment t o Academy; he' d r ef used, aneen bani shed f r om paternal gr ace. He had t o f l y. Wi t hout t hat he' d have nothi ng. The Commandee added, had meant what he sai d.t hi nk t hat was t he f i r st t i me I r eal i zed a man coul d be rai sed out wQi l d and st i l l be depr i ve

We Ol d Ear t hers t ake a per ver se, chauvi ni st i c pr i de i n our pover t y and per secut i on- l i ke, as t hommander once obser ved, J ews of Mar r akech. ( An al l usi on I spent mont hs dr edgi ng: he' d r ead sobscur e and anci ent wr i t er s. ) Our goal s are so whol l y mat er i al i st i c t hat we can scar cel yompr ehend pover t y of t he spi r i t . That von Dr achau, wi t h weal t h and soci al posi t i on, coul d f eee had l ess t han I , was a st unni ng not i on.or hi m f l yi ng was an end, f or me a means. Though I enj oyed i t , each t i me I sat at cat apul t heredi t si gns danced i n my head; so much base, pl us per mi ssi on and per ki l l . I f I di d wel l I ' dal vage some f ami l y, t oo. Hor st ' s pay meant not hi ng. He wast ed i t f ast as i t came- I t hi nk t o sont empt f or t he weal t h f r om whi ch he sprang. Though t hat had been honest money, pr i ze and cou

money f r om hi s f ather' s successes agai nst t he Sangaree.t eam pr essur e dr ove a gl ast eel pi st on al ong f or t y met er s of gl ast eel cyl i nder ; t went y secondsehi nd von Dr achau I cat apul t ed i nt o t he i nk of t he Gap and began f eel i ng f or t he ups. For br inst ant s I coul d see hi m out l i ned agai nst t he aur or a, f l ashi ng i n and out of vi si on as heear ched and ci r cl ed. I spi ed hi m cl i mbi ng, i mmedi at el y t ur ned to cat ch t he same r i ser. Behi ndame t he rest of t he squadr on. Up we went i n a spi r al l i ke mot hs pl ayi ng tag i n the ni ght whi leachi ng f or t he moons. Von Dr achau f ound al t i t ude and sl i pped f r om t he up. I f ol l owed. At t hrhousand meters, wi t h moonl i ght and aur ora, i t wasn' t hard t o see hi m. The f our cr af t of myl i ght ci r cl ed at ni nety degr ee poi nt s whi l e t he rest of t he squadr on went nor t h acr oss t he Ga

We' d sl owl y dr op a t housand meters , t hen catch another up t o t he t op. We' d st ay i n t he ai r t woour s ( or we r an out of ammuni t i on) , t hen go down f or an hour br eak. Fi ve mi ssi ons mi ni mum.i r st l aunch came an hour bef ore dawn, l ong bef ore t he ni ght f i ght ers went down. Morni ngs werer owded. But by sunri se we seemed t err i bl y al one whi l e we ci r cl ed down or cl i mbed, watched t he

ap f or whal es l eavi ng t he Harr i dans or t he mant as t hat ' d gr own so numerous.ayt i mes al most every shi p concent r ated on keepi ng t he whal es nor t h of t he Gap. That gr ew morei f f i cul t as t he densi t y of t hei r popul at i on near ed t he mi gr at or y. I t ' d be a whi l e yet , maybe

mont h, but numbers and i nst i nct woul d event ual l y overcome t he f ear our weapons had i nst i l l ed. oul dn' t bel i eve we' d be abl e t o st op t hem. The smal l er her ds of t he ' t ween year s, yes, but nohe l emmi ng r i ver s t hat woul d come wi t h wi nt er . A Corporat i on i mbued wi t h any human char i t y

woul d' ve been busy seal i ng mi nes and evacuat i ng personnel . But Ubi chi had none. I n t erms of i nanci al cost s, equi pment l osses, i t was cheaper t o f i ght , sacri f i ci ng i nexpensi ve l i ves t oal vage mat er i al made al most pr i cel ess by i nt erst el l ar shi pment .

I

i gnal s f r om t he gr ound, a sear chl i ght f i nger i ng t he ear t h and f l ashi ng t hr ee ti mes r api dl y. Rent r i es had spot t ed a whal e i n the di r ect i on t he f i nger poi nt ed. Von Dr achau and I wer e f r ont

We began ci r cl i ng down.We' d dr opped j ust f i ve hundr ed meters when he wag- wi nged vi sual cont act . I saw nothi ng but t he

ar kness t hat al most al ways cl ogged t he canyon. As wi de as Ol d Eart h' s Gr and Canyon and t hr ee

i mes as deep, i t was wel l l i ght ed onl y ar ound noon.hat was t he f i r st t i me I not i ced hi s phenomenal vi si on. I n f ol l owi ng mont hs he was t o amaze mepeat edl y. I honest l y bel i eve I was t he bet t er pi l ot , capabl e of out f l yi ng any mant a, but hi sbi l i t y to f i nd t ar get s made hi m t he bet t er combat f l yer .he moment I wagged back he broke ci r cl e and dove. I ' d' ve ci r cl ed l ower . I f t he whal e was downhe Gap i t sel f t hat mi ght mean a three t housand meter f al l . Pul l i ng out woul d over st r ai n one' s

wi ngs. Sai l pl anes, even t he j ackboot j obs we f l ew, ar e f r agi l e machi nes never i nt ended f or st ul yi ng.ut I was wi ngman, r esponsi bl e f or prot ect i ng the at t ack pi l ot ' s r ear . I wi nged over andol l owed, mai nt ai ni ng a const ant f i ve hundr ed meters between us. Li ght and shadow f r om cl ouds

mount ai ns pl ayed over hi s shi p, al t er nat el y l i ght i ng and dar keni ng the per sonal devi ces he' dai nt ed on. A deat h' s- head gr i nned and wi nked. . .spi ed t he whal e. I t was wor ki ng di r ect l y t owar d Beadl e. Si ze and col or i ng of t he gasbag ( obl

pher oi d si xty met er s l ong, pat ched i n shades f r om pi nk t o scar l et and spor t ed wi t h odd ot herol or s at or gan si t es) i ndi cat ed a j uveni l e of t he Har kness speci es, t hat wi t h the gr eat estot ent i al f or dest r uct i on. Tr i angul ar vanes pr ot r udi ng t en met er s f r om muscl e ri ngs on the bagwi t ched and qui ver ed as t he monst er st r ove t o mai nt ai n a st eady cour se. At op i t i n a thi n Moh

wat h swayed a copse of t r eel i ke or gans bel i eved t o ser ve bot h pl ant - l i ke and ani mal di gest i vend metabol i c f unct i ons. Some may have been sensory. Beneat h i t sensory t ent acl es t r ai l ed,t i r r i ng f r et f ul l y l i ke dr eami ng snakes on t he head of Medusa. I f any f ound f ood (and anythi ngrgani c was pr ovender f or a Har kness) , i t ' d anchor i t sel f i mmedi at el y. Hundr eds mor e t ent acl es

woul d descend and begi n l i f t i ng edi bl es t o mout hs i n a t i ny head- body t i ght agai nst t he under sf t he gasbag. Ther e' d be a dr i zzl i ng or gani c r ai nf al l as t he monst er dumped bal l ast/ wast e.

Mi gr at i ng whal e her ds coul d devast ate great swat hs of count r ysi de. For t unat el y f or Ubi chi ' sperat i ons, t he mat i ng seasons were i nf r equent .he Har kness swel l ed ahead. Hor st woul d be f i nger i ng hi s t r i gger r i ng, wor r yi ng hi s si ght s. It opped watchi ng f or mant as and adj ust ed my di ve so Hors t woul dn' t be i n l i ne when I f i r ed. . l ashi ng l i ght s, hast y, al most pani cky. I r ead, t hen gl anced out r i ght and up, spi ed the mant aai r . From hi gh above the Har r i dans t hey arr owed towar d the whal e, t i ps and t r ai l i ng edges of hei r wi ngs r i ppl i ng as t hey adj ust ed di ve t o each vagary of canyon ai r . But t hey wer e ai l ometer above and woul d be no worr y t i l l we' d compl eted our pass. And t he ot her t wo shi ps our f l i ght woul d be af t er t hem, t o engage whi l e Horst and I compl eted t he pr i mary mi ssi on.he r el at i onshi p between mant as and whal es had never, t o t hat t i me, been cl ear l y def i ned. The

mant as seemed t o f eed among t he gr owt hs on whal e backs, t o at t ach t hemsel ves i n mat ed pai r s t o



art i cul ar adul t s, whi ch t hey f i ercel y def ended, and upon whi ch t hey were apparent l y dependentut not hi ng seemed t o come t he ot her way. The whal es ut t er l y i gnored t hem, even as f ood. Whal egnor ed ever yt hi ng i n the ai r , t hough, endur i ng our at t acks as i f t hey wer en' t happeni ng. I f nor t he mant as, t he ext ermi nat i on pr ogr am woul d' ve been a cakewal k.ut mant as f ought at every encount er , al most as i f t hey knew what we were doi ng. A year ear l i ehey' d been l i t t l e pr obl em. Then we' d been sendi ng si ngl e f l i ght s af t er l one wander i ng whal es,ut as mi gr at or y pr essur es bui l t t he mant a popul at i on had i ncr eased t i l l we were f or ced t o f i ghr ee or f our bat t l es t o each whal e at t ack- of whi ch maybe one i n t went y resul t ed i n a conf i r mei l l . Fr ust r at i ng busi ness, especi al l y si nce sel f - def ense di st r acted so f r om our pr i mar y mi ssiucki l y, t he mant as had onl y one i nef f i ci ent , i f spect acul ar ,

weapon, t he l i ght ni ng they hur l ed.hat f ool von Dr achau dropped f l aps t o gi ve hi msel f mor e f i r i ng t i me. Because I began over t akii m, I had t o f ol l ow sui t . My gl i der shuddered, gr oaned, and an omi nous snap came f r om my r i gh

wi ng. But not hi ng f el l apar t .og f or med bef ore Hor st ' s craf t , whi pped back. He' d begun f i r i ng. Hi s shel l s pai nt ed a t i ghtr i ght pat t er n i n t he f or est on t he whal e' s back. St upi dl y, I shi f t ed ai m t o t he same target . r achau pul l ed out , f l aps suddenl y up, used hi s moment um t o hur l hi msel f up toward t he di vi ng

mant a pai r , put t i ng t hem i n a pi ncer .j agged bi t e of l i ght ni ng f l ashed t oward von Dr achau. I cur sed. We' d pl unged i nt o a t r ap. Man

ad been f eedi ng i n the shel t er of t he whal e' s back organs. They were comi ng up t o f i ght .' d begun f i r i ng an i nst ant bef or e t he f l ash, put t i ng my shel l s i n behi nd Hor st ' s. Bef or e t he

water vapor f r om my cannon gas f ogged my canopy I saw expl osi ons di ggi ng i nt o t he gasbag. It ar t ed t o st i ck back and f i r e at t he mant as, but saw t el l t al e ri ppl es of bl ue f i r e beneat h t hel l ow of my shel l s. The bag was goi ng t o bl ow. When t he hydr ogen went t here' d be one hel l of xpl osi on.ol l owi ng Horst meant sui ci de.he pr i me pur pose of t he expl osi ves was t o dr i ve cyani de f r agment s i nt o whal e f l esh, butomet i mes, as t hen, a t oo t i ght pat t ern br eached t he mai n bag- and hydr ogen i s as dangerous onamel ot as el sewher e.t ook my onl y opt i on, dove. Wi t h l uck t he whal e' s mass woul d shadow me f r om t he i ni t i al bl ast

t di d. But t he t i p of my ri ght wi ng, t hat ' d made such a gr i m noi se ear l i er , br ushed one of t hmonst er ' s sensory t ent acl es. The j er k snapped i t at t he r oot. I f ound mysel f spi nni ng down.r ode i t a whi l e, bot h because I was st unned ( I ' d never been downed bef or e, acci dent al l y or

therwi se) and because I want ed t he craf t t o pr otect me f r om downbl ast .he sun had r i sen suf f i ci ent l y t o i l l umi nat e t he t i ps of t he spi r es i n t he gap. They wheel ed,er ked, r eached up l i ke angr y cl aws, drawi ng r api dl y cl oser . Despi t e t he ongoi ng expl osi on,l r eady shaki ng me, bl i st er i ng t he pai nt on my f usel age, I had to get out .anopy cooper at ed. I n t he ol d gl i der s t hey' d been not or i ousl y sti cky, cost i ng many l i ves. Thi sopped easi l y. I cl osed my eyes and j umped, j erki ng my r i pcor d as I di d. Heat di dn' t bother me

My remai ni ng wi ng took a cut at me, a l ast ef f or t of f ate t o er ase my l i f e- t ape, t hen t he chuter ked my shoul ders. I began t o sway.t was col d and l onel y up there, and t here was nothi ng I coul d do. I was no l onger master of mat e. You woul d have t o be an Ol d Far t her near buyi ng of f t o real l y f eel t he i mpact of t hat .ani cky, I peer ed up at t he sout her n r i m of t he Gap- and saw what I ' d hoped t o see, t he r escueal l oon al r eady on i t s way. I t was a hot ai r j ob that r ode saf et y l i nes payed out f r om wi ncheshe edge. I f I coul d be sal vaged, i t ' d be managed. I pat t ed my chest pockets t o make sur e I ha

my f l ares.

nl y t hen di d I r ock my chut e away so I coul d see what ' d happened t o von Dr achau.e was i nt o i t wi t h t hr ee mant as, one badl y wounded ( t he sur vi vor of t he pai r f r om t he Har kneshe ot her had di ed i n the expl osi on) . He got t he wounded one and di d a f l ap t r i ck t o t ur n i nsihe ot her s. Hi s shel l s went i nt o the bel l y of one. I t f ol ded and f el l . Then the rest of ourl i ght was pur sui ng t he sur vi vor t owar d the Har r i dans.wor r i ed as bur ni ng pi eces of whal e f el l past . Suppose one hi t my chut e?

ut none di d. I l anded i n snow deep i n the Gap, af t er a cruel sl i de down an al most ver t i cal r oace, t hen set out my f i r st f l ar e. Whi l e I t r i ed t o st ay war m, I t hought about von Dr achau.' d gone al ong wi t h hi s at t ack because I ' d had nei t her choi ce, nor t i me t o thi nk, nor any way aut i on hi m. But t hat pr eci pi t ous assaul t had been t he sor t t hat ' d ear ned hi m hi s r eput at i on. t ' d cost agai n. Me.i dn' t make me f eel any bet t er t o real i ze I ' d been as st upi d i n my t arget sel ect i on.r at i onal , uni mpet uous at t ack woul d' ve gone i n l evel wi t h t he whal e, f r om behi nd, r unni ng al o

t s si de. Thus Hor st coul d' ve st ayed out of si ght of t he mant as r i di ng i t , and I coul d' ve avoihe expl osi on resul t i ng f rom a t i ght f i re pat t ern i n t he thi n f l esh of t he back. Shel l s l ai dl ong t he whal e' s f l anks woul d' ve spr ead enough cyani de t o i nsur e a ki l l .ar t my f aul t , but when t he rescue bal l oon ar r i ved I was so mad at Hor st I coul dn' t t al k.

I I

on Dr achau met t he rescue bal l oon, more concer ned and cont r i t e than I ' d' ve cr edi t ed. I pi l ed t eami ng, wi t h ever y i nt ent i on of dent i ng hi s head, but he ran to me l i ke a happy puppy, bubblpol ogi es, sayi ng he' d never had a chance at a whal e. . . r i ght eous out r age became gr umpi ness.

was onl y ni neteen, emot i onal l y t en.here wer e r eport s t o be f i l ed but I was i n no mood. I headed f or bar r acks and somet hi ngl cohol i c.on Dr achau f ol l owed. "Sal , " he sai d wi t h beer i n hi s must ache, "I mean i t . I ' m sor r y. Wi sh Ioul d l ook at i t l i ke you. Li ke thi s ' s j ust j ob. . . "Uhm. " I made a gr udgi ng peace. "So can i t . " But he kept on. Somethi ng was bi t i ng hi m, somet hie wanted coaxed out .The mant as, " he sai d. "What do we know about t hem?"They get i n the way. "Why? Ter r i t or i al i mperat i ve? Sal , I been thi nki ng. Was t oday a set - up? I f peopl e was wor ki ng



t her si de, t hey coul dn' t ' ve set a bet t er t r ap. I n the ol d shi ps bot h of us woul d' ve gone downWat ch your i magi nat i on, ki d. Thi ngs' r e di f f er ent i n the I sl ands, but not t hat di f f er ent . We' vun i nt o f eedi ng mant as bef or e. You j ust att acked f r om t he wr ong angl e. " I t ossed of f my thi r doubl e. The Gap bot t om col d began l eaki ng f r om my bones. I f el t a bi t mor e char i t abl e. But notnough t o di scuss i di ot t heor i es of mant a i nt el l i gence.

We al r eady knew many odd f or ms of i nt el l i gence. Out wor l der s have a cur i ous sensi t i vi t y t o i t , ear r ever ence puzzl i ng to Ol d Ear t her s. They go ar ound l ooki ng f or i t , especi al l y i n adver si ti ke savages i mput i ng powers t o st orms and st ones, t hey can' t accept di sast ers at f ace val ue.here has t o be a mal i gnant mover .I guess you' r e ri ght , " he sai d. But hi s doubt was pl ai n. He want ed t o bel i eve we wer e f i ght i n

war, not ext ermi nat i ng noxi ous ani mal s.ot me t hi nki ng, t hough. Cur i ous how persi st ent t he r umor was, even though there was no evi deno suppor t i t . But a l ot of young peopl e (si c! - I was t went y- ei ght ) ar e cr edul ous. A pi l ot ,ogf i ght i ng a mant a pai r , mi ght come away wi t h t he not i on. They' r e f oxy. But i nt el l i gence, t o

means communi cat i on and cooperat i on. Mant as managed a l i t t l e of each, but onl y among mat es. Wheveral pai r s got i nvol ved i n a squabbl e wi t h us, we of t en won by maneuver i ng pai r s i nt ont er f er i ng wi t h one anot her .he mat t er dropped and, af t er a f ew mor e dr i nks, was f or got t en. And bani shed ut t er l y when we wummoned t o t he Commander ' s of f i ce.he i nt er vi ew was predi ct abl e. McCl ennon was deter mi ned t o ground von Dr achau. I don' t know whef ended hi m. Labor uni t ed agai nst management , maybe. . .uess Horst wasn' t used t o havi ng a f r i end at cour t . When we l ef t he t hanked me, but seemeduzzl ed, seemed t o be wr est l i ng somethi ng i nsi de.ever di d f i nd out what , f or sur e- Ol d Ear t her s are t i ght - l i pped, but von Dr achau had the best s beaten- but t here was a marked i mprovement i n hi s at t i t ude. By t he end of t he mont h he was opeaki ng t erms wi t h ever yone, even men he' d gr ossl y al i enated at J GI V.hat month I al so wi t nessed a dramat i c i mprovement i n Hor st ' s shoot i ng. Hi s ki l l s i n t he Si cklsl ands had been al most acci dent al . Changi ng f r om r ockets t o cannons seemed t o br i ng out hi sal ent . He scor ed ki l l af t er ki l l , at t acki ng wi t h a r eckl ess abandon ( but al ways wi t h a car e teep me wel l posi t i oned) . He' d scream i n on a mant a, dr op f l aps suddenl y, put hi msel f i nt o a

t al l j ust beyond the r ange of t he mant a' s bol t , t hen f l aps up and f al l beneat h t he monst er whe' d dr awn i t , nose up and tr i gger a bur st i nt o i t s bel l y. Meanwhi l e, I woul d f end of f t he ot hi l l he was f r ee. My ki l l scor e mount ed, t oo.i s was ast oni shi ng. Our f i r st f our weeks t oget her he downed thi r t y- si x mant as. I downedour t een, and two whal es. I ' d had f i f t y- seven and twel ve f or f our year s' wor k when he ar r i ved,est i n t he wi ng. I t was obvi ous t hat , i f he st ayed al i ve, he' d soon pass not onl y me butul t mann Zei sl er , t he CO J G I , a ten year vet eran wi t h ni net y- one mant a ki l l s.or st di d have an advant age we ol der pi l ot s hadn' t . Tar get avai l abi l i t y. Bef or e, except dur i nghe l esser mi gr at i ons, t he wi ng had been l ucky t o make a dozen si ght i ngs per mont h. Now we pi li l l s at anncredi bl e r at e.i l ed, but t he t i l t of t he mount ai n remai ned agai nst us. Al r eady st at i ons f ar t her sout h wer eepor t i ng si ght i ngs of smal l her ds t hat hadot t en past us.t was comi ng t o t he poi nt where we were kept busy by mant as. Opport uni t i es t o st r i ke agai nst

whal es gr ew r ar e. When t he mai n mi grat ory wave broke we' d be swamped.ver yone knew i t . But Derr y, despi t e sendi ng r ei nf orcement s, seemed obl i vi ous t o the gr avi t y o

he si t uat i on. Or di dn' t car e. A sour t al e began t he r ounds. The Cor por at i on had wr i t t en us ofhe whal es woul d r emove us f r om t he debi t l edger . That f aci l i t i es at Cl onni nger and st at i onsart her down t he cabl e were bei ng expanded t o handl e our wi t hdr awal di dn' t dent t he r umors. Wel d Eart hers al ways l ook on t he bl eak si de.n ear l y wi nt er, af t er a severe snowst orm, as we were di ggi ng out , we encount ered a f r i ght eni nhenomenon. Cooper at i on among l ar ge numbers of mantas.

I I I

t came wi t h sunr i se. Horst and I were i n the ai r , among t wo dozen new f i ght ers . The wi ng hadeen rei nf or ced t o t r i pl e str engt h, one hundr ed f i f t y gl i der s and a dozen ar med zeppel i ns, buthose of us up were al l t he gr ound personnel had been abl e t o di g out and l aunch.i gnal s f r om gr ound. Agai nst t he aur or a and whi t e of t he Harr i dans I had no t r oubl e spot t i ng tar kness whal es, f ul l adul t s, l eavi ng a br anch canyon opposi t e Beadl e. Cl ose t o a hundr ed, Iuessed, t he bi ggest l ot yet t o assaul t t he Gap. We went t o meet t hem, one squadr on ci r cl i ngown. My own squadr on, now made up of men who' d shown except i onal ski l l agai nst mant as, st ayedi gh t o cover . We no l onger bothered wi t h whal es, served onl y as cover f or t he ot her squadr on.

watched f or mant as. Had no t r oubl e f i ndi ng them. They came boi l i ng ' r ound t he f l ank of an i vmount ai n, cl oud of bl ack on cl i f f of whi t e, a mob l i ke bat s l eavi ng a cave at sunset. Hundr edshem.

My hear t sank. I t ' d be t hi ck, gr i m, and there was no poi nt even t hi nki ng about at t ack f or mat i ol l a man coul d do was keep away and gr ab a shot at oppor t uni t y. But we' d t ake l osses. Oneoul dn' t watch every way at once.

f ew mant as peel ed of f and dove f or t he shi ps at t acki ng t he whal es. The bul k came on, f ol l owil i ne t hat ' d cr oss t he Dase.

We met . Ther e wer e gl i der s, mant as, shel l s and l i ght ni ng bol t s t hi cker t han I ' d ever seen. Ti mt ood st i l l . Mant as passed bef or e me, I pul l ed tr i gger r i ngs. Hor st ' s deat h' s- head devi ces whicross my vi si on. Somet i mes par t s of gl i ders or mant as went t umbl i ng by. Lower and l ower wer opped, bot h si des t r adi ng al t i t ude f or speed.ose up. Mant a bel l y bef ore me, meters away. J erk t he r i ngs. Fog acr oss t he canopy f ace, but nxpl osi ons agai nst dar k f l esh. We st r uggl ed t o avoi d col l i si on, passed so cl ose we st agger ed onother wi t h our sl i pst r eams. For a moment I st ared i nt o t wo of t he f our eyes mount ed r ound t hhi ng' s bul l et head. They seemed t o dr i ve an el ect r i c l i ne of hatr ed deep i nt o my br ai n. For anst ant I bel i eved t he i nt el l i gence hypot hesi s. Then shudder ed as I st i cked down and began a



abbi t r un f or home, t o r epl ace my ammuni t i on.dozen mant as came af t er me. Hor st , al one, went af t er t hem. I l at er l ear ned that , t hr owi ng hi

r af t about wi t h compl ete abandon, he knocked ni ne of t hose t wel ve down bef ore hi s own ammuni tan out . I t was an al most i mpl ausi bl e perf ormance, t hough one t hat need not be dwel t upon. I t 'ne of t he mai nst ays of hi s l egend, hi s f i r st t en- ki l l day, and ever y st udent of t he f i ght i ng amel ot knows of i t .he r unway st i l l had a hal f met er of snow on i t . The t hree mant as f ol l owed me i n, i gnor i ng t heount er f i r e of our gr ound bat t er i es. I was so wor r i ed about evadi ng t hei r bol t s t hat I went i noor l y, one wi ng down, and ended up spi nni ng i nt o a deep dr i f t . As a consequence I spent t woour s grounded.

What I mi ssed was sheer hel l . The mant as, as i f accor di ng t o some pl an, cl amped down on ourandi ng and l aunchi ng gat es, t aki ng t hei r t ol l whi l e our craf t wer e at t hei r most vul ner abl e. he ear l y goi ng some t r i ed to bl ast t hr ough t he over head net t i ng. That onl y cost t hem l i ves. O

r ound bat t er i es at e t hem up. Then t hey t r i ed t he bar r age bal l oons, t o no bet t er ef f ect .hen t he whal es ar r i ved. We' d been abl e t o do nothi ng t o st op t hem, so busy had t he mantas keps. They, sensi ng f ood beneat h t he net , began t r yi ng t o br eak i n. Our gr ound bat t er i es f i r ed ihe dangl i ng f or est s of t hei r t ent acl es, wr ecki ng t hose but doi ng l i t t l e damage to t he beast shemsel ves. Gi gant i c cr eaks and gr oans came f r om t he net anchor poi nt s.or pi l ots and gr ound cr ews t here was l i t t l e to do but pr epare f or a l aunch when ci r cumst ancesermi t t ed. I got my shi p out , r ear med, and dr agged t o cat apul t head. Then f or a t i me I st oodbser ver , usi ng bi nocul ar s t o wat ch t hose of our craf t st i l l up.n al l , t he deat hs of a hundr ed f our t een mant as ( f our mi ne, t en Hor st ' s) and t went y- t wo whal es

wer e conf i r med f or t he f i r st t wo hour s of f i ght i ng. But we woul d' ve gone under wi t hout hel p f rown t he cabl e.

When t he desperat i on of our posi t i on became obvi ous t he Commander si gnal l ed Cl onni nger . I t sai l cr af t came nort h, j umped t he mant as f r om above. They br oke si ege. We l aunched, cat s hur l i nhi ps i nt o t he Gap as f ast as st eam coul d be bui l t . Hor st and I went i n t he f i r st wave.el p had come j ust i n t i me. The whal es had managed sever al smal l breaches i n t he net t i ng and wushi ng tent acl es t hr ough af t er our gr ound peopl e.ven wi t h hel p t he si t uat i on remai ned desper at e. I di dn' t t hi nk i t ' d t ake l ong f or t he mant as,

whi ch more had come across, t o cl amp down agai n. When t hey di d i t ' d onl y be a mat t er of t i me the whal es wr ecked the net . I pi ct ur ed t he base dest r oyed, l i t t er ed wi t h bones.ef ore we l aunched, t he Commander, anci ent wi t h t he st r ai n, spoke wi t h each pi l ot . Don' t know

what he sai d t o t he ot her s, but I i magi ne i t was much what he t ol d me: i f I j udged t he bat t l eost , t o r un sout h r at her t han r et ur n her e. The sai l craf t had t o be sal vaged f or f ut ur e f i ght if we were overr un t he f i ght i ng woul d move t o Cl onni nger.nd i n my ear a f ew words about t aki ng care of von Dr achau. I sai d I woul d.ut we sur vi ved. I won' t say we won because even t hough we managed to break t he at t ack, weur sel ves wer e deci mat ed. J G Ki l l ' s ef f ect i veness was r ui ned f or t he next week. For days we coarel y manage regul ar pat r ol s. Had we been hi t agai n we' d' ve been obl i t erat ed.hat week McCl ennon t hree t i mes r equest ed permi ss i on t o evacuat e nonessent i al ground t r oops,ecei ved three ref usal s. St i l l , i t seemed poi nt l ess f or us t o stay when our bl ocki ng scr een haeen r i ddl ed. Smal l herds were passi ng dai l y. Cl onni nger was under as much pr essure as we and

mor e t r oubl e handl i ng i t . Thei r def enses wer en' t meant t o st and agai nst whal es. Thei r sai l pl anf t en had t o f l ee. Gr ound personnel cr ouched i n deep bunker s and pr ayed t he whal es weren' t soungr y t hey' d di g t hem out .

Whal e number s nort h of t he Har r i dans were est i mat ed at t en t housand and mant as at t en t o t went

ot vast , but overwhel mi ng i n concent r at i on. Popul at i ons f or t he whol e cont i nent were aboutoubl e t hose, wi t h the onl y ot her concent r at i ons i n t he Si ckl e I sl ands. By the end of t hat weeur expert s bel i eved a t hi r d of t he Harr i dan whal es had sl i pped past us. We' d downed about t enercent of t hose t r yi ng and about t went y- f i ve percent of t he mant as.

X

f og of despai r envel oped Beadl e. Der r y had i nf ormed McCl ennon that t her e' d be no moreei nf orcement s. They were needed f ur t her sout h. Per mi ssi on to wi t hdr aw? Deni ed agai n. We had one hundr ed t wel ve ef f ect i ve sai l cr af t . Ammuni t i on was shor t . And t he mai n bl ow was yet t o f alt ' s har d to capt ur e t he dul l ed sense of doom t hat cl ung so thi ck. I t wasn' t a ver bal or ai si bl e thi ng, t hough f aces st eadi l y l engt hened. Ther e was no def eat i st t al k. The men kept t hehought s t o t hemsel ves - but coul dn' t hel p expr essi ng t hem t hr ough act i ons, by di ggi ng deeperhel t er s, i n a l ack of cri sp ef f i ci ency. Thi ngs l ess def i nabl e. Most hadn' t l ooked f or desper at ands when t hey si gned on. And Camel ot hadn' t pr epared them t o f ace one. Ti l l r ecent l y t hey' dxper i enced onl y a l azy, vacat i on sor t of act i on, l oaf i ng and l aught er wi t h a f ai nt bouquet of at t l e.

ne eveni ng Horst and I st ood watchi ng l i ght ni ng shoot among t he near pur e copper peaks of t hearr i dans. "D' you ever l ook one i n the eye?" he asked.Memory of t he mant a I ' d mi ssed. I shuddered, nodded.And you don' t bel i eve t hey' r e i nt el l i gent ?" don' t car e. A bur st i n t he gut s i s al l t hat mat t er s. That ' s cash money, geni us or r et ar d. "Your consci ence doesn' t bother you?"omet hi ng was bot her i ng hi m, t hough I coul dn' t under st and why. He woul dn' t wor r y bendi ng humanei ngs, so why al i ens? Especi al l y when t he pay' s r i ght and you' r e the son of a man who' d becomi ch by doi ng t he same? But hi s r el uct ance wasn' t uni que. So many peopl e consi der al i ennt el l i gence sacred- wi t hout any rat i onal basi s. I t ' s a cr i ppl i ng emot i onal weakness t hat has

wor med i t s way i nt o Conf eder at i on l aw. You can' t expl oi t a wor l d wi t h i nt el l i gent nat i ves. . .ut consci ence may' ve had not hi ng t o do wi t h i t . Seems, i n hi ndsi ght , hi s r el uct ance mi ght ' veeen a r at i onal i zed f acet of hi s r evol t agai nst hi s f at her and aut hor i t y.nder st andabl y, Ubi chi was sensi t i ve to specul ati ons about mant a i nt el l i gence. Sever e f i nes weai d on men caught di scussi ng t he possi bi l i t y- whi ch, human nat ur e bei ng what i t i s, made t he t

mor e per si st ent . Sever al pi l ots, Hor st i ncl uded, had appeal ed t o McCl ennon. He' d beenympat het i c, but what coul d he have done?



nd I kept wonder i ng why anyone cared. I agr eed wi t h t he Corpor at i on. That may have been a defn me.

" I f t hi s t hought t r ul y occur r ed to del Gado at t he t i me, i t cl ear l y made no l ast i ng mor almpr essi on. News buf f s wi l l r emember t hat he was one of sever al Ubi chi mercenar i es named i nonf ederat i on genoci de i ndi ct ment s st emmi ng f r om i l l egal expl oi t at i on on Bonavent ur e, t hough he

was not convi ct ed.Dogf i ght

s soon as we r ecover ed f r om at t ack, f or mor al e pur poses we l aunched our l ast of f ensi ve, a pr empt i ve st r i ke agai nst a devel opi ng mant a concent r at i on. Ever ythi ng, i ncl udi ng armed zeppel i ns,

went . The mi ssi on was par t i al l y successf ul . Kept anot her at t ack f r om hi t t i ng Beadl e f or a weekut i t cost . None of t he ai r shi ps r et ur ned. Mor al e sagged i nst ead of r i si ng. We' d pl anned t o uhe zepps i n our wi t hdr awal - i f ever aut hor i zed.n l i ne of seni ori t y I t ook command of my squadr on af t er a mant a made t he posi t i on avai l abl e. r emai ned von Dr achau' s wi ngman. That made hi m l ess i mpet uous. St i l l addi ct ed t o t he f l yi ng,

voi ded of f endi ng a man who coul d gr ound hi m. I was t empt ed. Hi s eye was st i l l deadl y, but hi soncer n over t he i nt el l i gence of mant as had begun af f ect i ng hi s per f ormance.t f i r st i t was a bar el y not i ceabl e hesi t ance i n at t ack t hat mor e t hannce l ef t bl i st er ed pai nt on hi s shi p. Wi t h hi s t i mi ng a hai r of f heomet i mes st al l ed cl ose enough f or a mani a' s bol t t o car ess hi s cr af t .

My admoni t i ons had l i t t l e ef f ect . Hi s f l yi ng cont i nued t o det er i or at e.nd st i l l I coul dn' t under st and.

i s per f ormance i mpr oved dr amat i cal l y si x days af t er our st r i ke i nt o t he Harr i dans, a day whenad no t i me t o t hi nk, when the wi ng' s sur vi val was on t he l i ne and maxi mum ef f ort was a must . l ways per f ormed best under pr essure. He never coul d expl ai n how he' d brushed t hose ni ne mant af f me t hat day. He' d t or n t hr ough them wi t h the col d ef f i ci ency of a mi l i t ar y r obot , but l at e

oul dn' t r emember. I t was as i f anot her personal i t y had taken cont r ol . I saw hi m go t hr ough t huch possessi ons and he coul dn' t r emember af t er any. ) I t was a bat t l e i n whi ch we al l f l ewnspi r ed- and ear ned a Pyrr hi c vi ct or y. . . t he back of t he wi ng was broken, but agai n Beadl eurvi ved.he mant as came at dawn, as bef or e, and brought a whal e herd wi t h t hem. There' d been snow, buthi s t i me a hard ni ght ' s work had cl ear ed t he cat apul t s and sai l shi ps. We were up and wai t i ng.hey wal ked- or f l ew- i nt o i t . And kept comi ng. And kept comi ng.nd by wei ght of numbers dr ove us t o gr ound. And once we' d l ost t he ai r t he whal es moved i n.

McCl ennon agai n cal l ed f or ai d f r om Cl onni nger. I t came. We br oke out . And soon were f orced t oround agai n. The mant as r ef used to be di smayed. A r i ver came across t he Gap t o r epl ace l ossesl onni nger si gnal l ed us f or hel p. From Beadl e we wat ched endl ess col umns of whal es, var i col ores speci es mi xed, move down t he dragl i ne sout h. We coul d do nothi ng. Cl onni nger was on i t s own

McCl ennon ordered a hot ai r bal l oon l oaded wi t h phosphorous bombs, sent i t out and bl ew i t amihe mant as crowdi ng our l aunch gate. Horst and I j umped i nt o t hei r smoke. That ent i r e mi ssi on gnored mant as and concent r ated on t he whal es, who seemed l i kel y t o dest r oy t he net . Bef oremmuni t i on ran out we f or ced t hem t o rej oi n t he mi gr at i on. But t he mant as di dn' t l eave t i l l daur gr ound bat t eri es r an out of r ocket s. Hal f our shi ps were dest r oyed or permanent l y gr ounded

rom f r ost bi t e as much as mant a act i on ( t he day' s hi gh was - 23° C. ) , a t hi r d of our peopl e becasual t i es. Four t een pi l ots f ound permanent homes i n t he bot t om of Gi nnunga Gap. Rescue bal l oooul dn' t go af t er t hem.ar adoxi cal l y, per mi ssi on t o wi t hdr aw came j ust bef or e we l ost cont act wi t h Cl onni nger .

We began our wound- l i cki ng ret r eat at mi dni ght , scabby r emnant s of squadr ons l aunchi ng i nt o t hnk of t he Gap, gr abbi ng t he ups, t hen sl ant i ng down t oward Cl onni nger. Bal l oons began dr aggi nhe l i ne.l onni nger was what we' d f ear ed f or Beadl e: chur ned ear t h and bones et hereal l y gr i m by dawni ght . The whal es had br oken i t s def enses wi t hout di f f i cul t y. Appet i t es whett ed, t hey' d moved rom t hr ee t housand meters t he border s of t he ear t h- br own r i ver of devast at i on seemed t o sweephe hor i zons. The si l ver y dr ag cabl e sket ched a br i ght cent er l i ne f or t hat deat h- pat h.

We were pat r ol l i ng when t he f i r st ai r shi ps came sout h. The ski es were ut t erl y empt y, t he gr ounaked, si l ence t otal . Once snow covered t he r out e onl y memory woul d mark r ecent event s. . .ays passed. The Cl onni nger st ory r epeat ed i t sel f down the cabl e, st at i on af t er st at i on, t hougccasi onal l y we f ound sal vageabl e sur vi vor s or equi pment . Operat i ons seemed ended f or our gr ouni t s. But f or us pi l ot s i t went on. We f ol l owed t he l i ne ti l l we over t ook str aggl er whal es,etur ned to work.

s t he mi gr at i on appr oached Der r y corpor at e def enses st i f f ened. Though we' d l ost cont act , i teemed our f unct i on at t he Gap had been to buy t i me. True, as I l ater l ear ned. A st r i ng of eadl e- l i ke f ort r ess- bases wer e t hr own across t he nor t her n and Si ckl e I sl ands r out es. But evenhey weren' t st r ong enough. As t he mant as l ear ned ( even I f ound mysel f accept i ng t he i nt el l i ger oposi t i on) , t hey became more prof i ci ent at besi egi ng and dest r oyi ng bases. The whal es gr ew lear f ul , mor e dr i ven by t hei r mat i ng ur ge. Mant as woul d her d t hem t o a base; t hey' d wr eck i tespi t e t he most f ur i ous def ense. Both whal es and mant as abandoned f ear , i gnored t hei r ownosses.G XI I I was out of t he mai n act i on, of cour se, but we persever ed- i f onl y because we knew we' dever get of f pl anet i f Der r y f el l . But we f l ew wi t h l i t t l e ent husi asm. Each addi t i onal dest r oase or mi ne ( whatever Ubi chi was af t er had t o be unear t hed) r eassur ed us of t he i nevi t abi l i t yai l ure.

When a man goes mercenary i n hopes of buyi ng of f , he undergoes speci al t r ai ni ng. Most have aar ami l i t ary or i ent at i on. ( I use "mer cenar y" l oosel y. ) Hi st or i cal st udi es puzzl ed me. Why had o of t en f ought on when def eat was i nevi t abl e? Why had t hey i n f act gi ven more of t hemsel ves iopel ess cause? I was l i vi ng i t t hen and st i l l di dn' t under st and. J G XI I I per f or med mi r acl es w

what i t had, sl aught ered whal es and mant as by t he hundr eds, and t hat af t er everyone had abando



ope. . .orst r eached t he one f i f t y mark. I r eached one hundr ed t went y. Al most every survi vi ng pi l oturpassed f i f t y ki l l s . There were j ust t hi rt y- t hree of us l ef t .

I

n the spur of t he moment one day, based on t wo consi der at i ons, I made my f i r st command deci siood wi nds dur i ng patr ol and a gr ave shor t age of suppl i es. For a mont h t he wi ng had been l i vi nnd f i ght i ng of f t he remnant s of st ati ons dest r oyed by mi gr at i ng whal es. Rat i ons wer e a si ngl eal e meal each day. Our r emai ni ng ammuni t i on was al l wi t h us on pat r ol .

When I began t hi s I meant t o t el l about mysel f and Horst - J ohann von Dr achau. Gl anci ng back, I ' ve sket ched a st or y of mysel f and J G XI I I . St i l l , i t ' s al most i mpossi bl e to ext r i cat e the f oespeci al l y si nce t her e' s so l i t t l e concret e t o say about t he man. My at t empt s t o char act er i ze

i m f ai l , so robot l i ke was he even wi t h me. Most l y I ' ve specul ated, dr awn on r umor and used whl ear ned f r om Commander McCl ennon. The f ew t i mes Horst opened at al l he di dn' t r eveal much,sual l y onl y expr essi ng an i ncr easi ng concer n about t he mant as. Wi t hout my specul at i ons he' d ri ke an excer pt f rom a servi ce f i l e.he above i s an admoni t i on t o mysel f : don' t di gress i nt o t he heroi sm and pr i vat i on of t he monthe wi ng operated i ndependent l y. That wasn' t a st ory about von Dr achau. He endur ed i t wi t houtomment . Yet sl eepi ng i n cr ude wooden shel t er s and eat i ng downed mant a wi t hout compl ai ni ng mi gay somet hi ng about t he man behi nd t he f acade, or somet hi ng about changes t hat had occur r edhere. Hard t o say. He may' ve i gnored pr i vat i on si mpl y because i t di dn' t i mpi nge on hi s per sonrobl ems.

We were i n the ai r , maki ng t he l ast pat r ol we coul d r easonabl y mount . I had command. I n a wi l dmoment , i nspi r ed by good ups and wi nds, I deci ded t o t r y br eaki ng thr ough to Derr y t err i t ory.Wi t hout knowi ng how f ar i t ' d be t o t he near est extant st at i on- we hadn' t seen out si der s si nceor r owi ng t he Cl onni nger squadr ons. That Der r y st i l l hel d I coul d guess onl y f r om t he f act t ha

we wer e st i l l t o i t s nor t h and i n cont act wi t h mant as and whal es.he i nspi r at i on hi t , I wag- wi nged f ol l ow me and went i nt o a l ong shal l ow gl i de. Der r y i t sel f lver t wo hundr ed ki l omet er s away, a l ong f l y possi bl e onl y i f we f l i t t ed f r om up to up. Much

onger f l i ght s had been made- t hough not agai nst opposi t i on.t t ook t wel ve hour s and cost ei ght sai l craf t , but we made i t . I t was an ace day f or everyone.here seemed t o be a Hor st - l i ke despai r about t he mantas t hat l ef t t hem sl uggi sh i n act i on. Wei t t er ed t he bar r en ear t h wi t h t hei r cor pses. Hor st , wi t h seven ki l l s, had our l owest scor e.ecause I was behi nd hi m al l t he whi l e I not i ced he wasn' t t r yi ng, shot onl y when a pi l ot wasndangered. Thi s had been growi ng dur i ng t he mont h. He was as sl uggi sh as t he mant as.ur appear ance at Derr y generat ed mi xed r eact i ons. Empl oyees got a bi g l i f t , perhaps because ourvi val pr esent ed an exampl e. But management seemed unset t l ed, especi al l y by our ki l l cl ai ms,ur compl ai nt s, and t he f act t hat t her e wer e sur vi vor s t hey were obl i gat ed to r escue. Al l t hey

want ed was t o hol d on and keep the mi nes worki ng. But ai d t o J G XI I I became an i nst ant causeel ebr e. I t was obvi ous t her e' d be empl oyee r ebel l i on i f our sur vi vor s wer e wr i t t enf f .spent days bei ng gr i l l ed, t he pr i ce of arr ogat i ng command. The ot hers were supposed t o r emai

uar ant i ned f or debr i ef i ng, but evaded t hei r wat cher s. They di d the publ i c r el at i ons j ob. Somepread t he t al es t hat were t he base f or von Dr achau' s l egend.

t r i ed t o st op t hat , but t o do so was beat i ng my head agai nst a wal l . Those peopl e i n thehr i nki ng Der r y hol di ng needed a her o- even i f t hey had t o make hi m up, t o f i l l i n, pad, chop o

ough cor ners so he' d meet t hei r needs. I t devel oped qui ckl y. I wonder how Horst woul d' ve r eacad he been ar ound f or deep exposur e. I t hi nk i t mi ght ' ve br oken hi s shel l , but woul d' ve gone s head t oo. Wel l , no matt er now.

Mysel f , I ' d nomi nate Commander McCl ennon as t he r eal hero of J G XI I I . Hi s was t he determi nat i ond spi r i t t hat br ought us t hr ough. But he was an admi ni st r at or .

Much coul d be tol d about our st ay at Der r y, whi ch l asted t hr ough wi nt er and spr i ng, t i l l l ongf t er t he mant a pr ocesses of i nt el l ect i on ponderousl y gr ound t o t he concl usi on t hat we humansoul dn' t be smashed and eat en t hi s t i me. The f i ght i ng, of cour se, cont i nued, and woul d t i l lonf ederat i on i nt ervened, but i t st ayed at a modest l evel . They stopped comi ng t o us. Moral eoar ed. Yet t hi ngs wer e real l y no bet t er . The mat i ng whal es st i l l cut us of f f r om t he sout h popaceport .ut t he t al e i s dedi cat ed to Hor st - J ohann von Dr achau. I t l ast snl y anot her week.

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nce f r ee of i nt er r ogat i on, I began pr epar i ng t he wi ng to r et ur n t o act i on. For year s I ' d been

ear ed to f i ght i ng; admi ni st r at i on wasn' t easy. I gr ew shor t - t emper ed, began hunt i ng excuses tvade r esponsi bi l i t y. Cur sed mysel f f or maki ng t he deci si on t hat ' d br ought me i nsi de, even t hohat ' d meant vol unt eer cr ews t aki ng zepps nor t h wi t h st ores.n ear l y of f i ci al act i on was an i nt ervi ew wi t h Hor st . He came t o my cubby- of f i ce sul l en andi spi r i t ed, but cheer ed up when I sai d, "I ' m t aki ng you of f at t ack. You' l l be my wi ngman. "Good. "I t means t hat much?"What ?"Thi s st uf f about mant a i nt el l i gence. "Yeah. But you woul dn' t underst and, Sal . Nobody does. "began my " what di f f erence does i t make?" speech. He i nt err upt ed.

You know I can' t expl ai n. I t ' s somet hi ng l i ke t hi s: we' r e not f i ght i ng a war . I n war you tr y emonst r at e super i or i t y of ar ms, t o convi nce t he ot her si de i t ' s cheaper t o submi t We' r e t r yi nor exter mi nat i on her e. Li ke wi t h the Sangar ee. "he Sangaree. The r ace hi s f at her had dest r oyed. "No bi g l oss . "Wr ong. They were nast y, but posed no real t hreat . They coul d' ve been handl ed wi t h a t r eat y. Wad t he power . "



No tear s wer e shed. . . "Wr ong agai n. But t he gut r eact i on i sn' t over. You wai t . When men l i ke my f ather and Admi r aleckhar t and Commander McCl ennon and t he ot her mi l i t ar i st s who cont r ol Luna Command f ade away,ou' l l st ar t seei ng a r eact i on. . . a whol e race, Sal , a whol e cul t ur e, i ndependent l y evol ved,

wi t h al l i t mi ght ' ve t aught us. . . "t had to be rat i onal i zat i on, somet hi ng he' d bui l t f or hi msel f t o mask a deeper unhappi ness.McCl ennon? You don' t approve of hi m?"Wel l , yeah, he' s al l r i ght . I guess. But even when he di sagr eed, he went al ong. I n f act , myather never coul d' ve f ound t he Sangaree homeworl d wi t hout hi m. I f he' d revol t ed t hen, i nst eadat er when hi s act i ons t ur ned and bi t back. . . wel l , t he Sangar ee woul d be al i ve and he' d be ot ar f i shi ng wi t h Amy. "coul dn' t get t hr ough. Nei t her coul d he. The speeches on t he t abl e were masks f or deeper t hi n

here' s no way t o t al k about one t hi ng and communi cat e somet hi ng el se. "Goi ng al ong, " I sai d.What ' ve you been doi ng? How about t he ki d who squawks but goes al ong because he want s t o f l y?hat ' s what we' r e al l doi ng here, Hor st . Thi nk I ' d be here i f I coul d buy of f any ot her way?i f e i s compr omi se. No except i ons. And you' r e ol d enough t o know i t . "*houl dn' t ' ve sai d t hat . But I was i r r i t abl e, unconcer ned about what he' d t hi nk. He st ar ed a

moment , t hen st al ked out , consi der i ng hi s own compr omi ses.wo days l at er my shi ps wer e or dered up f or t he f i r st t i me si nce our ar r i val . Command had hadr oubl e deci di ng what t o do wi t h us. I t hi nk we weren' t empl oyed because t he br ass were af r ai d

were as good as we cl ai med, whi ch meant ( by t he same i l l ogi cal pr ocess t hat bui l t l egends ar ouor st and the wi ng) t hat our sur vi val wasn' t j ust a mi r acl e, t hat we' d real l y been wr i t t en of fut had ref used t o di e. Such accusat i ons were goi ng around and Command was sensi t i ve t ohem.

We went up as ai r cover f or t he rescue convoy br i ngi ng our sur vi vor s i n f r om up t he cabl e. Wewoul dn' t ' ve been used i f another uni t had been avai l abl e. But t he mant as had a bi g push on, t hast maj or and onl y ni ght of f ensi ve.

Del Gado may i ndeed have sai d somethi ng of t he sor t at t he t i me, and have f el t i t , but agai n,nce t he pr essur e was of f , he f or got . He has been bought of f f or year s, yet r emai ns wi t h Ubi ch

r med Act i onommand. He must enj oy hi s wor k.Dogf i ght

Wi nds at Derr y are sl uggi sh, t he ups are weak, and t hat ni ght t here was an overcast maski ng thmoons. The aur ora i s i nsi gni f i cant t hat f ar sout h. Seei ng was by l i ght ni ng, a rough way t o go.We l aunched shor t l y af t er ni ght f al l , spent al most an hour creepi ng t o al t i t ude, t hen cl awed no

bove t he cabl e. Fl ares were out t o mark i t , but t hose f ai l ed us when we passed t he l ast out pof t er t hat i t was t went y- f i ve shi ps navi gat i ng by guesswor k, mai nt ai ni ng cont act by stayi ngeadache- maki ng al er t dur i ng l i ght ni ng f l ashes.ut i t was al so r el axi ng. I was doi ng somethi ng I underst ood. The whi sper of ai r over my canopul l ed me, washed t he week' s aggravat i ons away.ccasi onal l y I checked my mi r r or s. Hor st mai nt ai ned per f ect posi t i on on my r i ght quar t er. Thethers spr ead around i n ragged f ormat i on, yi el di ng compactness and pr eci si on t o saf ety. The ni ghr eat ened col l i si ons.

We f ound t he convoy one hundr ed t went y ki l ometers up t he l i ne, past mi dni ght , r unni ng sl owl y ihe br eeze and f l ashi ng si gnal s so we' d l ocat e t hem. I dr opped down, si gnal l ed back wi t h a

i ol umi nescent l ant er n, t hen cl awed some al t i t ude, put t he men i nt o wi de pat r ol pat t erns.ver ythi ng went wel l t hr ough the ni ght . The mant as weren' t up i n that sector.awn br ought t hem, about f i f t y i n a f l yi ng ci r cus t hey' d adopt ed f r om us. We condensed f ormat ind began sl uggi ng i t out .hey' d l ear ned. They st i l l operat ed i n pai r s, but no l onger got i n one another ' s way. And t heyt r ove to br eak our pai r s t o t ake advant age of numbers. But when a pai r l atched ont o a sai l pl at became thei r ent i r e uni ver se. We, however, shot at anythi ng, whether or not i t was a mant agai nst whi ch we were di r ect l y engaged.hey' d over adopt ed our t act i cs. I l earned t hat wi t hi n mi nut es. When someone got hal f a pai r , tt her woul d sl i de out of act i on and st ay out t i l l i t f ound a si ngl e mant a of opposi t e sex.ur i ous. ( Shor t l y I ' l l comment on the f i ndi ngs of t he gover nment i nvest i gat or s, who dug f areeper t han Ubi chi ' s exobi ol ogi st s. But one not i on t hen cur r ent , j ust r umor as t he sent i enceypot hesi s became accept ed, was t hat mant a i nt el l i gence changed cycl i cal l y, as a f unct i on of t

mat i ng cycl e. )We hel d our own. Al l of us were al i ve because we were good. Dodgi ng bol t s was i nst i nct ual ,et t i ng shel l s i nt o mant a gut s second nat ur e. We l ost onl y t wo craf t , t ot al . One pi l ot . Twohi r ds of t he mant as went down.

or st and I f l ew as i f at t ached t o ends of a metal bar . Book per f ect . But t he mant as f or ced usway f r om t he mai n f r ay, as many as t went y concent r at i ng on us. ( I t hi nk t hey recogni zed ourevi ces and deci ded t o dest r oy us. I f i t were possi bl e f or humans t o be known t o mant as,hey' d' ve been Hor st and I . ) I went i nt o a robot l i ke mood l i ke Hor st ' s on hi s hi gh- ki l l days.

Mant a af t er mant a t umbl ed away. My shoot i ng was f l awl ess. Br i ef bur st s, maybe a dozen shel l s,wer e al l I used. I sel dom mi ssed.s somet i mes happened i n such a br awl , Horst and I f ound our st at i ons r ever sed. A savage maneuhat l ef t my gl i der creaki ng put me i n the wi ngman sl ot . Dur i ng i t Horst scor ed hi s hundr edi f t y- ei ght h ki l l , cl ear i ng a mant a of f my back. Far as I know t hat was t he onl y t i me he f i r edhe ar r angement was f i ne wi t h me. He was t he bet t er shot ; l et hi m cl ear t he mess whi l e Ir otect ed hi s back. We' d r esume pr oper posi t i ons when a br eak i n t he f i ght i ng came.moment l ater Horst was i n f i r i ng posi t i on beneat h a f emal e who' d expended her bol t ( i t t hen

ook sever al mi nut es t o bui l d a char ge) . He bor ed i n, passed so cl ose t hei r wi ngs near l y br ushut he di dn' t f i r e. I t ook her out as I came up behi nd.he eyes. Agai n I saw t hem cl osel y. Puzzl ement and pai n( ?) as she f ol ded and f el l . . .hree t i mes t hat scene r epeated i t sel f . Hor st woul dn' t shoot . Behi nd hi m I cur sed, t hreat ened,r omi sed, f ear ed. Tr i ed t o get shel l s i nt o hi s t ar get s, but mi ssed. He maneuver ed so I was i n



oor posi t i on on each pass.hen t he mant as broke. They' d l ost . The r est of t he squadron pur sued, l osi ng ground because t h

monst ers were bet t er equi pped t o gr ab al t i t ude.or st went hi gh. At f i r st I di dn' t under st and, j ust cont i nued cur si ng. Then I saw a mant a, an

mal e ci r cl i ng al one, and thought he' d got t en back i n t r ack, was goi ng af t er a ki l l .e wasn' t . He ci r cl ed i n cl ose and f or a seemi ng et erni t y t hey f l ew wi ngt i p t o wi ngt i p,yebal l i ng one another . Two cr eat ur es al one, unabl e t o communi cate. But somethi ng passed betwehem. Nobody bel i eves me ( si nce i t doesn' t f i t t he von Dr achau l egend) , but I t hi nk t hey made ui ci de pact .l ash. Bol t . Hor st ' s shi p st aggered, began smoki ng. The death' s- head had di sappear ed f r om hi susel age. He st art ed down.put ever ythi ng i n my magazi nes i nt o t hat ol d mal e. The expl osi ons t or e hi m t o shr eds.caught Hor st a thousand met er s down, pul l ed up wi ngt i p to wi ngt i p. He st i l l had cont r ol , but

oor l y. Smoke f i l l ed hi s cockpi t . Li t t l e f l ames peeped out where hi s embl em had been. The canvwas r i ppi ng f r om hi s ai r f r ame. By hand si gnal s I t r i ed t o get hi m t oai l out .e si gnal l ed he coul dn' t , t hat hi s canopy was st uck. Maybe i t was, but when McCl ennon and Iet ur ned a mont h l at er , af t er t he mi gr at i on had passed sout h, I had no tr oubl e l i f t i ng i t away

Maybe he wanted t o di e.r maybe i t was because of hi s l egs. When we col l ected hi s r emai ns we f ound t hat t he mant a bolad j agged t hr ough hi s cockpi t and cooked hi s l egs bel ow t he knees. There' d' ve been no savi ngi m.et he kept cont r ol most of t he way down, l osi ng i t onl y i n t he l ast f i ve hundr ed met er s. Het al l ed, spun, dove. Then he recovered and managed a l ow angl e cr ash. He rol l ed nose over t ai lhen bur ned. Fi ni s. No more Hors t - J ohann.st i l l don' t underst and. *

" Hawki ns, you keep harpi ng on t he ' meani ng1 of Horsf s deat h. Chr i st , man, t hat ' s my poi nt : i tad no meani ng. I n my t er ms. By t hose he ut t er l y wast ed hi s l i f e; hi s vol unt ar y t er mi nat i oni dn' t al t er t he mi l i t ar y si t uat i on one i ot a. Even i n t er ms your r eader s under st and i t had l i t

meani ng. They' r e vi car i ous f i ght er s; t hei r out l ooks aren' t much di f f er ent t han mi ne- except t he

want my ski n f or t aki ng a bi t e f r om t hei r sacred cow. Hor st was a sel f - appoi nt ed Chr i st - f i gur enl y i n mart yr ' s t erms does hi s deat h have meani ng, and t hen onl y t o t hose who bel i eve anynt el l i gence i s hol y, t o be cher i shed, def ended, and al l owed t o f ol l ow i t s own cour se ut t er l yr ee of ext er nal i nf l uence. What he and hi s i l k f ai l t o under st and i s t hat i t ' s r i ght down deet r eambed f undament al t o t he nat ur e of OUT i nt el l i gence t o i nt er f er e, over power , expl oi t andbl i t er at e. We di d i t t o one anot her bef or e Fi r st Expansi on; we' ve done i t t o Toke, Ul ant oni d angar ee; we' l l cont i nue doi ng i t .

I n ter ms of accompl i shment , yes, he bought somethi ng wi t h hi s l i f e, An i nj unct i on agai nst Vbiperat i ons on Camel ot . There' s your meani ng, but one t hat makes sense onl y i n an et hi calr amewor k most peopl e won' t compr ehend. Bel i eve me, I ' ve t r i ed. But I ' m i ncapabl e of seei ng t hni ver se and i t s cont ent s i n ot her t han tool - cat t l e terms. Now have t he bal l s t o tel l me I ' m ihe mi nor i t y. " From a pr i vat e l et t er by Sal vador del Gado.Dogf i ght

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ccor di ng t o t he l atest , t he r el at i onshi p between Mant a and whal e i s f ar more compl ex than anyt Ubi chi ever guessed. ( Guessed- Ubi chi never car ed. I r ked even me t hat at t he hei ght of or por at e oper at i ons, Ubi chi had onl y one exobi ol ogi st on pl anet - a vi r ol ogi st - bact er i ol ogi sthar ged wi t h f i ndi ng some di sease wi t h whi ch t o i nf ect t he whal es. Even I coul d appr eci at e t heossi bl e advant ages i n accumul at i on of knowl edge. ) At best , we thought , when t he i nt el l i genceheor y had gai ned common cur r ency, t he whal es served as cat t l e f or t he mant as. . .ot so, say Conf ederat i on' s r esearcher s. The mant as onl y appear t o herd and cont r ol t he whal eshe whal es ar e t he t r ue mast er s. The mantas ar e t hei r equi val ent of dogs, f l eet - wi nged ser vantor t he ponderous and poor l y maneuver abl e. Thei r ver y sl ow gr owt h of abi l i t y t o cope wi t h ourer i al t acti cs wasn' t a f uncti on of a cycl i c i ncrease i n i nt el l i gence, i t was a ref l ecti on of i f f i cul t y t he whal es had pr oj ect i ng t hei r def ensi ve needs i nt o our much f ast er and more

maneuver abl e f r ame of r ef erence. By means of severel y l i mi t ed cont r ol .t t he t i me i t seemed a perf ect l y l ogi cal assumpt i on that t he mant as were upset wi t h us becaus

we were dest r oyi ng t hei r f ood sour ces. ( They l i ve on a mouse- si zed parasi t e common amongst t heorest of organs on a whal e' s back. ) I t seemed much more unl i kel y, even unr easonabl e, t hat t he

whal es t hemsel ves were t he ones upset and were sendi ng mant as agai nst us, because t hose wereet t er abl e to cope, i f a l i t t l e t oo dul l t o do i t wel l . The whal es al ways car r i ed out t he

tt acks on our gr ound f aci l i t i es, but we mi ssed t he hi nt t her e.t seems t he mant a was ori gi nal l y domesti cat ed t o def end whal es f r om a pt er odact yl - l i ke f l yi ngr edator, one whi ch mant as and whal es had hunt ed al most t o ext i nct i on by t he t i me Ubi chi arr i vn Camel ot . As humans and dogs once di d wi t h wol ves. Unt i l t he government r epor t we were onl yaguel y aware of t he creat ur es. They never bot hered us, so we di dn' t bother t hem.he r el at i onshi p between whal es and mantas i s an anci ent one, one whi ch domest i cat i on doesn' tdequat el y descr i be. Nor does symbi osi s, ef f ect i vel y. Evol ut i on has f or ced upon bot h anncr edi bl y compl ex and cl umsy r epr oduct i ve pr ocess that l eaves t hem i next r i cabl y bound togethen order t o go i nt o est erus t he f emal e mant a must be exposed to pr ol onged equator i alemperat ur es. She mates i n the ai r , i n a dance as compl ex and st r ange as t hat of ear t hl y bees,ut onl y wi t h her chosen mate. Somewhat l i ke Terr an marsupi al s, she soon gi ves bi r t h t o unf ormoung. But now i t get s wei r d. The marsupi al pouch (i f such I may cal l i t f or ar gument ' s sake) speci al l y devel oped semi - womb atop the back of a mal e whal e. Whi l e i nst i nct compel s her t o

eposi t her young t here, t he mal e whal e envel opes t he she- mant a i n a cl ut ch of f r ondl i ke or ganwhi ch car ess her body and l eave a whi t i sh dust - hi s " sper m". Once her young have been t r ansf errhe f emal e mant a goes i nt o a ki nd of t r avel - f r enzy, l i ke a bee f l i t t i ng f r om f l ower t o f l oweri si t i ng al l near by whal es. Any recept i ve f emal e she vi si t s wi l l , wi t h or gans not unl i ke t hose



he mal e, st r oke t he "sper m" f r om her body.ncr edi bl y compl i cat ed and cl umsy. And unr omant i c. But i t works.

We never woul d' ve l ear ned of i t but f or Hor st - who, I t hi nk, had nothi ng of t he sor t i n mi nd whe l et t hat ol d mant a bol t hi m down.nd t hat ' s about al l t her e i s t o say. I t ' s a puzzl e st or y. Why di d von Dr achau do i t ? I don' tnow- or don' t want t o know- but I wor k under sever e handi caps. I ' m an Ol d Ear t her . I never had at her t o pl ay push- me pul l - you wi t h my l i f e. I never l earned to care much about anythi ng out s

mysel f . A meager l oyal t y t o compani ons i n act i on i s t he best I ' ve ever must ered. But enough ofxcuses.he f i ght i ng wi t h mantas cont i nued f our year s af t er Hor st ' s death, t hrough sever al l esser

mi gr at i ons t hat never r eached t he mat i ng gr ounds. Then a government i nqui r y boar d f i nal l y st epn- af t er Commander McCl ennon and Fl eet Admi r al von Dr achau had spent t hree year s knocki ng onoor s at Luna Command (Ubi chi ' s weal t h has i t s power t o bl i nd) . Thei r i nvest i gat i ons st i l l ar eompl et e, but i t seems t hey' l l r ul e Camel ot per manent l y of f l i mi t s. So Hor st di d buy somethi ng

wi t h hi s l i f e. Had he not di ed, I doubt t he Commander woul d' ve got t en angr y enough t o act .hat he di d so doesn' t ent i r el y pl ease me, of cour se. I i nher i t ed hi s posi t i on. Though I pul l eown a handsome i ncome as J G Ki l l ' s wi ng l eader and ongoi ng t op ki l l er , I l oat hed t hedmi ni st r at i ve donkey work. St i l l , I admi r e t he cour age he showed.al so admi r e Hor st , despi t e hi s shor t comi ngs, despi t e mysel f . But he wasn' t a her o, no mat t er

what peopl e want t o hear me say. He was a snot - nosed ki d used t o get t i ng hi s own way who threwui ci dal t ant r um when he saw t here was no ot her way t o achi eve hi s ends. . .nd t hat ' s i t , t he rol l i ng down of t he socks t o expose t he f eet of cl ay. Bel i eve t he st or i es oel i eve hi s wi ngman. I t ' s al l t he same t o me. I ' ve got mi ne i n and don' t need your appr oval . *

Not t r ue, i n your edi t or ' s opi ni on. Especi al l y i n hi s pr i vat e communi cat i ons, del Gado seemser y much i nt erest ed i n f i ndi ng appr oval of t hi ngs he has done. Per haps he has a consci ence afl l . He cert ai nl y seems desper at e t o f i nd j usti f i cat i on f or hi s l i f e.Dogf i ght

cook, glen - ss - in the wind

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