He pointed off to the side, indicating another mound of weapons that were quite obviously of the class the landing party had worn as side arms. In between the two piles and lying directly in front of the cave's mouth was the body of the Tzarean who had been slain by the fall of the Mineral Analyzer's drill head.
Even as Stewart watched, other Tzareans brought more weapons to add to the two stacks.
"Dave!" Randall's voice sounded excitedly back in the cave. "Come listen to this. I've tuned in on their frequency!"
Stewart accepted the earphones and listened to the clicks and hisses that translated readily into:
"How many gun batteries left?"
"Two more and they will have all been dismantled."
"And the stun weapons?"
"There isn't a single one left on the ship."
Stewart tensed. The questioning voice—it couldn't be—
Anxiously, he picked up the microphone and ignored the bewilderment on Randall's face as he hissed, "Mittich! Is that you?"