And then he thought, But she's right. Connor, all our armed forces—we'd be like babies against a fleet from Ir. We have atomic weapons but we'd never have the chance to use them. It would be just as it was at the prison—
He listened to the owl and the crickets and the gurgle of running water, and smelled the cool sweetness of the summer night and dug his fingers into the grass because he wanted to hold on to Earth and all that was familiar.
But overhead the stars glittered and shone, and there was a decision to be made.
"If you want to fight for your world and your people," said Kara softly, "you must have courage to do what you know is right, even if it is against orders."
Yes, thought Birrel. Yes, indeed. Have courage.
Well, the whole thing had gone wrong from the start. He couldn't see that he would make it any better by delivering Kara to Connor. The chances were she couldn't be made to tell anyway where the ship from Ruun was hidden, and it would undoubtedly take off at the first hint of danger. And in any case, it seemed that the Irrians were the threat to Earth, and she didn't know where their ship was. If Kara was telling the truth, the resultant delay might be fatal to both their causes. He thought she was telling the truth.
Very quickly, before he could change his mind, he said, "It seems I have to go with you to Ruun."
"Good," she said fiercely. "Good! Then we have a chance." She jumped to her feet and tugged at him impatiently. "We've wasted too much time already. Let's go."
"Now hold on," he said. "We'll make better time if we plan ahead. Where is your ship?"
"North. In a wild place beyond a big body of water—I think it's called the Hudson's Bay."