Thile and Kara joined Birrel behind his metal bulwark, panting.
"Did you get through?" he cried.
"We don't know. There wasn't time to receive acknowledgement."
"Here they come!" yelled Shannock.
And they came, slipping among the looming shapes of potential destruction, firing, killing, being killed, being for the second time driven back.
And now for a moment the amplifiers fell silent and another voice spoke close at hand. Vannevan's voice.
"Count your dead. You can't replace them, but we can. How long can you hold out?"
"As long as there's one of us left!" Shannock shouted back.
"That won't be long, will it? Don't be a fool, man. Surrender."