"Klev, what happened to you?" Susan asked anxiously as she saw the Martian's condition.
He grimaced as he tried to sit up, his injuries not helped by Nick's necessarily rough treatment. Then he chirped a few sentences.
"Oh Klev! You shouldn't have done it," she protested in English.
"What is it?" Nick wanted to know.
"The Council voted to attack Central Camp, using their voras as weapons. Klev tried to warn them it would be suicide, and he and Merlo fought. Merlo is much younger, and although he has the Plague he's still strong. Then he accused Klev of treachery because he was friendly to us, and had him exiled to the surface too."
The injured, beaten Martian touched Sue's hand and chirped a few words as though in apology.
"When will they attack?" Nick asked.
"Nineteen days from now," Susan translated the Martian's answer.
"How?"
"They'll come up through the tunnels into the old city, spread out, and attack the camp at night."