"We may as well find out," said Docchi. "It's settled now, one way or the other."
They searched band after band. The reaction was always the same. Obscure private citizen or prominent one, man or woman, they all told how sorry they were for the accidentals, but—
"Turn it off," said Docchi at last.
"Now what?" Jordan asked numbly.
"You have no choice," said the doctor.
"No choice," repeated Docchi dully. "No choice but to give up. We misjudged who our allies were."
"We knew you had," said Cameron. "It seemed better to let you go on thinking that way while you were on the asteroid. It gave you something to hope for. It made you feel you weren't alone. The trouble was that you got farther than we thought you would ever be able to."
"So we did," Docchi said. His lethargy seemed to lift a little. "And there's no reason to stop now. Jordan, pick up the ships behind us. Tell them we've got Cameron on board. A hostage. Play him up as a hero. Basically, he's not with those who are against us."
Anti came into the control compartment. Cheerfulness faded from her face. "What's the matter?" she asked.
"Jordan will explain to you. I've got to think."