Most of the big man's humor had vanished, he had that grim look Jason knew well.
"Yes, peaceful would be the right word. Because that is basically all we want. Just to live in peace. And it is not who are we killing—it is what we are killing."
Jason pushed his plate away with an angry gesture. "You're talking in riddles," he said. "What you say has no meaning."
"It has meaning enough," Kerk told him, "but only on one planet in the universe. Just how much do you know about Pyrrus?"
"Absolutely nothing."
For a moment Kerk sat wrapped in memory, scowling distantly. Then he went on.
"Mankind doesn't belong on Pyrrus—yet has been there for almost three hundred years now. The age expectancy of my people is sixteen years. Of course most adults live beyond that, but the high child mortality brings the average down.
"It is everything that a humanoid world should not be. The gravity is nearly twice Earth normal. The temperature can vary daily from arctic to tropic. The climate—well you have to experience it to believe it. Like nothing you've seen anywhere else in the galaxy."
"I'm frightened," Jason said dryly. "What do you have—methane or chlorine reactions? I've been down on planets like that—"