"Not as great as yours. We had the opportunity of examining your man Alex. You had only his untried opinions to go by."
The 'copter came down with a flutter of rotor blades, and I shook hands with K'wan. For a moment I was tempted to call Dan and tell him to turn our hostages loose, but on second thought decided that could wait. I slipped my menticom off. There was no point in broadcasting my thoughts, and without the gadget K'wan couldn't intercept them unless they were directed. After all, we were a minority on this world and Earth didn't even know where we were yet. A ship can cross hyper-space far more easily and quickly than the most powerful transmitter can broadcast across normal space. It would be a thousand years before Earth could hear from us by radio, even if they could distinguish our messages from stellar interference. While I felt oddly friendly, there was no reason to take chances, especially if there was any truth in that dream.
"You will be leaving soon?" K'wan asked. "You and the ship?"
"Yes," I said. "We have done all we can do here."
I looked up at him. He was standing there—holding the menticom in his hand—yet I understood him!
I didn't let the astonishment show on my face, nor the shock that coursed through my mind when the Lyranian in my brain tried vainly to scream a warning! Instead I took the circlet and turned to go.
"Remember what you are to do; the others will help," K'wan said.
"I will remember," I replied. You're damn well right I'll remember, I thought grimly.
The Lyranian was supposed to wreck the ship.