"Heat," repeated Samel. "Yeah." He took his hands away slowly. "There's that, isn't there? Heat."
The Captain echoed, "Heat." He went to the broken wall and blinked at the light. "The heat-stones were almost gone. I thought we were going to die. And now...." He shook his shoulders, like a man freed of a burden. "Now there's no more need to guard the Ship. Perhaps that's what we've been guarding it for, to save us in time of need."
Kirk said humbly, "I'm sorry."
"You were honest. You believed you were right. But taking my daughter...."
"I deserve the sucking-plant."
"What's done is done, and it's turned out right."
People were clamoring outside the Ship. Kirk was sweating. He tasted it, and laughed, pulling in his belly and spreading his chest.
"Heat," he said. "And no more fighting with the Piruts. Maybe there's some way we can roof the gorge and bring the heat up into the fields so the moss will grow better. And there's a lot of this world out beyond the gullies. We've never been able to explore it because of the Piruts. Samel, do you know what lies beyond you?"
Samel shook his head. "We had to eat and hunt for heat-stones, too."
"A whole world," said Kirk, "just waiting for us. Maybe we'll find other gorges like this one. Maybe places with better soil. The kids can grow up warm and fat, and have kids of their own...."