"What's the matter?" Tony demanded. "What's wrong with everybody?"
No one answered.
"Where's the model?" he asked. "Have you fellows been working on it?"
After a moment Llyre nodded slightly.
Tony felt dull anger rise up inside him. "Say something! What's the matter? What're you all mad about?"
"Mad?" B'prith echoed. "We're not mad."
Tony scratched aimlessly in the dust. He knew what it was. The war, again. The battle going on near Orion. His anger burst up wildly. "Forget the war. Everything was fine yesterday, before the battle."
"Sure," Llyre said. "It was fine."
Tony caught the edge to his voice. "It happened a hundred years ago. It's not my fault."
"Sure," B'prith said.