Reese and the others readied the Colony for the attack on its neighbors. Tersen planned to control all the 10 colonies on Damballa—and then, building more generators, he would spread his dominion to Earth, the planet that had driven him into exile.
But one person in Colony Eight was free from Tersen's control. One person came and went as he pleased.
Kuhli. The drug-sodden alien.
Reese was standing stiffly before the medical commissary later that day when Kuhli came out, his back once again laden with a packful of benzolurethrimine ampoules. The alien was smiling happily in his narcotic daze.
He approached Reese and peered at him curiously out of eyes clouded with drugs. "Earthman. Much trouble here. I leave again."
Prisoner within his own skull, Reese longed to break Tersen's iron control. But it was impossible. He stood stock-still while Kuhli stared at him.
The alien's blubbery mouth split in a pleased smile. "Pretty," he crooned. "Pretty. I take."
Reese's heart bounded in sudden hope.
Kuhli's dim eyes were fixed on the shining bracelet on Reese's wrist!