"Gendron! Gendron! You hear me?"
There was a crackling moment of silence, and then: "I hear you. What are you doing, Carter?"
"Never mind that now. I want you to get all your men out of that building and as far from the clearing as possible, right away. You get that?"
"You're a madman, Carter. The Khethlani will put a stop to—"
"It hasn't stopped me yet. I'm warning you—get out of that building, or you'll die with your master."
He snapped off the radio. Gendron had had ample warning, and Carter had other things to occupy his mind. The little ship was reaching the top of its climb now, and soon it would be levelling out and plunging back down toward the surface of the planet below.
The Khethlani's thoughts beat frantically at him.
Ground your ship! I am your master! I am—
You'll be nothing in five minutes, Carter thought fiercely. His ship was moving downward now, back into Deneb IV's atmosphere.