She was taller than the men and her garment clung tight to a rounded figure that brought a gleam to Karn’s eyes. This one had hair, thicker than Karn’s own. Her features were more delicate than those of the women he had known, but somehow more pleasing.
He realized that the three were speaking. Their mouths did not move, there was no sound. Yet they spoke. Karn could hear the voices inside his head. Somehow he understood.
“What a place to land,” the woman said.
“Couldn’t be helped,” one of the men replied. “At least it has air. Once the tanks are full we’ll be on our way again. In a minute or two I’ll test that liquid to see if we can drink it.”
“Must you test everything? It looks all right. And why must we stand so close to the ship?”
“Because we don’t know what sort of place we’ve landed in,” the second man said.
“There’s only one way to find out,” she told him. “By moving around.”
Her tone was openly contemptuous. Karn found himself agreeing with her. These men were spineless. They must be so to let a woman talk to them like this. Listen to the way they bickered. Like three women over a piece of meat that had fallen from the cave fire.
Karn’s nose twitched. What was wrong with these people? While they argued senselessly among themselves their lives hung in the balance. Couldn’t they smell the gray wolf that was creeping toward them?