"Stop it!" Lodar's voice cracked. "They're not human. Getting hysterical won't bring them back. Forget it. We're not playing ring-around-the-rosy!"
"You'll pay for this!" Rage at his own helplessness almost gagged Ray. "When we land on Earth I'm going to have you hunted down like a dog!"
"It takes evidence to hang a man." The captain chuckled mirthlessly. "Do you think I'd willingly jettison a valuable cargo? We'll be drifting for a week, at the mercy of any patrol ship that comes along. I had to do it."
A sudden thought iced Ray's boiling emotions.
Ellenor! He'd have to watch out for the girl.
With the Mutes gone, Lodar would have to reckon with the girl.
Ray turned to the door. He had to get away from Lodar before he was tempted to shoot the man!
"You and I are through, Lodar." He tried to keep his voice steady, to bottle up his fury. He'd need all his wits to get out of this mess! His former grudge against the Company, against Earth justice, was childish and futile. He had been a brainless fool to fall for the romance, the swashbuckling air of the Vulcan. "I'll work with you till we land," he said through clenched teeth. "After that we're through!"
He slammed the door behind him. He wanted to get as far away from Lodar as possible, to the rear of the ship, where a repair crew was blasphemously patching the hull.
Several space-suited figures were outside, welding the plates, while others, inside, used plastic matting to save the air. Jenkins was in command.