Manning drew one of his stunners quickly, and trained it at Rynason’s face. “I said no arguments. Put the weapon down, Lee.”
Rynason couldn’t risk a shot at the man, with Mara in front of him. He carefully laid the disintegrator on the floor.
“Slide it over here.”
Rynason kicked it across the floor. Manning bent and picked it up, returned the stunner to its holster and held the disintegrator on him.
“That’s better. Now we can avoid arguments—right, Lee? You’ve always liked peaceful settlements, haven’t you?”
Rynason glared at him, but didn’t say anything. He walked slowly into the center of the room, among the Hirlaji. They paid no attention.
“Lee, he’s going to kill them!” Mara burst out.
Rynason was standing now next to the interpreter. The handlight which Manning had set on the floor across the room was trained upwards, and the interpreter was still in the darkness. He lowered his head as if in thought and switched on the machine with his foot.
“Is that true, Manning? Are you going to kill them?” His voice was loud and it echoed from the walls.
“I can’t trust them,” Manning said, his voice automatically growing louder in response to Rynason’s own. He stepped forward, pushing Mara in front of him. “They’re not human, Lee—you keep forgetting that, for some reason. Think of it as clearing the area of hostile native animal life—that comes under the duties of a governor, now doesn’t it?”