07/02/2026 18:45

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A third salvo landed still farther back, and thefourth mostly on and along the road. Varlik stopped at his own desk before he left, to place a call to the T'swaembassy. They called it Iryala, and made it their home. After several seconds his screen split, a middle-aged face and shavenhead sharing it now with the chief intelligence officer.

Say nothing about it to anyone. He used the Standard word fortechnetium; he didn't know any other, and they'd probably borrowed it intoTyspi anyway. Are these your new bodies? Varlik asked. Six-oh-two.