“Quite well,” she said, “that was a wonderful display the hylighters put on. Did you arrange it just for me?”

“If I’d arranged it, it wouldn’t have cost us damage we can’t afford.”

He led her inside and closed the hatch behind them.

“How much damage?”

He was leading her further inside, away from the plaz. She wanted to see the grounds, the repairs.

“Not irreparable. Would you care for something to eat?”

A woman with large, fanlike ears walked past them, accompanied by a normal crewman carrying a lasgun.

“No, thank you, I’m not hungry.”

At Legata’s response, the woman turned, looked her full into the eyes as if she wanted to say something, then turned quickly and went outside. Legata remembered that a rallying cry of the clone revolt had been I’m hungry now, and she was embarrassed.

“Those ears . . . why?”

“She can hear a Hooded Dasher at a hundred meters. That gives us a full second’s advantage. Attractive, too, don’t you think?”

“Yes,” Legata said coldly, “quite.”

She noticed that Lewis was still limping, but she did not sympathize with him. Although she was curious about details of the revolt, she didn’t ask. She countered by not dropping the subject.

“How reparable is ‘not irreparable’?”

Lewis dropped his cordiality and assumed his usual businesslike air.

“We lost most of our clone work force. Fewer than half of those remaining are effective. We’re getting replacements from Colony and the ship, but that’s slow work. Two of the finished hangars are badly damaged—hatches missing, holes in the walls. The clones’ quarters have their exterior walls and hatches intact, but the interiors are completely useless. Serves ’em right. Let ’em sleep on the piles of plaz.”

“What about this building?”

“Took some damage back where the clones’ quarters join with the storage area. They got into the kitchen but that’s where we sealed them off . . .”

“You sealed them off?”

Lewis glanced away from her, then back. He rubbed his nose with his finger and she was reminded of Oakes when he was nervous. When it became obvious that he wouldn’t answer, she nodded.

“After you discovered chlorine killed the Runners, how long before you released it among the people you had sealed off?”

“Now, Legata, you weren’t here. You didn’t see what they were. . . .”

“How long?”

He looked her in the eyes, but did not answer.

“So, you killed them.”

“Runners killed them.”

“But you could’ve killed the Runners.”

“Then the clones would’ve gotten inside and killed us. You weren’t here. You don’t know what it was like.”

“Yes, I think I do. Show me to Morgan’s Garden.”