One of the Naturals Thomas had named as an aide had come up then with organizational problems. Thomas had stared at the hashmarks over the man’s right eye. They had gone away together, Thomas muttering: “Helluva way to slap together an army, out of somebody else’s rejects.”

She had seen some sense in his orders, though, the E-clones grouped according to design: runners, carriers, lifters . . . He had taken a training inventory—equipment operator, light-physics technician, welder, unskilled labor . . .

She thought about this as she prepared the medical facilities under the cliff. What difference did it make to her how Thomas organized his force? When they arrived here, they would merely be wounded.

Waela, helping with the preparations for the delivery, stopped in front of Hali. “Why do you look so worried? Is it something about my baby?”

“No, nothing like that.”

And Waela heard her old inner voice, Honesty, marking time: The baby will be born soon. Soon.

Waela stared at Hali.

“What has you so worried?”

Hali looked at Waela’s mounded abdomen. “If the hylighters hadn’t brought us that supply of burst from Colony . . .”

“Colony didn’t need it anymore. They’re all dead.”

“That’s not what I . . .”

“You’re afraid my baby would’ve been robbing you of your years, your life and . . .”

“I don’t think your baby would take from me.”

“Then what is it?”

“Waela, what are we doing here?”

“Trying to survive.”

“You sound like Thomas.”

“Thomas makes a great deal of sense sometimes.”

Three E-clones intruded, staggering into the shelter, two of them helping a third who had lost an arm. All of them had been burned. One held the severed arm against the stump, bloody sand all around the wound.

“Who’s the med-tech here?” one of them demanded. He was a dwarf with long, flexible fingers.

Ferry started to step forward, but Hali motioned him back. “Stay with Waela. Let me know when she needs me.”

“I’m a doctor, you know.” There was hurt in the old voice.

“I know. Stay with Waela.”

Hali led the injured trio to the emergency alcove partly sheltered by the black rocks of the cliff. She worked quickly, closing up the severed stump with celltape after powdering it with septalc.

“Can’t you save his arm?” the dwarf demanded.

“No. What’s happening out there?”

The dwarf spat on the floor. “Hell and damn folly.”

She finished with his companions, looked at the dwarf. His comment surprised her and he saw it. “Oh, we can think well enough,” he said.

“Come here and let me tend to you,” she said. His right arm was badly burned. She spoke to distract him from his pain. “How did you come to be with the hylighters?”