Ross had a moment of warmth and comfort; he knew that tone of old. Ashe
was studying the problem, willing to talk out difficulties as he always
had before.

"No, outright assault isn't the answer. We'll have to know more about
the enemy. One thing puzzles me: Why have the Baldies suddenly stepped
up their timing?"

"What makes you think they have?"

"Well, according to the accounts I've heard, it's been about three or
four planet years here since some off-world devices have been
infiltrating the native civilization--"

"You mean such things as those attractors set up on the reef at Zahur's
castle?" Ross remembered Loketh's story.

"Those, and other things. The refinements added to the engine power on
these ships.... Torgul said they spread from Rover fleet to fleet; no
one's sure where they started. The Baldies began slowly, but they are
speeding up now--those fairing attacks have all been recent. And this
assault on the Foanna citadel blew up almost overnight on a flimsy
excuse. Why the quick push after the slow beginning?"

"Maybe they decided the natives are easy pushovers and they no longer
have to worry about any real opposition," Ross suggested.

"Could be. Self-confidence becoming arrogance when they didn't uncover
any opponent strong enough to matter. Or else, they may be spurred by
some need with a time limit. If we knew the reason for those pylons, we
might guess their motives."

"Are you going to try to change the future?"

"That sounds arrogant, too. Can we if we wish to? We never dared to try
it on Terra. And the risk may be worse than all our fears. Also, the
choice is not ours."

"There's one thing I don't understand," Ross said. "Why did the Foanna
walk out of the citadel and leave it undefended for their enemies? What
about their guards? Did they just leave them too?" He was willing to
make the most of any flaw in the aliens' character.

"Most of their people had already escaped through underground ways. The
rest left when they knew the cutters had been sunk," Ashe returned. "As
to why they deserted the citadel, I don't know. The decision was
theirs."

There--up with the barrier between them again. But Ross refused to
accept the cutoff this time, determined to pull Ashe back into the
familiar world of the here and now.

"That keep could be a trap, about the best on this planet!" The idea was
more than just a gambit to attract Ashe's attention, it was true! A
perfect trap to catch Bald