«Mother, mother,» she said, as the Kaldakan Fighting Machines marched past her.

By the time Kareena brought the Hovercraft and her father down into the valley, the slaughter was over. There were no living Doimari in the valley, or at least no living Doimari it wouldn't be a mercy to kill. The Kaldakan infantry spread out and began to finish the victory the waldoes began.

To Kareena, there was an even worse sight than the Doimari bodies. Over half the Kaldakan waldoes stood or sprawled useless, their power exhausted, joints frozen or broken, weapons burnt out, killed by lucky grenade or rifle shots from desperate Doimari at short range. Kareena felt sick at the sight of so much ruined Oltec, and even Peython was confused.

«Did Blade destroy the waldoes deliberately, I wonder?»

«He would not do that, Father.»

«I still wonder. Perhaps he wanted to destroy them, so we would not grow weak or evil from the strength of our Oltec as Doimar did.»

Kareena had no reply to that, and concentrated on steering the Hovercraft through the scattered Kaldakan soldiers. Then she saw something familiar about the body lying on its side fifty paces ahead. A moment later she recognized the bloody face. It was Rehna, the Seeker woman who'd shared Blade's bed the night of the escape from Kaldak.

Kareena stopped the Hovercraft and leaped out before her father could question her. She knelt by Rehna and looked down into the pain-glazed eyes.

«Mother…»

«The Lords of the Law be merciful, Rehna.» She drew her knife and thrust quickly, surely home between Rehna's ribs. When the woman slumped in peaceful death, Kareena pulled the hood of her robe over her face, then stood up and started cleaning the knife.

As she finished, a waldo loomed out of the smoke. She jumped and nearly screamed out loud. The waldo bent at the knees and started tracing a message in the dirt with the tip of a twisted, blood-spattered club.

KAREENA. GIVE NEW POWER CELLS TO THIS WALDO. I MUST GO AFTER DOIMARI WALDOES. TRUST SIDAS. THANKS FOR MERCY TO REHNA. BLADE.

Then the waldo sat down, and the hatch on its back which covered the power cells sprang open. Kareena stared for a moment, then turned and promptly collided with her father.

«Look where you're going, Kareena.»

«I'm sorry, Father. I–I'm not as calm as I ought to be.»

Peython looked around at the valley of death now appearing out of the thinning smoke. «No. None of us can be.»

While the Kaldakans repaired his chosen waldo, Blade climbed out of the control chair and relaxed as much as he could. The last stage of the battle would be as demanding as running a marathon, and it would be almost entirely his job.

The Seekers' panicking and withdrawing the waldoes had cost Doimar the battle and probably opened an irreparable breach between the infantry and the Seekers. It would also save the waldoes to fight another day if no one chased and destroyed as many of them as possible. That was a job for a single waldo with plenty of power, controlled by the best waldo operator in Kaldak, which meant Blade. He'd smashed the Doimari infantry by using the massed waldoes like a battering ram. Now he was going to finish the day by using a single waldo like a rapier.

Blade drank some water and listened to the conversation among the technicians. He heard someone mutter, «Why did Kareena give that Seeker bitch a good death?» He was about to turn on the man himself when he heard Bairam's reply.

«Because she deserved one,» he said coldly. «She fought and died as a brave warrior, though she fought with Oltec as her weapons. Do not say anything against her in my hearing, or Kareena's.»

«Yes, Bairam.»

Blade grinned, Bairam was still an odd mixture of man and boy, and it was almost impossible to tell from one hour to the next which one ruled him. If Peython lived long enough, though, Blade knew a man would succeed him as chief of Kaldak. Geyrna would help, too, although it would be a while before she had much thought for anything except her grief over her father's death. There was another man who'd died like a warrior even though he was not one, and indeed had even less duty on the battlefield than Rehna.

Then it was time for Blade to man the control chair again. The technician and Bairam strapped him in, then turned to Sidas while Blade tested his waldo. If anything went wrong with Blade's chair, Sidas would take over with his until Blade could make a quick shift.

Everything in the waldo worked, including the laser. Blade discarded the old, battered club and picked up a new one. Then he took a deep breath and put the waldo into movement, on the trail of the last of Doimar's army.

When the Fighting Machines marched away, the foot soldiers of Doimar-Nungor's pride-fled in panic like munfans from great-hawks. For an hour or more Nungor tried to rally them, appealing to their courage, their honor, even their hatred of the Seekers. They were deaf to anything except their fear of Blade's raging Fighting Machines, and after a while they started cursing their War Captain. A little while longer, and some of them were firing shots at him. Nungor gave up trying to rally his army and started thinking of saving Feragga. He told himself that he wanted to save her because with her alive the war could still be won even after the lost battle. He knew some might doubt this, but he did not really care what they thought if he could only get Feragga away from this butchery.

Now he and Feragga were trotting over the hills a good two hours' march east of the battlefield. The air around them was clean, and only a few human stragglers were visible. A dozen or so Fighting Machines were also in sight, some walking steadily, others lurching or sometimes falling down. Some of the Seekers were skilled enough to keep their Fighting Machines moving even after the Voice Machine was dead. But what use was that sort of skill, if they had no courage, no loyalty to their comrades? Apparently the Seekers never asked themselves that question. Well, they would pay for that and everything else they'd done wrong today, even if Feragga cast him out of his office and her bed for it!

Then far off to the west Nungor heard the ugly sound of a heavy fire-beam in action. It came a second time, then the prolonged hissing of a Fighting Machine exploding. Feragga looked at him.

«Are those damned Seekers fighting among themselves now?» she asked, in a voice which hinted she was for once ready to believe almost anything about the Seekers.

«Probably a machine breaking down,» said Nungor. «Or maybe some Kaldakans are catching up with-«He stopped as they both saw the same thing in the same moment. A Fighting Machine of Kaldak, striding over the hills like a giant walking among dwarfs. In one hand it swung a metal club like a boy walking through a field and knocking the heads off thistles with a stick. Its head swiveled, the firebeam stabbed out of its chest, and the arm of one of Doimar's machines flew into the air. The crippled machine turned to face its enemy, and took the second fire-beam squarely in its chest. It fell over backward, and a third beam tore through its lightly protected crotch so that everything inside it vanished in blue flame and billowing smoke.

«Blade!» said Feragga and Nungor together. Feragga continued to stare at the approaching machine, while Nungor ran toward the nearest Doimari machine. He shouted as he ran.

«Seeker! Seeker! You damned coward, bring that piece of iron over here and pick up Feragga! Pick up your lady and run her to safety! Pick her up, or, by the Lords, I'll burn every Seeker alive when I get home!» As he said this he realized that his chances of ever getting home were rapidly vanishing, but as long as Feragga's remained good-

Nungor was about to give up hope, when the Fighting Machine turned toward him, then tramped past and bent over Feragga. She shouted in surprise and fear as the metal hands picked her up, then shouted again as she saw Nungor turning back toward Blade's machine.