At t-plus 20 minutes Hubu-auf-Getag received a recorded message from Narf-win-Getag, briefly outlining the events of the last several minutes and informing the former future leader of the Nidu that he already had Robin Baker, or would have soon, and when he arrived at Nidu with her in two days time, it would be Narf-win-Getag, not Hubu-auf-Getag, who would use her to ascend the throne of Nidu. And if Hubu-auf-Getag didn't like it, he was free to eat a planet cracker bomb from one of the four Glar cruisers that floated above Nidu, all of which—as well as the two orbiting Earth—were under Narf-win-Getag's control.

In another one of those coincidences, at the very moment Narf-win-Getag's message to Hubu-auf-Getag stopped playing, leaving Hubu-auf-Getag to fathom how this all could have happened, the lifepod carrying Creek and Robin Baker scraped across the surface of Chagfun, grinding to a stop less than a kilometer from the communication outpost on the Pajmhi plain.

And so it was that in 20 minutes, Narf-win-Getag found himself in effective control of two entire planets. It was almost certainly the fastest double coup in the history of the Common Confederation—which, even in an obscure historical category such as "double coup," was an impressive feat. All that was left now was to make it official. All that was left was to get Robin Baker and take her to Nidu.

Robin Baker looked at around at the hard, black, rocky expanse she and Creek stood on. "So this is where you fought," she said.

"This is it," Creek said. He winced as he pulled another small fragment of his communicator from his leg, then swabbed the wound with the disinfectant from the pod's first aid kit, which had been placed along with a small store of water and emergency rations in a small sealed compartment under the pod floor.

"It didn't look like this, though," Robin said.

Creek looked around. "No," he said. "It used to be a lot nicer. Well, as much as any battleground can be 'nice.' When I was here I wasn't getting a lot of time to sightsee."

"I guess not," Robin said.

"I'll tell you, though," Creek said, as he wrapped gauze around his leg. "One time in the two days I was here everything just stopped—rifles stopped firing, people stopped moving, and everything just became quiet, and it was like everyone had just stopped to take a breath or something. And for that moment, you could look around and see what a beautiful place the plain was, when it wasn't filled with people killing and dying. And I wished I had been able to see the place when it was at peace."

"It's at peace now," Robin said.

"If you want to call being buried under a lava flow at peace," Creek said. He stood up and walked on his leg.

"How does that feel?" Robin asked,

"Like there are a couple of pieces still in there," Creek said.

"Ouch," Robin said.

"Better plastic fragments in my leg than a bullet," Creek said. "They'll eventually work themselves out. Anyway, now that my communicator is shot—literally—we're going to have to make the hike to that communications center Leff was talking about."

Robin pointed to a tall communications array roughly a kilometer away. "I'm guessing that would be it," she said.

"I'm guessing you'd be right," Creek said. "Ready for a walk?"

"I like how you ask me these things as if you're giving me the option," Robin said. "You've been doing this all the time since we've met. I just want you to know that it doesn't really make me feel like I have a choice in the matter."

Creek smiled. "I don't want to come across as pushy," he said.

"It's a little late for that," Robin said. "Come on. I'm sure this place used to be a very nice place to visit, but right now all I want to do is get off this rock and on that nice big Navy boat up there." She set off in the direction of the communications array. Creek collected up the Nidu rifle, placed the finger in his pocket, grabbed a water canister, and followed after Robin.

The communications array terminated in a small control room located in a natural if irregular amphitheater created by the lava flow. This was where the memorial ceremony was scheduled to take place. Like every portion of the former plain, the amphitheater was bleak, black rock with no sign of animal life or vegetation. It was as if life, insulted by the planet cracker and resulting lava flow, had rejected the plain of Pajmhi from that point forward. Creek didn't blame it for the decision.

"Harry," Robin said, and pointed to something on the side of the control room. Creek looked at what seemed like a heap of trash for a minute until it resolved itself into a dead Nidu; probably the communications engineer, who had come to the site to prepare for the Neverland passenger arrival.

Creek turned back to Robin. "Head back to the pod," he said. "Wait there until I come to get you."

"Harry—" Robin said, looking past his shoulder. Creek swung around and saw something the size of a grizzly stalking toward him. It had come through the door of the communication center. Creek raised up his Nidu rifle, sighted in, and fired at the thing.

And forgot the Nidu finger was still in his pants pocket.

"Oh, shit," Creek said, and wheeled backward. The creature grabbed him, cocked back its massive arm, and slugged him dead in the temple. Creek could hear Robin scream for the briefest fraction of a second before the lights went out completely.

Creek felt water splashing on his face and into his nostrils. He coughed himself back into consciousness and propped himself up from the floor he was lying upon.

"Hello, Creek," a man's voice said to him. "Nice nap?"

Creek looked up and saw Rod Acuna over him, leaning against the counter of the broadcast terminal inside the communications control center. Acuna held a gun casually but firmly in his hand; it was pointed at Creek. Behind and to the side of Acuna, Creek saw Robin, securely held by what Creek now recognized as a Nagch.

"Hello, Acuna," Creek said. "Of all the people I was expecting to see, you were not one of them."

"You know who I am," Acuna said. "Well, isn't that cozy. I'm glad I could surprise you. Surprises are fun. And you know, I think you should take my presence here as a compliment."

"Really," Creek said. "How so?"

"It shows my faith in you, Creek," Acuna said. "After I got that picture of you in my regimental newsletter and passed it along, everyone else was so sure that they would just pluck you and Little Bo Peep here off that cruise liner. But I knew better. I knew you'd get away from them. And you know why, don't you?"

"Because I got away from you," Creek said.

"Check out the brain on you," Acuna said. "Exactly right. You got away from me. So I asked myself, if I were Harry Creek and I was going to keep from getting captured on a cruise liner in space, where would I go? And here we are. I had to just about shoot someone to make them give me a ride down here, but now I think they'll be glad I made the effort."

"You came with the Nidu," Creek said.

"I did," Acuna said. "And I'm going to leave with them. And so is Takk here"—he gestured with his non-gun-holding hand to the Nagch—"and so is your girlfriend. You, on the other hand, will be staying."

"No room on the shuttle for me?" Creek said.

"There's room," Acuna said. "You're not going to go because you and I are going to settle up now. You broke my arm and my nose in our last encounter, if you'll recall. It cost someone a lot of money for my QuickHeal session."

"Sorry about that," Creek said.

"Think nothing of it," Acuna said, and shot Creek in the left arm midway between the wrist and elbow, shattering his radius and ulna. Creek collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain, smearing blood on the concrete floor. Robin screamed again and started begging for someone to help them.