“Of course you will.” Louis Nenda seemed as keen as anyone to speed the others’ departure. He took her by the arm and began to lead her in the direction of the vortex ramp. Ahead of him, Atvar H’sial was shepherding J’merlia and Kallik in the same direction.

“You heard what Speaker-Between says,” Nenda continued. “The transport-system entry point on Glister won’t be closed. You can go there and return here whenever you like. And when you go to Glister next time you’ll be a lot better prepared. And you can have a good look at the wild Phages, too.”

He reached his arm around Darya and deliberately stroked her hip. “Better go, sweetie, before I change my mind about lettin’ you run off with Rebka.”

She quietly removed herself from his arm and stared down at him from her six-inch height advantage. “Louis Nenda, I swore when I first met you that if you ever laid a lecherous finger on me, I’d bat your brains out. Now you’ve done it, and I can’t bring myself to flatten you. You’ve changed, haven’t you? Since you went to Glister? You touched my hip just to annoy me.”

“Naw.” The bloodshot eyes flicked up to meet her face, then went straight back to stare at her midriff. “I didn’t do it just to annoy you. And it isn’t a change just since Glister.” His hoarse voice became even gruffer than usual, and he reached out to take her hand. “It happened before that. On Opal, when we first met.”

He seemed ready to say more, but Speaker-Between appeared again, drifting up the tunnel that led to the vortex. He seemed oblivious to the strong gravity field, and to the swirling air around his silver body.

“The time is right,” the creaky voice said. “The system is ready for planned transitions. However, the trip is much easier on individuals if they pass through singly. Who will be first?”

Everyone stared at each other, until Hans Rebka stepped forward. “I guess I will. I’m ready.”

One by one, the others formed into single file behind him. Birdie Kelly, followed by J’merlia, Kallik, and Julius Graves. Darya Lang came last of all, still staring around her at the mysterious works of the Builders. Beside the line, awkwardly, as though unsure of their own role in the others’ departure, stood Atvar H’sial and Louis Nenda.

“You may proceed.” Speaker-Between drifted to the back of the group.

“Thanks.” Rebka turned to look at the others, one by one. “I don’t think this is a time for speeches, so I’ll just say, see you there, and I know we’re lucky to be on our way home.” His eye caught Louis Nenda’s. “And I wish you were coming with us. Tell Atvar H’sial, we owe both of you our special thanks. Tell her I don’t know what you two did back on Quake, but so far as I’m concerned, what you did here, to get rid of the Zardalu, and the sacrifice you are making now, by staying, more than cancels that out. I hope I’ll see you again, back in the spiral arm.”

Nenda waved his hand dismissively. “Ah, we don’t need thanks. Me and At, we’ll manage. You go ahead, Captain. And good luck.”

Rebka nodded and stepped onto the descending ramp of the tunnel. The others watched him walk forward, leaning far back to keep his balance. His hair and clothes began to blow wildly about him, and his pace slowed. Twenty meters along he paused. They heard his voice echoing through to them, oddly distorted.

“This is the point of no return. A couple more meters and I’ll have no choice but to go.” He turned and waved. “Meet you at the other end. Safe trip everybody, and bon voyage.”

He took two slow steps, and then a new force gripped him. He tumbled forward down the ramp. There was an audible gasp, a whomp of displaced air, and a shiver in the outline of the tunnel walls.

The others peered down toward the spinning singularity. Rebka was gone.

“You may proceed,” Speaker-Between said.

“Yeah,” Birdie Kelly said softly. “I may. But I may not.” He was clutching the rough sphere of E. C. Tally’s brain to his chest like a holy relic. “Come on, Birdie. You’ve been saying for weeks that you want to go home. So let’s do it. Feet, get moving.”

As Louis Nenda patted him on the shoulder Birdie took a first hesitant step along the tunnel. The whole line followed, like a slow processional.

“One by one,” Speaker Between cautioned.

Birdie was muttering to himself as he walked forward. Halfway along the tunnel he reached some decision and started to run. He shouted as he hit the transition zone, and again there was the rush of displaced air.

J’merlia and Kallik tried to pause by Louis Nenda and Atvar H’sial, but the Cecropian waved them on.

“That’s right,” Nenda said. “Keep moving, Kallik, don’t hold up the line. And don’t worry about us. We’ll fight things out here between us. Get on back to the spiral arm.”

“As you command. Farewell, beloved Master.” The rear-facing eyes in the Hymenopt’s dark head watched Nenda all the way, to the point where she was taken by the vortex field. Kallik vanished in silence, followed a few seconds later by a shivering J’merlia.

Julius Graves refused to be hurried. He paused in front of Louis Nenda and shook his hand. “Good luck. If you do succeed in returning, you can be sure of one thing. Whatever you did at Summertide on Quake, the charges against you and Atvar H’sial will be dropped. Please make sure that she knows, too.”

“Appreciate it, Councilor.” Nenda shook Graves’s hand vigorously. “I’ll tell her. And don’t worry about us. We’ll get by.”

“You are a very brave man.” The misty-blue eyes stared sightless into Nenda’s dark ones. “You make me proud to be a human. And if I were a Cecropian, I would be just as proud.” Graves touched his hand to Atvar H’sial’s foreclaw and stepped onto the ramp.

In seconds he was gone. Darya Lang stood alone with Louis Nenda and Atvar H’sial.

She took Nenda by the hand. “I agree with Julius Graves. I don’t care if you were a criminal before you came to Opal, it’s what you are like now that counts. People do change, don’t they?”

He shrugged. “I guess they do — when they have a reason to. And mebbe I had a good reason.”

“The Zardalu?”

“Naw.” He refused to meet her eyes, and his voice was gentle. “Nothin’ so exotic. A simple reason. You know what they say, the love of a good woman, an’ all that stuff… but you should be going, and I shouldn’t be talking this way.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m nothin’. You’ve got a good thing going with Captain Rebka, and you’re a lot righter for him than you ever could be for somebody like me. I come up the hard way. I’m loud, an’ I’m coarse, an’ I don’t know how to talk to women, never did.”

“I’d say you’re doing just fine.”

“Well, this isn’t the time an’ place for it. Go now. But maybe if I ever get back to the spiral arm—”

“You’ll come right to Sentinel Gate, and look for me.” Darya turned to nod to Atvar H’sial. “I want to say good luck to her, too, but that’s stupid. I know only one of you can win, and I hope it’s you, Louis. I have to go now — before I make a complete fool of myself. The rest of them will be waiting at the other end. I mustn’t stay longer.”

She reached out to take his face between her hands, leaned down, and kissed him on the lips. “Thanks, for everything. And don’t think of this as good-bye. We’ll meet again, I just know we will.”

“Hope so.” Nenda reached out and patted her again on the curve of her hip. He grinned. “This sure feels like unfinished business. Take care of yourself, Darya. And stay sassy.”

She walked away from him along the ramp, turning to smile and wave as she went. There was a moment when she stood motionless, with the vortex blowing her hair into a cloudy chaos around her head. Then she took one more step and spun away down to the singularity. There was the usual explosion of displaced air. She did not cry out.

Nenda and Atvar H’sial stood staring after her.