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had managed to steal several floaters and flee. Weave pursuit caused them to
split up in the hope that it would enable at least some to escape. There was
nothing in the story to provoke even an Amplitur into drawing an analogy
between their flight and Ranji's earlier "escape" on Eirrosad.
Not everything transpired as hoped or planned. Some of those who went out were
"saved" by pure Ashregan or Crigolit forces and could do nothing but bide
their time and await reassignment. Others were more fortunate. Res-cued by
roving squads composed of their own kind, they used materials supplied by the
Hivistahm and Humans to begin the slow, cautious process of explanation and
con-version.
The adamantly reluctant they were finally able to convince through
demonstrations of their ability to mentally influence non-Humans such as
Ashregan and Crigolit.
As the weeks wore on and the battle for Ulaluable re-mained stalemated, the
Tightness of Ranji's course of ac-tion was proven by a returning trickle of
the
Humanly disenfranchised under the guidance of exhausted but tri-umphant seers
like Tourmast and Weenn. The forewarned Weave commanders of installations and
regions targeted by the invaders who were thus visited immediately notified
Central Command, which sent out heavily armed escorts to convey the bewildered
prodigals back to the capital.
There they were promptly subjected to the corrective manipulations of the
efficient Hivistahm surgical team un-der the direct supervision of
First-of-Surgery, who had finally arrived from Omaphil, and an avalanche of
irrefutable explanation from those who had already under-gone and survived the
liberating ordeal.
By the end of the Ulaluablian year, more than half of the nearly two thousand
modified Human-Ashregan as-signed to the invading force had in this fashion
been qui-etly and successfully restored to their birthright and identity as
Human beings. Working slowly and patiently and utilizing their newfound skills
with discretion, Ranji and his companions had thus far managed to avoid
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piquing the interest of any enemy officers. They were helped by the fact that
the invaders were suffering substantial losses among regular Ashregan and
Crigolit as well.
Not all could be saved. More than a hundred had already perished or been
evacuated as a result of the fight-ing. Ranji and his friends grieved for
their lost relations even as they persisted in their work.
Ulaluable's defenders had finally begun to dislodge the invaders from their
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toward the resupply bases they had established and secured upon landing.
Attempts by the enemy to reinforce their situation met with intermittent
success, as ships at-tempted to phase out of
Underspace, disgorge their heavily laden shuttles, and vanish into the safety
of distorted phys-ics before increasingly effective Weave orbital defenses
blasted them out of reality.
It was decided to make an assault on the invaders' plan-etary headquarters,
located on the southern shore of a vast freshwater lake in the north-central
part of the continent, in hopes of taking them by surprise and securing a
decisive strategic advantage. It was a risky undertaking and one which
received unqualifiedly enthusiastic support from the Wais, who continued to
suffer spreading racial traumatization as a consequence of the invasion. Like
most of the Weave races they were desperate to destroy the enemy, even if it
meant fighting to the last Massood and Human.
A large group of restored Humans demanded the priv-ilege of leading the
attack.
At first the notion was resisted by Ulaluable's military command. Though
eager, to many the restored soldiers had yet to conclusively prove the
per-manence of their conversions. What better way, Ranji and his friends
argued, than to lead a dangerous assault against their former allies? Debate
on the matter raged within the multispecies Command. Eventually it was decided
in favor of the supplicants.
After all, certain members of that Command insisted through their subsequent
bemusement, they had done nothing more than act favorably and responsibly on
the numerous suggestions they had received.
Chapter Twentytwo
It struck him as strange to be carrying Human-designed weapons, though he was
familiar enough with them from years of studies on Cossuut. Just as it still
seemed unnat-ural to be fighting alongside Humans and Massood instead of
against them.
It was also sobering to be treated as no better than any of the rest of the
troops in your battlegroup. Ranji and his companions were used to being
considered the elite. Now they formed only one component of a much larger
force whose average soldier was presumed to be the equal of their best.
On the other hand, it was a pleasant change to be able to melt into a larger
mass of beings, not always to be singled out physically as different from
everyone else. Some of the officers knew the full story behind the new squad
that spoke fluent Ashregan, but other than finding them interesting oddities
the regular troops readily ac-cepted Ranji's people as their own. Tourmast and
Weenn and the others quickly found themselves subsumed in an easy, informal
camaraderie that would have been inher-ently excluded by the formalities of
the
Purpose.
There was something to being Human, they soon de-cided, that rendered the
prospect of proximate battle more exhilarating than ever. Such feelings were
enhanced by the fact that they now had much more to fight for than an elegant
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philosophical abstract.
Like everyone else, Saguio volunteered to participate, but this time Ranji
insisted that his brother stay behind. It didn't matter if one of them
perished, but it might matter very much if the knowledge Ranji had confided
only to his brother vanished without being retained for future study. Saguio
protested but could not fault his brother's logic. He agreed to remain in
Usilayy.
Ulaluable Weave Command had consented reluctantly to the single strike. If it
failed to achieve its objective immediately, all survivors were to pull out
fast. Command was as yet unwilling to expose the restored Humans, most of whom
were still feeling the aftereffects of cosmetic sur-gery, to the risks of an
extended assault and possible sub-sequent recapture.
Physically, Ranji and his friends were indistinguishable from the other Humans
in the strike force. As none of them had demonstrated any revisionist Ashregan
tenden-cies since their restoration they had been allowed to form fighting
squads of their own and maintain their internal lines of command. It was
decided it was not necessary yet to integrate them into other Human units.
Besides com-plicating internal communications, separating the new-comers from
their own kind could only enforce their sense of isolation. Better for full
integration to be achieved nat-urally instead of by directive. It was also
decided that they
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confidence and skill if surrounded and supported by familiar faces.
So Ranji was able to have Soratii and Weenn and the rest of his friends around
him. Brusque Birachii had been saved, too, and Cossinza, she of the liquid
voice and light-ning reflexes.
But too many of the deceived still slaved in the service of enemy Purpose here
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