‘We’ve never had a battle with a real killing before,’ said Salimba, his eyes glowing. ‘At least, not that anyone can remember. Oh, I’ll be out there to see, you can count on that.’ ‘How can you be so sure we’ll be killed?’ said Kestrel. ‘The corvette may be blown off across the plains without hitting anything.’ ‘Oh, no, they’ll make sure of that,’ said Salimba. ‘They’ll wait until the whole Chaka battle fleet is out, and they’ll send you right into the middle. Those Chaka cruisers are mounted with the old heavy slashers. They’ll rip you into pieces, all right.’ ‘Don’t you care?’ said Bowman, his eyes glistening. Salimba looked at him, and then looked away, a little awkwardly. ‘Well, it won’t be good for you,’ he said. ‘I do see that. But,’ – he looked back, brightening – ‘it’ll be grand for us!’ Once he was gone, the twins puzzled over what to do. ‘It’s a strange thing,’ said Bowman, ‘but in spite of all this talk of hanging and killing, I have the feeling that they’re quite gentle people really.’ ‘Whee-eee!’ said Mumpo.
