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Aware of the hundreds of people staring at them like a swarm of bees waiting for a flower to open, Keller held himself in check and went for information.

“What’s the status on the other side?”

“They think you’re dead,” Luntee announced. “Almost all the Anointed are gone. Time is running out. “Keller held up a hand. “We’ve been getting ready. We’ve been storing energy to power the transport ships. All the Living will be able to go through the gateway and settle in the Sagittarius Cluster.”

Braxan appeared beside him, almost between him and Luntee. “The plan is troubled now.”

He looked at her. “Why?”

She and Luntee watched each other as lightning flashed on their faces. “Luntee has returned to us and he is an Elder. There can only be three Elders. Luntee is senior to Issull. Issull is no longer Elder. Luntee’s voice will now be heard with the voice of Kymelis.”

She might’ve been trying to be kind or cautious, but everyone here knew what she meant.

The matter broadcast itself when Luntee spoke up again. “We will not go through,” he declared. “We will destroy all the transporting vessels and we will live here, as we are meant.”

“Meant?” Angry, Keller flopped his arms. “Nobody’s ‘meant’ to live on this pie plate! There’s no natural life here at all!” He turned to the crowd and implored, “The gateway is still open. That’s a clear message. My friends and Riutta are holding it open. They’re still waiting for us!”

Luntee held up his hand and pointed to the skies. “It remains open because his friends are forcing Riutta to push Anointed after Anointed into the processor! Wasted!”

Keller spun back. “Don’t talk like that. They’re not being wasted. They’re saving you, all of you, all you people, if you’ll just go through. Riutta knows that now”

“Riutta is ill in the mind!” Luntee gasped. “You made her weak. The Anointed are almost gone. The gateway is soon and forever to close!”

“And you didn’t want to be trapped on the other side,” Keller accused. “Why not? Tell your people the truth. You couldn’t adapt. You didn’t like it over there, you found it uncomfortable, and you like being an Elder. Riutta wanted you to spend your life in space and you can’t stand the idea. Here, you’re a big fish in a small pond.” His finger leveled at Luntee’s chest, at the chain-mail shirt he couldn’t punch with a phaser. “At least admit that this is about you, and not about your people.”

Braxan started to say something, then looked at Keller and asked, “What’s a fish?”

“What’s a pond?” Luntee asked, but in a mocking way. “I hate it there. I’m saving my people”

“You’re saving yourself. You won’t take the time to adjust or let us help you. Did Riutta know you were escaping back through the gateway?” Keller plowed on, “Or did you break away on your own? I’m surprised Shucorion didn’t knock you out of the sky.”

Luntee’s expression turned hard. “They think you’re dead! Take the spinner! Go away from us and put their fears to peace! And leave us alone!”

“That’s exactly what you’ll be,” Keller said. “Alone.”

The crowd was nervous, doubtful, and suddenly scared. Their fear crackled as clearly as the electrical frenzy high in the sky, and just as palpable.

Push!

“You like that, don’t you?” he pressed on, and actually stepped closer to Luntee, to put the focus where he wanted it. “The difference between you and all these other people is that you want to stay here. Everybody else is debating when to go through. You don’t want to go at all. Tell them the truth.”

“I speak truths,” Luntee said. “I know how long you’ve been here. We have enough to go, but only if all our energy is used. Is this not also true?”

Keller started to speak, but all he could do was agree. Better not to do that.

Luntee took the silence as a cue. “If we go to space and the gateway closes before we go through, then we all die. All our energy will be used up. We’ll freeze and starve by thousands. We have a fresh store of energy, to be used in powerful vessels to go through the gateway to that place