Chapter 7

 The crewmen were more than curious.

"Who the hell's the girl?"

"Got me. Never heard of such a thing."

"Well, I suppose a Raider¹ has a right to pick up a little booty now and then," another laughed. "They don't have the easiest job in the world."

"Bet² she's going to be mad when she wakes up."

"Yeah. Looks like the Raider might be worrying a little about that right now."

Wolf stood at the forward screen, silently watching the shape of the mother-ship grow larger and larger until the screen held nothing but the great black hull³.

The crewmen were wrong, he wasn't worried about Daimya's waking. He could take care of that when the time came.

He was thinking about other things, the things that came to him when he slept, the faces, the names, the actions, the right and wrong of living according to what you think is right, no matter what the cost.

But the cost, the cost....

It was so high sometimes, so terribly high.

This trip, he thought. A shuttle crew. Five good men, probably the whole village, eventually. Those who did escape into the hills would lead a life of fear and pursuit⁴, foraging⁵ as they went until finally they were caught. And worst of all, this was worst of all, and mentally he saw the list, the list of his responsibilities, the list for which he would someday have to account.

The bright name of Mayne Landing⁶: victim.

His mind shied away from it.

Can that be forgiven? Can such a thing ever be forgiven?

Gray Landing, called Wolf in the underground, turned away from the forward screen and began to prepare to board the mother-ship.

The End
 

1 raider   

n. 袭击者, 侵入者

参考例句：

• The raider, cornered at length, will overwhelm one weak vessel and escape. 袭击舰即便最后被它们团团围住，它也会摧毁其中一艘较弱的巡洋舰，突围而出。
• The Raider stays on the air. 《突击队员》还要继续联播。

2 bet   

v.打赌，以(与)...打赌；n.赌注，赌金；打赌

参考例句：

• I bet you can't do this puzzle.我敢说，你解决不了这个难题。
• I offered to bet with him.我提出与他打赌。

3 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

4 pursuit   

n.追赶，追求，职业，工作

参考例句：

• They set off at once along the lane in pursuit.他们立即出发沿着小巷追赶。
• Life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness have been called the inalienable rights of man.生命、自由和追求幸福被称为人类不可剥夺的权利。

5 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

6 landing   

n.登陆；着陆；楼梯平台

参考例句：

• Owing to engine trouble,the plane had to make a forced landing.由于发动机出了毛病，飞机不得不进行迫降。
• When are we landing?我们什么时候着陆？