Nor let thy notes of joy be first:

round-and-round- the-rugged-rocks and who's the-king-of-the-castle with their opposite numbers in Berlin. Great fun for all concernedexcept, of course, for the thousand or so sailors who've been drowned in the course of the game, the ten thousand or so Tommies and Anzacs and Indians who suffered and died on these same islandsand died without knowing why." Jensen's hands were white-knuckled on the wheel, his mouth tight-drawn and bitter. Mallory was surprised, shocked almost, by the vehemence, the depth of feeling; it was so completely out of character. . . . Or perhaps it was in character, perhaps Jensen knew a very great deal indeed about what went on on the inside. "Twelve hundred men, you said, sir?" Mallory asked quietly. "You said there were twelve hundred men on Kheros?" Jensen flickered a glance at him, looked away again. "Yes. Twelve hundred men." Jensen sighed. "You're right, laddie, of course, you're right. I'm just talking off the top of my head. Of course we can't leave them there. The Navy will do its damnedest. What's two or three more destroyerssorry, boy, sorry, there I go again. . . . Now listen, and listen carefully. "Taking 'em off will have to be a night operation. There isn't a ghost of a chance in the daytimenot with two-three hundred Stukas just begging for a glimpse of a Royal Naval destroyer. It'll have to be destroyers transports and tenders are too slow by half. And they can't possibly go northabout the northern tip of the Leradesthey'd never get back to safety before daylight. It's too long a trip by hours." "But the Lerades is a pretty long string of Islands," Mallory ventured. "Couldn't the destroyers go through" "Between a couple of them? Impossible." Jensen shook his head. "Mined to hell and back again. Every single channel. You couldn't take a dinghy through." "And the Maidos-Navarone channel. Stiff with mines also, I suppose?" "No, that's a clear channel. Deep wateryou can't moor mines in deep water." "So that's the route you've got to take, isn't it, sir? I mean, they're Turkish territorial waters on the other side and we" "We'd go through Turkish territorial waters to-morrow, and in broad daylight, if it would do any good," Jensen said flatly. "The Turks know it and so do the Germans. But all other things being equal, the Western channel is the one we're taking. It's a clearer channel, a shorter routeand it doesn't involve any unnecessary international complications." powe shoot 550 cannon digital camera "All other things being equal?" "The guns of Navarone." Jensen paused for a long time, then repeated the words, slowly, expressionlessly, as one would repeat the name of some feared and ancient enemy. "The guns of Navarone. They make everything equaL They cover the northern entrances to both channels. We could take the twelve hundred men off Kheros to-nightif we could silence the guns of Navarone." Mallory sat silent, said nothing. He's coming to it now, he thought. "These guns are no ordinary guns," Jensen went on quietly. "Our naval experts say they're about nine-inch rifle barrels. I think myself they're more likely a version of the 210 mm. 'crunch' guns that the Germans are using in Italyour soldiers up there hate and fear those guns more than anything on earth. A dreadful weaponshell extremely slow in flight and damnably accurate. Anyway," he went on grimly, "whatever they were they were good enough to dispose of the Sybaris in five minutes flat." Mallory nodded slowly. "The Sybaris? I think I heard" "An eight-inch cruiser we sent up there about four months ago to try conclusions with the Hun. Just a formality, a routine exercise, we thought. The Sybaris was blasted out of the water. There were seventeen survivors." "Good God!" Mallory was shocked. "I didn't know" "Two months ago we mounted a large-scale amphibious attack on Navarone." Jensen hadn't even heard the interruption. "Commandos, Royal Marine Commandos and Jellicoe's Special Boat Service. Less than an even chance, we knewNavarone's practically solid cliff all the way round. But then these were very special men, probably the finest assault troops in the world today." Jensen paused for almost a minute, then went on very quietly. "They were cut to ribbons. They were massacred almost to a man. "Finally, twice in the past ten days-we've seen this attack on Kheros coming for a long time nowwe sent in parachute saboteurs: Special Boat Service men." He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "They just vanished." "Just like that?" "Just like that. And then to-nightthe last desperate fling of the gambler and what have you."

He blew both loud and shrill;

began its summation. With the exception of felonious assault, the charges against the accused, Lars Dahl, are dismissed. Killashandra swallowed. Criminal intent is not apparent but disciplinary action is required by law. Lars Dahl, you are remanded into the custody of the Judicial Branch, pending disposition of the disciplinary action. You are further remanded for examination of the charge of subliminal manipulation against the Elders of Optheria. Olav Dahl, you are seconded to assist these investigations, which have now been initiated. Trag Morfane, Killashandra Ree, have you anything to add to your recorded testimonies on the charge of subliminal manipulation by the Elders of Optheria? Having already been as candid as possible, neither crystal singer could expand on the information already on record. And Killashandra did not quite understand the matter of disciplinary action for Lars and the remand orders. Then this session of the Grand Felony Court of Regulus Sector Federation is closed. The traditional crack of wood against wood ended the hearing. Perplexed by the legal formulas, Killashandra turned to Lars and his father. Are you free, or what? she demanded. Im not quite sure, Lars said with a nervous laugh. It cant mean much. Everything else was dismissed, wasnt it? He looked to Olav and was sobered by his fathers solemn expression. He has been remanded, the Bailiff explained kindly, taking Lars by the arm. I interpret the judgment to mean that the Court has dismissed all charges but Lars Dahls physical assault on you in the matter of your abduction. Disciplinary action is always short term. On the second remand charge, the Court requires further discussion of the allegations about the use of subliminal conditioning by the Optherian government. If these are proved correct, then it is likely that the disciplinary action will be suspended. I can give you hard copy of the precedents involved, indeed of the entire trial, if you wish. When Lars nodded a perplexed affirmation, Then I shall program them for your quarters. If you gentlemen will come with me? A panel at the back of the seating area opened and it was toward this that Funadormi gestured Lars and his father. Come with you? Lars cried, trying to break from the Bailiffs grip. Shock and surprise briefly immobilized Killashandra and before she could make a move to reach Lars, the Bailiff, securely holding her lover, had him nearly to the open door. Wait! when was the digital camera invented Please wait! she screamed, falling over the chairs in her haste. You two have been dismissed. Justice has been served! Arrangements for your transport have been made and the ground vehicle programmed to take you to the appropriate site. But Lars! Killashandras cry of protest was made to the immense back of the Bailiff which was disappearing through the aperture, totally eclipsing Lars. Olav hurried anxiously after, adding his protests. Lars Dahl! she screamed, every fear alerted to his unexpected departure. The panel closed with a final thuck just as Killashandra reached it. Justice has been served? she shrieked, beating the wall with impotent fists. What justice? What justice? LARS DAHL! Couldnt they let us say good-bye? Is that justice? She wheeled on Trag who was trying to silence her tactless accusations. You and your fool-proof verbiage. Theyve charged him after all. I want to know why and what does disciplinary action mean for a man whos put himself on the line for a whole benighted fardling useless planet? Killashandra Ree, and both crystal singers turned in astonishment as the voice issued unexpectedly from the wall. During your evidence, your psychological reactions exhibited extreme agitation and apprehension unusual when compared to your official profile which have been interpreted as fear of the accused, despite your generous testimony to his actions against you. Disciplinary action will prevent the accused from any future acts of felonious assault. WHAT? Killashandra could not believe what she had heard. Of all the ridiculous interpretations! I love the man! I love him, do you hear, I was frantic with worry for him, not against him. Call him back. Theres been a dreadful miscarriage of justice. Justice has been served, Killashandra Ree. You and Trag Morfane are scheduled to leave this Court and this building immediately. Transport awaits. The silence after that impersonal order provoked a thunder of tinnitus in her skull. I dont believe this, Trag. This cant be right. How do we appeal? I do not believe that we can, Killashandra. This is the Federal Court. We have no right of appeal. If there is one available to Lars, I am certain that Olav will invoke it. But we have no further right. Come. Lars will he taken care of. Thats what Im fardling afraid of, Killashandra cried. I know what penalties and disciplines the Judicial Branch

And gave the tail within his hand,

damn' lucky to have had even that much." The interrogation room, harshly lit by two powerful, unshaded lights, was uncomfortable and airless. The furniture consisted of some battered wall-maps and charts, a score or so of equally scuffed chairs and an unvarnished deal table. The commodore, flanked by Jensen and Mallory, was sitting behind this when the door opened abruptly and the first of the flying crews entered, blinking rapidly in the fierceness of the unaccustomed light They were led by a dark-haired, thick-set pilot, trailing helmet and flying-suit in his left hand. He had an Anzac bush helmet crushed on the back of his head, and the word "Australia" emblazoned in white across each khaki shoulder. Scowling, wordlessly and without permission, he sat down in front of them, produced a pack of cigaottes and rasped a match across the surface of the table. Mallory looked furtively at the commodore. The commodore just looked resigned. He even sounded resigned. "Gentlemen, this is Squadron Leader Torrance. Squadron Leader Torrance," he added unnecessarily, "is an Australian." Mallory had the impression that the commodore rather hoped this would explain some things, Squadron Leader Torrance among them. "He led tonight's attack on Navarone. Bill, these gentlemen hereCaptain Jensen of the Royal Navy, Captain Mallory of the Long Range Desert Grouphave a very special interest in Navarone. How did things go to-night?" Navarone! So that's why I'm here to-night, Mallory thought. Navarone. He knew it well, rather, knew of it. So did everyone who had served any time at all in the Eastern Mediterranean: a grim, impregnable iron fortress off the coast of Turkey, heavily defended byit was thoughta mixed garrison of Germans and Italians, one of the few Aegean islands on which the Allies had been unable to establish a mission, far less recapture, at some period of the war. . . . He realised that Torrance was speaking, the slow drawl heavy with controlied anger. "Bloody awful, sir. A fair cow, it was, a real suicide do." He broke off abruptly, stared moodily with compressed lips through his own drifting tobacco smoke. "But we'd like to go back again," he went on. "Me and the boys here. Just once. We were talking about it on the way home." Mallory caught the deep murmur of voices in the background, a growl of agreement. 'We'd like to take with us the joker who thought this one up and shove him out at ten thousand over Navarone, without benefit of parachute." "As bad as pixtreme water proof digital camera review that, Bill?" "As bad as that, sir. We hadn't a chance. Straight up, we really hadn't. First off, the weather was against us the jokers in the Met. office were about as right as they usually are." "They gave you clear weather?" "Yeah. Clear weather. It was ten-tenths over the target," Torrance said bitterly. "We had to go down to fifteen hundred. Not that it made any difference. We would have to have gone down lower than that anywayabout three thousand feet below sea-level, then fly up the way: that cliff overhang shuts the target clean off. Might as well have dropped a shower of leaflets asking them to spike their own bloody guns. . . . Then they've got every second A.A. gun in the south of Europe concentrated along this narrow 50-degree vectorthe only way you can approach the target, or anywhere near the target. Russ and Conroy were belted good and proper on the way in. Didn't even get half-way towards the harbour.... They never had a chance." "I know, I know." The commodore, nodded heavily. 'We heard. W/T reception was good. . . . And McIlveen ditched just north of Alex?" "Yeah. But he'll be all right. The old crate was still awash when we passed over, the big dinghy was out and it was as smooth as a millpond. He'll be all right," Torrance repeated. The commodore nodded again, and Jensen touched his sleeve. "May I have a word with the Squadron Leader?" "Of course, Captain. You don't have to ask." "Thanks." Jensen looked across at the burly Australian and smiled faintly. "Just one little question, Squadron Leader. You don't fancy going back there again?" "Too bloody right, I don't!" Torrance growled. "Because?" "Because I don't believe in suicide. Because I don't believe in sacrificing good blokes for nothing. Because I'm not God and I can't do the impossible." There was a flat finality in Torrance's voice that carried conviction, that brooked no argument. "It is impossible, you say?" Jensen persisted. "This is terribly important." "So's my life. So are the lives of all these jokers." Torrance jerked a big thumb over his shoulder. "It's impossible, sir. At least, it's impossible for us." He