59 "We will try," promised the Peepian, "but if
he is a follower of The One God like we suspect, there is little chance
we can take him alive. They are sworn to a vow of death if they fail in
their missions. I deeply express my apologies. We knew they were
against your presence here, but we never thought they would go to
violence. They have done nothing like this for hundreds of years. I
guarantee you, though, we will track down their temple. We WILL get
answers."
60 The Officer was right. Becoming trapped in the engineering section,
the attacker put a tiny explosive device to his forehead and detonated
it. But Peepian Security was very good. They tracked the dead back to
their temple and the radical Leader that believed The Lord God was
actually The One True God, who their people had been waiting so long to
return to their world and make them its Supreme Rulers. He considered
North and The Hashons the demons of darkness that were to be sent to
keep the true people from uniting with their God.
61 The Peepians wanted to execute the Priest and all his followers, but
North interceded with Spearon and instead they were put in a labor camp
for the rest of their lives, forbidden to have any children, thereby
ending their line...a punishment to a Peepian worse than death!
62 The true believers of The One were not finished though. A month
later while I.S. was visiting Peepi, arranging a banquet, he was
attacked and seriously damaged by an energy pistol. A Peepian crowd had
disarmed the attacker and literally torn him to pieces. An Electrician
and an Air Conditioning Maintenance Man had kept the droid functional,
and when North arrived, helped him remove the droid's dangerously
cracked power crystal. North made sure the two men were reassigned to
the Maintenence Staff of his space station.
63 As North was leaving the house where I.S. had been taken an excited
young Peepian woman came up, talking