 Why didn't Moran kill Harper?
I. Moran cut apart the yard-long monstrosity with a slash of flame. Moran, naturally, did not mean to help in the carrying out of the plans which would mean his destruction one way or another. The plans were thrashed out very painstakingly, in formal conference on the space-yacht Nadine , with Moran present and allowed to take part in the discussion. From the viewpoint of the Nadine's ship's company, it was simply necessary to get rid of Moran. The fact was verified by the thick, dense cloud-masses which covered most of the surface,—all the surface, in fact, outside the ice-cap. Moran observed these things from the control-room of the Nadine , then approaching the world on planetary drive. Moran disagreed, but he did not answer. Without rigid control of space-travel, any criminal anywhere could escape the consequences of any crime simply by buying a ticket to another world. The trouble was that the Nadine had clearance papers covering five persons aboard—four men and a girl Carol. Wherever the yacht landed, such a disparity between its documents and its crew would spark an investigation. Moran, at least, would be picked out as a fugitive from Coryus Three. The others were fugitives too, from some unnamed world Moran did not know. And Moran was the extra man whose presence would rouse space-port officials' suspicion of the rest. Blaster in hand, he'd made the Nadine take off from Coryus III with a trip-tape picked at random for guidance. Only people accustomed to desperate actions would have remained so calm when Moran had used desperate measures against them. Moran wondered, momentarily, what sort of world they came from and why they had revolted, and what sort of set-back to the revolt had sent the five off in what they considered a strategic retreat but their government would think defeat. Moran's own situation was perfectly clear. His victim would not be mourned by anybody, and somebody formerly in very great danger would now be safe, which was the reason for what Moran had done. But the dead man had been very important, and the fact that Moran had forced him to fight and killed him in fair combat made no difference. Moran had needed to get off-planet, and fast. He surrendered, stipulating that he wouldn't be landed back on Coryus; he still clung to hope of avoiding return—which was almost certain anyhow. It was not until six thousand feet above the surface that the planet-wide cloud-level seemed to begin.
 Moran is not a murderer at heart. He only killed the other man to save a life.
 Moran is not a murderer at heart. He only killed the other man to save a life.  Moran would rather kill Burleigh. He is waiting for the right moment.  Moran is not a killer.  Moran likes Harper. Harper is a decent guy.