"That's the first time I've ever heard anyone argue with stingships firepower.That I can use as justification. I hope you're not just knotting your antennae, Major."

"I'm perfectly sane."

"Yes. Well, the ships will be on their way to you in one hour, HH standard. And I also hope, Major, that you can back up this request to the task-force commander, or you'll be back at central student HQ doing logic terminations."

"I think I can do that, sir."

"I hope so, because I'll be commanding it." The connection snapped off.

"Sir," came another voice from the speaker, "Tundra V has broken communication. Shall I attempt to restore ...?"

"Thank you operator, no. Communication ended." He turned to face Porsupah. "Do you pray, Tolian?"

"Occasional meditation. I haven't the inclination for prayer."

"Then it might be an idea to find someone who does, because I cant suspend belief long enough to, either. And I like to be covered all ways."

"I've never heard a class one call before, sir." In spite of himself, Porsupah was a little awed.

"Class three's a threat to the Commonwealth. Class two a threat to the Church. Class one is a threat to the race."

"Any particular race?"

"Ought to read the Book, Lieutenant. The race of reason, of course."

The AAnn did not sweat, so the engineer's exhaustion was not particularly visible, except to another AAnn. "The transmitters still work, Excellence, Oasis knows how. And we have some emergency power."

"Thank you Engineer First." The Commander limped slightly. His left leg had been badly bruised by a falling beam as he and the others had scrambled for the safety of the maximum security shelter buried in the center of the island.

The shelter had been built to take thermonuclear attack and anything else short of direct hit by a SCCAM shell. It had-apparently-protected them from the overwhelming fury of the monster. Perhaps thirty had survived. Thirty, out of the complex's entire complement. Thirty, plus one.

"You sure did have something you wanted kept secret, didn't you?" said Dominic Rose. The old man's talent for surviving had preserved him once more. When the destruction began, he'd stuck close to the Commander, reasoning correctly that the most important being on the island would head straight for the safest place. In a fair fight he'd have done just the opposite, knowing the AAnn. Parquit noticed he still held the slim, deadly metal case in one hand.

"'Pears your brain-boys didn't calculate too well."

At another moment, drug or not, Parquit might have turned and with great pleasure ripped the human from throat to groin. As it was, he had neither the mood nor the inclination.

"To say we have underestimated the' creature and its abilities would be an understatement of sufficient magnitude to make the Lord of all Nests shudder in his cave. We knew some of the thing's talents, yes, but little of its potential. And we believed its intelligence that of a high order domesticated animal. We were wrong. Wrong everywhere. I confess to puzzlement as to why it does not continue on and destroy us as well. I have not the faith in that shelter some did."

"Seemed like a pretty secure sheltering to me," Rose said.

Parquit spared him a contemptuous glance, waved at the destruction all around. "For a manifestation of the normal universe, yes. Do you really believe mere metal and alloy saved your miserable life? I think it not. The monster left for reasons of its own. For which I am grateful. It gives us a chance."

He stepped gingerly over a flat length of metal that had been one of the foundation beams supporting a transparent roof. It was flattened like straw.

Parquit reached the remains of control. The Tower was completely gore, but some of the equipment in the lower portions had survived. He leaned over the engineer fourth working there. "Well, manipulator, what say you to a link-up?"

"If our orbiting station can handle the first connection and boost what's left of our signal sufficiently, I say yes, Excellence."

"And what does the orbiter say?"

"He says maybe."

"Do this thing, and I will lay first sand in your lodge with my own hands. And feed your first-bona from the Emperor's preserves."

' It will be done, Excellence!"

The entity Parquit was so anxious to talk to, with the ruins of his command still smoking about him, was named Douwrass N, Prince-of-the-Circle, the Emperor's Long Fang for the fourteenth quadrant of the Empire.

The request he made had fewer light-years to travel than that of a certain officer of the Church, but was essentially the same. For example, preservation took precedence over protection.

Prince-of-the-Circle agreed. He also questioned, for he had stronger reason than Ashvenarya.

"Your life is balanced in this, Parquit RAM. Not that that is of consequence."

"Naturally, Highness," said Parquit.

"But mine also will go under the Emperor's paw for consideration. That is of consequence. Yet I cannot argue with your need. I have access to the original reports of discovery of the creature and have been following your special project with some little interest. I regret its demise and that there are none responsible left to chastise properly among the so-called scientists."

"Do not blame the Passed, Highness. They were outclassed. We all were."

"Perhaps. One thing worries me, though, Commander. It is not to be anticipated that the humanx will react with welcomes and hosannas to the appearance of an AAnn battle fleet in one of their frontier systems. Not to mention a subsequent request for said fleet to use nuclear engines on the territory."

"Logical," Parquit replied. He winced. The pain in his left leg was worse. "Yet I believe they'd eventually be thankful. Not that we can expect a lower species to act in a civilized fashion. That is not the important thing. What I must impress upon you, Highness, is that the destruction of this creature supercedes everything else. There is a belief that it is somehow capable of traversing interstellar and possibly even intergalactic space. It grows daily in power. It must be destroyed now, here, before it can manifest abilities we cannot begin to comprehend

You may have noticed in the reports how it ignores the fury of a full laser with seemingly no ill effects. It is apparently also immune now to enormous electrical impulses and various other destructive energies."

"It was right that you contacted me," said the Prince. "Instructions will be relayed to the Eighth battle fleet to proceed at maximum displacement to Repler. I place my good hand, the Baron Riidi WW, in command. An attempt will be made by shuttle to remove you and the other survivors from the station."

"We are grateful, Highness."

"It is not a matter of gratefulness," the Prince replied sternly. "You and the others are all who remain who have observed the creature first hand. I expect it to be destroyed on the planet. Yet I must consider all possibilities, including the impossible. If feasible, your knowledge should be saved."

"It is so recognized, Highness. It is not to be inferred that I slavishly offer thanks. I shall be grateful because I should be most amused to hear the humanx not only agree to, but request, bombardment by ships of the Emperor of one of their own planets."

"I had not considered so," said the Prince. "The Axis of the Universe is Irony. Clean killing, Commander."

"Clean killing, Highness."

The Vom had arrived in the waters outside Repler City. It floated near the surface like a thick oil slick, roiling, folding in and out upon itself, feeding on the small lives of the bottom and the larger silver swimmers. In the several hours since it had made a cursory inspection of the water-front, more out of curiosity than purpose, it had been fired on by a multitude of exotic weaponry of different types and theoretically murderous capabilities. Peot's fears had not been realized, and in some ways it was worse because of that. The monster had ignored the efforts of the humanx defenders. it could take them when it wished and made the fact obvious. It was depressing.

The harborfront had been sealed off by police when the creature had appeared. The majority of the citizenry was aware only that something unusual was taking place at the harbor. A minor disturbance, perhaps a devil-fish attack. Nothing to get excited about. Go about your business, citizens.

It could not be concealed for long, however, that there was no devil-fish smashing insanely into boats and rafts and that the nuisance was in fact anything but minor. At that point Orvenalix, peaceforcer Mailloux, and the Governor would have the additional burden of a general panic on their hands.

Although it was a frightening thing to observe the monster's complete indifference to repeated assault, Orvenalix was prepared for it. Porsupah told him such would likely be the result.

What did disturb him was a related incident with more sinister implications.