«That’s the style,» muttered Ben. His voice was almost a sob. He gently eased back on the controls and the Catalina began to gain altitude.

«Are we leaving now?» Ed asked.

«I guess,» Ben replied. «I just couldn’t before. Not while there was anybody down there who could see us.» Ed nodded understanding. «Besides, the captain. everyone will want to know how it ended.» He sighed. «One more thing, too. I want to get a solid count of how many ships they have. We’re still the ‘eyes’ of the fleet.»

At three thousand feet, Ben circled again while the others counted the enemy.

«Jesus, there’s a lot of them. I’ve lost count twice,» Ed said.

«It doesn’t have to be perfect. What do you have, Tikker?»

«Three hundred ten, but that’s not all I see, that’s all I can count. There’s more on the horizon.» Tikker squinted again. «There’s that Vol-caanno still.» He shook his head. «It looks closer now.»

For the first time, Ben really looked to the north where Tikker had spotted the smoke. Sure enough, a solid black column was slanting away to the east. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. «What the.?» He leveled out and pointed the Catalina north, toward the distant smudge.

«What is it?» asked Ed.

«I dunno. It looks like. but that’s impossible.» Frozen mercury poured down his back.

«It is!» Ed exclaimed excitedly. He was looking through the binoculars now. «It’s a ship! A modern ship! Burning coal, by the look of her. That’s why all the black smoke.» He hesitated and his face assumed a troubled expression. «But what the hell is she doing running around with a bunch of lizards? Look, they’re all around her!»

«Maybe they captured her? She had to have gotten here the same way we did. Hell, they nearly got us, remember?»

Ed was still staring intently through the glasses. «Jeez, that’s not just any ship, it’s a warship! She looks bigger than the goddamn Arizona!»

The icy mercury running down Ben’s back was suddenly joined in his stomach by molten lead. «Give me those!» he said, snatching the glasses away. «Tikker, take the controls!»

The Lemurian stared, wide-eyed, at the wheel in front of him and then grasped it in both of his clawed hands. The tone in Ben’s voice told him that any fooling around wouldn’t be acceptable. He clenched his teeth and held the wheel as tight and steady as he could. Ben adjusted the objective until the image became crystal clear. His subconscious mind screamed in protest and he almost dropped the binoculars. Even at twelve or fifteen miles the silhouette was un maintained contact for quite a while as it flew ever farther north. Then, all of a sudden, there was nothing. Just some weird static. It wasn’t coming from his end, he was sure, and he doubted that Ed had done anything on his end to cause it. Ed could be a screwball, but he was a pretty good hand with a radio and besides, with the skipper on the warpath, he knew better than to goof around.

A hazy tendril of concern began to creep into Clancy’s thoughts. Steve Riggs was in Baalkpan working on a system of communications for the defenses there. With him and Palmer both gone, Clancy would be the communications department. Of course, without the radio on the plane, there wouldn’t be much need for one. All in all, it had been a pretty nerve-racking day.

«C’mon, Ed,» he muttered. «Talk to me.»

Suddenly enough to startle him with the irony, he thought he detected something buried in the static. He put his earphones on and began adjusting knobs. There! The unmistakable «beep beeping» began to emerge. Instead of voice, the signal was coming in CW, or Morse code. He snatched up a pencil and began to transcribe the letters as they came.

ZSA ZSA ZSA. (Can you receive?) Over and over again. Clancy quickly tapped back a reply.

ZSB-2. (I can receive. Readability fair.)

ZOE-5-O-J. (I am going to transmit in strings of five-urgent-verify and repeat.)

For an instant Clancy just stared at his key. «What the hell?» he muttered. They’d been transmitting in the clear for so long it didn’t make any sense. Why on earth would Ed want to use five-letter code groups?

ZOE-5-O-J, he finally tapped back.

It wouldn’t be long now. The bright passion of Matt’s rage had ebbed somewhat as the day progressed, and that was probably for the best, he realized. The endless delays of preparing an army for battle had stretched into the midafternoon, and at times he found himself wondering if he really should have waited for the rest of the force to join them. Keje’s and even Shinya’s estimate of the time it would take to get ready had been overly optimistic. Intellectually, he knew the wait was a small price to pay. Not only would the larger force face less difficulty and take fewer casualties when it stormed the city, but now that it was decided, he believed even more strongly that it was important they all go in together.

The various members of the Allied Expeditionary Force had to learn here and now that they couldn’t pick and choose which battles were convenient for them to fight. They were all in this together and if they were going to win this war, they had to share the burden equally.

That didn’t mean he felt any less frustrated over the delays. Lord Rolak’s force and the Marines still constituted the point of the spear, but Queen Maraan’s had been pulled back in reserve and replaced by the Third and Fifth Guards. That’s what took the most time. It was believed — probably correctly — that the defenders would fight harder if they knew they were facing their ancestral enemies from across the bay. Matt’s destroyermen had been redeployed as well — much to their disgust. They’d still go in with the «first wave» but more as heavy-weapons support platoons than front-line shock troops. Their job would be to shoot archers and commanders with the Springfields and Krags and break up enemy concentrations with the Thompsons and BARs. Either way, they’d be in the thick of the fighting, Matt knew, and they’d use an awful lot of ammunition.e once more join those who fought and hear their deeds in person!»

A great roar went up and, Safir, her eyes still shining, turned to Matt while Chack translated what she said. All Matt could do was shake his head and wonder. He wasn’t about to ask right then.

«What about Aryaal?» she asked, the power gone from her voice. «And there are other cities — Kudraang, Kartaj, Bataava — farther up the coast.»

«There’s nothing we can do for them,» Matt replied somberly.

«There’s not enough time.» He glanced grimly at his watch again and then looked at Rolak. The old warrior was standing, shoulders bowed. He knew that just warning his people wouldn’t be enough. Rasik would not believe it and all of his people would stay and perish. He and his warriors couldn’t leave them to that, and all would die for nothing.

«No time at all,» Matt repeated. «Under the circumstances, Queen Protector, I think your troops would be better employed evacuating B’mbaado immediately. Some of the embedded officers might want to remain, however. They might need the experience.»

She nodded gratefully, but blinked surprise. Rolak and many others did the same.

«The way I figure it, we have three hours to take Aryaal.»

As expected, a last desperate appeal came to naught. Officially, at least. There was no response to the demand for surrender, but when the guns in the breastworks made ready to fire, the defenders on the walls just vanished. With no apparent opposition, the Second Marines and Rolak’s force, now called the First Aryaal, moved forward toward the gate. Matt, Keje, and even Adar fell in behind, and five-member squads of destroyermen interspersed themselves among the troops. Silva’s squad remained around its captain.

«You believe this. nightmare ship truly exists? That it is coming?» Keje asked. «Perhaps your Mallory made a mistake?»