The parallel cannon had performed its function perfectly, Xenaria thought.  Its beam had provided the desired result, slicing the mountainside away to reveal and cut apart a section of the Elder Things' base.  They hadn't stood a chance, and that was just how she liked it.

Out of the sundered corridors, like insects from under a stone, the infirm creatures had stumbled into the light.  Relieved at the ease of their success, the troopers were picking them off one by one, calling their staser shots, severing a tentacle here, an eyestalk there.

Xenaria guessed there was betting going on - all quite against regulations, but she was prepared to let it pass.  By the time Allopta's secondary force glided into the base via the main entrance, there were only a couple of stragglers left to eliminate.  The newborns had pursued these elderly survivors with the cruel vigour of the young and agile, blowing the aliens into gobbets of reeking flesh.

Let them have their target practice, Xenaria thought.  It would stand them in good stead.

Allopta looked out of the yawning gap in the base wall with disdain.  Although he was a veteran of many battles, Xenaria sometimes thought Allopta had retained a lot of the prewar generation's characteristics, their academic disdain for the brutality of common existence, their sneering, and their pride.

'The parallel cannon,' said Allopta.  'A devastating weapon.  Is there not a chance that these effects could be noted in the future - come to the attention of Enemy forces?'  The criticism was subtle: Allopta was far too clever for blatant treason, but he clearly thought her overzealous, wasteful of material.

'It was necessary.  Examine the inner layers of the wall,' she replied icily.  'You will find  several interlocking layers of force  barriers operating beneath the surface, fluctuating through random sequences to filter out most energy attacks.  The parallel cannon is one of the few weapons powerful enough to penetrate so many defence mechanisms.  Besides that, the decision was of course mine to make.'

Allopta turned to her.  'These creatures are feeble, but the ancestors were once powerful.'  It was as close as Xenaria would get to a retraction, as guarded as the initial criticism.

'Instruct the dimensional technicians to unfold the cradles from space-time,'  Xenaria ordered.  'And begin data extraction.'

'As you wish, Commander,' replied Allopta, gliding away.  Xenaria couldn't help feeling his respect went barelY deeper than his outer layer of green-grey skin.


The sounds of battle had stopped, and the sky had cleared once more.  Shafts of sunlight broke through the jungle canopy.  Still wet with mud and rain, Fitz felt rancid in the humid climate.  He found it hard to believe that, in his time, this would be the coldest place on Earth.  What had the Doctor put it down to as the TARDIS was materialising - continental drift?  He would have to ask how the hell that worked when he was drier.