The attaché drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “I still haven’t heard a strong enough reason. It’s insane to take up arms against one race on behalf of another that we have no relations with.”

“The whole experiment sounded insane when Ryo first proposed it,” Bonnie reminded him. “There’s something else you haven’t thought of. None of you.” Her gaze included Sanchez. “What of the larvae we’ve borrowed from the Paszex Nursery? Their parents and classmates are all back there. If they’re killed we’ll have relations of a different sort to deal with, far more complicated relations.

“Also, by assisting the locals we have a chance to insinuate ourselves into their good graces. That would greatly aid the Project” She looked hard at the attaché. “Not hinder or finish it as you claim. I feel it’s time to take the next step, according to the Project programming. We can’t stay hidden here forever.”

“A most succinct summation.” Bhadravati smiled pleasantly at the attaché. “I should very much like to have a gun, please. In the interest of furthering the Project.” This sentiment was echoed strongly by most of the others in the chamber.

Ryo’s feelings were confused. It was marvelous finally to have committed the humans against the AAnn. He would rather have accomplished it under different circumstances, in a different place, but the web of existence had dictated it be in Paszex. He would cope.

At the same time, the presence of weapons on board the shuttle was a discomfiting revelation. Not one had see fit to come forward to tell him about it Perhaps, he mused, because my reaction was anticipated.

In spite of the successes and accomplishments of the past months, had Wuu in the final analysis been right all along? Were these strange bipeds he had befriended really incurably warlike and violent? Or was the presence of arms here merely an understandable human reaction and precaution?

Dissection of philosophies would have to wait. All that mattered now was getting to Paszex as rapidly as possible. The harvester could rush there faster than the humans’ shuttle, which had been made a part of the landscape.

Of course, the AAnn ships might not be heading for Paszex. That would spare him a lot of trouble.

Perhaps three dozen armed humans were ready and it was impossible to fit them all inside the harvester. The excess sat on top, clung to the sides. Ryo thoughtfully set the interior thermostat at near freezing, which his passengers found delightfully refreshing.

How long ago had he rumbled through the jungle in a survey crawler on a similar mission, to try and disrupt an AAnn attack on his home? Surely, if the AAnn were intent on Paszex again they would remember and post guards around their shuttles. But they would be expecting only a possible charge by agricultural machinery, not a heavily armed force of aliens.