“Reaction?” inquired the third observer.

The reply came as a momentary gasp, grew slowly stronger and more normal. “Dry enough to rust your blood. It’s a bit of a shock.” He unsealed and flipped back the upper section of the suit, including the transparent headpiece, and sat unsuited to the shoulders. His antennae fluttered, then spread unrestrained as he sampled the air.

“You can smell the dryness, and the cold chills your guts, but those details aside, it is quite breathable, as the instruments indicated. Add a lot of moisture to it and cook it some and I’d say it would be comfortable enough. What is your opinion, Quoz?”

The Outsider standing next to the lounge unsealed the upper third of her own suit and flipped it back. Now two pairs of antennae waggled freely in the chamber.

“I agree,” she finally said, with somewhat more enthusiasm than her superior. “It’s quite palatable.”

The first observer began to unseal her own suit “I, for one, am tired of canned air. It’s not every day one has the opportunity to sample an alien atmosphere.”

Soon they were all working at their suit seals, keeping the lower section in place and well heated. Lounging on the peculiar alien platform, Anzeljermeit watched them easily, pleased in the knowledge that he’d been the one with the courage to go first Then he made a gesture of uncertainty compounded by concern and sat up fast

“Where’s Iel?” He looked toward the far corners of the chamber, his gaze coming to rest on the doorway leading out into the corridor beyond.

The other Outsider turned a slow circle. “I don’t know, sir,”

The officer slid off the lounge. “I’ll have his rank for this. Wandering off without authorization.”

“Gently go, sir. You know Iel. Impulsive and easily bored. Well, maybe not impulsive, but incautious.”

“That may not matter much on board the Zinramm, but here we—”

Distant, frantic whistling sounded from somewhere far away.

“Quickly!” the officer commanded.

Suits were hurriedly resealed and the burrowing party rushed in the direction of the whistles. They hadn’t gone far from the chamber with the lounges when Outsider Iel rounded a far corner, running on all sixes as if the Ruler of the Distant Darkness itself were after him. On their suit communicators they could hear his frantic breathing, his breaths coming in short, tight gasps.

“So something’s given you a good scare, has it?” said Anzeljermeit sharply, not immediately noticing the attitude with which the Outsider held himself, antennae folded flat back inside his suit, mandibles clenched so tightly together Broh thought they must shatter. “Serves you damn well right, too, for going off on—” His voice faded like a fast-moving breeze.

A thing had materialized in the corridor behind the terrified Iel.

It raced in pursuit of him, moving with horridly fluid loping movements of its lower limbs. The massive shape towered over the diminutive Iel. It seemed to fill the corridor, though in reality it was not all that large. Its voice was a deep-throated thunder that reminded Broh of Hivehom’s more dangerous carnivores.