"Are those what I think they are?" he said.
"Confirmed." To his left, Lieutenant Tyzel was fidgeting with a scanner; beyond him, Karzis had a scanner in his hand, too, and seemed to be peering at it intently. "The readings match - um, the hypothetical characteristics established by the Circles of Science - that is, within an acceptable margin of error - They're Solanae, sir. But not from subspace. Biological Solanae."
Stannark turned his head from side to side, deliberately taking in the scene before him. "What are they doing?"
"They're not paying us much attention," one shock trooper muttered. Indeed, though a few of the closer Solanae had turned to look at the Voth group, most still had their attention fixed on the centre of the room.
"It, um - it could be some kind of ritual, I think, sir," said Tyzel.
"Ritual?" Stannark took a step forward. "This was the largest concentration of life signs we could detect! They must be engaged in activity of critical importance! That was the conclusion of our intelligence analysts!"
"Of importance to them, perhaps," Karzis said, in an absent-minded tone, as if his own attention was being drawn elsewhere. "But whatever they are doing, it is not critical to the control of this spire. There are no command or science consoles in evidence, no major power circuits operated from this area, no secure communications lines.... No. We must conclude that this is some sort of - social activity."
"Social activity?" Stannark's voice was loud enough to make a few more Solanae heads turn, now. No expression showed on the immobile chitinous faces, or in the huge eyes, but the creatures made no move, either towards or away from the Voth party. They seemed, Stannark thought, simply - incurious.
"We know the Solanae to be an erratic and foolish species," said Tyzel. "Their, um, their accident with the sphere - their failed attempt to utilize, um, ancient Voth technology which they did not understand - it indicates, um, poor intellectual organization -"
"We are here to take control!" Stannark shouted. "I have no interest in watching the rituals of some debased species! If these - Solanae - cannot assist us, they must not be permitted to impede us!"
One of the nearby Solanae, who had been looking at Stannark, now turned away from him to regard the centre of the room again. The Voth commander's teeth ground together in frustration.
"Useless crustaceans! Clear them away!"
The shock troopers raised their rifles, aiming over the Solanae's heads. Thin scarlet lines of antiproton fire screamed out of the guns, to scar the domed ceiling.
More of the creatures turned to look at the Voth, now. The frantic activity in the centre of the room - the dance, or ritual, or whatever it was - slowed to a halt. The Solanae were not moving, though; they simply stood there, looking at Stannark and his troops.
Stannark snarled, drew his pistol, took deliberate aim at the creature who had turned away from him, and fired. The Solanae made a brief shrieking noise and fell lifeless to the floor.
The Voth troopers dropped the muzzles of their weapons, and fired again. Beams tore through the crowd of Solanae, leaving a dozen smouldering corpses on the deck. Suddenly, the rest of them were in motion, a panicky chittering noise filling the air as they milled in confusion and attempted to flee. The troopers fired again. Stannark aimed carefully and shot down one Solanae, another, a third.
"The Circles of Science would probably appreciate a specimen or two," Karzis observed.
"They may have them!"
"In good condition, I mean. This is a scientific find of some interest. We should not exterminate all of them, immediately."
"We will clear this room and hold it as a staging area." By now, the surviving Solanae were fleeing through a dozen or more exits, dotted around the walls. The troopers fired a few more bursts, casually and without aiming, not caring if they killed or only terrified. Inside a minute, the big room was empty of living Solanae.
Stannark strode over to the nearest corpse and kicked it. Then he turned to Karzis. "What is amusing you?" he demanded.
"A minor detail, but perhaps a fruitful one." The intelligence officer held up the scanner in his hand. "Another life sign, nearby - very nearby, in fact. Not one of these. A mammal."
"Starfleet?"
"Oh, definitely. In fact, I believe it to be the absurd Admiral M'eioi. Certainly, a female of the same species. The creature was nearby when we entered this room, and withdrew almost immediately. She is retreating down the corridors now - she probably imagines herself to be safe." Karzis smiled. "With the Commander's permission, I will go now and retrieve her. She may have useful intelligence to give us, concerning the current status of the Timor."
"We should tie up that loose end." Stannark nodded. "Be quick about it."
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