. Wipe them out, one by one, I say! The only
good alien is a dead alien!"

There was a lot of talk--more than Barth usually heard or contributed
in a month. Lemillulot was the focus of most of it. The little man
would never be satisfied. He wanted all the humanoid worlds organized,
and by now it was plain that Earth's influence would be too strong
outside of their own section.

Their accomplishments were already enough. United as they were, the
Federation was clearly invincible. Their fleets were at full size and
the crews were thoroughly trained. No other time would be better.

There had already been a stir of ship-building on the alien worlds,
since the first word of the Federation had somehow leaked out. The
Federation position was as good as it would ever be--and with eleven
fleets working together, nothing better was needed.

"Knock them down with the long shells, haze them to base with
interceptors, and then rip their worlds with planet bombs," Barth
repeated his plans. "We can do it in six hours for a planet--we can
start at the strongest, Neflis, and work down through the weakest, to
make up for our losses. And if the Earth forces start moving in to
rebuild them--well, I've been thinking the Federation could use a
little more wealth and power!"

"Humanoids don't attack humanoids," Lemillulot protested.

The snarling, dog face of Sra from Chumkt opened in a grin, and his sly
voice held a hint of a chuckle. "Or so Earth keeps preaching. But
Earthmen aren't humanoids. They're humans!"

He laughed softly at his own wit. There were rumbles of uncertainty,
but Barth saw that the seed had taken root. If they kept working
together, he and Sra could force it to ripen soon enough.

"That can wait," Barth decided. "The question is, do we attack Neflis,
and when? I say now!"

* * * * *

It took an hour more for the decision. But there would be only one
answer, and the final vote was unanimous. The fleets would take off
from their home worlds and rendezvous near the barren sun; from there,
they would proceed in a group, under the control of Barth, toward the
alien world of Neflis.

The commander checked his chronometer as the delegates went to send
their coded reports to their home worlds. He had the longest distance
to lead his fleet, and there was no time for delay.

Outside, the harsh snow crackled under his feet, and a layer of storm
clouds cut off the wan heat of Ke