All of us who had made the trip from the chateau were gathered around the large table in the command center. Julius and Andre sat at the table, as did Beanpole, Stefan, and Eloise's parents. The rest of us stood.

A few feet to the right, a couple of people sat in front of the radios. Although the radios were silent, the radio operators watched them with a grim intensity, which I thought was odd.

Silence descended as Julius and Andre absorbed our report.

Julius finally said, "You did very well to bring us this information. Stefan, my deepest condolences on the loss of your comrades. What we can do now is make sure they didn't die in vain."

Beanpole said, "We can brief all the crews immediately, and set out at dawn."

"No," Julius said.

Beanpole was slightly startled.

"We need more than a few hours to prepare," Julius said. "We need to develop a carefully thought out plan. Then we need to make sure the crews are well rested, as lack of sleep leads to the sort of mental errors which become the difference between life and death in a battle."

"Sir, time is critical!" Beanpole said.

"I'm aware of that, Jean-Paul," Julius said. "But remember what I said four years ago after we learned about the spaceship. When faced with limited time, the natural reaction is to rush, when the solution is actually the opposite, even though it seems counterintuitive. Limited time means we need to hesitate and think clearly, and think again, before we act, precisely because we only get one shot. In this case, I am certain that the risk of losing a single day is miniscule compared to the risk of launching an ill-prepared attack. As far as I'm concerned, that's not even debatable."

Beanpole lowered his chin into his hand, considering this. He didn't argue.

Julius looked at all of us. "All ideas are welcome, but we need a detailed plan of action by two tomorrow afternoon, so the crews can learn it by heart before going to sleep. Then, at dawn the next day, we'll send our five Tripods against the six in Bayonne. We're outnumbered and have only two weeks of experience driving Tripods, so by far, surprise will be our greatest asset, and we must use it to maximum effect."

I said, "Sir, I assume there are great ships of the ancients in abandoned ports on the other side of the world. Even after we destroy these Tripods in Bayonne, what's to stop the Masters in the third city from creating their own naval platform? They'd have a much easier time of it, and could throw a lot more than six Tripods at the project."

"We have nothing to stop them from doing this," Julius said. "But by all accounts, they have adopted a completely defensive mindset. Hardly any Tripods set foot outside their city any more, and they no longer interact with the people. The Masters here in Europe are acting out of desperation, but the Masters in America have clearly taken a bunker approach. It's obvious they'll simply hole up until their ship arrives."

"For now," Beanpole said.

Andre glanced at the clock on a nearby table. "It's almost time," he said.

"Yes," Julius said heavily, and his shoulders seemed to sag a little. Then he looked up at the Comte. "My Lord, you traveled a long way to observe our operations. As the leader of a vast region, you may wish to witness what's about to happen, because it could be important." He let slip a tiny, ironic smile. "It might even be historic."

"What event is this?" the Comte asked.

"The Masters are going to contact us," Julius said.

Half the people in the tent gasped. I've rarely been so stunned in my life.

Andre said, "At midnight sharp last night, we heard them on that second radio, which we use to monitor their communications. They spoke in French, and requested to talk with us. Thirty seconds later, they made the same request in German. They did it again at 12:05; two messages thirty seconds apart. Then again at 12:10, and every five minutes on the dot afterward, until 12:30. We didn't answer. The only deviation in their request came at 12:30, when they said they would try again at the same time the following night."

"And tonight, I will answer," Julius said. "I am...mildly curious to hear what they have to say."

I looked at the clock. It was 11:57.

Julius stood and limped to the table which held the radios, and the radio operator on the right surrendered his seat. Julius gave him a nod of thanks, sat, and leaned back. He seemed calm to me, until I noticed the quickened pulse in his wrists.

No one said a word. We simply watched the clock.

At midnight precisely, the radio crackled to life, and a deep, harsh voice spoke in French. "We, the Masters, call the leader of our enemies."

The stone cold fear which settled over every person in that tent cannot be described, nor can the deathly silence.

Julius waited. Was he considering changing his mind? Was he just playing politics, showing he wasn't in any hurry to talk? Was he still working out what he wanted to say? Did he have some other enigmatic reason I couldn't fathom?

Thirty seconds later, the voice repeated its announcement in German.

Julius finally moved. His hand shaking just a little, he picked up the microphone and pressed the button. Oddly, he replied in English, perhaps to test the Masters. "You have reached the leader of your enemies. To whom do I have the displeasure of speaking?"

"I am Canku," the alien responded in English. "I am what you would call the mayor, or governor, of the city of the Americas. You are Julius?"

Several of us gasped. I think I did, too. We knew the Masters would have read the minds of the ones they captured from Henry's team, but to hear it confirmed so bluntly was a stab in the gut. Henry's face was full of rage and pain.

Julius, of course, also knew the implications of what he had just heard, but he answered solemnly, "You are speaking to Julius, yes."

"We acknowledge that you are much more formidable an opponent than we ever thought. We understand and respect your resistance, and we salute you for your victory over two of our cities."

"Thank you," Julius said, without a hint of irony. "If you respect our resistance, is it too much to ask that you respect our right to live peacefully and freely?"

"Is it too much to ask that you respect our superiority?" Canku countered. "Or the freedom from violence, war, and disease we bestowed upon you?"

Julius pondered a moment. I knew he wanted to throw our impending genocide back in Canku's face, to expose his words for the blunt hypocrisy they were. But it was crucial not to let the aliens know that we knew about their spaceship. Although everyone on Henry's team had known their mission was urgent, few had known specifically why, for the very reason of their potential capture.

"Yes," Julius finally said. "That is too much to ask. By our values, subjugation – the removal of free will – is by far the greater crime."

"The same subjugation many of your own species practiced against each other for millennia?"

"Yes, the same. We're a young species. We deserve the right to grow, to learn, and to correct our own mistakes. And if you truly cared about the fact that, at times, some of us subjugated others, then total subjugation on your own part is an obvious hypocrisy."

"You misunderstand. We do not condemn your practice of subjugation against one another, merely your hypocrisy in engaging in that practice while simultaneously preaching against it from a moral high ground when you become the subjugated. We, at least, embrace it as reality. Subjugation of a species as inferior as yours is the natural order. We are the Masters. You are animals who invented the wheel. Nothing more."

"You should ask the mayors of your other two cities if they share that opinion."

All of my muscles bunched and I grinned like a maniac. It was all I could do not to jump and shout in triumph! I was never so proud of Julius than in that moment.

"Your point is taken, Julius." Canku's voice was even; the Masters didn't really comprehend sarcasm. "A little beyond the wheel, then. But not much."

"I have to ask," Julius said, conversationally. "We captured one of your race two years ago. His name is Ruki. We do not mistreat him. He lives still. Tell me, what did you do to the members of our resistance whom you took prisoner?"

"We capped them and interrogated them. They resisted valiantly, so their minds broke. After we learned all we could, we executed them."

I burned with rage. We all did. I felt it throughout the tent. Henry wept silently.

"We will continue to treat Ruki humanely," Julius said. "Even though you are not human, I'm sure you understand the meaning of that word. Do you truly not see that your treatment of prisoners, compared to our treatment of prisoners, makes you monstrous?"

Again, to Canku, it wouldn't have mattered how he treated prisoners because he considered humanity doomed in less than a year, anyway. But obviously, he couldn't say that without revealing their plan.

Instead, Canku asked, "If you were in a position in which you were forced to torture and execute Ruki to win back your world, would you?"

Julius pondered again, then replied slowly, "Yes...I believe we would."

"Then do not ask me this absurd question again. Apparently, our monstrosity is equal."

"Why did you contact us?"

"To offer you a chance to surrender."

"And why would we do that?"

"Because your lives would be better. Even now, we will allow you to take the cap, to experience a life free from misery and worry. Even now, we offer this gift to our enemies. It is a humane act, as you would say."

"Canku, all I would say is that if you make this offer in all seriousness, you haven't understood a thing I have said."

"Incorrect. I have understood. I already knew your answer. But we felt an obligation to make the offer anyway, to cease hostilities."

"And I make a counteroffer. To cease hostilities, you can surrender immediately, or at least, leave the Earth immediately."

"We will do neither. We are by far the superior race, and we claim this world, a world whose potential would be wasted under your ham-fisted, primitive stewardship."

"Then it is war to the end," Julius said softly.

"So be it. But it will be your end. Now that we are forewarned, you have no means of attacking us further. Our offer stands. You may accept at any time. When you die fighting a useless battle, may you remember that you had your chance for contentment. Farewell, Julius, leader of our enemies."

"Farewell, Canku," Julius almost whispered. "Leader of our enemies."

The radio went silent.

Julius slowly and deliberately set the microphone down. "They're frightened," he said. "Badly frightened."

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"They did not contact us because they were bored," Beanpole said. "And they did not offer us the gift of the cap out of the goodness of their hearts."

The Comte nodded in agreement. "A truly secure man has no need, desire, or time to initiate contact with his enemies."

Julius nodded also, and said, "The most important thing is that we learned a few things, and they learned nothing."

 

Freetown was on fire with the news we had brought, and with the apprehension of going into battle.

Eloise and I, with Henry and my in-laws accompanying us, navigated through the excitement to find our crewmates. They were buzzing about the new threat so much that news of our wedding hardly registered (and rightly so). I found it surreal that we had only been gone one night.

"You haven't replaced us, yet, have you?" I asked my crewmates.

Jan said, "Of course we have. What's your name again?" We all laughed, then he said, "Nah, seriously, we hadn't filled your spots."

"Is it my imagination, or are there fewer people here?" I asked, looking around.

"A few gowners and former slaves have gone back to their homes," Sebastian said.

"I didn't think the scientists had time to debrief them, yet," I said, puzzled.

"They didn't," Miguel said. "They just got tired of waiting."

I sighed. I had learned the hard way that knowledge was precious, and any of those people may have known something we had yet to learn. Still, I understood their need to return to their families.

"What about Fritz returning to Crew 1?" Eloise asked. "They didn't elect a new captain, did they?"

"They did," Johann said. "But he gladly stepped down again to get Fritz back. They're a good crew."

"Is there a place on one of your crews for me?" Henry asked. "I think I could be quite good, and I handled myself well on the way here."

"Actually, I think so," Jan said. "A member of Crew 6 left. Said he'd volunteered to defend Freetown but nothing was happening and he couldn't delay getting back to his family any more."

"And Crew 5 had a deserter," Heloise said.

"Really?" Jan asked. "A true deserter?"

Heloise shrugged. "No one knows where he went. One of them swears she saw him boarding yesterday's barge. Which is fine, but he didn't bother telling anyone, you know?"

"Find Fritz," I told Henry. "If it can happen, he'll set you up."

 

Eloise introduced her parents to Marie. She and the Comtesse fell into each other's arms and cried. After many tears, Marie asked them if they had been assigned some place proper to sleep. We assured her Julius had found a place for them which, while certainly not the luxury they were used to, was somewhat better than a rough blanket on the ground.

Eloise's parents wanted to see the Pyramid of Beauty. They almost had an obsession to see with their own eyes the alien prison which had held their daughter. Eloise and I would have very little time to be with them tomorrow, so we all walked into the city right then, with Marie joining us.

The city itself stunned the Comte and Comtesse, as it did everyone who beheld it the first time. It was well lit, so the fact that it was night didn't matter. They gaped at the Hall of Tripods. I told them to prepare themselves to feel the motion of the lift, that it was a room which went up and down. I explained the slave areas and the airlock as we walked through. When they stood on the ledge, they were silent for a long time.

They marveled at the car. I drove us all to the Pyramid of Beauty. Eloise and Marie, giggling, squeezed into a seat together.

When we stepped into the room with the women frozen in time, the Comtesse wept, but so did the Comte.

The progress everyone had made reviving the women was good. An entire row, and almost all of another, had been cleared.

"Which cell was yours, dear?" the Comtesse asked Eloise.

Eloise pointed at a section. "One of these. I don't remember which. Do you, Guillaume?"

"One of these three," I said. "But each cell looks the same now, so it's hard to tell."

Looking at the women still in their cases, the Comtesse said, "I would like to help with this."

"I will introduce you to Helga," Eloise said. "But you shall have to do as she instructs."

We headed back to the gate. I told the Comte he could certainly see more of the city over the next few days, but tonight was probably not a good time.

As we entered the airlock, Gregory came running behind us, eager to get back to Freetown. He, too, was excited by the news of impending battle, but we quickly discovered that it was because he had an idea. He was so keyed up about it that he barely registered me introducing him to Eloise's parents.

"You're attacking their Tripods with our Tripods!" he said excitedly as we entered the lift. "I can help with that! You see, when the enemy Tripods see you coming, they'll contact you by radio to ask who you are and what news you bring. When you don't answer, they'll figure out you're the enemy. But I can get around that problem! Last week – oops!"

"Watch out," I said gently. In his excitement he'd run into the wall while exiting the lift. I guided him through, but he hardly seemed to notice, and his stream of words barely stopped.

"Last week, I found recordings of normal radio conversations among Tripod drivers, and I can partially understand them. I can combine a number of greetings, and other back-and-forth messages, into a single recording, and just before you attack, I can play that recording over the Masters' radio here in the city! The Masters will think these greetings are coming from you, which means they won't realize you're hostile until it's too late! Then wham!"

He was so excited I actually motioned for him to maybe calm down a little, and encouraged him to rush this idea to Julius, just to get him out of our hair.

He ran off as we stepped out of the gate. I turned to my in-laws and said, "Sorry about that. Gregory's a bit of a handful sometimes."

"It is an excellent idea, though," Eloise said.

 

Julius, Andre, Stefan, Fritz, and the Comte spent the next morning devising the plan. Even with his adages, I'm not sure what help the Comte could provide, but due to his position and the fact that his daughter would be one of the combatants, they really couldn't exclude him.

Eloise introduced her mother to Helga, Juanita, and many of the other women. With her caring nature, the Comtesse felt right at home with them and their project of reviving all the others.

Henry came to me with a huge grin on his face. "I'm officially a member of Crew 5!" We shouted with joy and hugged.

 

Just after lunch, it was down to business. A huge number of people gathered in and around the mess tent, with the Tripod crews sitting near the front.

Andre did the talking. "Stefan has drawn diagrams of the enemy's new shipyard." A couple of people started passing out papers to the crew captains. "Stefan observed the enemy for several days, and all of these drawings are as accurate and as detailed as possible. We have at least one copy for each crew. Study them. Know them by heart. Know them so well you can see them with your eyes closed. Know them so well you'll dream about them tonight."

Crew 3 gathered around to look at the papers Jan held. There were four of them.

The first was a map showing the position of the sentry, the buildings around it, the Tripods behind it, the waterfront, and the platform they were constructing. The second was of the same setup from the viewpoint of a person on the ground, showing the sentry and the buildings around it so we could see the height of those buildings. The third showed an expanded map of the area, with other buildings we would need to maneuver around to approach the enemy.

One thing which struck me right away was that a nine-story building stood about 50 meters to one side of the sentry, while a sixteen-story building stood about 25 meters to the other, and the taller building slanted toward the waterfront. It wasn't exactly a bottleneck, but it was certainly an issue. Going around either building would be a problem due to yet more buildings and the waterfront itself. The Tripods had chosen their location well.

The fourth drawing was of the platform itself, with Tripods in front of it for scale, and it looked bizarre. My nautical knowledge was practically non-existent, so I supposed I had been expecting a scaled-up version of a fishing vessel, but that's not what I saw here.

The platform was maybe half as tall again as the Tripods. The hull, at least on the side facing the waterfront, was almost vertical. For some distance along the top edge, cranes had been attached about every thirty meters or so. They were of varying heights and lengths, and faced outward at 90-degree angles. Where the line of cranes ended, a line of chunky, blocky protrusions began, sticking up from the edge and sometimes out over the water, looking almost like toy blocks stacked randomly by a child. Below these was a large rectangular opening about one-third of the way down from the top edge, the only break in the platform's otherwise smooth wall.

"It has now been nine days since Stefan observed these Tripods," Andre said. "But unless they've finished, we have every reason to believe their position will be exactly the same as you see on the papers. Stefan says they would occasionally use the floats to stand on the water, but never for very long, and not more than a few times per day, at most. This risk is negligible, so assume all the enemy Tripods will be standing on land when you arrive.

"It's possible, but very unlikely, that there are more Tripods on or inside the platform. When Stefan observed the platform, he could see a little bit through ruptures the enemy hadn't repaired yet, and saw nothing moving inside. He also never saw any movement on top.

"The platform itself is in the water, rather than in any kind of drydock, maybe thirty to forty feet off the waterfront. It's stationary, even though Stefan couldn't see how it was kept in place. He theorizes that there may be anchored barges on the platform's opposite side.

"By far, our chief advantage is surprise. The enemy doesn't know we have commandeered Tripods, and we highly doubt they're expecting a frontal assault of any kind. Even so, they are on extremely high alert and are very, very watchful. We can't sneak up on them, so we're not going to try. We're simply going to walk right up to them and hope they think they're being joined by more of their own kind.

"I will not sugarcoat this: the battle, and your lives, depend entirely upon the sentry making this assumption. The idea of humans operating Tripods should be so unthinkable to them that we believe we can get away with this.

"However, even if this works, it will only work on the sentry, because that's your point of contact. Once you take out that sentry, the remaining five enemy Tripods will know they're under attack.

"But the biggest problem in this regard will be the numbers painted on your Tripods. We don't have the time or chemicals to remove them. We could send you in new, unmarked Tripods; we have over a hundred at our disposal. But we will not do this. You will use the numbered Tripods in which you have trained.

"The question of whether to send you in marked or unmarked Tripods was an agonizing choice, and the most difficult part of the planning.

"On the one hand, if the sentry is especially astute, the numbers could be the clue which tells him you're not friendly. This would be fatal. And even if the numbers don't ruin the surprise, once the battle is joined, each number will mark you as a target.

"On the other hand, once the fighting begins, it will be a pitched battle, and without the numbers you, yourselves, would have no way to tell which Tripod was the enemy.

"So, we have two considerations: the element of surprise, and the ability to tell friend from foe.

"Regarding the ability to tell friend from foe: we believe that the Masters, being so accustomed to each other and to the Tripods they have been working beside for over a month, would be able to discern friend from foe very easily, in little ways we probably would not understand. Therefore, attacking with unmarked Tripods would hurt us deeply while not helping in the slightest. This is the biggest factor which informed our decision.

"Regarding the element of surprise: Because Tripods were not even remotely designed for humans, it should be unthinkable to them that we could drive them, and it should be doubly unthinkable that we could use their tentacles. Because of this ingrained belief, we feel that, while the painted numbers may puzzle the sentry, they won't be enough to give us away.

"One further fact which swayed our decision – and it's a big one – is that Gregory has a plan to use recordings of radio greetings to fool the sentry into believing you're friendly. We have every hope this will help overcome the risk of the painted numbers.

"The final factor in our decision is that each Tripod may have its own nuances and quirks. If so, you have become accustomed to those nuances, and sending you in a different Tripod than the one you've trained in might be fatal.

"So, using Gregory's idea, and a clever strategy which Crew 2 has devised, we have a plan.

"But we also have to allow for deviations from our plan, and improvisations. And we have to allow for the fact that the enemy may have finished the naval platform and will be gone when you arrive, because in that case, there could be options to explore on site, clever ways that we could still perhaps catch them, slow them down, or track them. Additionally, if the naval platform is still there, there's always a chance it contains some technical knowledge or feature which would be crucial to know. Because of all these possibilities, we're sending a few scientists with you, and they will be risking their lives alongside you. Jean-Paul will accompany Crew 1, Abner will accompany Crew 2, and Francois will accompany Crew 3.

"Remember that if your Tripod falls you'll die, but if an enemy Tripod falls, the Masters inside may survive. When we captured Ruki, we dropped a Tripod 200 feet and the drivers were still alive, so we know they can take a lot of punishment.

"Also remember that no matter how much damage a Tripod sustains, it's almost impossible to for it to lose power. An enemy Tripod on the ground can still get you with its tentacles.

"Basically, whenever you can, make sure they're dead. When it comes to Tripods and Masters, there really isn't any such thing as disabled. The Earth's atmosphere is our biggest ally and their biggest weakness, so get their domes open and make them choke.

"We've figured out how to make a Tripod's cameras record, rather than just view. Before the battle begins, start recording. Any visual record of the battle will be helpful for future analysis.

"We removed the covers from your Tripod radios this morning. Once the battle is over, use them to contact us. Win or lose, nothing will be secret any more at that point, so don't worry about that.

"We've ordered every ship we have to Bayonne with all speed, to give you whatever aid you might need after the battle is over. It will take most of them several days to get there.

"Now...here's the plan."

 

We spent the afternoon in our Tripods, outside the city, testing various ways to refine Crew 2's idea. Stefan showed each crew on their Tripod's electronic map exactly where the enemy was. Just before dinner, we finalized the entire battle plan.

Every crew member spent the evening going over the plan, then going over it again, then again, then again. I didn't dream about it that night, but I definitely knew it by heart.

Because of the preparation, Eloise and I were only able to spend a little time with her parents. After Eloise and I lay down to sleep, we looked at each other, held hands, and shared an unspoken moment. We each knew tomorrow's sunrise might be our last.

She had one terrible nightmare. But we dealt with it, just like we always did.

 

After breakfast, each crew packed enough food and water for two days, then assembled on the upper level. Julius, Andre, Stefan, Gregory, the rest of the scientists, and the Comte and Comtesse were there to see us off.

When Julius arrived, I saw Beanpole step up to him, shake his hand, and speak some very heartfelt words. "Sir, after observing everything we've done in the past day, I see clearly now that a full day of planning, practice, and preparation was crucial to our success. Thank you for reining me in, and for reminding me of this."

Julius smiled at him, nodded, and patted him on the arm.

We gathered around Julius, and he spoke a few final words.

"You know what's at stake," he said. "Failure on this day may mean ultimate failure. If that naval platform launches, we do not have the capability to attack it any time soon, and from it, the Masters could still receive their spaceship and begin their operation to kill the Earth and everything on it. It is potentially, if you will, a floating fourth city, one we did not anticipate, cannot infiltrate, and cannot fight on equal terms. The only thing we can do is prevent it. We know of its existence only because some of your fellow resistance members died bringing us this information."

He scanned the crews assembled before him, looking each of us in the eye.

"It is no exaggeration to say that our fate, your fate, the fate of all your loved ones, and of our entire beautiful world, our peoples, our trees and oceans, lie in your hands today, and in yours alone. May all blessings go with you."

Andre said, "Captains, hold up your stopwatch or watch, paper, and pen to show me you have it."

Each captain did so. Jan held a wristwatch, paper, and pen.

Andre checked that he saw five captains with their hands up, then nodded. "Crews...board your Tripods."

As we dispersed, Eloise's parents approached. I shook the Comte's hand, and received a hug from the Comtesse. Then Eloise shared a last, long hug with her parents. They held her tight, then each kissed her on her forehead. None of us spoke, for there were no words.

She and I nodded at them one last time and turned away.

At Tripod 3's docking bay, Stefan was waiting for us at the hatch.

He shook my hand and said, "I may not remember you from five years ago, but I always will now. I'm proud to know I found you."

"Thank you, sir," I said. "And thank you for bringing back the information we so desperately needed."

"Just make good use of it, that's all I ask."

"I finally understand why you chose that name, by the way."

He grinned and clapped me on the arm. "Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"