Max spent a few moments trying to think of ways that they could solve this issue, but in the end, it always came back to destroying the.


    If the Klemnded here and made contact with their surviving Kin, then it wouldn''t matter if the retrovirus worked, the Queens would know what the Humans had done here, and there was a chance that they would do it again.


    That was a risk that Max was not willing to take, especially so near the border to one of their important allies.


    This side of the Klem Territory was near many small nations that Max didn''t care much about, but it was also near the territory that Cygnus was taking over and the innermost boundaries of the Death Wind Territory, where the Mercenary locals had long been allied with the Reavers.


    [Prepare to Firestorm Bomb the. We will assess the need to continue once the extermination isplete.] Max ordered, bringing a round of rueful sighs to the room.


    They had all hoped that someone would be able toe up with a way to save the humans there, but there really didn''t seem to be any way. Curing them turned them into infants, and the majority of the poption would starve to death in that state, while Klem would likely eat the rest once the aliens realized that they were not part of their species.


    Ignoring it was clearly not an option, and simply killing the Klem and leaving would still leave the hapless mutant humans for the rest of the Klem to find.


    "Look at it this way. At least it''s a humane death. The fires will spread so fast most won''t even know that they''reing, and the heat burns away the nerves faster than they can register the pain, so the infected will not have to suffer." Major Miller pointed out.


    That brought some relief to the others in the room, and they all got busy writing up their mission reports.


    ? A few hours passed before Max realized that the quarantine buzzer should have gone off already, clearing them to leave or informing them that they had brought amunicable disease aboard and were in for extended istion and medical treatment.


    "Hey Nico, I know you''re still listening. What is wrong with our quarantine timer?" Max asked.


    The artificial voice of the Illithid advisor answered on her behalf. "That is my doing, Commander. Our studies on psychological stress indicate that it is better for subjects to believe that they finished their work before the timer than to rush to finish it after the timer. Major Miller is just finishing his report now, so I have dyed the timer with the intention of having it ring three minutes after hepleted his task.


    That is the optimal length of time to achieve the feeling of aplishment without inducing new stress rted to finishing too close to the end of the window."


    "So, we have all been sitting here because Major Miller makes excessively detailed reports?" Colonel DiFranco of the Fourth Battalion asked.


    "Alternately, it could be that your own report was insufficiently detailed, leading you toplete it far earlier than your counterparts. I can''t say for sure unless I actually read the reports in their entirety." The Illithid responded.


    Colonel Lucas, the unassuming leader of the Third Battalion, a taller than average Pilot, nearly at the 185cm height limit, with a closely cropped hairstyle that nearly mirrored the one that Max preferred, snorted in amusement.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "You''ve never even spoken to the Illithid, and he knows all about you. The rest of us are just impressed that you can actually read. We don''t expect much of your report."


    Colonel Li, the lone female on the Command team, if you didn''t count Nico, ced her hands on DiFranco''s shoulders, holding therger man in his chair so he couldn''t get into a physical altercation with Lucas, but that didn''tst long, as he simply stood up and took her with him.


    "Did you think you could stop me like that?" The Colonelughed, shaking her off his back before turning to Lucas, who was openlyughing.


    "What''s so funny?"


    "You know, it''s said that lower primates are much stronger than humans are at the same size. She never stood a chance."


    Even Max had tough at that one while the two men engaged in a grappling match, with Colonel Lucas, who was actually the stronger of the pair, pretending to be overwhelmed, and continuing with the jokes.


    "You know, the more upset you get, the more fun he''s having, right?" Li asked when DiFranco backed away from the challenge.


    "Just you wait. I still owe you for the cheese tube incident." DiFranco muttered, then moved to the mirror to straighten his uniform.


    "Cheese Tube Incident?" Colonel Klinger asked, having missed the story about that one.


    "DiFranco put itching powder in Lucas''s socks, so Lucas swapped thebels in his replicator and reced all of the jpeno cheese tubes in DiFranco''s rations with strawberry jam." Colonel Li exined, smiling at the memory of the prank.


    "And he survived? I know the guys love a little prank now and then, but the cheese is sacred." Max asked as he read the memory of the incident in the minds of both Lucas and DiFranco.


    "They might not look like it, but they have been friends since the Academy and fellow Company Commanders for over a decade before they got a Battalion Commandmission and a promotion with their transfer here." Colonel Klinger reminded him.


    Nico ended the yful mood with a mission update.


    [I know you''re having fun, but it''s time to work again. The Cutters have been loaded and prepared for their mission, and we will need Cleansing Light on standby in case the Firestorm doesn''t get all of the Klem that are hiding underground. They have a lot more of their poption inside mines and other underground structures than usual this time.]