"Well?" he wheezed. "Have you no suggestions in case he does have to destroy the subspace ship?"
Ullo twirled one tentacle tip in the mud of his tub until he collected a sticky blob. This he flipped away with a snap of the tentacle. He derived a slight satisfaction from the splat against the far wall.
"We must try to preserve one of his collections of information," he said. "It would entail considerable expense—not to mention time—to replace Zoya and repeat the scouting."
Ahnu shifted his position irritably. Ullo saw that his reference to expense had been a shrewd blow. The Supervisor snorted and bubbled, but finally conceded that much and gestured for Ullo to continue.
"So it would be unfortunate if he should succeed in regaining his big ship, only to return to his base and find it occupied by exploring Earthmen."
"What do you suggest, then?"
"He should try for either the base or the ship, and arrange to destroy the other! If he can remain undetected for a short time at the base, he can dispose of his specimens after forwarding a report on them. If he gets to the ship safely, why leave behind any clues at all?"
After considerable wheezing and puffing, it was agreed that Zoya should take a chance on having his base discovered while he was away, but provide for the eventuality by arranging a bomb that would be set off by the approach of any strange ship. He admitted that he already had one, keyed to be safe only after certain signals from his own rocket. He had only to hook it up.
"If you do have to return," advised Ullo, "clean out your dissecting room and then make friends with the Earthmen. Give them some story of being cast away, and ask help in building a new ship."
"You mean ... install our kind of drive without their knowing?"