Krembyl stopped obediently.
"What about Sol IV?"
"Oh, Sol IV is all right, sir." Krembyl brightened a shade as he turned. "There is not the slightest trace of contamination. That planet must have been on the far side of Sol when—when they escaped Sol V. I am certain, sir, you will find the rest of the system quite in order...."
"Enough! Begin the extermination! And this time employ drastic measures. Take the planet to the rim of Sol itself and bake it to a crisp before they infest the entire galaxy."
"Yes, sir. Immediately, sir." Krembyl turned again to the door, thankful his fate had not been worse.
"And don't fail this time!" warned Ryt. "If you lose Sol III as you lost Sol V, I'll see to it that you put them both back together again, piece by piece, if it takes you six eons beyond your retirement age!"
The moon, with its strange accompanying cloud, had nearly set. The blue of the eastern sky was fading into apple-green. There was a roaring swish of sound, a shattering blast of energy, a whistling sigh, then a remote whisper. The needle-like structure from the valley became a flickering pin point in the sky.
The girl leaned her blonde head against the shoulder of the man beside her. "We—we are free?" Her voice was but a whisper.
He adjusted the ra-vis to get a clearer view of Earth and its surrounding space. The view was but slightly distorted by the hot gases of the stern tubes. "Yes," he said, struggling to keep his nervousness from playing havoc with his vocal cords. "Free. Free from a mad world!" He squeezed her hand reassuringly, his eyes intent upon the screen.