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before them.
    "Good. We'll take a break," the oldest one said. He and the other two walked out of the kitchen, leaving me alone. I don't know why I expected them to come back; they never did. I prepared the meal myself. Some sort of fowl was in the keeper, with other types of frozen meats in the freezers. I made meat pies quickly, giving myself plenty of time for them to bake. Frozen vegetables were mixed and cooked in water and broth with butter and sauce—at least the supplies seemed sufficient if plain. I didn't have time to do a dessert—perhaps that could come one or two days per eight-day—maybe on off-days. If Mandil had off-days. I was too afraid to ask.
    * * *
      "Commander, more have been sighted." Aris' Rangers had returned from scouting the desert west of the outpost.
    "You didn't approach any of them, did you?" Aris looked up from his paperwork—Ranger Bel had caught him at his desk.
    "No, Commander. We found one deserted village—about forty lived there if our estimates are correct. All missing, now."
    "How many were children, do you think?" Aris knew the children wouldn't be a threat—the demons didn't turn children; they were eaten for sustenance. Only the adults would be turned, unless there weren't enough younglings to satisfy the demons. Then the smaller adults, preferably the females, would also serve as a food source.
    "Perhaps ten or so—we didn't find evidence of more than that."
    "Then thirty more, maybe, out there to do damage." Aris sighed.
    "Any word from the palace?" Bel wanted to sigh as well.
    "They'll send more before the next moon-turn, but we only have so many Rangers and ranos rifles. Those are the only weapons effective against these things."
    "I know. Perhaps if we negotiate with the Alliance—tell them what we're dealing with?" Bel suggested quietly.
    "Bel, you and I know that the Prince Royal will not even consider it. I'm not sure he fully understands the gravity of the situation."
    "Yet he sees fit to send twenty women, worrying about our other needs."
    "Yes. And those women will be the first targets if the demons come this way. Are any vehicles in need of repairs? We need everything we have in good repair in case a quick move is necessary."
    "They're working on them now, Commander Aris."
    "Why don't you and the others join me for dinner later? We'll discuss what we know. How did the villagers take the evacuation orders?"
    "Like we thought they might—they aren't considering the threat—they think they are not in danger."
    "Fools," Aris grumbled. "If those creatures get hungry, the village will fall, just as the others did."
    * * *
    My three helpers never came back, which meant I cleaned everything by myself before finding a bath and bed. At least there was warm water—when night fell, it got much colder than I thought it might. I also had a small room with a tiny bed right off the kitchen that I didn't have to share.
    I woke to the sound of someone blowing a raucous tune on a bugle. On Tulgalan, three loud, recorded tones woke the troops. Thinking about tossing rocks at the bugler from behind walls or bushes, I climbed awkwardly out of bed. Since I wasn't fully recovered from my ordeal inside the pod, I hauled myself (with a bit of difficulty) toward the kitchen to prepare breakfast. My three helpers were still missing. I wondered if it were my duty to report them to anyone.
    Several women from the day before came to haul the wheeled carts with the trays away. Their quarters were down a long, narrow hallway, in a wing separated from the kitchen. I was grateful for that separation. It kept me from dwelling on what was happening, there. Two of the five who came to pick up the food were already talking about this soldier or that. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear any of it, no matter how much they liked the men. One of the women winked at me before she left. Unsure what to do about that either, I set about putting yeast bread together for the evening meal.
    "Did you miss us?" The