Visitors from the Deep in Six Hours

The silver spindle climbed onto the concrete. Its shell rolled like liquid. It scanned once, and three survey boats started by themselves. Their controls had been taken. “It is copying local machinery,” Lan-Zero warned. The boats charged the *White Heron*. Reality opened seven-tenths of a second ahead in Lin’s sight. He seized a winch before it turned and released its brake. The cable snapped tight at the perfect instant, flipping the first boat. Han knew nothing of alien enemies, but decades at sea told him when to reverse and turn. The second boat scraped the stern and hit a floodgate. Two more attacked from either side. “Now!” Lin shouted. Su threw the switch.