Titanic though those thrusts were, not a pirate ship was seriously hurt. Outer screens went down, and more than a few of the second lines of defense also failed. But that was the Patrolmen's strategy; to let the enemy know that they had weapons of offense somewhat superior to their own, but not quite powerful enough to be a real menace. In minutes, therefore, the Boskonians rushed up and englobed the newcomer; supposing, of course, that she was a product of the world below, that she was manned by the race who had so long and so successfully fought off Boskonian encroachment. They attacked, and under the concentrated fury of their beams, the outer screen of the Patrol ship began to fail. Higher and higher into the spectrum it radiated, blinding white--blue--an intolerable violet glare; then, patchily, through the invisible ultraviolet and into the black of extinction. The second screen resisted longer and more stubbornly, but finally it also went down; the third automatically taking up the burden of defense. Simultaneously, the power of Civilization's projectors weakened, as though the _Dauntless_ were shifting her power from offense to defense in order to stiffen her third, and supposedly her last, shielding screen. "Pretty soon, now, Chatway," Kinnison observed. "Just as soon as they can report that they have us in a bad way; that it is just a matter of time until they blow us out of the ether. Better report now--I'll put you on the spool." "We are equipped to energize simultaneously eight of the new, replaceable-unit primary projectors," the C.F.O. stated, crisply. "There are twenty-one vessels englobing us, and no others within detection. With a discharge period of point six oh second and a switching interval of point oh nine, the entire action should occupy one point nine eight seconds." "Chief Communications Officer Nelson on the spool. Can the last surviving ship of the enemy report enough in two seconds to do us material harm?" "In my opinion it cannot, sir," Nelson reported, formally. "The communications officer is neither an observer nor a technician; he merely transmits whatever material is given him by other officers for transmission. If he is already working a beam to his base at the moment of our first blast, he might be able to report the destruction of vessels, but he could not be specific as to the nature of the agent used. Such a report could do no harm, as the fact of the destruction of the vessels will in any event become apparent shortly. Since we are apparently being overcome easily, however, and this is a routine action, the probability is that this detachment is not in direct communication with Base at any given moment. If not, he could not establish working control in two seconds." "Kinnison now reporting. Having determined to the best of my ability that engaging the enemy at this time will not enable them to send Boskone any information regarding our primary armament, I now give the word to--_fire_."