Under ordinary circumstances the Russians would take a hell of a lot more convincing to allow any kind of contact whatsoever with an unknown vessel. But some of these men came from families that once lived within sight of a place called Mayak, and others are from Prypiat. And the noises have been going on for some time now, just at the edge of hearing. There isn't a man on the Sukhoy Nos who doesn't know, deep in his bones, that time is running out.

"You two are going to have to go in there without me," says Lua'al-rei as he leads the two humans back to the docking portal in the ship's side. "I doubt your countrymen will have built the submarine to fit my size. Warn the men what to expect, please?"