[Nisgeis]

Nisgeis knocked on Oberst HunterIXC’s door and opened the door when invited in. He closed the door behind him, removed his cap and threw it onto the Oberst’s desk. He ran his long fingers through his hair, staining his white hair and making it slightly pink. He perched on the corner of the desk and drew a long breath in.

“So, our chicks have come home to roost HunterIXC. But, we have more than we expected. A prize within a prize.”

“I’m sure you know what significance this could have for our work here? Ah, of course you do, you would perhaps have seen the opportunity first.”

“The question is though how to deal with the situation. That amount of rage I have never before seen – and no feeding. Incredible aggression! This is a pure killing instinct. We must possess it!”

“Obviously whatever it is has come here on board the submarine. No signs of entry or exit suggest that the… entity was already within the walls of the POW camp when the attack took place. Something has to have changed though to somehow activate the entity's killing instinct. A creature like that on board that little submarine would breeze through it like a hot knife through butter. There must be some reason why it has only shown itself here.”

“Perhaps the fetid air? A high concentration of CO2 perhaps controls the creature’s blood lust? Perhaps the food? A change of diet has activated the animal aggression?”

“Ah, but we can only guess until we determine enough to ensnare the entity and start proper testing.”

“I believe we should stamp our authority on the situation and wrong foot the Britishers. They are in new surroundings and they rely much on the familiarity of their command structure. I suggest we remove that familiarity, so that the snake is less likely to bite, I suggest we cut off its head. We can trump up some evidence if you think it necessary. We could say that Bakkels was a spy and he was murdered to quiet him. This would of course take the heat off our own undercover men as well as throwing suspicion on the Britishers. Whatever the rebuttal, the fact remains that the magnificent creature that attacked Cook Bakkels did not force entry into the camp or attempt to leave after the attack and this, the Britishers cannot argue with. If Captain Raptor1 were speedily charged and summarily executed for murder, then the POWs would be much easier to handle and their prize more easily extracted. What do you say? I am sure the men would sanction such a course of action, if it were deemed necessary for the security of the base. We are of course a long way from home. We also lack superiority of numbers. The men must surely know that the only way to security is to diminish the number of POWs we have.”

“Whilst I am here, who do you recommend is interrogated next?”