if I have

select first 25 skip 25 id from ......
union
select count(*) from ....
order by 1

what should the order by apply to, I want it to apply to the first
select so the first/skip is correct but syntax does not allow an order
by until the end due to the union. Should I be approaching this
differently.

This is firebird 1.5.4 classic on FC5.