Lisa was too angry to be afraid. 'Who the h.e.l.l are you?

What are you doing on my ship?'

The figure made no reply. She could see little red eyes studying her through the slits in the helmet.

'I am Lisa Deranne, ship's captain,' she said coldly. 'I demand an explanation.'

There was some kind of blaster in the creature's stubby hand. It raised the weapon almost casually and shot her down.

'Five targets down,' said Lieutenant Vorn into his intercom. He removed his helmet, relaxing in the consciousness of duty done. 'This ship is under Sontaran control.'

12.

Prisoners Commander Steg sat in Lisa Deranne's command chair in the control room, jabbing at the keyboard of the ship's primitive computer. One by one names and faces appeared on the screen before him. Steg studied each dosier briefly before pa.s.sing on to the next. When the list finished he sat back, waiting.

Lieutenant Vorn entered the control room, a Sontaran trooper at his heels. They came to attention and saluted.

'Commander Steg!' said Vorn.

'Ah, Lieutenant Vorn,' replied Steg, with considerably less enthusiasm.

'The ship is secured, Commander.'

Steg pointed to the computer screen. 'Six humans are listed on the ship's crew roll.'

'Commander?'

'There were five human bodies.'

Vorn thought this over for some time, and came up with the correct deduction. 'One human is missing, Commander!'

'Precisely, Lieutenant. Robar, ship's engineer. Find him.

Bring him to me alive.'

'I shall go at once, Commander.'

'No, Lieutenant Vorn, you shall send a trooper. Unlikely as it seems, I may have need of you.'

Vorn saluted again. He turned away and then turned back again. 'Commander? Where shall I send the trooper?'

'To find an engineer?' Steg's voice was thoughtful. 'It's a wild guess, Lieutenant, but you could start with the engine room.'

Vorn saluted yet again, and he and the trooper marched away.

Just for a moment, Steg covered his eyes with his hand.

The engine was a long thin chamber in the centre of the ship, in semi-darkness except for a few dimly glowing working lights.

Robar was s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the hatch-cover back on one of the power drives. He was talking to himself, or rather to his engines, as he worked. 'Not you then. Well, one more to go.

d.a.m.n these conversion jobs.'

He went to the last hatch, unscrewed the locking nuts and swung it open. He looked inside and saw, to his horror, that something was looking back at him. Something strange, alien, that had no right to be there.

With an effort Robar started to back away. A stream of light flowed from the hatchway and engulfed him. He tried to scream, but the same something sliced the breath from his throat with a blade of light, and the scream died away in a gurgle choked with blood.

Lisa Deranne opened her eyes and saw a face looking down at her. It was a man's face, not young, not handsome, but strong and dependable. She tried to smile at it but her face muscles felt stiff. Her head was throbbing and her tongue felt like a Sentarion cactus.

A hand held a water-flask to her mouth and she sucked greedily at the long straw. It was flat, recycled water, but it tasted like nectar. She tried to sit up, wincing as pain jabbed through her head.

'You'll have a splitting headache for a while,' said Kurt.

Lisa took another sip of water. She managed to sit up and then tried to stand. Her legs collapsed under her and she sat down again with a jolt.

'Take it easy,' said Kurt.

Lisa looked resentfully at him. 'You seem all right.'

'Experience I've been stunned before.'

As her head started to clear, Lisa looked around her. She was in the bunk area of the crew room, and the rest of her crew, all apparently unconscious, were scattered on the other bunks.

'Why didn't you revive any of the others?'

'They'll only start moaning.'

As if on cue, Zorelle stirred. She started moaning feebly.

'See?' said Kurt.

Nikos revived too. He saw Mari unconscious on a nearby bunk and began crawling painfully towards her, ignoring Zorelle's increasingly pitiful moans.

He knelt over her bunk, and stroked her face. Mari stirred and moaned. 'You're alive!' croaked Nikos delightedly. He looked at Kurt and Lisa. 'She's alive!'

'Of course she's b.l.o.o.d.y well alive,' said Kurt wearily.

'What happened?'

'She was shot down with a blaster set on stun. You all were I copped it from the stun grenade.'

'Why? Who are they? What do they want?' Another moan from Mari interrupted the flow of questions. Nikos looked desperately at Kurt and Lisa. 'We must help her.'

Kurt got stiffly to his feet and made his way to the water dispenser. He grabbed a towel from one of the bunks, poured water on it, and handed towel and flask to Nikos.

'Here. She's got a sore head and a dry mouth. Look after her.' Zorelle produced another theatrical moan and Kurt added hastily, 'Her too.'

As Nikos began bathing Mari's face, Kurt went back to Lisa, who was finishing her water. 'Feeling better?'

Lisa shook her head and immediately wished she hadn't.

'Not much. What do you reckon this is? Piracy?'

'Did you get a look at their ship?'

'Briefly, on the scanner.'

'What was it like?'

'Ma.s.sive.'

'I don't think it's piracy,' said Kurt slowly. 'Feels military.'

'I'm going to find out.' With an effort, Lisa made it to her feet. Suddenly the door opened, revealing a squat helmeted figure, covering her with a blaster. It glared suspiciously at her for a moment and closed the door.

'See?' said Kurt.

Lisa sat down again. She looked round the room. 'Robar's not here.'

'Where was he?'

'Engine room, checking the power drive. Perhaps they won't find him.'

'Don't worry, they'll find him,' said Kurt.

Vorn's trooper moved cautiously into the darkened engine room. The room appeared empty and the trooper began a methodical search.

A human stepped out from behind the power drive casing, and the trooper matched its appearance to the description he had been given. 'You are Robar, the engineer? You will come with me.'

The human did not move or reply.

The Sontaran trooper had little experience of this particular alien species. Otherwise he might have noticed that its features were impa.s.sive, its eyes dead, and that it gave off a curious green glow.

The trooper raised his blaster. 'Move or I fire.'

The human began to move, not towards the door, but straight towards the trooper. Suddenly afraid, the trooper retreated. 'Back!'

The human came on. The Sontaran fired but the blaster had no effect.

Before he could fire again the human was upon him. Light flowed between their bodies, there was a crackle of power, and the trooper glowed brightly for a moment. Then he fell with a terrible choking death-cry.

Glowing faintly, the human looked impa.s.sively down at him.

The crewroom door was flung open and a helmeted invader entered, two troopers behind him.

'I am Lieutenant Vorn,' he announced. 'All rise!'

n.o.body seemed impressed, and n.o.body moved.

'Rise!' ordered Vorn again.

'Why?' asked Lisa wearily.

'I said rise!' screamed Vorn. He stepped aside and the troopers swung their blasters in a menacing arc.

Kurt rose to his feet. He looked down at Lisa. 'Don't get yourself killed.'

Lisa stood up, raising her voice. 'All right, let's humour them. Everybody stand up.'

Zorelle, Mari and Nikos got mutinously to their feet.

'I should like to protest at the brutal way in which we have all been treated,' said Zorelle.

Mari drew herself up with a brave attempt at dignity.

'My father is President of Valeria, one of Earth's major colony planets.'

'And mine is the planet's leading industrialist,' said Nikos.

'When they hear of this '

Vorn had a simple but convincing answer to all their protests.

'Silence, all of you, or you will be shot! Now move!'