'Wanted to get rid of the Randomiser and test my new powers' A pause. 'Failed.'

Fitz smoothed his heard, thinking. 'Well, so, erm, we can't take off, so what are we gonna do?'

'Use conventional means.'

An image of the shuttle, crouching buglike on its support struts. 'There's a shuttle '

'I see it,' whispered Compa.s.sion.

Fitz looked up at the roofscape. Everywhere, the black stuff. Compa.s.sion was presumably OK, but how long would the shuttle last?

'We'll make it,' said Compa.s.sion. Was she reading his mind? 'I can run pretty fast when I want to.'

Dakrius twisted the dial of his comm unit. 'Kreiner? Sorswo?' Nothing.

Sorswo's last words rang in his head. 'Some sort of growth.' Then a burst of static, then nothing. This had all the hallmarks of an escape attempt. He cursed himself for being so trusting. Kreiner was probably the main culprit political prisoners were always the worst. But Sorswo? He was due for release soon and Dakrius knew escape was the last thing on his mind. And where was there to escape to? Only the three domes, linked by tubular corridors, which comprised the habitation areas, the mess, the workshop and storage areas and Dakrius's office. The Powell constructions loomed over all, but they wouldn't be habitable for days yet. There was the shuttle, stationed on its launch pad some way from the domes, but that was under constant surveillance and he had the only enabler key.

Dakrius left his office and walked through the silent workshop. It had been end of shift when Sorswo and Kreiner had set off in the buggy. All the other workers would be in the mess, probably wondering where the pair were. They had better not have crashed that buggy. It was an expensive piece of equipment.

Dakrius paced up and down, twisting the dial on his comms unit. Nothing.

He was going to have to go after them in the other buggy. He shambled along the tubular corridor, his bulk shaking the sides. He liked being up here, where he weighed less. Yquatine's gravity was twice that of Adamantine and it played h.e.l.l with his joints and digestion.

He entered the mess hall, and silently pointed to two prisoners. No point alarming all of them. Last thing he wanted was a riot on his hands.

A few minutes later the two prisoners, Melebele and Jayd, had suited up and were sitting in the buggy in front of Dakrius. Melebele was a tall, strong Rorclaavix; if there was anything nasty out there Dakrius would be glad of his help. Jayd was a human, a petty pilferer who'd been in and out of inst.i.tutions all his life, and an expert with machines, which was why Dakrius had chosen him to drive the buggy and repair the one Kreiner and Sorswo had taken, if need be.

The Adamantean's s.p.a.cesuit was specially adapted, adding to his bulk in it he looked like a giant and unwieldy robot. He knew that with his weight on the buggy it would take longer to get to the scene of the incident, but he wanted to he there in person. He left Torris and Muller in charge. He hoped they could cope. Humans often had problems with discipline.

They started out, the buggy crawling across the b.u.mpy grey surface of Muath, Dakrius's patient, methodical mind ticking over the possibilities. Escape seemed the most likely. The more he thought about it, the more suspect Sorswo's manner seemed. Perhaps the man had been lulling him into a false sense of security.

So intent was Dakrius on the motives of his charges that he didn't notice the sky darken above him until a grumble of astonishment from Melebele and a cry of alarm from Jayd crackled simultaneously in his helmet receiver.

'Sir!' Jayd's voice. 'Look look up there!'

Dakrius looked up as a shadow slipped over the buggy. He squinted, trying to make it out. The stars were being occluded by the pa.s.sage of what? Something huge and black. Ships?

He spoke into his helmet mike. 'Take us back.'

Jayd began to take the buggy in a wide arc, sending up a wall of fine dust which hung for a moment before falling slowly back down. Just before the arc was complete, something thumped into the soft ground in front of them. Jayd jammed on the brakes and Dakrius fell forward in his harness.

Melebele had already got out and was walking towards the thing.

'I gave no order!' barked Dakrius, unbuckling his harness and stepping on to the surface. His feet sank a good few centimetres into the dust.

He stood next to Melebele. The Rorclaavix wasn't particularly bright he'd been caught mugging Luvian tourists in broad daylight and beneath the dome of his helmet his furred face was alight with dopey interest. 'What you think it is, sir?'

Dakrius examined the object as closely as he dared, twice arm's length. It looked like a bomb of very strange design, covered in spines and grey tubes. As Dakrius watched, a thick black gas began to leak out from the tubes and expand in the thin atmosphere. From all around him Dakrius could see plumes of grey dust where similar objects were falling.

He shoved Melebele towards the buggy. 'Get back in right now.'

Melebele did as he was told, and Dakrius followed, clambering into the buggy and strapping himself in. 'Take us back to the domes, Jayd.'

Jayd had kept the electric motor idling and on Dakrius's command the buggy lurched into life. It was tough on Sorswo and Kreiner, but Dakrius's first duty was to the other prisoners.

All around, the black spiny missiles were falling and disgorging their thick black contents. Dakrius cursed. A wall of the stuff was curling around the domes, sliding up over their silvery outer skin. It seemed alive, like a hunter seeking out its prey.

Melebele's gruff voice. 'Domes under attack now, sir.'

'I can see that,' said Dakrius angrily. He couldn't risk taking them into that stuff. Fortunately, the shuttle stood some distance from the domes a safety measure Dakrius was now heartily glad of. 'Jayd, take us to the shuttle. We've got no choice but to abandon base.'

They made good speed towards the shuttle. Dakrius glanced back at the domes. They were now completely enveloped in the black stuff. He didn't want to think what it was doing to his charges and other officers. Choking them? Burning them? The sky was dark with the ships, cutting off light from the sun. Jayd had switched on the buggy's lights, their beams bouncing crazily on the grey sand. Dakrius was surprised the Anthaurk for it had to be they were bothering with such a nontarget as Muath. Perhaps they were after some of the secret research rumoured to be taking place at the university installation.

They were a hundred metres or so from the shuttle when the buggy jerked to a halt.

'What is it?'

'Power's cut out,' said Jayd. 'Some sort of system fault.'

'We'll have to run' Dakrius scrambled out, Melebele close on his heels. All around them surged the black gas, twice the height of an Adamantean, closing around them like a sphincter. It was almost upon the shuttle.

Jayd was unclipping his harness when something fell out of the sky, smashing into the side of the buggy, sending it spinning end over end towards the stuff.

Dakrius took a step towards it, a cry on his stone lips.

Jayd's screams rang in his ears. He could see the man frantically trying to undo his harness. Must be stuck. Jayd began to curse.

And Melebele was running after him. 'I rescue!' panted the husky Rorclaavix voice.

Dakrius raised his arms over his head. 'No! Come back. you fool!'

The buggy spun once more and was swallowed up by the black stuff.

'Jayd!' cried Dakrius.

'It's eating into my s.h.i.t!' Jayd's cursing changed to thick, choking screams, as if something was being forced down his throat. And then, thankfully, silence.

'Melebele, I order you to come back that stuffs corrosive!'

No reply. With a roar, the Rorclaavix ran headlong into the rolling black wall. Dakrius cut the intercom. There was no hope for Melebele now.

And for him? He whirled round. The blackness had cut off his route to the shuttle. He was as good as dead.

Dakrius looked at the enabler key, which he'd got out in readiness. He'd never use it now.

With frightening suddenness, the black stuff was upon him, and he could see nothing but darkness. His suit warned him that its integrity was compromised, that he should seek immediate a.s.sistance, and then the computer voice fizzled away as the corrosive gas got to it.

Dakrius sank to his knees. So, he was going to die. And it was going to he painful. He would probably take longer to dissolve than the flesh-andblood human and Rorclaavix. His silicon-based body would resist the acid for longer.

He got to his feet again. He could run for it, make it to the shuttle, but even as he took one step he realised that he had no idea in which direction the shuttle lay. He sank to his knees again, a tickling feeling creeping over his body, an acrid taste forcing its way down his throat.

Such was the beginning of the end for Dakrius.

In the tumult of pain that followed, he saw many visions. His ancestors, staking claim to the barren rock that would become Adamantine, his homeworld. His office in the Centre, with its never-ending parade of papers and the recalcitrant computer. And a tall human woman in a black cape who bent to him, her face full of compa.s.sion, her hand grasping his, taking the enabler key from him.

Compa.s.sion took the enabler key from the dying Adamantean and without pause turned and walked towards where she sensed the shuttle lay on its launch pad. The entrance ramp was already buckling under the a.s.sault of the corrosive cloud. She tripped lightly up the steps, pressed the enabler key against the lock and the door slid open. She slipped inside, sealed the airlocks and went forward to the flight deck. The controls were simple to master. It was a small interplanetary shuttle with limited field facilities, minimal weaponry, some warp facility. Better not let Fitz out until they were clear of Muath: didn't want him around being all emotional and getting crushed by the g force. With deft movements Compa.s.sion took the shuttle up and through the black cloud, using full power, the acceleration pressing her back into her seat.

Suddenly, they were through the cloud, and the screen showed the black gulf of s.p.a.ce.

Fitz was pacing around her console chamber, in some agitation, demanding to see Arielle. She told him she was safe but that didn't seem to satisfy him. Compa.s.sion didn't think it would be a good idea if he saw her in her current condition, so she ejected Fitz from herself and plonked him in the copilot's seat.

'Dammit, Compa.s.sion!' cried Fitz. He was still in his s.p.a.cesuit. but he'd taken his helmet off; it was rolling around her console chamber.

'Look,' said Compa.s.sion, pointing at the screen.

Fitz gasped. Compa.s.sion had to admit, it was an impressive and disturbing sight. There were hundreds thousands of oval ships, in a thick cordon around Muath. And they were heading towards Yquatine.

While Fitz gaped. she did a quick systems check. Things didn't look good. The black stuff had eaten through the engine cowling. They were losing power.

Fitz was babbling, about Arielle, about the Doctor. his face streaked with tears. Compa.s.sion remembered when she'd tried to suffocate him, to force him to remove the Randomiser. She felt she ought to apologise for it sooner or later, but now wasn't the time.

'Fitz,' she said, and, when he didn't pay her any attention. she said it louder. 'Fitz!'

He was breathing heavily, his face was pale and it looked like he'd put on some weight. What was that he'd said? He'd been in prison? Well, they'd have plenty of time to talk. 'We've lost power, we're drifting.' She rose from her seat. I'm going to see if I can repair the engines.'

A grey-gloved hand touched the darkness of her cloak. 'Take me back inside you.' Fitz's pale-blue eyes were pleading, his lips trembling. 'Take me to Arielle.'

Compa.s.sion sighed. She wouldn't get any peace unless she did as he asked. 'All right. I will.'

Chapter Twenty-One.

'The cellular damage is irreversible'

Arielle woke up from a dream of suffocating blackness to the feeling of a hundred wet mouths sucking at her body. She tried to scream, but her throat hurt, as though someone had tried to strangle her.

Strangle her? The last thing she remembered was being on the St Julian St Julian with Fitz. Then then she'd had... a headache? with Fitz. Then then she'd had... a headache?

After that, nothing. Until now. Where was she?

Now she'd got used to the sucking sensation, she found it soothing. She tried to focus on her surroundings, make sense of things. She was lying down, she could ascertain that much. Her whole body hurt. It felt as if her bones were coated in tiny shards of gla.s.s. Above her, something wide and blue and dark like the sky at night. Dark shapes crowded at the edge of her vision. She couldn't see properly, so she struggled to sit up, but the pain was too much, her joints grinding and her head splitting with white light; so she sank back down on to the sucking mouths.

She reached out with the palms of her hands, which stung as if she'd been grasping a bouquet of nettles. They touched a wet, slippery surface, like a porous skin bathed in... oil? sweat?

She brought her hand up to her face. It was red. Red with blood. Not her own blood The blood of millions, dying in agony, eaten away and that was good good good Then she found the voice to scream, though the effort tore at her throat and sent slivers of fire through her limbs. She relapsed into a state of numbness, of shock. She remembered something black with shivering skin and a mouth in her mind which had spoken to her. It had told her its name: Omnethoth. It had made her All solid mortals will be dissolved.

She shied away from the black thing, pushing it right down inside herself, stifling its inhuman voice.

Then all was still.

It took her a while to notice another voice, a quiet, soothing voice in her mind. It was saying one word, over and over again.

'Hush. Hush. Hush.'

Arielle concentrated on the voice. It calmed her, gave her something to focus on. She spoke, the words coming slowly, painfully: Who are you? Where am I?'

The voice spoke to her from deep within her own self. 'I am Compa.s.sion. And you are safe. It's gone now. You are going to be all right.'

Compa.s.sion. Safe. All right. Arielle looked at her hand. There was no blood.

Wearily, Arielle sank back into the mouths. She was so very tired.

'Sleep now. You're going to be all right.'

The pain ebbed away slowly and Arielle sank into a warm, soothing sleep.

'That's a d.a.m.n lie,' said Fitz, wiping the tears from his eyes, not caring if Compa.s.sion saw. 'She's not going to be all right, not going to be all right at all.'

'You can't fault my bedside manner, though, can you?'

Fitz swore wearily. 'There's a time for humour, Compa.s.sion. It isn't now.'

'Sorry.'

She actually sounded like she meant it, but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of letting her know that.

He knelt by Arielle's side, holding her hand. It was cold and dry and it felt as brittle as burnt paper. The skin was almost transparent. She was lying, naked, on a giant spongy leaf Compa.s.sion had grown for her in her forest her deep, secret place of nature and emotion. The leaf pulsed gently around Arielle, infusing painkillers through her skin into her body. That was all Compa.s.sion could do. Make it as painless as possible. Live up to her name in actions if not in actual emotion.

Because Arielle was dying.

Compa.s.sion had told him why. She had been possessed by spores of the Omnethoth, the thing that controlled the transmitter, the thing that had brought about the destruction of Yquatine. Their very essence had invaded her cells, making her one of them. They had made her build the transmitter, birthing it from her own cells, nurturing it. It sent signals to the dormant Omnethoth colonisation clouds spread throughout the universe, activating them. They had worked to produce the invasion fleet, the thousands of black ships that the transmitter had teleported to Yquatine. Now the transmitter's work was done, the Omnethoth spores had withdrawn from Arielle, taking their essence away and leaving behind a devastated body. Arielle was disintegrating before Fitz's eyes.

He remembered what had happened on the St Julian St Julian. Arielle's eyes completely black. Arielle in a coma. They had taken her then, these Omnethoth. It could have been him. He railed against the unfairness of it all. Why couldn't it have been him? At least he was used to being taken over by alien ent.i.ties.

'Arielle?' whispered Fitz. 'Can you hear me?'