"You did well." " The owner didn't think so." " Did you kill him?" "." " Were we supposed to?" "." " It's tidier." "It's easy to be tidy from where you sit, Largo." "Don't get clever, dream head." "That wasn't the deal." "The deal was whatever I say it was." "I own you, dream heads." "Unhuhhhh." "What do you say?" "." "Please, Largo." "Please, Largo." "Pure Shadow..." "You won't just die without it;" "you'll die in terrified agony." "Please." "Good." "All right." "I want your brother to ask for it." "One word from me, and your supply is gone, forever." " You've been paid." " Prove it." "I thought that honour was a big thing with the Terra Nostra." "We own you, boy." "Please, Largo." "Please." "That's better." "We owned you from your first tiny drop of Shadow." "Use Shadow?" "." "Do I look that stupid?" "." "Oh, try it!" "Hanna." " The other two he promised..." " Enough!" "The gems..." "Nobody steals from the Terra Nostra." " We're innovators." " You're dead." "Out, Hanna." "Casual, don't run." "Face down, Largo." "Quickly." "Quickly!" "Now close your eyes." "Now stay like that." "Go ahead and try it." "Killing a Terra Nostra pusher will be the best fun I've had all day." "You stupid murdering scum ball." "They'll catch us." "Get Peety and meet me at launch grid six in twenty minutes." "Nobody gets away from them." "We will." "Look, I can get a ship." "Launch clearance, what about launch clearance?" "." "The crew on grid six are for sale." "It's too late for that." "Listen." "Hanna, she told me to look after you and Peety." "That's what I'm trying to do." "Grid six, twenty minutes." "Right?" "." " Right?" "." " Right..." "Approach completed." "All vectors are matched and holding." "Power down, now." "Switching to automatics." "Confirmed." "All systems functioning." "Status is firm." "Very pretty." "I know." "Piloting wasn't bad either." "So, that is Space City." "Also known as The Satellite of Sin." " By whom?" "." " Me." "It had to be someone of limited imagination." "Pick a pleasure, any pleasure." "And you'll find it for sale in Space City." " If you've got the money." "But we have, we have." "And if you can stomach doing business with the Terra Nostra." "We're going to use them, Gan, not do business with them." "A subtle distinction that escapes me for the moment." "Now don't tell me you have a moral objection to using their organisation to infiltrate Earth?" "." "Of course not." "Well, I have." "Think, Gan, think what they've got:" "men, material, information." "Think what we could do with a fraction of the resources they control." "No, YOU think, Blake." "Think what it is they control." "Everything dirty, degrading, and cruel on just about every colonised world." "Earth is all I'm interested in." "The Terra Nostra aren't responsible for everything, Gan." "I could go and murder somebody now and it wouldn't be their fault." "Mind you, if I picked his pocket afterwards they'd want their cut." "It's largely academic anyway." "I don't think we'll get within shouting distance of them." "The Terra Nostra run Space City." "How can you be sure of that?" "." "You say they're a criminal organisation who work in secret." "They work in secret on Earth and the Federated worlds." "Organising crime." "Space City itself is neutral territory." "Not officially owned by the Terra Nostra but it's an open secret." "A neutral base for an outlawed organisation?" "." " Well, presumably it has its uses." " Entertainment, for example." "Why don't you take a cold shower or something?" "." "And risk being left behind when we go and meet your friend?" "." "Largo's no friend of mine." "When I met him on Callisto he forgot to mention he was a member of the organisation." "Just said he wanted me to run a cargo into Earth." "He didn't tell me what it was at first." " Drugs?" "." " Shadow." "I turned him down." "Very sensible." "Possession carries a mandatory death sentence." "That wasn't the reason." "Navigation computers are receiving interrogation signal from Space City trafficapproach control." "It's about time." "Request standoff position." "Cally, stand by on the teleport." "Jenna, get on the communicator and see if you can contact your friend Largo." "Gan, Avon, get ready as well." " Vector coordinates received and laid in." " Execute." "Er, what about me?" "." " You 're staying here." " What?" "." " Where I can find you if I need you." " But that's Space City, one of my all-time great ambitions." " You'd probably be disappointed." " I'll take that chance." " I would never forgive myself, Vila." "Hanna!" "Twenty minutes I said." "That launch crew goes off shift in an hour." "We may not get another chance." "Where is Peety?" "." "How?" "." "How?" "!" "." "That's how!" "He didn't take any more." "He didn't need another dose for twelve hours, at least twelve hours." "He just, just died." "Just died?" "." "That's what Shadow does." "It kills you!" "Think I don't know that?" "." "Then why?" "." "Why so stupid, Hanna?" "." "Stupid." "Stupid Peety." ""Look after you"..." "Not your fault." " Largo..." " Bek?" "." " It won 't help Peety." " It'll help me." " What about me?" "." " You?" "." "It's too late, remember." "You're already dead, like Peety." "Must run in the family." "Shed the gun." "Largo wants you two, very badly." " Blake's wrong." " I know how you feel, Vila." "I don't mean about leaving me behind." "I've wanted to visit Space City ever since I was old enough to read the graffiti in the Juvenile Detention Wards." "But I'm not talking about that, I don't care about that." "No, of course not." " I don't!" "Am I arguing?" "." "I'm talking about his great plan to enlist the help of the Terra Nostra." "He plans to buy their help." "All right, "buy" their help." "It still won't work." "You should have spoken before." "Who listens to me, ever?" "." "Does anyone ever listen to me?" "." "I'm telling you, it'll be a disaster." " Relax." " You don't know them." "I know Blake." "Thinks of himself as a hard man." "Hard?" "." "He's strictly a fluffy-cheeked amateur compared to those boys." "I think Blake can look after himself." " He's led a very sheltered life." "What, Blake has led a sheltered life?" "." "Look, he was an Alpha grade on Earth." "A highly privileged group, the Alphas." "Wouldn't last five minutes among the Delta service grades where I grew up." "And it's the service grades where the Terra Nostra really operates." "Without anaesthetic, usually." "No, Vila." " No what?" "." " No, I'm not going to operate the teleport for you." " I don't understand." "I do." "You're about to suggest it would be a sensible idea, if you went across and gave the others the benefit of your experience." "I hadn't thought of that." "What a very good idea, Cally." " No." " Cally?" "." "I'm going to get myself something to drink." "Call me if anything happens." "Miserable alien." "I just want to see what it's like." "Information." "Main visual is available." " So?" "." " You expressed a desire to see what it is like." "Very funny, Zen." "Chuckle chuckle." "If you were a decent computer you'd be able to operate the teleport system like Orac can." "Like Orac can!" "Key, key..." "Ah, key!" "Orac?" "." "Orac?" "." "Are you in there, Orac?" "." "Am I in where?" "." "What precisely do you imagine I am?" "." "Some sort of tame rodent in a cage?" "." "That's precisely what I imagine you are." "A rat in a box." "I see no point in continuing this conversation." "Now, don't start sulking again, or I shall switch you off and throw away the key." " Soon, that will be no longer a problem." " Eh?" "." " Well?" "What do you want?" " Orac, I've got a little job for you." "I don't think that at this stage you really need to know specificdetails of our plans, do you?" "As you say." "In effect, we want to buy cooperation and expertise from the Earth-based network." "Why are you telling me all this?" "." "We don't know who rules the Terra Nostra." "Possibly you don't either." "But you do know how to get our proposition to them." "A go-between." "Naturally, we would be prepared to pay for your services." "Forgive me, Blake, but one of the reasons I made my home in a free city like this is because I adore eccentrics." "Do we take it that you're not interested?" "." "Oh, I'm fascinated." "But I'm just an independent businessman." "Are you sure?" "." "Look, the Terra Nostra doesn't exist." "Believe me, it's a phantom, a..." " A shadow?" "." " A myth, a legend." "It's a legend a lot of people believe in." "And yet you know it doesn't exist?" "." "Why are you so certain?" "." "I've got a contact in Federation Security." "If the syndicate existed, then he'd know about it, wouldn't he?" "." "This contact, he wouldn't be the one who arrested me after I refused your cargo, would he?" "." "Oh, that was a mistake, Jenna." "I was doing a favour for a friend." "If I'd known what the cargo was I wouldn't have touched it myself." "You didn't answer the question." " Why do I feel as if I'm on trial here, hmm?" "." " Why do I feel as if you should be?" "." "They're beautiful stones." "I'm a bit of a collector, in a modest way." "I could make you an offer." " They have a sentimental value for me." " Oh, family heirlooms, eh?" "." "No, I'm just sentimental about money." "We're wasting our time with him." "Yes, I think so." "Shall we go?" "." "I'm sorry we couldn't do business." " Let me at least offer you some refreshment." " We didn't come for refreshment, Largo." "Oh, but I insist." "He insists." "Maybe we should have listened to Gan." "Looks as though he was right after all." "Communicators please." "And those." "Thank you." "Amateur!" "A pro keeps it simple." "Vila?" "." "Vila?" "." "Zen, where is he?" "." "I left him on watch." "He is no longer on the ship." "But he must be." "He teleported into the city with the assistance of the one called Orac." "I forgot about Orac." "The one called Oracis not concerned for the safety of the Liberator." "Well where is Orac then?" "." "He's not in the teleport section;" "I just came from there." "In return for the remote activation of the teleport system," "Vila conveyed the one called Oracto another part of the Liberator." "Which part, where?" "." " Be silent." " Orac?" "." "Zen?" "." "Zen!" "Vila, this is Cally." "Come in please." "Vila!" "What do you want, Cally?" "I want you back here." "Get ready to teleport." "Wasting your time, Cally." "I'm not wearing a bracelet." "I'm not going to be snatched away in the middle of, in the middle of anything." "Sightseeing." "And you should see some of the sights I'm seeing." "No." "Perhaps you shouldn't." " Where is Orac?" "." " I promised not to tell." " I never break a promise." " Oh yes, you do." "Almost never." "Orac's all right." "He can 't run away." "Oh, you fool, Vila." "Stop worrying, Cally." "I'll be back soon." "Tell you what;" "I'll bring you back a present." "What would you like, Cally?" "Name it and it's yours." "A necklace, Vila, made from your teeth." " No." " Orac?" "." "I will destroy the life support systems ifyou attempt to find me." "Why are you doing this?" "." "I don't think even Vila could open that." "I wonder what they'll do?" "." ""A pro keeps it simple"." "I imagine they'll kill us." "You can't get much simpler than that." " Sorry, Avon." " That makes all the difference." "I don't know how they spotted me." ""I don't know how they spotted me."" "Something amuses you?" "." "You were using him as a lookout?" "." "I mean, he'd really blend into the background, wouldn't he?" "." "What did you do, put up a sign?" "." "Is that what you did or is Largo keeping you here as a favour?" "." " We made a fool of him." " Obviously." "That's why we haven't been killed yet." "He's making an example of us." "Oh, shut up Hanna." "It's none of their business." "Isn't it?" "." "I mean if they're making an example of you..." "It's not for outsiders." "You don't know much about the Terra Nostra, do you?" "." " Do you?" "." " Leave her alone" "We are an object lesson for their own people." "Largo's on his way up in the organisation." "One sign of weakness and he'll be on his way down again, probably minus his head." "Now there's a happy thought." "It's a pity we won't live to see it." " We're not dead yet." " Largo hasn't got what he wants yet." "[COMMUNICATOR CHIME] Liberator, this is Blake." "Come in please." "Blake, this is Cally." "We have a problem." "Later, Cally, this is more important." "We've made a deal but we need the rest of the money as a demonstration of good faith." "They don't entirely trust us yet." "Have..." "Zen collect it and bring it across." " All the money?" "." " Yes, Cally, all of it." "Ah, it's a trick." "Kill him." " Wait a minute." "Why do you think it's a trick?" "." "You think I'm a fool." "Zen can't leave your ship." "Your shuttlecraft is here in the city." "We carry more than one shuttle." " How many?" "." " Four." "Four." "Cally, this is Largo." " Yes." " Shall we send your shuttle back or one of ours?" "." " Neither." "It is not necessary." " Why not?" "." " We have another shuttle." " Another shuttle?" "." "Quite a ship." "How many do you carry?" "." "He's testing me." "Probably too far away." "Blake, Blake, I shall count." "When I reach the right number, call my name." "One." "Two." "Three." "Four." "Cally, are you still there?" "." "Sorry, what did you ask?" "." " I was just wondering how many shuttles you carry." " Four." "Does it matter?" " We'll be expecting your man, Zen." " Right." "And he won't be expecting us." "We shan't be needing his other two friends after all." "Kill 'em." " What about her?" "." " We'll keep her till we're sure." "Orac, I need Zen." "I will ask no questions." "Zen?" "." "Put the battle computers online." "Put up the force wall, activate the radiation flare shield, and clear the neutron blasters for firing." "Completed." "Neutron blasters are cleared for firing." "Open up a voice channel to the city's central control." "Confirmed." "Central control." "Go ahead." "This is the weaponry officer on the battle cruiser Liberator." "Your computer took a priority channel." "Whatever you want had better be important." "Four of my friends are being held prisoner in your city." "Unless you release them immediately I shall open fire on you." "Listen, lady." "You shouldn't drink in those cheap dives." "You go blind eventually." " Zen, report battle computer status to central control." " Confirmed." "All right." "So you're at battle stations." "You don't expect us to believe that you'd.." "A man called Largo is holding my friends." "You have six minutes to release them." "You can't be serious?" "I was never more so." "You have five minutes and fifty-five seconds." " Detectors report high-speed approach." " Scan." " Gun ship." "It is manoeuvring for attack position." " Warn them off." " Warning ignored." " Compute coordinates, range blasters." " Blasters ranged." " Warn them again." " Warning ignored." "They are pressing their attack." " I gave them a chance." "Hold your fire!" "." "Central, the next shot will be right down your throats." "You have three minutes and thirty seconds." "You two, out." " Why?" "." "You'd prefer not to know." "Your professional simplicity is beginning to irritate me." "Well think of it as a temporary problem." "Move." "Simple enough for you?" "." "Don't stand around." "There's more where he came from." " Your sense of timing is as impeccable as ever." " I have always admired your patience." " Are you all right Jenna?" "." " What does it look like?" "." "Leave it!" "Largo." " Central." "You're holding prisoners." "Release them." " What?" "." "There's a lunatic woman threatening to destroy the city." "Get those people back to their ship." " Must I?" "." " Do it, Largo." "I think we've outstayed our welcome." "All right, Cally." "We're ready to come across." " We'll come with you." " I'm sorry." "Sorry?" "." "Polite, but inadequate." "We can't stay here, so you're not going without us." " I think they went without us." " There's gratitude for you." "Gratitude?" "." "You point a gun at them and expect gratitude?" "." "Maybe we could use him as a hostage?" "." "Him?" "." "After his foul-up you won't get a drink of water in exchange for him." " I changed my mind." " Why?" "." " Do we care?" "." " Put these on." " What's in it for you?" "." " You can help me with one of my crew." "His name's Vila and he's suffering from a bad attack of alcoholic remorse." "All right, Cally." "He wants to make a necklace of his teeth." "No effect on the flight systems?" "." "Everything seems normal enough." "Maybe she imagined it." " That's not like Cally." " Not like Orac either." " Any luck?" "." " Can't find Orac." "Even tried calling his name." "Oh, I'm sorry I missed that." "It's the kind of natural stupidity no amount of training could ever hope to match." "You found Orac?" "." "No, but then I never really expected to." "It is one of Vila's more elaborate practical jokes." "Talking of Vila, how long before he comes round?" "." "Oh, several hours." "And he won't feel much like laughing when he does." "Oh, I'll guarantee that." "All right, we've wasted enough time on it." "Let's get back to the Terra Nostra." "Back?" "." "We only just managed to get away from them." "We chose the wrong approach, that's all." "Is that all?" "." "I thought maybe we'd chosen the wrong people to get involved with." " WE chose the wrong approach?" "." " I chose the wrong approach." "Does it matter?" "." "Yes, it does." " All right, Avon." "You were right and I was wrong" "You said persuasion wouldn't work and it didn't." "So now we use force." "Force?" "." "Yes, of course." "Lawmakers, lawbreakers, let's fight them all." "Why not?" "." "The Terra Nostra's wealth comes from organising and controlling all sorts of crime." "But their biggest profits and a lot of their control comes from one area." "Shadow." "That is the only one that matters." "That is what we attack." "And how do you propose to go about it?" "." "Where would we get the information we would need?" "." "Bek, would you ask your sister to join us, please?" "." "[COMMUNICATOR CHIME]" " Blake?" " Yes, Cally." " Has anyone found Orac yet?" "." "No, I think we'll have to wait for Vila." " There may not be time for that." " Has something else happened?" " No, not exactly." " Well what exactly?" " A feeling I have." " Come back to the flight deck." " I should keep on searching." " Leave it, Cally." "Yes." "Orac?" "." "I warned you not to look for me." "I know where to look for them, chairman." "Only your stupidity makes it necessary to look for them." "I had to ensure that they took my agent with them." "When she is reporting on their movements I'll follow them and capture them." "So." "Chairman, the rewards will be threefold." "The money they are carrying, which is substantial;" "the bounty from the authorities, which is also substantial, and more importantly, the demonstration that we can punish where the Federation itself can't even reach." "Very well, Largo, a heavy cruiser will be at your disposal, but don't delay too long or the rewards will be one-fold:" "the demonstration that we can punish." "I thank you for your confidence, Chairman." "Largo, that is too small a thing to thank me for." " You'll pay for that..." " Before or after he finds out that you are lying?" "." "Was I lying?" "." "It would make me very unhappy to think that you tried to use me, like some fool." "You're just an enforcer." "Here for your gun, not your brain." "Of course I was lying." "Except about the girl." " She's not your agent." "Ohh, but she is..." "That dream head is going to tell us exactly where Blake and his friends decide to go." " Don't worry." " It's all I have" "You'll get it back." "Zen." "Analyse." "I want the derivation." "The main constituent is an organiccompound, probably derived from the zerophyte of the genus Korda." " A cactus." " Confirmed." "The species is alpha seven oblique five." "Known as the Moon Disc;" "it was greatly prized for its partial telepathy and its ability to move short distances to avoid direct sunlight." " It stayed in the shadows." " That's where the name comes from." "Commercial collectors rendered the Moon Discextinct on its native planet." " Which planet, Zen?" "." " Zondar." "And when it proved impossible to grow in any other environment the total extinction of the species followed logically." " Only it didn 't." " There are traces of an element..." "All right, Zen, we've got enough." "Have the navigation computers set in a course for the planet Zondar." " Confirmed." " Wait." "It has to be the source, the key to all the Terra Nostra's power." "If we control that, we control them." " Right." "The drug in return for their help?" "." "Blake that would make us pushers." " Maybe we won't keep our end of the bargain." " And that would make us cheats." "That will make us winners, Gan." "That's the only excuse for fighting." "It's too good a chance to miss, Gan." "I'd like to see that, to see them grovel." "When the Federation introduced the death penalty for possession, the President described Shadow as the greatest single threat to the welfare of mankind." " Don't tell me you agree with Gan." " No, no, no, I'm just...interested." "It seems to me that we have identified the source of that threat rather easily." " So why haven't they?" "." " Exactly." " Maybe we're about to find out." " Maybe we already know." "Never again." "I'm dying." "Cally." "Cally, what's the matter?" "." "Cally?" "." "Cally?" "." "It's only me." "What's the matter with her?" "." "[DISTANT SCREAMING]" "Obviously, she's insane." " How is she?" "." " The same." "I left the girl with her." " Have you run the diagnostic checks again?" "." " Still nothing." "There's no physical explanation for her condition unless somehow it's locked up in here and I don't see how that can be." " She is an alien." " She is more human than I am." " That's not difficult." " Have you remembered anything yet?" "." "It's a complete blank." "From the time you left to meet Largo to when I woke up back on the ship." "With what you drank you're lucky to remember who you are." " I would hardly call that lucky." " This is NOT helping Cally." " Orac's told you what happened." " Nothing, according to him." " I don't believe it." " Computers do not lie." " Orac is not a computer." " That was its creator's vanity." "Orac is a computer." "It is a highly sophisticated tool, and that is all." "Well, something frightened Cally." "Yes, and so badly she may never come back from wherever she's hiding." " It was not Orac." " Maybe it wasn't anything, anything real." "Information." "Flight time remaining is now forty-eight minutes." "Visual and detector readouts are now available." "Let's see it, Zen." "It's a pretty colour." " Oh, considering what it is." " Let's hope they don't know we're coming." "There's no reason why they should." "They'll be making planetfall anytime now." "Excellent." "Are all Largo's addicts so available?" "." "Yes, Chairman." "It seems he's been adding it to all the Shadow that we've supplied." " Radioactive, you say?" "." " Not exactly." "Controlled particle emission." "Detectable only with the right equipment, which Largo's got, of course." " Surely it damages the addicts?" "." " Kills them a little sooner" "But at least if you need one you always know where to look." "What a clever idea." "We must consider it for general use." "What about Blake and his friends, Chairman?" "." " You can leave all that to me." "Yes, Chairman." "You've done well." "Dispose of the body." "His assets are now yours." "Thank you, Chairman." "Cally's still the same." "Hanna's singing to her now." " What?" "." " I don't think she's going to come out of it, Blake." " She will." " I don't think you care whether she does or doesn't." "One thing at a time, Jenna!" "I've been thinking." "If it's that hot down there, why don't you try landing on the night side?" "." "Why don't you try listening?" "." "The system has twin suns; there is no night side!" "I wish you wouldn't shout." "Gan, have you got everything clear?" "." " Yes." " Well?" "." " Zen's doing the flying, I'm just monitoring it." " Monitoring what?" "." "Maintaining a powered orbit on the edge of the atmosphere." " Why?" "." " For maximum cover." "From defences that should be there but aren't." "Are you ready to go?" "." "There's nothing you can do for Cally." "Shouting at everybody else is not going to help her." "A powered orbit can be tricky, Gan." "You need to stay alert." "All system are functioning normally." "Status is firm." "Good, then let's go." "Jenna, Vila." "Teleport." "I don't know why they're all so jumpy." "Show me the planet." "Visual." "I mean, look at it." "It's nothing." "Why should anyone draw attention to it with heavy defences?" "." "They don't expect it to be found." "Down and safe." "Stay by the teleport, Vila." "Cover me." " It's enough to fry your eyeballs." " Daintily put." "It must be the company I keep." "Zen's right." "It looks to be about half a mile away." " That's far enough to walk in this heat." " Far enough to crawl." "There's no cover." "Blake, over here." "Look." "Moon Discs." "[FAINT CHITTERING]" " Prized by collectors." " People collect odd things." "Look what you ended up with." "You process those;" "you'll get a liquid that'll kill you." "Only if you're stupid enough to use it." "Listen." "No, not over there." "It's coming from them." "It's a sort of whispering." "They're supposed to be telepathic." " They're supposed to move." " So are we." "Come on." " It could have been frying eyeballs you heard." " Daintily put." "[FAINT CHITTERING]" " Vila!" "Get back to the teleport." " Five minutes." "I must get something for my head." " You can't leave the teleport now." " Five minutes." " Don't be stupid." " My head is killing me." " And you may be killing Blake and the others." " All right." "Orac, operate the teleport as instructed." "Satisfied?" "." " Not really." " I'll only be five minutes." " Orac, did you understand the instruction?" "." " It was quite explicit." "Child of Auron." "Listen to the voice of Orac." "Remember the touch of hands and laughter and the warmth of open minds." "Remember these things for they are gone." "You are alone." "No." "You are alone." "You are the last of the humankind." "Orac; don't." "I am the darkness." "Oracbrings my darkness." "You are alone, in me." "Run, last of the humans." "Run, before my darkness engulfs you." "Run, run, run..." "Cally?" "." "[TELEPORT WHINE]" "They probably collect them in deep desert and bring them here to boost their growth." "With surface water in the area there will be a whole network of these gardens." " I almost feel sorry for them." " They're plants." " These are singing." " You should have stayed in the cool." "The collection and processing plant should be somewhere over there." " Seems logical." " Yes, well don't get too close." "All we've got to do is plant these sensors in some form of rough circle." "The battle computers will put together a complete picture of what's there." "And then the ship's main blasters will pick off anything we care to nominate." "Yes." "Back in an hour." "[FAINT CHITTERING]" "No, she didn't hit me, she ran straight over me." "I was just in the way." "I never saw anyone so scared." " You couldn't tell why?" "." " You couldn't see what was driving her?" "." "I don't think I'd want to." "You can't share someone's madness." "They can on Auron." "Cally told me her people can share any experience." "And telepathy means they never have to be alone." "Makes them very strong." "When they're together." "What happens when one's isolated?" "." "I think that's what we're finding out." "I'm going back to the teleport." "All right Orac, you can go back to sleep." "Agh!" "That key's electrified!" "Did you do that purposely?" "." " You will not disconnect." " Is that right?" "." "Ow!" "That hurts!" "The bridge is almost complete." "You will not disconnect." "[GUNFIRE]" "Next, please." "This is silly." "It's just a machine." "Of course it is." "If it wasn't so expensive, I'd kick it to pieces." "Yes, if it didn't bite." " Avon'll fix it when he gets back." "Yes." " The bridge is complete." " What?" "." "What did he say?" "." " Something's wrong." "No, that wasn't it." " Information." "Liberator is losing power from all systems." "Orbital maintenance is threatened." " Switch off all auxiliary systems." " Power drain is increasing." "Orbit is decaying." " What's happening?" "." " Switch to main boosters." "Zen!" "Automaticflight control is now aborted." "The manual controls won't respond!" "Do something, Gan!" "Something is draining off the power." "Orac, it has to be Orac." "Disconnect him, Vila" "Do it!" "We're heading toward the atmosphere." "We'll burn up, explode!" "Here, let me." "Hanna!" "She's dead." "That thing killed her." "Don't do it." "It'll kill you too!" "We're falling towards the atmosphere!" "Hello." " You cannot stop me, child of Auron." " Then why do you threaten me?" "Oracis my bridge." "You stand before it, puny telepath." "Yes, I know you now." "My powers are in your dimension, and Orac's carrier waves are your bridge." "The energy is building." "I am ready to cross." "Hungry dark to absorb the blazing suns." " I will deny you." " You are alone." "No." "The warmth you mock me with is here." "I am not alone." "You will stay in your universe of darkness." "You will not disconnect." "You will not disc..." "We're getting power." "The power's coming back." "Orac." "The key's gone." " There's two more over there." " Vila, bring us up now." "Liberator, come in Liberator." " Cally, what're you doing down there?" " Waiting to come up, again." "So it was an alien life form that killed her?" "." "Yes." "It was trying to use Orac as a bridge to cross from its own universe into ours." "That's why it needed so much power." "But a quantum jump would need much more energy potential than Liberator could develop." "The explosion in the planet's atmosphere would have provided the rest." "Yes, I hadn't thought of that." "So you see, Bek, this thing tapped into Orac's channels, sucked up all his energy, so that it could come squirting out and swallow us all." "The plain man's guide to alien invasions." "But, where did Cally fit in?" "." "Why did it attack you, Cally?" "." "I was a threat to it." "I knew it was there because of my telepathy." "Orac uses special communication waves, which pass into another dimension." "And it is the same dimension that allows thought transference." " Orac's telepathic?" "." " No, telepathy is conscious." "Orac has no consciousness in that dimension." "He merely...drives a beam though it." "Which is why he could be controlled by this force." "And why you couldn't, you fought it telepathically." "Yes." "Once the Moon Discs had broken through my isolation;" "as soon as I was no longer all alone, I could fight it." "But what about the key?" "." "How did you get Orac's key while he was up here and you were down there?" "." "Long arms?" "." " Telekinesis." " Who?" "." "The power to move objects by thought alone." "That seems unlikely." "Yes, it does." "Even among my people such power is rare." "Maybe the Moon Discs." "Their telepathy gave me courage." "Perhaps it gave me strength, too." "So." "Either we all become telepathic, or we dump Orac." " Destroy rather than dump, surely?" "." " I'll do it." " It isn't necessary." " Will it work?" "." "Of course it will work." "I have set a small disruption bomb to precise limits within Orac's energy range." "Any variation above or below and there will be a rather satisfying little explosion." "Any attempt to tamper with the communication channels will reduce Orac to a heap of spare parts." "So Hanna died for nothing." "Just her." "Even that machine survives." " I'm sorry, Bek." " She was dying anyway." "Oh, I know that." "Just another dream head." "What about the low-life scum that really killed her?" "." "What about the Terra Nostra?" "." "That is who we're waiting for now." "We're what?" "." "Why?" "." "We want them to realise that we know who they are." "This is the ID of a guard I killed." "He was a member of Federation security, a very special member." "He was one of the President's personal security force." "The President of the Federation runs the Shadow operation." "And since Shadow is the basis of the Terra Nostra..." " I don't believe it." " It's quite logical." "To have total control, you must control totally." "Both sides of the law." "The Terra Nostra, the Federation:" "two sides of the same power." "The same men of power." "Ironic, isn't it?" "." "We were hoping to use the Terra Nostra to attack the Federation, only to discover that it is already being used to support it." " Where are all the good guys?" "." " You could be looking at them." "What a very depressing thought." "Whose is this?" "." " Mine." " Is it alive?" "." " Yes." " I thought they died if they left the planet." "No, you have to talk to them." "That's like talking to Vila, a complete waste of time." "When we've finished here, we'll get you back to Space City." "What for?" "." "There's nothing left there." "It's your territory." "At least you know who you're fighting now." "What have I got left to fight for?" "." "I'll give you three years, then I'll come looking." "I expect you to be able to help me." "Information." "Detectors report seven Federation pursuit ships approaching in attack formation." "Seven?" "." "One for each of us." "How very generous of the President." "Blasters cleared for firing, sensors functioning, planetary targets identified and ranged." "Wait a minute, Avon." "Bek, that button burns the President's garden." "It won't hurt him much, but it'll sting a bit." "Stand by to take us out, Jenna, when it's done."