Zorelle pointed a jewelled finger at Kurt. "He"s trying to persuade Lisa to join him in some kind of uprising."
"Sounds like a good idea."
"You"re a fool, Nikos," said Zorelle shrilly. "Our only chance of survival is to give Commander Steg our full co-operation. How far did resistance get you?"
Mari clutched Nikos"s arm. "Perhaps she"s right."
"Of course I"m right," said Zorelle complacently.
"You"re wrong, you stupid b.i.t.c.h," said Kurt wearily.
"They"ll kill us all."
"I warn you, Kurt," said Zorelle icily. "Unless you give up this mad plan I shall warn Commander Steg."
Mari gave her a shocked look. "You"d really betray him?"
"If Kurt starts trouble, he"ll get us all killed," said Zorelle.
"He can throw away his own worthless life, but he"s not going to endanger mine."
Kurt studied her for a moment. She was utterly sincere.
"Survival at all costs," he said almost admiringly. "Is that it, Zorelle?"
"If necessary yes!"
Vorn marched Lisa into the engine room. A couple of Sontaran troopers were dismantling one of the power units, supervised by Commander Steg.
"What"s going on?" demanded Lisa. "Why are you interfering with my power drive?"
"The interference was not of our doing," said Steg drily.
He indicated the dead body of the Sontaran trooper laid out in a corner of the engine room. "Our enemy is on board this ship."
" Your Your enemy," said Lisa. enemy," said Lisa.
"The Rutan wants two things," said Steg impa.s.sively.
"Access to a power-source, and escape. To obtain them it will kill every living being on this ship, Sontaran or human."
They were interrupted by Vorn"s voice. "Commander there is also an obstruction in this power-drive unit."
"Then remove it!"
Between them Vorn and the trooper dragged the obstruction from the power drive and flung it at Steg"s feet.
It was the mutilated, blood-soaked body of Robar.
"No!" said Lisa. She dropped to her knees behind the body.
Robar"s eyes were open and staring, his face waxy. He had been dead for some time.
Lisa got to her feet. She stepped close to Steg. "You say the Rutan did this? These mutilations?"
"Most certainly. It partially dissected the body to study its structure."
Lisa"s eyes held his. "It wasn"t you? Or one of your troopers?"
"Think, Captain. I could have killed your engineer. I could have killed you all the moment I came on board this ship. But why should I trouble to hide the body and bring you here to see it discovered? Why should I kill one of my own troopers?"
The logic was unanswerable. Lisa knelt beside the body, rested a hand on Robar"s icy forehead, gently closed the staring eyes.
Steg watched her curiously, struggling to understand emotions he could not share. "You were s.e.xually pair-bonded to this man?"
"We worked together for a long time."
"You cared for him?" persisted Steg. "You want revenge?"
Lisa sprang to her feet. "Yes!"
"Then help me find and destroy the Rutan."
Lisa paused for a moment, struggling to recover from the shock of Robar"s death. She"d been hoping against hope that he was still alive, hiding in the recesses of the engine room, biding his time. That hope was dead now.
She pushed back her hair. "What help do you need?"
Steg spoke to her as one commander to another. "The Rutan is cunning, my resources are limited. I have lost one trooper, I may lose more. I need you and your crew to help me search the ship."
"I see," said Lisa bitterly. "Cannon fodder!"
"I do not understand."
"You"d sooner this thing killed my crew than your troopers?"
"Given a choice, undoubtedly," said Steg in mild surprise.
"That is not the point. We face a common enemy. Will you help me to destroy it?"
Lisa considered. "What"s in it for me apart from the sheer satisfaction of it?"
"What more do you require?"
"A guarantee of safety for my ship, myself and my crew."
"You have it."
"When we find this thing and kill it, you and your troopers will go, leaving the ship and the crew unharmed?"
"We shall."
Lisa stepped closer, until they were almost nose to snout.
"On your personal word of honour as a Sontaran officer?"
"I give my word."
Lisa"s long finger jabbed him hard in the chest. "I warn you, Commander if you betray me I"ll do my very best to kill you."
"Naturally," said Steg.
Lisa considered a moment longer, and then nodded decisively.
"Very well, I accept but I can"t answer for the crew. We"ll have to ask them direct."
"I am sure we can convince them," said Steg.
Lieutenant Vorn approached and saluted. "Shall I expel the bodies into s.p.a.ce, Commander?"
Lisa rounded on him angrily. "You can do what you like with your trooper. I want Robar"s body taken back to his cabin and decently laid out. I"ll have him shipped back to New America."
"But he is dead," said Vorn. "Dead bodies have no value."
"He was a human being, not a piece of garbage," said Lisa.
"Don"t Sontarans respect their dead?"
"We respect death itself," said Steg. "Death in battle. That which remains after death is of little value. However..." He turned to Vorn. "Do as she says."
Lisa nodded, satisfied. "I"ll go and talk to the crew." No longer a prisoner but an ally, Lisa strode away.
Thoughtfully Steg watched her go. Humans were undoubtedly very strange. But not uninteresting.
"Do you really mean to spare her, Commander?" asked Vorn.
"I wish I could," said Steg almost regretfully. "She has the spirit of a Sontaran."
"You gave your word of honour."
"Promises made to inferior species have no validity. The honour of a Sontaran officer lies in doing his duty. When our hunt is over and the Rutan destroyed, all all the humans must die." the humans must die."
14.
The Hunt By the time Vorn and Steg reached the crewroom, Lisa was putting Steg"s offer to an astonished crew.
"Well, that"s it," she concluded. "Commander Steg promises freedom and safety if we help him to destroy his enemy."
Kurt was frankly sceptical. "He"s already promised that."
"You didn"t trust him then."
"And you do now?"
"He needs our help now," said Lisa exasperatedly. "We"ve got something to bargain with."
Before Kurt could object further, Zorelle seized her moment. Turning to Steg she said, "I feel I should warn you, Commander, that before you sent for the Captain, she and this ruffian were plotting to kill you."
Steg looked at Lisa. "Is this true?"
Lisa made no reply.
Drawing his blaster, Steg strode over to her. " Is this true? Is this true? " "
Still Lisa refused to answer. As Steg levelled his blaster at her, Kurt stepped quickly forward.
" I I did all the plotting. I told the Captain we"d got nothing to lose by attacking you." did all the plotting. I told the Captain we"d got nothing to lose by attacking you."
Steg was still covering Lisa. "And what did you say?"
"I was considering it," said Lisa levelly. "Then you came up with your offer and I accepted. I"ll keep my word if you keep yours."
Steg swung the blaster round on Kurt. "You wish to kill me?"
"It seemed a pretty good idea."