"Nothing," Tovel observed, and Shel turned away impa.s.sively.
"As you see, we were telling the truth," said the Doctor.
"Nevertheless, you were quite right to check. The crystals must be on board somewhere." He smiled icily at Shel.
"Concealed by whoever set this vessel in motion."
"Why can"t they be on the part we left behind?" Ben asked.
"Without them," Tovel explained, "this ship can"t change course. Ever."
"It"s a one-way journey," said Polly quietly.
"Indeed, that"s quite possible." The Doctor steepled his fingers and turned his eyes to the vaulted ceiling high above.
"But to where are we travelling, hmm? Let us consider the facts."
Haunt looked at him warily. "Go on."
"Firstly, it would seem the Schirr infested this training area and subverted its functions to accommodate their own. If we are travelling under the guidance of their systems it is unlikely we shall be entering Morphiean s.p.a.ce. To do so would mean certain suicide for DeCaster and his followers."
"Yeah, but they"re already dead, Doctor," Ben interrupted.
"Precisely, my boy. But the flight of this asteroid, and the timing of its takeoff, would have been determined before before the b.l.o.o.d.y conflict that consumed them took place." the b.l.o.o.d.y conflict that consumed them took place."
"They"ve turned this whole place against us," Haunt breathed. "They must mean to use it as a weapon."
Shel considered. "DeCaster"s intent has always been hostile to Earth and Empire. Outwardly, our appearance, size and ma.s.s suggests a simple meteor."
"This rock could steer smoothly into orbit around an Earth world," said Tovel, catching on, "then drop out of the sky on any continent before anyone can react."
Polly just stared at him, horrified.
Ben was still scratching his head. "But if they had all this planned on the automatics, why stay behind? Why fight among themselves?"
"A power struggle of some kind?" wondered Shel. "Perhaps Pallemar wanted to take control."
Haunt nodded, a faraway look in her eyes as if she were somehow watching the b.l.o.o.d.y events unfold. "Pallemar was placing the others in the stasis field. They didn"t know how long they would have to wait for the next training squad.
They planned to use our ship to escape in once the trap was sprung, marooning us here. But Pallemar must"ve realised that with DeCaster stuck in stasis, he could set himself up as the leader." She nodded with sudden conviction. "The sc.u.m won"t even stay loyal to their own kind."
"The scenario would seem to fit," said the Doctor. "Except for one thing. If such a squabble took place at the end, unexpectedly... why are the crystals not in evidence?"
Tovel clicked his fingers. "Of course. One of the Schirr must have them! If we can breach that stasis field, we can simply take the crystals back and change course as we wish."
"Scan the corpses, Shel," said Haunt.
All eyes were on Shel as he waved the wand-like device around the dais.
And shook his head.
"No power source, Marshal," he stated.
Polly felt sick as her hopes plummeted. She noticed the Doctor nod his head, just a fraction, as if he"d suspected as much all along.
III.
Lindey led the way through the narrow pa.s.sage in the rock that led to the doorway. Shade wished it was him staying behind to guard it.
"Watch out for dead Schirr," he called lightly to Roba and Frog.
Roba said nothing. Frog gave him an obscene gesture.
Shade headed off through the glittering shadows of the complex, Lindey just behind him. He felt exposed without his webset, hated having such freedom to think. Without the mission to trammel his thoughts, they were escaping all over.
Half the bullring had collapsed in on itself. The route back to the ship, along with another tunnel, was buried forever.
Shade saw that some of the weed had been shaken down from the crumbling ceiling by the tremors. A cloud of fleas hopped round his feet. He watched them jump, fascinated.
Going about their business, unaware giants were gathered around them.
"Shadow?" asked Lindey lightly.
He couldn"t stop staring.
"You seem a little worked up, Shadow," she went on.
Shade didn"t see the point of arguing the point. "What if we"ve got no way off this rock?"
"Haunt will find one."
"Yeah?"
"You doubt it?"
Shade closed his eyes. He didn"t want to doubt it. "And what about Denni? Do you reckon she"s dead like Joiks thinks?"
Lindey shrugged. "Maybe we"ll find her while we"re checking out what else is left behind here."
"You don"t sound bothered."
"She grew up on Paris II, didn"t she? Worst cess-pit in Little Europe. She can handle herself here."
Shade didn"t respond. He hated Lindey for being so cool.
She was always this way, whatever the spot. She"d earned earned her place here. her place here.
"Poor Shadow."
She may have picked up on his self-pitying mood, but her voice was cold.
"Huh?"
"Always seems to happen to you, doesn"t it? Things getting out of hand. Going wrong."
She knows. Shade cleared his throat, made a big pointless show of picking which tunnel they might take as an alternative. "I don"t know what you"re talking about, Lindey." Shade cleared his throat, made a big pointless show of picking which tunnel they might take as an alternative. "I don"t know what you"re talking about, Lindey."
"I think that sappy little girl likes you, you know," Lindey went on, her eyes wide and smiling. "She must find it so rea.s.suring having a big brave soldier like you around.
Someone who keeps his head while all around are losing theirs." The smile faded. "Someone who makes d.a.m.n sure of it."
Shade couldn"t keep up eye-contact, and studied his palmset instead. "Seems there"s nothing beyond this rockfall."
He tried to sound brisk and emotionless about it. "No ship.
This is the end of the road."
"Maybe they"ll airlift you out again," Lindey whispered, her face in shadow. "Earthman."
Shade bore down on her angrily. "What the h.e.l.l is all this, Lindey?"
But she put her finger to her lips, shushed him, and walked off back the way they had come. "You know, I wanted you to get through this mission so badly." Her voice wasn"t teasing now. It was strained. "I wanted you to get merits, to earn your Elite placing. To feel like you"d actually made it, like you"d finally pushed the past behind you." She paused, enjoying herself. "Before I buried you with it."
"Lindey?" Heart sinking, he strode up behind her, grabbed hold of her shoulder.
She spun round, gun pulled and ready, and jammed it into his neck. "Off. Now." She sneered. "You"re not in the Royal Escort now, and I"m not just some petty officer in Pauper Fleet - Earthman. Earthman. We"re equal. We"re equal. Elite Elite, right?"
Shade let go of her. She chuckled softly.
"I know what you are," Lindey said simply. "And I know what I could be. So you"d better think of a few strings you can pull for me me back on Earth. Or a few other people here might have to find out about you too." back on Earth. Or a few other people here might have to find out about you too."
Shade felt his temples throbbing, felt the shrapnel in his face bite at the little good skin left. "What are you going to do?"
Lindey lowered the gun and tapped the palmset tucked into her belt. "If we ever get out of this... You"ll see." She blew him a kiss and turned away. "And then you"ll have to be very, very very nice to me, my little Earthborn Shadow..." nice to me, my little Earthborn Shadow..."
Shade watched her go, clenched his fists. "Will I," he muttered.
IV.
Polly sighed. The Doctor and Tovel were digging about in the gossamer cables within the navigational console. Haunt was watching them, sullenly. Creben and Joiks were still waving little pieces of machinery around the place, looking for her magic door (Polly hoped they would fall through it and vanish, just as she had). Shel lingered by the grisly display of corpses, staring at them as if he were somehow communicating with them telepathically.
The idea frightened Polly. She edged closer to Ben.
"He"s a funny one, isn"t he," she whispered. "Shel, I mean.
He acts more like a machine than a person."
"Confucius say, he inscrutable," Ben said cheerily. "Bet if we looked hard enough we"d find "Made in Taiwan" stamped on him somewhere."
Polly didn"t smile back. "That"s racist, Ben."
"Come on Pol, I didn"t mean nothing by it."
"No one ever means anything by it, but they still make the jokes all the same. Would you like to be treated like that?"
Ben looked away, hurt. "We ain"t been treated so well by any of them in case you hadn"t noticed."
Polly spoke without thinking. "Adam"s all right."
"Adam?" Ben didn"t look happy. "Oh, got you. Ben didn"t look happy. "Oh, got you. Shade. Shade. The bloke with the face. Yeah, you and him seem to be getting on pretty well." The bloke with the face. Yeah, you and him seem to be getting on pretty well."
Polly sighed. Jealousy was so childish. "I don"t know why you"re so bothered. You and that froggy woman seem to be hitting it off quite well yourselves," she said, folding her arms.
Ben didn"t say anything to the contrary. The rat.
"Look, d.u.c.h.ess," Ben said finally. "We"re all stuck here, whizzing through s.p.a.ce on some dirty great rock with a load of murdered black-magic criminals, a bunch of trigger-happy s.p.a.ce marines and G.o.d knows what else. Let"s not fall out in the middle of this lot."
"We haven"t fallen out," Polly told him, and was rewarded with a broad grin. She lowered her voice. "You know what we were saying earlier, about cat people and dog people?"
Ben nodded. "What do you make of this lot?"
"Well, I suppose they should all be cats. Independent.
Tough." Polly considered. "Shel"s a cat. Creben and Lindey too."