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Night was beginning to cover the small city of Ganas with a black sheet. The streets were wet from the rain that had just fallen, and blocked by the thousands of cars crawling home from another days work. Many miles away on the other side of the planet, an alien sat watching the scene on a scanner. He turned and nodded. The control panel was activated. Just before the picture blacked out, the whole town was enveloped in a huge sheet of flame. The controller gave a quick smile of satisfaction to his companion. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "Hey, come on Stella," Des protested, "this virgin thing may be chic and cool right now back on Earth, but we're a long way from there. Come on, listen to your soul. We could have a weekend of heaven." "Give it a rest, Des," Stella responded. "You're a serial womaniser, everyone knows that. All I am to you is a challenge. Once you've got what you want, you'll be on to the next one." "Okay, I know I've got a bad reputation, but you're not like the other girls I've known. You're different; special." "No doubt the same old line you've used a hundred times before. Or have you got a thing about women in uniforms?" "I mean it," Des persisted. "What can I do to prove it?" "Go away and let me get on with my job. In case you've forgotten, I hold an important position in National Security and since they blew up Ganas, we're on red alert." "There's more to life than your damn job," Des responded angrily. "It's about time you loosened up!" "Go and find another of those mindless bimbos who wants to be your plaything," Stella countered wearily. "If you don't stop bothering me, I'll have you arrested as a stalker." She terminated the conversation and strode into the building. Des sighed and began to walk back down the pavement. She was right, he was a womaniser, but she really was something special. He wasn't giving up that easily. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Junez struggled into his clothes, and rubbing his eyes, pondered the ridiculous hour he had to start work. Having dressed he walked over to the window and went through the daily ritual of praying for rain. He knew it didn't work. He had plenty of his own ideas how to make it rain, but they wouldn't let him experiment. He was just there to scrub the floors. One day, he vowed, he'd leave this farm for good, and get a job in the city. However, you couldn't get into the city without a permit, and where could he get one? Bozz had a permit, but then he was a big shot, bigger than he'd ever be. Still, he couldn't take this life much longer though, it was driving him mad. He heard Bozz's gruff voice calling him. He washed his daydreams from his mind and resigned himself to the senseless day of toil that lay ahead. On Earth they had robots to do the work he did here, why didn't they have robots on this dump? He knew why, human labour was cheaper than buying an expensive robot. He walked out of his room and down the stairs. Bozz was waiting at the bottom as he always did, a giant of a man, fully seven feet tall and over twenty stone of muscle. No-one crossed him unless they fancied a slow painful death. "Come on boy," Bozz snarled. "Yes sir," Junez replied meekly. God, how he hated the man, he silently vowed he'd kill him one day. "Start scrubbing the floor in here," Bozz ordered. "Yes sir," Junez mumbled. He bent down and started cleaning, while Bozz went over to his desk and started cleaning. Junez noticed he'd left his blaster on the other table. If he could work his way over to it, he could get it, kill the big bastard, take his permit, and go into the city, where they would never find him. He scrubbed the floor quickly, moving towards the table. Having reached the table leg, he jumped up and picked up the blaster, which he saw was fully charged. He looked round; apart from the two of them, the room was deserted. It was now or never. Bozz looked up to see why Junez had stopped work as the boy took quick aim and pulled the trigger. A blast of energy burst from the gun hitting Bozz full in the chest. He collapsed backwards. Junez dropped the gun and ran over to the lifeless form. He felt in his pockets and found the permit. Then he drew a sharp breath. Where the scarlet stain of blood should have been, there was only a black charred hole. It could only mean one thing, Bozz was an android! Junez heard footsteps coming towards the door - it would be the two senior guards reporting to collect the duty rotas. He had to get out fast. He ran towards the outer door having decided to take Bozz's car; they'd never catch him in that. He got outside before the two guards entered the room. There was another guard standing by Bozz's vehicle. "What do you want?" the guard barked, seeing him and raising his gun. "Bozz has lent me his car," Junez replied casually. "Oh yeah," sneered the guard, "of course he has." "What's this then?" Junez asked, pulling the permit out of his pocket. "Well," the guard said hesitantly, not sure of himself. "Do you want me to call Bozz to clarify the position?" Junez asked in a loud voice. "No," the guard replied quickly, a frightened look crossing his face. "If you've got the permit, I guess it's okay." Junez jumped into the car, which read the permit and activated the powerful engine. He sped towards the exit, the doors swung open. As they began to close behind him, he saw the two guards rush out of the house, looking wildly around. "Where's the guy who just came out?" one of them demanded. "Just gone off in Bozz's car, running some errand for him," the outdoor guard replied. "He must be stopped. He's killed Bozz! He could endanger the whole plan." Get all our men out after him. Kill him on sight." "Right," the guard replied, rushing off to raise the alarm. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The old man cursed out loud, his arms raised to the sky. The engine unit was a complete write off. What a place to be stranded, right in the middle of a desert. The only sign of civilisation was one long, straight road that stretched from horizon to horizon and that was completely deserted. With a complete power failure in his ship, he couldn't even summon help. His portable viewer wasn't working either, the network on this planet must be incompatible. He had no choice but to start walking in the hopes he could stop a car and hitch a lift, or alternatively die when his water ran out. He went back to the ship and gathered together all the rations he had, which didn't amount to much. Things looked pretty grim. He made the provisions up into a bundle and swung them across his back. He was getting too old for things like this, but it seemed just when he was about to make a big breakthrough in his quest, he was to be thwarted. He walked over to the road and wondered which way to go? Both ways looked the same - deserted. He began to walk the way he was facing. About an hour later, a car came up behind him and screeched to a halt, a few yards up the road. A rather tall, well built man leaned his head out of the window. "Want a lift to town?" he enquired. "Sure do," the old man replied, thankfully getting in. "I guess that was your spaceship back a bit," the driver enquired. "No-one walks out here for the scenery. I stopped to make sure there was no-one inside the craft hurt or anything, and you don't look like one of the rebels." "Rebels?" the old man asked. "Oh, it's an internal problem, nothing important on a Galactic scale." The driver responded. "Jon Rex, by the way." "Den Hural," the old man replied. "I was on my way to Ferew 6 with a cargo out from Hypere Star 2," he lied. "I had a spot of trouble." "As soon as we get to town, I'd get a salvage crew out there before the rebels steal anything," Rex suggested. "Who are these rebels?" Hural asked. "Well," Rex answered, "to tell the truth, we don't know, but they have their base out here in the desert somewhere. So far they've been content to keep things down to minor raids and acts of sabotage, but we think that something really big is on the way." "Something like what happened to Ganas?" Hural asked. "We sure hope not, but Ganas was too close to our city for comfort." "Yeah," the old man agreed. "That's why I asked. Don't want to turn up somewhere that's about to be nuked." He paused for a moment. "I hope you don't mind me asking this," he said, "but from the way you speak, you seem very interested in these rebels." "Yeah," Rex replied, "it's my job. I work on The World Safety Committee." The old man hit his thigh with his hand. "Oh of course," he exclaimed. "I thought the face was familiar. You're THE Jon Rex, aren't you." "Yes," Rex confirmed, "but I didn't know I was that famous." "Well everyone knows you in this sector, sir," the old man replied. "Well thanks," Rex said, looking slightly embarrassed. "Is that the town up ahead?" the old man asked. "Yeah," Rex confirmed, "at 500 m.p.h., on a straight road, it's much quicker than walking." He slowed down as the car approached the city limit gates. Rex lowered the window of his car and flashed his permit. The guard recognised him and waved him on, not bothering to question the old man. The huge gates of the city hissed open as Rex's car purred through. Once inside the car maintained its low speed. "I'll drop you off at the salvage office," he said. "Thanks," the old man replied. "I'm obliged. I'll try and repay the debt someday.'' The car turned off the main motorway and drove into the spaceport area. It came to a halt outside the salvage depot. The old man stepped out of the car. "Once again thanks very much," he said. "That's alright," Rex said, "anytime, spacer. So long." "So long," the old man replied, as the door of the car closed and headed back towards the motorway. Hural turned and entered the office. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "Have you been waiting out here all this time?" Stella demanded, as she saw Jon lounging about nearby. "Sure have," he replied, smiling sheepishly. "I told you, I'm obsessed with you. You still just as fabulous in casual clothes." "Look, little boy," Stella cursed. "I'm on important business, and I don't want you tagging along on my tails like a lost sheepdog. Go away now, or I will have you arrested." He shrugged, but noting the hard tone in her voice, conceded; for the moment at least. "Okay, okay. I'm gone!" He began to walk in the opposite direction. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Junez gave the car full acceleration as he saw the exit gates open behind him. He only had a small lead, but Bozz's car should be able to keep ahead of anything else on the farm. He stole a quick glance at the speedometer. It read 650; that wasn't fast enough, the guards could do 750. He realised that the gap between them was narrowing, and sweat began to trickle down his face. He had to tell someone in the city that Bozz was an android. He didn't know why, but something told him that it was of vital importance. He hit overdrive and the gap began to widen. He'd often heard Bozz boast to his underlings how dangerous it was for anyone but him to drive in overdrive for more than a few seconds because the car was too powerful and was liable to go out of control. The road ahead stretched like a ruled line to the horizon - at least there were no corners to slow him down. The gap between the two cars was getting wider each second - could he make it? The city was still a long way off. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Hural walked into the salvage office and the man behind the desk got out of his chair and came over to the counter. "Yes sir?" he enquired. "Can I help you?" "I sure hope so," the old man replied. "It's my spaceship, I had to bring it down in the desert near the city. Major system and engine failure." "I see," the man pondered, "that would call for our heavy lifting gear." He consulted his screen. "It's free for use at the moment. It will be a costly operation of course." He paused looking slightly embarrassed. "You can cover the cost?" he asked. "My backers can," the old man lied. He pulled out his fake credentials. "Yes," the man muttered, studying them, "I know the firm, we've dealt with them before. I'll just get a preliminary agreement drawn up for you to sign. With a bit of luck we should be able to start recovery this afternoon." "That's great," Hural replied. "When will the document be ready?" "About an hour," the man said. "You can wait if you like, or take a walk around. I've got all the necessary information on your credentials here to complete the agreement." "Good," the old man decided. "I'll go and book into a hotel." Hural stepped out of the office and into the street. He paused on the sidewalk for a moment, looking for a hotel. Seeing one a few blocks away, he started walking towards it. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Stella stepped forward as Rex's car pulled up. "Right on time," she announced, getting into the car. "Head for Zone 6. What was the journey like from the outpost?" "Quiet," Rex confirmed, "though I did pick up an old spacer whose ship had come down in the desert." "Was he alright?" she asked. "Yes, well, he looked alright. The ship was a bit knocked about though, because I stopped to have a look at it, in case there was anyone left inside it. I dropped him by the Salvage Office." Stella looked at Rex suspiciously as his hand brushed her knee as he changed gear. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Hural authorised the salvage agreement and passed the documents back to the clerk. "Do you want to go along with the crew, Mr. Hural?" the man enquired. "Yeah," the old man replied, "might as well. There's not much else doing around here. Not that they could miss it, it's almost on the road Just a little way outside the town." "Good," the clerk decided. "If you follow me, you can meet the man in charge." Hural was led into the garage where he could see the heavy duty lifting lorries warming up, the noise of their engines echoing in the confined space. The clerk introduced Hural to the engineer in charge, Fed Jenkins, a tall, thin, sallow faced man in his early forties, whose face appeared to be completely devoid of any expression. Hural climbed aboard the leading lorry as it began to slowly pull out of the garage. He noticed he was alone with Jenkins in the cab. "Been on this job long?" he asked. "Just about ever since I was a little kid. I ain't much good at nothing else, and I love the work, so..." "I know what you mean," Hural replied, "I've been in space ever since I was a kid, never known anything else. My father was a spaceman as well. We used to live right by the spaceport, and so doing anything different never crossed my mind." "Your first crash?" Jenkins asked, as the heavy lorry crawled out onto the main road. "Yep," the old man replied. "Had to happen sooner or later, the old girl's had the life thrashed out of her over the years." As the convoy approached the gates, they hissed open and the guard waved them out. "Don't you need a pass to get out?" Hural. "The man I came in with had to show his." "No," Jenkins laughed. "They're kind of choosy who they let in, but don't care who goes out." "Why is there any need for passes anyway?" the old man asked. "Danged if I know," Jenkins confessed. "Ten years ago, you could come and go as you like. Progress I suppose," he added wryly. When they were out on the open road, the lorries began to pick up speed. "These dang things are so slow," Jenkins cursed. "You take forever to get anywhere." The lorries trundled along for some time until the old man pointed ahead. "You can see it now, just away from the road." "Yeah," Jenkins drawled. "Shouldn't be too hard." "Someone's in a hurry," Hural said, pointing to a cloud of dust hurtling up the road. The convoy of lorries pulled over to the side as the car hurtled nearer. A little way behind it, there appeared to be another vehicle; they seemed to be having a race. "Dang fools out of control," Jenkins murmured as the car hurtled towards them, swinging all across the road. "He must be doing 800. Treat this damn thing as a racetrack. This is the most dangerous place on this planet if you ask me." "He's going to hit us," the old man gasped as the car brushed them and somersaulted over and exploded. The driver was thrown out in mid air. The pursuing car had slowed down considerably and was now some way behind. The lorries reversed to where the body lay. Hural jumped down from the cab and ran over to the man who was bleeding badly, though still just alive. "That was a dang fool thing to do, son," he said. "I was escaping," Junez gasped. "Killed Bozz - android." He went limp. The old man shook his head sadly as Jenkins and the rest of the salvage crew ran over. "Dead?" one of the men asked. "Yeah, he is now" the old man replied. "Did he say anything?" a voice enquired. An occupant of the following car. "No," Hural lied. "Not a word." "We'll take him back and see he gets a proper burial," the other man said. "Sorry about any inconvenience." "That's okay," drawled Jenkins, "didn't even dent the front bumper." Hural followed Jenkins back to the lorry. "Are there many accidents like that?" he asked, as they climbed back into the cab. "Everyone seems very matter of fact about it." "Yeah," Jenkins replied, "they're getting killed out here all the time. They go too fast." He started up the engine again and pulled back into the road. They continued their journey to the wrecked spaceship in silence, the old man's brow furrowed. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Des pulled his car to the side of the kerb. He considered Rex to be a serious rival and was so jealous when he saw Stella getting into Rex's car, that he followed them. They had parked here downtown and gone into a shabby apartment. He could just guess what they were up to now. God, what a hypocrite that girl was, playing all cool and virginal with him, while all the time Rex, who was old enough to be her father, was having her! Jealousy got the better of him and he got out of the car and began to prowl around the outside of the building, the higher floor windows were boarded up, so it was likely their seedy lovenest was here on the ground floor. He could see some movement through a grimy window and crept forward. The ill fitting frame offered little soundproofing. He strained to hear what they were saying. It sounded like Stella was speaking. "Bozz is dead," she asked incredulously. "But how could anyone kill him? How did it happen? Who did it?" "Some fool kid," another man, not Rex, replied. "But he was killed in a crash with a lorry while trying to escape." "Did he find out Bozz was an android?" she asked. "Yeah," the man replied, "he shot him right where his guts should have been. The kid died with the secret though." "Good," Stella decided. "But it was bad news about Bozz being killed. Lagruna will not be pleased. I'm expecting a visit from him soon." "You gonna take control now, Stella?" the man asked. "Yeah, guess I'll have to. Go and get the rest of the leaders." Des beat a hasty retreat towards his car, feeling somewhat embarrassed. It sounded like she was there on some sort of business to do with her job; though what was all the talk about androids? They were banned on this planet. He was about to get in the car, when he felt a blaster pressed into his back. "Hold it there, son," a gruff voice cursed. "I think you've heard a bit too much for your own good." Two men grabbed Des and bundled him into the building. "What the hell-" Stella cursed. "Caught him snooping outside," the man stated. "He must have heard." "What's going on, Stella?" Des cursed. "You stupid fool," Stella cursed. "You've just signed your death warrant!" One of the men primed his blaster. "Not here, moron. Bring him with us to the rendezvous. Get his car, we'll stage a car crash, the desert road is notorious." Anything else Des was going to ask was silenced as the butt of a blaster hammered against the back of his neck. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The convoy of lorries reached the wrecked spaceship, and the old man watched for a while as Jenkins and his crew began to assemble the salvage equipment. Then he saw the car that had been chasing the crashed car earlier zoom past in the direction it had come from. The old man walked over to Jenkins. "I suddenly remembered something that I forgot to do back in town," he said. "You haven't got some other means of transport that would get me back to town quickly have you?" "Yeah," Jenkins drawled. "I've got a couple of small fast cars in the back of the last lorry. You can borrow one of those if you like." "Thanks," Hural replied. "I'll be back later," he promised. As he pulled out onto the road, he pondered the situation. Who was Bozz? Was he an android? Who were these men who had chased that young boy who'd been travelling so fast he'd crashed and killed himself? He'd always been strong on playing hunches and for reasons he couldn't even begin to understand himself, felt this was all linked in to the reason he'd come to this planet in the first place. He pressed his foot down on the accelerator and soon found he was soon approaching the city gates. He mentally thanked Jenkins for his foresight as he saw a pass clipped to the dashboard. He entered the city without query. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "Do you know where I can find Bozz?" Hural asked in the tenth bar. This time he did not receive an indifferent shrug of the shoulders. "Why do you want to know?" the barman enquired after a lengthy pause. "I'm an old business friend," he replied. "I thought I'd look him up and maybe put some work his way." "You're too late, mister" the barman answered. "Newsvid said that he's been killed by some mad kid." "Here in town?" the old man asked. "Farm out in the desert," the barman replied. "Third turning on the left outside the city on the main road. But I guess they'll bring the body into town for cremation." "Thanks," Hural replied. He finished off his drink and walked back out to his car. He started the car up. He'd go out to the farm to pay his respects to the rest of the family and would perhaps be able to get a better insight into what was happening. He drove out of the city as it was beginning to get dark. He'd have to keep his speed down, or he'd miss the turning; although he could use the wreck of his ship as a landmark. He saw his stricken craft and slowed down to tell Jenkins that he'd need to borrow the car for a little longer. He pulled up near the wreck, but the salvage crew appeared to have called it a day and gone back to the city. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Stella pointed at the map. "Lagruna is arriving tonight in the desert; just about here-" she pointed. "We'll deal with our hostage while we're waiting for him." "Everything's ready," the man stated. Stella nodded and the party proceeded downstairs and out into the street. Des was beginning to recover from the blow he'd received. As he was bundled into the first of the three cars, with Stella and Rex, he gasped in horror. The occupants of the other two cars were aliens! "What are they?" Des groaned at Stella. "What game are you up to?" "Shut it kid," Rex cursed. "Why worry, you'll be dead soon and all your worries will be gone!" The other man in the car raised his hands to his face and fiddled about at the back off his head for a few seconds and then gave a sharp jerk. He pulled off a plasma face mask; underneath was the head of a purple alien. It made strange gurgling sounds at Stella. He adjusted it slightly and put it back on. "The others were in the process of adjusting their disguises when we came out," Stella explained, ignoring Rex's comments about not telling him anything. "Are you an alien?" Des gasped. "No," Stella replied coldly. I'm one hundred per cent human, unfortunately." "But what is this?" Des asked. "What evil plot is this?" "As I said before," Rex interrupted, "it's not worth you worrying about it, bearing in mind your life expectancy." The convoy of cars pulled off, and got past the city guards without the alarm being raised. As they sped into the desert, Stella smiled at Des. "Wise of you not to raise the alarm," she said, "saved a lot of slaughter." "I didn't have much choice," he replied bitterly, "with a gun stuck in my side." A silence fell in the car which was not broken until the convoy pulled up near the wreck of Hural's spaceship. "Is this Lagruna's ship?" the alien asked. "I'm not sure," Stella replied. "I hope not." She leaned forward, turning the headlights of the car onto the wreck. "No, it's a Terran design," she stated. "So Lagruna is also an alien is he?" Des commented. "A little knowledge is dangerous," Rex stated. "You could get hurt knowing things like that," he added sarcastically. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Hural pulled his car up angrily. He was sure he'd just missed the turning in the darkness. He began to turn it round when he saw a trio of cars approaching at high speed. In an effort to hurry, he stalled the engine. He tried to restart it, but it wouldn't fire. He broke out into a sweat. This vehicle was a serious danger to the oncoming traffic. He leapt out and rolled over and over trying to clear the scene of an almost certain collision. There was a screeching of brakes as the leading car saw the obstacles in the road, and swerved to the side. It went up onto its rear wheels like a crazed horse and turned over, skidding along the road in a shower of sparks. The second car was too late and smashed into the abandoned vehicle and blew up. The third car piled into the wreckage and somersaulted over the top, also exploding as it hit the ground. The first car finally came to a stop, further down the road. Hural staggered to his feet and stumbled forward to check the lead car. Miraculously, there seemed to be survivors, who were dragging themselves out through the shattered windows. He assisted with the rescue, shocked to identify the final occupant, who was clearly dead. "Hey," he exclaimed, "this is the guy who gave me a lift into town. Rex, er-" "Jon Rex," the younger man of the group breathed. He turned to Stella who was sitting on the road, holding her head. "What's going on?" he demanded, "just tell me that!" She sat there dazed. Des turned back to Hural. "Have you got a gun, mister?" he demanded urgently. "There's some sort of treason afoot here!" Suddenly there was a huge roar from the sky, and a mighty spaceship began to descend. The flames from its rockets hurt their eyes to look at. "Being an old spaceman myself," Hural observed, "I have a feeling that it's going to land so close to us, that the little creatures of this desert will be having fried breakfast tomorrow." One of the aliens, on hearing the old man's words, jumped up from where he lay on the ground and pulled a flare gun out of his belt. He pointed it in the air, and activated it. A multi-coloured flare lit the sky for miles around. "Get down," he screamed. Everyone who was standing, dived to the ground. The spaceship that was slowly descending, switched on its main motor. The heat seared across the people on the ground, but the ship began to slowly climb back into the sky. When the old man cautiously looked up, the ship was now only a bright speck. Stella looked up. "What happened?" she asked. "It's alright, Stella," the alien explained, "It's gone back into orbit." "Good," she replied, recovering her composure and getting back to her feet. "We'll have to kill this other one now as well," the alien decided. "They both know far too much to live. Looks like we've got the crash already to use as a suitable cover." "No," Stella shouted. "I've changed my mind. We'll wait for Lagruna. Hostages may be useful if we're discovered before he lands." The alien looked at her sullenly. "Don't forget whose in charge," she added angrily. The alien now fired a green flare into the sky. The ship had obviously matched the planet's speed of rotation, as it still hung overhead. Once more it began to descend, this time at a safer distance, to their right. The spaceship was landing, it's jets blasting into the dry acrid desert. The alien now fired a yellow flare into the sky. "There will be a car sent to collect us," Stella announced. "We kill them now," the alien insisted. '"While they are alive, they present a constant danger." "No" Stella insisted, "and that is final." The vehicle sped towards them, and as it skidded to a halt, ten figures poured out. They ran over to Stella and saluted her. The commander of the unit pointed at the two men.. "Terran prisoners?" he enquired. "Yes," Stella confirmed. "Very well," the commander replied. He ordered the prisoners to move to the new vehicle. "Hey," Des exclaimed, as they got near it, "this is an ambulance of the World Safety Committee!" "Don't ask questions," Stella ordered. They crowded into the vehicle and once inside, Des could see that it was indeed not an ambulance, but a troop carrier. He looked at the old man who shrugged his shoulders. The car revved up its engine and with a jerk shot off towards the space-ship. "Is it true what we have heard about Bozz?" the commander asked Stella. "Yes," she confirmed. "It was just one of those unfortunate things, it had nothing to do with the plan." "Good," the commander replied, smiling. "Have the final arrangements been made?" Stella asked. "Almost," the commander replied. "We shall soon be ready." "Death to all Terrans," Stella shouted. "Death to all Terrans'" the troops echoed. Des looked at Hural, whose face had turned deathly white. The vehicle began to slow down as it approached the ship, and they were jerked backwards, as the car shot up the ramp into the hull of the ship where it came to an abrupt halt. The door opened and the troops filed out. Stella picked up a mask from the seat next to her as choking fumes seeped into the vehicle. "Put these on," she ordered the others, throwing them masks. "Unless, of course, you want to die now," she added. Outside, the troops pulled off their own masks, revealing their alien faces. "All aliens," Hural exclaimed, as he looked out of the ambulance. "Indeed," Stella replied, "you are looking at the future rulers of your human empire." "Rubbish," Hural replied, but the look in Stella's eyes made his voice sound uncertain. "Move," Stella ordered. She adjusted a control on her mask and spoke in a strange garble to the commander of the aliens. He replied in the same gurgling tone. She turned the control back and spoke once more to Des. "You are being taken to a Terran type room which was prepared for me. There you will be able to breathe without those masks." They were marched off while Stella followed the commander to Lagruna. She walked down several corridors until she reached a heavily guarded room. It opened as she approached and the commander turned round and walked off. Stella entered, her heart beating fast. She had never seen their leader before, although she had communicated verbally. Stella looked cautiously around Lagruna's cabin as she heard the ship's engines roaring back into life. "Behind you, my dear," a thin voice stated. She turned slowly, unsure as to what she was going to see. A small, thin man sat on a bunk, looking at her. She had been prepared for most things, but she had to gasp with surprise; he was as human as she was. "You look surprised?" he stated. "You expected an alien?" "Who else could control a whole alien empire but an alien?" Stella enquired. "Who else would plan the destruction of the Terran race." "Me," the man replied cooly, a faint smile touching his lips. "But then you also wish to destroy Earth's inhabitants and descendants." "Are you now ready to give me the details?" Stella asked. "The Raccs have always wanted to eliminate Earth's power, But due to the fact that they have alien minds, they were unable to devise a plan sufficiently foolproof to succeed. They needed the knowledge of how the Terrans think and that was where I came in. The whole plan is mine; they are just the tools I'm employing. When I first took my idea to them they did not believe me, but they have machines that can read into the deepest part of the brain and they saw my longing for a whole area of space where the planets were devoid of life. It suited their ideals, for they do not want Earth's empire, just the removal of the threat of Earth's power." "Ever since I left that polluted, overcrowded planet Earth, I wanted to be alone. I finally found a virgin planet, completely barren, but my paradise did not last long. Terran civilisation came and built and excavated, until it was just another carbon copy of Earth. I vowed that for destroying my sanctuary, I would not rest until all the Terran Empire was devoid life. Now my chance has come!" He raised his hands in exultation. "And now for you, young lady, Miss Stella Dessas, the non double agent of the Terran Intelligence Service. You didn't really think we didn't know about you, do you? But tell me how did you first find out about my plan, I considered it foolproof." Stella gazed at the man for a moment, unable to speak. Finally she found the words. "Very well," she said, "I will explain, as you seem to want to play the game of revealing the background to your own plan to me. I was sent to this planet to investigate a minor act of sabotage. We had reason to believe that a group of renegades were planning a local war by blowing up a large city - the city of Ganas. A deranged android, known as Bozz, was behind the whole thing. I managed to infiltrate his organisation, posing as a double agent with a hatred of my fellow humans and by accident came to learn the skeleton of your plan." "I knew I should never have trusted an android," Lagruna cursed, "and he was engaged on the most vital piece of work of the whole project." He got off the couch and began to walk slowly towards the girl. "I thank you for your honesty, my dear," he added. "I am glad I did not have you killed earlier. It has amused me to think that you know about my plan, but can do nothing to stop it. But, what are we going to do with you, my little traitor?" "You could kill me now," she replied cooly. "Do you expect any other fate?" the man asked. "Not ultimately," the girl replied, "but I feel that the rest of the information I have should be worth my life; for a while at least." Lagruna pondered this statement for a moment, and then he smiled. "As I told you earlier, my dear, my friends the Raccs have a device to read minds. I think yours would reveal a few interesting points about the Terran security organisation that I have overlooked." He pulled out a microphone with a special translating attachment and barked orders into it. A few seconds later two aliens entered and grabbed Stella and took her to where the other prisoners were being kept. She was thrown into the room, where she gave a hurried explanation as to what was going on. "How can we believe you?" Hural asked. "Whether you do or not is largely academic now," Stella replied. "It is unlikely that anything can now stop their plan being carried out." "What is this plan?" Hural asked. "The ultimate result is the complete and utter destruction of all Terran type life. The Raccs have developed a new strain of bacteria that Earth scientists will be unable to destroy. It has two main properties, once released from its specially cooled containers it breeds at an incredibly fast rate, but due to the fact that at its creation it remains latent for a six month period, it is undetectable as anything but a harmless virus. As you know from Earth, you can reach any planet habitable and colonised by either passenger ships or robot freighters. You will find by studying trade routes and timetables of journeys, that every port is visited by a ship from either Earth in a six month period. After vast research by Lagruna into the ships used, relief carriers and personnel involved, he computed the minimum number of places he would need to plant the virus aboard ships so that by the time the six month hibernation period was over, every planet in the Terran Empire would be infected. It is well within the scope of the amount of virus he owns. I and the android known as the Bozz were the two chosen to 'salt' the necessary spaceships. This planet, having a large spaceport, had numerous ships that had to be infected. There are sufficient agents on other planets, people who have a grudge against the human race; warped, mentally diseased people, who do not realise that they will also perish. Lagruna is the only human being who has been given the antidote. The plan may sound ridiculous, but it is far from that. It is probably the most serious threat the human race has ever had to face." "Where do the troop carriers disguised as ambulances come into it?" Des enquired. "If an epidemic hits a planet, it'll welcome aid with open arms," Stella explained, "but there will be no medical supplies. The ships will be full of alien troops ready to mop up any resistance." They stood silent and white faced, visibly shaken by the plot they had just heard. The silence was shattered when the ship, that was circling the planet, broke its orbit and began to descend back towards the surface. A gentle bump that followed a minute later, confirmed that they had landed. "I wonder why we have returned?" Des enquired. "I think I know," Stella replied, "and I wouldn't be surprised if we haven't landed in the middle of Bozz's farm." "Why?" Des enquired, but he did not receive an answer to his question. Four aliens entered the cell and began to usher the party out of the room. They were led along a series of corridors and finally out of the air-lock. They saw that Stella had been correct in her assumption, and the ship had come to rest near to the main complex that included the android's house. They were herded into a room where Lagruna sat next to a large machine. Stella was separated from the others and led before him. He smiled at her. "Now then, my dear little Terran spy," he sneered, "let's see what is hidden in your mind." The aliens grabbed her and forced her into a seat. The machine was suspended above her head and various electrodes were connected to her head. Lagruna fiddled with several controls and then cursed out loud. He spoke to one of the aliens who was wearing a Terran mask. "There is no power in the machine," he cursed. "The Suil Filter has burnt out. Do we have a replacement?" The alien shook his head. "Is the matter transmitter workable yet?" he demanded. "It is of vital importance that this machine is operational. The secrets of this girl's mind must be revealed before my plan is put into operation. Also we cannot dispose of those other scum until I am sure they are in no way connected with her. Request a Suil Filter from the home planet as soon as possible." "I will make enquiries,'' the alien replied, "but the last test still showed dangerous interference from Tyress. We feel however that it may be possible to recommence transmission on a restricted wavelength, and as the filter is so small, it should be possible." "Then bring the transmitter in," Lagruna ordered. He turned back to the girl. "Set her free for a few minutes," he commanded. The transmitter was wheeled into the room, and connected to a power generator point that led to the mighty atomic reactor situated behind the house. The aliens helped Lagruna adjust several controls and after extensive tests, an alien recorded a message requesting the spare part and fed it into the machine. At this point, taking everyone by surprise, Hural lunged forward knocking the transmitter sideways. For a second everything seemed to freeze, then Lagruna's face turned white. "Imbecile," he breathed, "don't you realise how delicate the controls are. You've expanded the field of effect!" The alien wearing the Terran mask began to chant like a frenzied dervish. "The whole waveband is open.....dangerously wide....Tyress's influence is strong on the outer bands....too strong to resist." At this point there was a blaze of blinding light, followed a mighty gale which lifted everyone off their feet and swept them forward in the darkness. It was hard to tell how long this state lasted, but when their eyesight returned to normal, they found themselves laying in a disordered pile in a strange land. The humans began to disengage themselves from each other and stood up, but the aliens remained motionless on the ground. "What's happened?" Des asked in a daze. Lagruna looked at Hural and spoke angrily. "You fool," he shouted, "do you realise just exactly what you have done?" Hural didn't reply, but there was a strange exultation in his eyes. "Whatever has happened," Stella commented, "it seems to have put your plans up the creek for a while." "I shall explain the exact situation," Lagruna replied acidly. "The matter transmitter, instead of transferring just the message to the alien's home planet along the small 'safe' beam that was set on the machine, had its delicate mechanism altered so that the beam of attraction was spread across the whole room, transmitting all of us, and," he pointed at pieces of jagged plastic and wood, "parts of the room as well." He paused. "In normal circumstances we would have been cast at random, probably into space, where we would have all died a quick and sudden death by decompression. However, things aren't normal. If you were listening earlier you probably heard 'Tyress' mentioned. Well, there it is, up above you!" They all looked up. In the sky hung a huge thing that looked like an overbloated grey balloon, pulsating like a heart. "Yes," Lagruna continued, "that is Tyress; it is a creature of prey. It hunts in the matter lanes - on the longer wavelengths, which thanks to our friend, we ended up travelling on. As I said, normally we would have been cast into space where we would have died a quick death, but Tyress was in an active period, and it snatched us out of the matter transmission path and deposited us on its satellite. For some strange reason it doesn't seem to have any immediate effect on human beings, but as you can see it has had an immediate effect on the Raccs. The waves from Tyress renders them unconscious and while they are in that state, it seeps their inner mind out of them, and from that moment on, their lives may be considered to have ended. We have a slight advantage over them, for we humans do not possess matter transmission of this conception, and therefore we are strange to it. But that is unlikely to do us any good, for there is no way to get away from this strange place that I know of, and that thing you see up in the sky, has another name - The Dream Star, and believe me, its size is similar to that of a small star." "If only a tiny fraction of it is intelligent, it outweighs our combined IQ's a thousand times. We must accept the fact that we are its prisoners, prisoners of The Dream Star." |