CIRCUS GAMES

BOOK TWO
CHAPTER ONE

7 November 2402
The ship dropped to the surface,skimming the treetops with its undercarriage.Ahead a
small complex was just visible above the thick vegetation,shrouded in tropical mist.The
launch pad in the centre was strewn with dirt and overgrown plant life,with several small
fauna scurrying for cover with the noise of the engines.The battered ship nose dived as it
sharply slowed to a hover over the pad before finally settling , its single lifting jet
blowing debris into the trees.For several minutes nothing moved as the engine noise
faded,the misty light shining on the garish yellow hull,showing the gouges and thick
black carbon scouring.Finally hidden animals gave vent to their disturbed peace,their
harsh cries piercing the silence.
The ship dwarfed the buildings surrounding it.It obviously wasn't designed to
accommodate a vessel of that size.Four figures,dressed as garishly as their
ship,descended the ramp under the airlock and headed over to the complex door.They
ignored their surroundings,their painted faces concentrating only on the large security
door big enough to allow a small shuttle through.Recessed into the aging concrete wall
the group moved directly into the cast shadow,pulling various pieces of equipment from
the pouches on their bodies and setting them up near the access controls.In seconds the
door slid smoothly open,the men smiling their only display of emotion.Immediately the
smiles faded from their faces,faces with exaggerated grins and painted tears.Each had
bushes of brightly coloured hair,different from their colleagues.One wore a small thin-
rimmed hat.Knowing they were alone on the entire planet they felt safe to carry out what
they'd been paid to do.Theft was their speciality.
Along with murder.
Making people or equipment disappear permanently was one of the few things they were
good at and they were paid well to do it.None of the local authorities knew of their
existence,none they didn't want to know.Hired by those who did,and had enough
money,they always delivered.This time it would be a simple locate and retrieve.They
were disappointed there was no one to kill.But they couldn't have everything.They had
never met their current employer but that wasn't unusual.And she was paying them a
lot.Too much for what this job entailed.The figure in the hat leading the way they went
into the dark.

"SOS!This is freighter Carrington.I am under attack from alien ships!I am being

boarded!Repeat-I am under attack!"
"That was the last message we received from the Carrington."Marshall Dexter raised a
hip and sat on the edge of his desk,looking at the faces of Starcruiser Fives' crew
assembled in front of him. "From the date on the message it was sent ten days
ago,somewhere in the Denor sector."
"Denor is on the edge of our explored space,"said Rader Scheongarth, the ships
commander.Dexter nodded.
"Isn't the Carrington one of ours?"Standford Haskins,Raders' first officer,was sitting on
his commanders left.Well built with brown hair he was almost twice the size of his
captain.
"She's one of our remote starcruiser base supply ships.She was setting up the new base in
that sector."
The idea behind the remote starcruiser bases was to increase the range of the ships by
dotting small supply and repair depots around Terran space.Carrying food and equipment
the starcruiser could land,restock and refuel.However,with the introduction of the MK 3
ship most of these bases were now reduntant with the closest being shut down.Some of
them had never been used.
"Are we moving into that area?"
Dexter nodded again."The new starcruisers are going to be used to explore out there.We
want to take advantage of its size and speed,just in case we find someone who doesn't
like us.Since your ship is the only other MK 3 I'm sending you.And your
experience,Rader,will be a advantage on this mission."
"It's fairly remote out there.Will we have any backup?"
"Starcruiser One will be about an hour away in the Light Stream.By an amazing
coincidence we're going on a milk run to shut down some of the older bases."
Rader nodded his approval of the mission and Dexter stood up.
"Star Five will have all the information you need by the time you get to the hangar.Signal
home after you get there and keep us informed."
"Right.How long before you leave?"
"We'll be a few hours behind you.Our mission is nothing compared to yours but there you
go.Can't have all the fun."
"Better bring a book,Commander,"said Haskins."We're looking at about ten hours in the
Light Stream."
"Yeah,right."The crew filed out leaving Dexter in the doorway of his new office.Located
about ten steps away from Hangar One,Admiral Jorgenson had insisted Dexter had an
office as "befitting the captain of the fleet".Dexter had protested at first since his father
had the post before him and he had never had one. But, given the amount of paperwork
he seemed to inherit along with the position and the fleet upgrades,which he ordered,he
could see the sense in being able to close the door.Since his quarters were too small and
the engineers had taken over the old observation booth in Hangar One he had little
choice.He noticed the admiral walking towards him and he nodded to give him access,
sitting behind his ancient wood desk.
Jorgenson noticed the new desk and commented on it as he sat in one of the vacant
chairs.
"My father found it somewhere,"Dexter smiled."You should have seen his face when I
told him I had an office.Apparently it's a real antique."
Jorgenson picked out one of the deep scratches."So I noticed."
"I wouldn't let him get it restored.Reminds me of our history.You of all people should
appreciate that."
Jorgenson nodded.He was an avid collector of ancient weapons.
"What can I do for you,Admiral?"
"The Gods want another three starcruisers built and put on a base further out into the
system."
"Mk 3s'?"
"It would be a little pointless putting in Mk 2s'."
"For what purpose?If it's just defence we could base them here."
"Not just defence.If we need a starcruiser outside the system it can be there faster than
one based on the moon."
"That's the old numbers,Admiral.Starcruiser One can launch and be outside the system in
thirty eight minutes.Before we rebuilt her you were looking at ninety three."
"We're aware of that,Captain."Jorgenson put a data disc on the scarred desk top."What
they want is on there."
Dexter slipped it into his computer and quickly read over the text and design schematics
of the proposed base.It was the same design as the original base on the moon,located over
three levels with a lot of cargo bays."They only want three permanently based here?"
"That's the plan."
"The crews are going to go mad with boredom.How about this:build the base and put a
fleet of Interceptors in?Put a few starcruiser hangars in but base the ships here?We can
rotate which starcruisers are on standby there with the ships here."
"Put Starcruiser Two,Three and Four in the outer base then replace them with other ships
after a fortnight,something like that?"Jorgenson considered."It could work but then those
ships wouldn't be available for duty."
"I know.Without new ships and new crews we would leave the normal duties of the fleet
short."Dexter suddenly had a thought."Are you expecting an attack?"
"We're not sure.The attack on the Carrington has them worried.There shouldn't have been
anyone out there.That's why she was so far out without an escort."
"A freighter the size of the Carrington would be a prize in anyones book.We could be
looking at pirates."
"Pirates?These days?"
Dexter went to his coffee machine but found the pot empty and cold.He started to make a
fresh batch.Jorgenson refused the offered cup."Why not?Since the war ended we've seen
a lot of civilian ships.It doesn't stretch the imagination to believe cargo would be easier to
come by if you stole it."
"Good old human traits,eh?"
Dexter sat down again with his steaming cup."Let me work on these plans for a
while.Beefing up our defences could put our new allies on their guard so we're going to
have to be careful.We can't jump the gun by putting all this in place without reason."
"We're just being cautious,that's all.We've got too much to lose whether we build the new
ships or not."
"I do want something putting in place now though.Start getting the funding together for
the new starcruisers.But construction and crew training doesn't start until the existing
fleet is converted.And I want them based here."
"Captain,you're looking at eighteen months away before the first spaceframe is rolled
out.The base is expected to be ready in twelve."
"If they push,use the Interceptor idea.For defence purposes of course.I don't want the
fleet depleted with them sitting on their hands.With the proper set up we can turn an
Interceptor out every thirty six hours.An Attack Unit takes five weeks to build from
scratch.And to train a crew to the level we need you're looking at a year. They can choose
what they want."
"So you want Interceptors on the base but the new starcruisers based here and not built
for eighteen months?"
"Right.And we can discreetly lay new defence satellites around the system.Just in
case."Dexter checked his screen."Starcruiser Three and Four are available if you want
them to patrol and lay the satellites.Rader is on his way to investigate the Carrington."
"What about Starcruiser Two?"
"As soon as she comes back from the diplomatic mission she's next for the upgrade.She's
due back in two days."
"Not a moment too soon."
"What's makes you say that?"
"The Cirroc and the Derroc aren't the easiest of races.And Ainger isn't the best diplomat."
"I don't see a problem.I got them talking.All they have to do is lay the ground rules for
their joining us.They'll accept or they won't."Dexter shrugged.

Dexter was late getting to Hangar One.His crew were already waiting for him on board
Starcruiser One.Climbing the steps in the Command Base he headed for the Command
Module,noticing the pilots seat for the Attack Unit was already raised.He slumped into
his command chair and strapped in,acknowledging Alec as he put on his helmet."Initiate
launch procedure.Shara,you're driving." "Right."
The pad rose into its launch position and the ship sat in her crater on the lunar surface.Her
lifting jets fired,pushing her into space as her main engines cut in.The ship accelerated
and disappeared into the Light Stream.Dexter raised his visor and sat back,confident
everything was taken care of.Even though his crew had only been together for a few
months they were already knitting together.They all knew the ship as well as each
other,he'd insisted they all take an active part in its rebuild.After telling them their
destination he could trust them to get them there in one piece,even if they didn't know
why they were going there.
"Why are we going to the Castor system?"said Alec as he checked his console readings.
"We 're rendezvousing with the Victoria.She's standing by to receive the component
starcruiser ships from the remote base there.We're going to decommission the base."
"Decommission the base?"
"Right.It's surplus to requirements with the MK 3.So we're going to transfer the spare
Interceptor, Base and Command Modules to her hold for shipping to the new base in the
Denor system.We'll have to use our Attack Unit as a lifting body."
"Why did they keep spare component ships on these bases?"said Shara. "They were
supposed to be a secret."
"All the bases locations are secret."Adam had done his research."Each base has the best
security we could get."
"And they keep spare ships and repair facilities in case the starcruiser is too badly
damaged to get back.As well as supplies of food and fuel to increase range."
"So how many of these things are we looking at?"
"We're clearing out and shutting down the first five."
"Five?"
"You got a date,Lieutenant?"
"Not at all,Captain.You want me to carry the spare ships up to the Victoria?"
"That's right."
"Why not fly them up?"
Dexter sighed."Because they're unpowered and unfueled.Unless you want to wait the
three days to charge the power packs?And before you ask:there isn't a spare Attack Unit."
"Why didn't we supply an Attack Unit?"
Dexter sighed again and shook his head at Alec."For security reasons.It's the heart of the
ship.We could just give any thief a complete ship,save them the bother of trying to steal
it."
The rest of the crew decided to take a break and grab something to eat,Dexter taking over
from Shara a few hours later.She took the time to get some sleep in her cubicle before
they reached the Castor system and she was put to work.However,just as she was getting
up the combat alarms went off.
She found the ship in full Combat Mode as she strapped in.Dexter was taking to the
captain of the Victoria,Robin Bloodfeather.They'd left the Light Stream and ahead of
them was the blue orb of Castor 7,a small planet with only two major land masses and no
satellites.The Victoria,a small cruiser,was directly in front of them in orbit.Carrying few
offensive weapons Bloodfeather had apparently decided to wait until Starcruiser One got
there before trying to land a shuttle.Directly behind the ship Shara could see a dark
smudge on the sandy surface and she used her visor to home in on the sensor
image,listening to Dexters conversation.
"Did it explode?"said Dexter.
"Impossible to tell from this distance,we're just a transport,Marshall.But we can say its
been destroyed for a while.By what we can't say."
"How long?"
"We've been on station for a week now and we couldn't find any recent exhaust trails."
"Alec?"
"Checking."Alec closed his visor and used the display for the sensor information."Can't
tell due to course adjustments from the Victoria.We need to widen the search and Robins'
course into the system so we can eliminate that."
"Anything from the base?"
"Nothing.No life signs,no power.But the base was unmanned anyway."
"They also don't just explode.Okay,Robin.We're going down for a look.Can you stay on
station for a while?"
"I don't see why not.We're at a bit of a loose end now."
"Dexter out.Defence Mode."
The weapons slid smoothly into their housings but the shields remained at full strength,a
deep electric blue around the ship as she shifted course and dived towards the
surface.Even from a distance the devastation was obvious.The small complex, normally
hidden under the sand,was now a deep black crater.The sensors probed as she
neared,slowing to a high hover near the crater rim. "Adam,could the bases' generators
have caused that much destruction with an overload?"
"Not without a lot of help,Captain.Each of the three generators should have had four
redundant safeties.Even if someone removed them there should still be some of the walls
standing at least." "Why does a base of this size have three generators?"said Shara.
"Power charging the ships.Anything less and you're looking at a longer charge time."
"What about the fuel stores?"said Alec.
"The fuel is made up of two components,both stored in different locations.If they could
mix themselves it still couldn't cause that much damage.I think we're looking at a third
party here."
"It was attacked?"said Shara.
"Captain,if I could do some checking?"said Alec.
Dexter handed flight controls to his station.The ship gained alttitude on its jets,moving
over to the centre of the crater.Then dropped into it, hovering a few metres over the
blackened sand.She started to turn as Alec scanned the surface.
"What are you looking for?"said Shara.
"I'll tell you when-There!"
The ship stopped her slow turn and dropped her nose so the crew could see what Alec
found.
"A missile casing?"said Dexter.
"No,he's right."said Adam."It isn't one of ours."
"But there isn't supposed to be any other weapons on these bases."
"Exactly Shara."
"Conclusions?"said Dexter.
"The base was attacked.Possibly from orbit."Adam homed in on the missile casing,trying
to find any clues to its origin.
"But why?"said Shara."To stop us using the equipment?"
"Or to hide something."
Dexter was quiet as he took control of the ship and started to climb into orbit.

home

Chapter Two
Circus Games

Book Two
Chapter Two

Starcruiser Five emerged from the Light Stream in the Denore system.She immediately
started scanning the system of four planets and three moons for any sign of the
Carrington.The base was set up on the third planet,a tropical world of undetermined age
but teeming with local life,none of it more intelligent than a bird.The long range sensors
picked up a metallic mass on the icy fourth planet and the ship set off to
investigate,leaving a survey of the base until they'd checked to see if this was the ship
they were looking for.
"Approaching Denore Four,"said Haskins.He looked across at Rader.
"Right.Start scans from orbit.I don't want to spend the next twenty minutes looking at a
mineral deposit.Solow,how are we doing?"
From his perch in the Interceptor the Rubican engineer scanned his console
readouts."We're doing fine,Commander.Are you expecting something to go wrong?"
"This is our first major star drive since rebuild.We're probably the furthest from Earth any
starcruiser has ever been.Damn right I'm expecting something to go wrong.Paul?"
The Attack Unit pilot checked his visor readouts."I'm holding position as ordered.Waiting
new course from Standford."
"It's a ship,"said Haskins."Looks like it pile drived into the surface.Not that long ago
either.One of the engines is still running.There's something else but we need to get
closer."
"So much for the new sensors.Paul,I'm taking us down."
"It's not the sensors at fault,Commander.It's something at the location."
Frowning at the last comment Rader dropped the nose of Starcruiser Five,swooping over
the ice covered,rocky landscape.Deciding he still didn't trust the new systems enough,he
stopped himself hugging the landscape and kept a respectable altitude.But he still came in
fast.His visor gave him the location of the crash site and he homed in on it,slowing as the
target cross hairs lined up,hovering the ship at the edge of the debris field.Haskins
scanned the still smoking ship as it lay at the end of a deep gouge in the frozen ground.
"Confirmed as the Carrington,Commander.One of its manoeuvring engines is still venting
reactant. Some power readings.No life signs."
"What about cargo?"
"The cargo bays read as empty."
"So she was robbed out.Before or after she crashed?"
"Can't tell.But from the lack of disturbed surface in the surrounding area,I'd guess
before."
"We're going to have to go aboard.Landing."
"Commander!Don't land the ship!"Solow was insistent.Rader stopped the gentle descent.
"He's right."said Haskins."There's some sort of caustic over the ship and the surrounding
area."
"Caustic?"
"Like an acid.It's what I picked up from orbit."Haskins shook his head."With the old
sensors we would have missed it."
"And probably walked right into it."Solow shivered at the thought."We don't need suits in
this atmosphere."
"Paul,check the Carrington cargo manifest,see if she was carrying anything like this."
"I don't think she leaked anything like this,Commander,"said Paul.
"I know,but check anyway.Standford,the only way we can find out what happened is to
go on board."
"We can't get near,Commander."
"We could drive up using the Command Base,"said Solow."The caterpillar tracks and the
bottom surface of the base is designed to resist contaminants like this."
"Yeah,but how do we walk around without our feet melting?Not my idea for a
stroll."Rader looked at Haskins as Paul confirmed the Carrington wasn't carrying
anything like this.
"Commander,"said Solow."Meet me in the base."
By the time Rader met Solow in the Command Base he had a large piece of equipment on
the dining table.Cables ran off it into a tight coil on the deck."The remote observer?"he
said.
"Why not?I know it's designed to work in zero g enviroments but it has redundant anti
gravity systems built into the design.We can see everything it sees on the monitors."
"Can you rig it to operate in this caustic atmosphere?"
"That's the hard part.It's not designed to withstand extremely hostile conditions.Extreme
gravity, weight or no atmosphere at all won't effect it.Even water wouldn't bother it.Acids
though,I'm not sure.But if we're going to use it,we're going to have to be quick."Rader
looked up from inspecting the remote drone as Solow continued."The caustic isn't just to
stop anyone from looking at the wreck.It's dissolving it."
"Dissolving it?"
"Probably to hide whatever happened to it."
"How long?"
"Until the ship blows away in the breeze?Standford has been monitoring it a bit longer
but I'd guess at a few hours.Either way,it will soon be too unstable to use the observer,let
alone anything else."
"So it has to be now or not at all."
"Right.One more thing:we only got this chance because the outside temperature is so
low.If this was a hot world we would have flown right over the wreckage and not even
seen the remains."
Starcruiser Five moved forward into the debris field and gently dropped,as if she was
going to land.However,at the last half metre the Command Base dropped from
underneath,raising a cloud of icy dust.The rest of the ship rose sharply on her lifting jets
and pulled back to a safe distance,holding in a steady hover.Immediately Solow started
the base rolling towards the wreck of the Carrington, aiming for a large split in its side.Its
deep caterpillar tracks dug into the frozen ground,leaving two perfectly symmetrical
tracks behind it.Like a tank the uneven ground sent it rising and diving through the deep
furrows caused by the ships crash.
After a few minutes of steady driving the base reached the heavy shadow created by the
ships side and paused as Solow got sensor readings of the hull.Even from this distance he
could see the hull melting under the unseen corrosive lying over the ship like a
blanket.Realising the light was going to fade soon he secured the drivers console and
moved to the back of the base.The remote observer drone was lying in the small
airlock.Making sure it was connected to the controls he'd set up on the dining table he
sealed the inner hatch,pushing the button to open the outer door without exchanging
atmosphere.The outer door opened like a ramp,hinging down to impact with the edge of
one of the furrows.Solow sat at the table and fired up the observer.Pleased as the
monitors lit up giving him the views from its cameras he activated the anti grav units and
thrusters.A few turns and changes in its distance from the ground convinced him it was
working actually better than expected.Setting it to jet over to the gash in the Carringtons'
side he reached over and slipped his headset communicator over his right ear.
"Solow to Starcruiser Five."
"Rader.Go ahead."
"Are you receiving the images?"
"Not yet.Are the base recorders working?"
"They're running and I've got pictures.At worst I'll see what's going on."
"Just do your best.Standford is relaying the schematics of the ship to your console so you
can plan a route."
"Where do you want me to start?"
"Try for the bridge."
"Solow?This is Standford."
"Go ahead."
"This corrosive has just about destroyed any organic remains so we've got no idea if any
crew are on board.We've got trace elements on the remains of the bridge."
"You want me to take a look at the crew?"
"Best way to tell what happened."
"Right.Going in."
The probe nudged its way in through the hull.Shards of metal tried to snag at it until it
managed to get into a corridor.The overhead lights were flickering dimly,making the
images it was sending back dark and fuzzy. Two large lamps shone from the front,casting
a pair of bright spots over the walls. Audio sensors picked up the sounds of the thrusters
but nothing else.The probe advanced slowly, checking everything until the ship lurched
as a lower deck collapsed.
"Solow!"
Solow looked up from his screens at the commanders' shout."I'm fine, Commander.The
probe is looking good too."
"Sorry,couldn't help myself."
"Does that mean you're getting pictures now?"
"No but we could see the whole ship move.I don't think we've much time."Rader could
see the diminutive Command Base in front of the rapidly disintegrating Carrington
through his viewport.The ship seemed to be sinking.He was ready to retrieve the base at a
seconds notice.But they would probably have to dump it before they landed back home
because of the contamination.They could swap it for a MK 2 base so they could keep the
extra space from one of the remote bases since they were interchangeable.At least the
designers got that right.It was a question of where to get rid of the old one.His console
screen flickered and steadied on the images from the remote observer.
"Well done Paul,"he said.
The crew watched as the probe advanced through the ship,showing all the signs of a
major crash. Conduits had expoded from the walls,ruptured from the impact and
everything had rushed to the front.Doors hung open at odd angles and some of the
corridors had completely collapsed,forcing Solow to take a different route.Finally the
double doors at the back of the bridge loomed into view. So far all the audio sensors had
been picking up was the hum of the anti gravity systems and the hiss of the thrusters.As
Solow paused in front of the partially open doors they pick up something else.
"Can anyone else hear that?"Rader fed the audio into his helmet speakers.
"Like a dripping noise?"Paul checked his console screen which had the Carringtons'
schematics running across it."Commander,there isn't any hydraulic systems located on the
bridge."
"What about the doors?"
"Electrical."
All of them got a feeling of dread as Rader ordered Solow to continue.The image on the
screen began to move.The probe banked until it was flying on its side so it could slip
through the narrow gap in the doors.Once it was through it righted itself and swept the
dark bridge with its lights.Several things happened at the same time.The probe sent back
images of mutilated bodies hanging from a ceiling support.Paul,in response to the
image,dropped his pilots chair and rushed to the ships small bathroom to vomit.And the
Carrington itself decided to shift as part of a deck collapsed.This time the ship began to
list,casting a heavy shadow over the Command Base.It stopped moving but the ominous
creaks and groans from the superstructure continued.Solow,doing his best not to repeat
Pauls' symptoms,was making a detailed scan of the bodies.Standford was avidly watching
the screen, trying to work out how and why the crew were obviously killed.The ship
suddenly listed further,making the bodies sway on their ropes.
"That's enough,Solow."Rader shifted in his seat and gripped the joysticks on the arms of
his seat more firmly. "Sever your connection to the remote observer.I'm picking you up
now.Paul,we are moving whether you're ready or not."
"Do it."Pauls' voice was shaky.
Starcruiser Five accelerated using her wingpods and centre main engine,her lifting jets
keeping her in the air.She banked into the shadow of the Carrington,which was now
leaning over so far it was ready to tip all the way at any second.She hovered over the base
as she lined up her laser guidance with the reflectors on the roof before dropping,stopping
just above the acid lying on the surface. Docking clamps extended,locking onto their
counterparts on the roof and as they receded they lifted the base off the ground.Rader got
four green lights on his console,indicating the base was secure. With a piercing roar the
main engines fired.The starcruiser darted out of the shadow into the fading
sunlight,climbing quickly into the air.As she gained altitude the remains of the Carrington
heeled over and crumpled into the ground.As the sunlight gave way to starlight Rader
slowed the ship into a high orbit.Solow was shutting down the console he had used to
control the remote observer when he heard the hiss of escaping air.The corrosive had
finally eaten its way through the Haynes hull protecting the Command Base.Leaving
everything where it was he rushed up the steps and sealed the base.Paul was emerging
from the bathroom,white and shaking but Solow ignored him as he pushed the intercom.
"Commander,we've lost the base.It just began to leak atmosphere."
"It looked discoloured as we picked you up,"came the response.
"Commander,this caustic could spread to the rest of the ship."Standford raised his visor
as he looked across.
"And if it manages to get onto the Attack Unit we've lost the ship." Rader sighed."Will
the base burn up if we push it into the atmosphere?"
"I doubt all of it will burn,this Haynes stuff is very strong."
"Okay,stations everyone.Going Attack Mode.Jettisoning the base in five,four...."
As the weapons extended but the shields remained dark the docking clamps released the
base.The ship accelerated,bringing the nose up so it cleared the now drifting base as it
continued on its original course.A blast from the engines set it tumbling towards the
atmosphere.
Starcruiser Five came around in an arc until the base lined up in Raders' targeting
crosshairs on his visor.Two missiles streaked away,hitting the base dead centre.Twin laser
fire from the heavy lasers on either side of the Attack Unit hit at the same time,shutting
off as the ship turned into open space.As the base exploded the weapons returned to their
housings and Rader set the ship on a course into the system at Quantum One,heading for
Denore 3.The crew took their time so they could get their breath back and study the
images recorded from the remote observer.Restricted to their duty stations they couldn't
study the pictures over coffee in the Command Base. This time Paul managed to look at
them without being ill.It was obvious someone attacked the Carrington,they knew that
from the recording the ship sent,and by how many ships.They knew the ship was forcibly
crashed into Denore 4 and a caustic agent was used to destroy the ship and any
evidence.They also knew that they were lucky to find the ship intact at all.Whoever
attacked them didn't want anyone to locate the ship.Now the questions of who and why
needed answers.
"I think I can answer the why,"said Standford."Look at that lieutenant there."He pointed
to a young woman who had been strung up by her feet.
"Do I have to look that close?"said Paul.
"Stop complaining,"answered Solow."Flying the remote observer was like being there.I
could almost smell them."
Paul felt his stomach churn.
"Enough!"snapped Rader."Go on Standford."
Standford Haskins pulled a face and pointed at the screen,which only his commander
could see."She's covered in bruises and that arm looks broken."
"So?The ship crashed into the surface.It could have happened in the impact."
"She was hanging from the ceiling.She was protected by the fact she couldn't hit
anything."
"So what are you saying?"
"I'm saying she was injured before the crash.I'd guess she was tortured."
"Tortured?Why?"
"The Carrington wasn't just carrying cargo,Commander.It was carrying information."
"On the starcruiser bases?"
"And the ships themselves."
"Oh great.We've got one major security breach here people.If the crew talked whoever
this was has information on our newest ships."
"And information on our defences,home system,the works."
"Wait a minute."Paul backtracked the images until they hovered on a blurry computer
screen. "Standford,can you clean that up?"
"Working on it.What's up?"
"The computers were active after the crash so we have to assume they were working
before the crash,right?"
"Yeah,that follows.The crash would probably destroyed most of the systems anyway."
The image cleared,revealling information still scrolling across the screen.
"So,if they could get what they wanted from the computers,"Paul continued."Why torture
the crew?" They were quiet for a few seconds as they digested this.Devore 3 began to
grow larger in their view ports.
"Signal S.CRUISA LUNA and fill them in on what we've found."Rader wasn't very
happy now.The whole situation began to feel very uncomfortable.
"I'm getting a message from Starcruiser One.Captain Dexter wants us to meet him in the
Bertoran system.Apparently the base on Castor 7 has been completely destroyed."
"Acknowledge their message and give them an update on our situation.Prepare to star
drive to the Bertoran system."Rader was feeling uncomfortable before,now his stomach
tightened into knots as he realised he was probably going to have a very bad day.
Chapter Three
Circus Games

Book Two
Chapter Three

The sun was just beginning to set over the base on Denore 3,a deepening mix of rich
yellow sunlight fading into pinks and reds,set above a deep grey bank of clouds.The wild
life in the trees and on the ground sensed to change,their own body clocks telling them it
was either time to hide or hunt.Their cries were growing quieter as the three garishly
garbed figures left the wide access tunnel to the base, prompting one of them to look up
from dragging their shared burden to their open door of their ships cargo bay.A swift
rebuke from one of them brought his attention to the load just as the fourth figure
appeared in the doorway.The figure,still with a heavily made up face but now wearing
leathers, was gesturing into the ship with obvious excitement.The others looked at each
other for a second then resumed dragging the covered piece of equipment with renewed
urgency.As one secured the load into the cargo nets the other two donned back packs and
breathing gear then began spraying a yellow liquid all over the exposed base door,ramp
and some of the launch pad.One barked something at the other as his spray lance got too
close to their hull.The other responded by pulling a weapon and aiming at his face.The
first backed down and resumed the spraying,trying not to look at his partners gun.Their
job done,they ran into the ship,carefully avoiding where they had sprayed.Even as the
doors closed the two that were spraying were engaged in a fist fight,sending equipment
flying.Almost immediately the ship engaged the lifting engine and the ship rose into the
evening sky,blasting over the treetops.Its engines set the trees on fire as it passed,but this
time there were no cries of fear from the wildlife.
None of them were alive to watch the ship leave.
When the ship reached orbit it began to search for the cause of their excitement.Their
sensors had picked up the ship as it left Denore 4 and it had been closing in on their
position until it suddenly veered off and accelerated.Part of it was missing but the rest
seemed in working order.A prize they couldn't afford to miss,especially after what the
crew of the freighter had been so willing to tell them, it would provide them with a
handsome bonus from their employer if they could capture it intact and with its crew.
Or give them some target practise.
As the smaller ship activated its star drive they waited for a few seconds,plotted its course
and followed,expecting their prey to be unable to scan them.The element of surprise was
always an advantage.

As Starcruiser Five entered the Light Stream her sensors set off an alert.Haskins caught it
just as normal space disappeared.
"What have we got?"Rader looked across but kept his visor down.
"It looks like a ship."
"In orbit?"
"No,looks like it just left the surface and was heading our way.The sensors only just
caught it."
"Image please."Haskins fed a blurry image to his commanders visor.They could see a
fuzzy outline and a hint of yellow but that was it.
"Could be who's been trashing our bases and killed the Carrington's crew.If it was going
to follow us we can't tell anyone because of the communications blackout in the Light
Stream."
"And if it isn't they may have seen who else has been in this system."Paul pulled up his
own copy of the image."Bit of a coincidence though."
"And we can't make a positive I.D. from this."
"We can see enough to know it's not one of the known designs.Paul,I want full Defence
Mode as soon as we leave the Light Stream.Standford,signal Starcruiser One as soon as
we're in normal space.Solow,we might be separating the Interceptor so standby."
Like most starships a starcruiser has its limits,one of them being it can't change its
configuration while using its star drive.Deploying weapons or defences,even separating
the ship,was out of the question.Even basic sensors were blind,tractor beams and
communications were also off line.They couldn't tell if a ship follows them until after
they emerge into normal space.
"Star Five,information on the Bertoran system."
"THE BERTORAN SYSTEM HAS A PLAIN YELLOW STAR."The master computer
announced. "IT IS A SYSTEM OF TWELVE PLANETS,CONSISTING OF SEVEN
SMALL INNER PLANETS WITHOUT LIFE OR SATELLITES.FOUR OF THE
PLANETS ARE GAS GIANTS,EACH WITH A MINIMUM OF SIX MOONS.MOST
OF THESE MOONS HAVE A NATURAL BIOSPHERE AND A CORRESPONDING
LEVEL OF LIFE.THE STARCRUISER BASE IS LOCATED ON THE EIGHTH
PLANETS SEVENTH MOON.THE ENVIRONMENT IS EQUIVALENT TO EARTH
JURASSIC.THE FINAL PLANET IN THE SYSTEM IS DEVOID OF ATMOSPHERE
BUT IS BELIEVED TO BE ONCE RICH IN LIFE AND HAS SUBSTANTIAL
MINERAL WEALTH.HOWEVER,DUE TO THE SYSTEMS LOCATION THE
DEPOSITS HAVE BEEN UNECONOMIC TO PROCESS.THE FINAL PLANET IS
THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN CREATED IN ANOTHER SYSTEM BUT A NATURAL
DISASTER SET THE PLANET ADRIFT FROM ITS ORBIT UNTIL IT WAS
CAUGHT BY THE GRAVITATIONAL FIELD OF THE BERTORAN STAR."
"Location Starcruiser One."
"STARCRUISER ONE AND THE FREIGHTER VICTORIA SHOULD BE IN ORBIT
OF THE EIGHTH PLANETS' SEVENTH MOON AT THIS TIME,IF INFORMATION
RECEIVED FROM STAR ONE IS ACCURATE."
"If?"said Paul."Is there a bit of professional jealousy there,Star Five?"
"PLEASE RESTATE THE QUESTION."
"Disregard,Star Five."Rader rolled his eyes.Much as he'd like to give the master
computer a personality so it could relate more readily to the crew,regulations did not
allow it.In fact Terran law forbade any kind of artificial intelligence after the disastrous
attempts at A.I. in the twenty first century. Earth still bore the scars from that.
"The Victoria?"said Solow.
"A freighter commanded by Robin Bloodfeather.They were supposed to be receiving the
contents of the base on Castor 7 but since it's been destroyed the captain must be tagging
along for the ride.ETA?"
"Twelve minutes."
"I hope Captain Dexter is ready for a fight.In thirteen minutes we could be in combat."

Starcruiser One was in a high orbit above the richly coloured moon,sitting alongside the
much larger Victoria.Dexter and his crew were in the Command Base reviewing the tapes
sent from Starcruiser Five.Alec agreed with Standford,it did look like the crew of the
Carrington had been tortured,but the information they were presumably tortured for was
freely available on the computer screens.They could only assume they had put the crew
through it because they had enjoyed doing it.This put the people looting and destroying
the bases into the extremely dangerous and unstable category.The loss of equipment
paled against the loss of the Carrington's crew.It also meant someone also had the
location of every starcruiser base and the strength and set up of their home defences.
"And whoever these people are,"said Shara."They don't leave a trace of who they are or
why they were there,apart from robbing the place."
"We don't know they actually took anything from the base,"said Alec.
"These could be simple locate and destroy.They might not even land on the surface."
"But they cleaned out the Carrington,we know that from Starcruiser Fives' sensor scans."
"Then crashed the ship and sprayed it with a caustic."Adam didn't look happy."An acid
the ship isn't resistant to by the way."
Dexter looked up from the monitor set into the table top."The Command Base?"
"I had Solow send his sensor information and his own notes.The base was corrupted
before they destroyed it,not just contaminated."
"I thought the Haynes material was resistant to all corrosives."
"All Terran corrosives.This must be something it can't cope with."
Abruptly the console beeped.Alec thumbed the button."Go ahead Star One."
"STARCRUISER FIVE IS EXPECTED TO ARRIVE IN ONE MINUTE THIRTY
SECONDS."
"Did we ask for a reminder?"
"THE CAPTAIN ASKED FOR A REMINDER."
"Right.Are you still scanning the base?"
"SCANNING AS ORDERED.NO CHANGE IN THE BASE STRUCTURE OR
ENVIROMENT HAS BEEN RECORDED."
"Does it still conform to scans recorded by the last starcruiser to visit?"
"READINGS DIFFER ONLY BY AN INCREASE OF VEGETATION AND WILD LIFE
INHABITING LOCALITY."
"Something has been productive down there anyway."Alec looked at Dexter.
"PLEASE RESTATE-"
"I wasn't talking to you."
Dexter secured his coffee cup and stood up."Stations,please.I want to get to the base
before anyone else does."
"Is this base fully supplied?"said Alec.
"It should be,it's got a caretaker."
Ten minutes later two starcruisers dropped from the sky and cruised into the steep sided
valley, reflecting bright sunlight off their gleaming hulls. Grey,snow capped mountains
gave way to deep,tall forests hiding under rain clouds.The base was in a huge
clearing,easily capable of handling four of the ships and consisted of a large launch pad
and a single out building with the access door.The ships hovered then gently landed
beside the concrete building sticking out of the grass.The rain came down harder,
pounding on the hull and streaming down the viewports.The engines gently steamed as
the crew prepared to leave,Starcruiser Five lowering the steps that would have normally
dropped into its base.Dexter and his crew joined Rader under his ship,which had landed
closer than Starcruiser One.Both ships were sealed after they left them with their master
computers on full alert in case the ship that followed Starcruiser Five decided to pay them
a visit.The Victoria was standing by in a close stationary orbit.So far,this base was the
only one they had found intact but they couldn't raise the caretaker on any
frequency.Drawing their weapons they began to move towards the access
building,keeping their helmets on and visors down.
Starcruiser uniforms were grey with black helmets,apart from the ships captain who wore
a black uniform.Dexter,as captain of the fleet,also had a single white stripe down each
arm.On their shoulders was a patch with an image of a starcruiser on,with the name of
their ship written underneath.With helmets on identification was difficult unless the crew
member had a distinguishing feature such as height or weight.Shara Avery was easy to
spot.The new uniforms could be sealed to the helmet,the material being airtight and
waterproof and the helmet itself could provide ten minutes of emergency air and
heat.Even with the uniforms keeping them warm and dry they soon felt the effects of the
miserable weather as the water streamed off their shoulders and wrists.
Either weapons or hand sensors were drawn as they advanced over the soaked concrete
ramp to the wide access door.Dexter ordered Adam to the panel recessed into the frame
on the right to protect it from the weather. His visor was slightly amplifying the weak
grey light.Solow joined him as Adam pulled a diagnostic board from his pocket and
plugged the leads in.
"Well?"said Dexter.
"We have faint power readings from the back up generator.Security systems are
functioning."Adam let Solow look at the screen."What do you make of that?"
"Energy spikes?Don't look like any of our settings."
Paul Kellerman looked up from his hand sensor and moved to look at the screen."Move
now!Run!"
As they ran and separated Adam simply dropped the board and left it swinging on its
leads.As one they hit the deck.But nothing happened.
Dexter looked up from the damp grass."Want to tell me what that was about?"
Pauls' helmet pulled itself from the grass to look at his sensor. "Patience,Captain."
Behind them the access building exploded with a brilliant yellow ball of flame.Debris
rained down on them,some of it reaching the ships.Luckily most of it was small,little
more than stones,but it was sharp.Even through their uniforms they felt a blast of
heat.Several larger pieces landed around them, one piece bouncing off Raders'
shoulder.He cried out as a sharp edge cut into his skin.The others were slightly better
off,only suffering cuts and bruises. A brilliant crack of lightening flashed,their visors
filtering out the brief light,immediately followed by thunder loud enough for them to feel
the vibration through their bodies.As they picked themselves up and checked their
numerous wounds Haskins looked back at the ships and saw a black mark disfiguring
Starcruiser Ones' Interceptor. Dexter looked as Haskins took his arm and pointed."Oh
great.Adam?"
The engineers helmet turned to look at the ship.Over their helmet intercoms they could
hear him signalling the ship."Star One."
"STAR ONE RECEIVING."
"Run diagnostic on Interceptor for damage caused by lightening strike."
"RUNNING.INTERCEPTOR IS POWERING UP AS NORMAL.NO
MALFUNCTIONS DETECTED."
"And the rest of the ship?"
"YOU REQUIRE DIAGNOSTIC?"
"Yes."He turned to Alec."You'd think I'd learn to phrase instructions more literally by
now."
Alec shrugged."You're an engineer."
"What does that mean?"
"VESSEL IS POWERING UP AS NORMAL.NO MALFUNCTIONS DETECTED."
"So the ship is fine?"said Dexter.
"It means the computer can't detect any faults.We might not have any engines and Star
One can't see it until we try and fire them up."
"Didn't we test the ships for electrical interference when they were built?"said
Rader.Shara was inspecting his wound on his shoulder.Blood was seeping down his back.
"Yes,but this is the first time one of the MK 3s' have been struck in the field,"said
Solow."You have to remember these ships haven't seen much action yet.There could be
unpredictable results."
Dexters' helmet communicator beeped."Dexter."
"This is Robin on the Victoria.We've detected a large explosion on the surface.Is
everything alright?"
Dexter looked at the damp group."We've got minor injuries.Rader got a gash on his
back.But we don't need assistance yet."
"Understood.Keep in touch will ya?"
"Right.Anything approaching the planet?"
"We've got the sensors sweeping all the time but if something is approaching from the
other side of the planet we're not going to see it until its on our doorstep."
Adam perked up at that."Commander?Adam Masters."
"Go ahead."
"Try tapping into the monitoring satellite network.It'll increase your sensor range and
reduce the blind spot."
"We'll give it a try.Victoria out."
"Captain?"
"Yes,Shara?"
"I need to get the commander out of this rain so I can dress his wound.It seems he came
off the worst of us."
"Use our Command Base,but stay in contact."
"And you?"
"We'll use the emergency exit to get into the base.It's not in the plans."
Shara took Rader back to Starcruiser One to clean him up as Dexter took the lead and
walked around the shattered remains of the access building.
"Looks like they got here before us.Again."Standford sounded disheartened.
"Looks like it.That was too much of a coincidence."Alec picked some lumps of concrete
off his ripped sleeve.
"This isn't making much sense,"said Paul.
"None of this is making much sense,"said Adam.
"At the moment I'm more worried about Henry,"said Dexter.
"Supervisor Henry?"said Solow."The major pain in the butt who over saw the
construction of the moon base?"
"The same."Dexter grinned but no one could see it.
"I always wondered what happened to him."
"The guy was in his eighties when he retired.Got to be over ninety by now."
"So how did he end up here?"
"He asked for it so I pulled some strings.He wanted peace and quiet in his later years so I
put him here.It's usually a good climate this time of a year."
"Where are we going anyway?"said Adam.
"In about ten minutes we'll come across an exit to the base concealed in the trees over
there,meant to be an escape route in case of an emergency.It was never put in the plans
for security reasons."
"And you're hoping they never found it."
"Something like that."
"Something about this situation is bothering me."Paul was looking at Alecs' back as they
filed across the soaking grass.
"And what is that?"Adam was running continous sweeps with Sharas' hand
sensor,borrowed when she went back to the ship.
"You're wondering why this base is still standing,"said Haskins."I'm wondering the same
thing myself."
"Right.It's a break in their pattern."
"Pattern?"said Solow.
Look,they've destroyed everything of ours they've come in contact with.So why is this
base still here?"
"Blowing up the access tunnel seemed a bit destructive to me,"said Adam."With us
outside it."
"That doesn't fit either.They'd obviously rigged it to blow as soon as we interfered with
it,right?"
"Yeah.So?"
"We're still here.They gave us a warning."
"Paul,you're such an optimist."

The simple ring hatch was set into a concrete base,overgrown and rusted.The hinges
creaked as Dexter pulled open the door to reveal a ladder leading down into the darkness.
"Anyone bring a torch?"Dexter motioned for a sensor sweep.
"It's clean,"said Adam."Apart from a few spiders.Doesn't look like its been used for
years.It drops down ten metres then there's a passage leading back to the base.About half
way along there's the start of a network of pipes."
"Probably the air conditioning system,"said Solow."I have to admit,"he started as Dexter
swung his legs into the hole and started to climb down. "I've never studied the layout of
this type of base."
"It's a subterranean layout,"said Alec."An access door leads from the launch pad into the
first level with the spare modules,repair equipment and a small control centre.The second
level has living quarters,food and supplies and a recreation centre."Alec started down the
ladder after his captain.
"Recreation?"
"Games,U.V. light,exercise equipment."Adam set himself for climbing down next."And if
I remember right,this one has a pool."
"Remember?You've been here before?"
"The Centurion stopped off here a few years ago but I never went down.The crew gave a
good description when they came back."
"You were on the Centurion?"
"My first assignment."Adam stopped on the first rung."In fact,I think I left a pair of boots
in my locker."
"Will you hurry up so we can get out of this rain?"Paul flicked water from his arm.
"Yeah,yeah."
Dexter reached the bottom of the ladder and stood in the flickering circle of light from
above.Behind him was a solid concrete wall,the end of the tunnel.He turned to face the
arrow straight length stretching ahead of him with its faint glow of light at the end.Small
overhead globe lights cast a faint red glow in pools on the corridor floor,barely reaching
the walls at a width of two metres.Moving aside to let Alec join him he used his visor to
increase available light and zoom in as far as it could reach.He could see little more than
he could before.Sensing the change in temperature he did the limited enviromental scan
the helmet could provide.It was warm and humid but the atmosphere was safe. Deciding
to save its limited power he pulled his hemet off,running a hand through his short hair
then over his beard.He unconsciously took a deep breath as another crewmember forced
the pair of them to move aside this time.As people filed off the ladder the space was
becoming increasingly cramped so he started down the corridor,again constructed from
plain grey concrete.He noticed a flourescent line painted on the floor with small arrows
pointing behind him,a direction finder in case the base had to be evacuated through
smoke or steam.
"Scanning the corridor Captain,"said Adam."It looks clear but I think we should be on
guard for any surprises."
"That goes without saying,"mumbled Paul.
"Did you say something?"Adam snapped at him.
"Knock it off!"Alecs' order cut off Pauls' response.
"Any life signs?"Dexter turned to look as they pulled their helmets off.
"One.Faint and unsteady."
"Okay,let's pick up the pace.We'll see if we can bring someone out of all this alive."
They jogged the length of the corridor,the hot damp air making breathing difficult.By the
time they reached the end they were sweating.The door leading into the base was a heavy
blast door,made thicker so the corridor would be isolated even if the base was on fire or
exploding,giving any crew a few extra seconds to escape.It was standing half
open.Dexter inspected the doorway and the door itself for any surprises before going
through it.He found himself on the high walkway surrounding the main storage area for
the starcruiser equipment.He looked over the rail and down the one level to the large
circular floor and found none of the component ships in their storage places.The wide
access ramp leading up to the launch pad was strewn with rubble.Clouds of dust was still
drifting into the storage area from the explosion.
"Where's the life sign?"Dexter turned to Adam.
"Down there."Adam turned round trying to refine the signal."Roughly somewhere below
us."
Dexter pulled his weapon from his shoulder holster and headed for the spiral
steps."Anything else?" "I'm getting something organic next to the life sign.Stanford?"
Haskins compared his readings with Adams'."Looks like wood. Recently cut too."
"Wood?"
Standord shrugged."That's what it says."
They advanced down the steps with Dexter in the lead.The overhead lights were dim but
provided enough light to prevent them from tripping over debris littering the floor.Boots
echoed in the silence as they reached the concrete floor.
"Spread out.Search by twos.And be careful."
All of them drew their weapons.Only Dexter had an ancient semi-automatic,all the rest
had the standard issue hand laser.Alec slipped on something.Assuming it was a puddle he
looked down and found it too sticky to be water.It was red and smelled metallic.He
crouched down,resisting the urge to put his fingers in.But he knew it wasn't paint.He was
still wearing his helmet with its visor down to make the most of the display and he looked
up,trying to find the source of the puddle,just as a large drop of blood hit his visor.He saw
the drop just before it hit but was too shocked to react and it spread out with a small pac
sound.He fell back as a second drop came his way,managing to push himself over the
puddle on instinct,and landed on his already aching back.His gun dropped from his
fingers.He must have cried out because he heard feet running towards him.
"Alec!What is it?"Dexter leaned over him.
Alec,his body now sore as well as aching,simply pointed behind his captains' head.Dexter
followed his finger,tracking ahead and swore. Stunned at the brutality of what he saw it
took him a few seconds to shout a return order to the others.The wood they had picked up
on the hand sensors had been strapped together into a rough cross and hung under the
overhead walkway.But fastened to the wood by his hands and feet was the blood covered
Henry,stripped to his underwear.The old mans' head hung down like he was watching
them but his eyes were closed.
Dexter managed to turn as he sensed a figure at his side but he didn't care who it
was."Get him down.Now!Someone get a medical kit!"
Dexter turned to help Alec to his feet as Standford came running up to him.
"Captain.I think you should get to the control centre."
"But-"
"Someone has left something on a console for you."Together they set off as the others
began to cut the old man down.
"For me?Personally?"
"That's what the note says but I don't know what the thing it's attached to is."
The control centre was a small room with a single main screen set in front of a
console.The lights were brighter in there but most of the console readouts were blank.On
the top of the console was a thick black plastic rectangle tied with a pink silk
bow.Attached was a small hand written note."For the attention of Captain Dexter",it
said.Dexter picked up the box and turned it over.Underneath was two small white
reels.Suddenly he managed a smile.
"What is it?"said Standford,confused at his reaction.
"It's a video tape."
"Video tape?I didn't think any of these were left."
"Very few exist now.The magnetic tape inside degrades after fifty years or so.No ones
used these for over two hundred years.But this looks new."He gave it a shake and it
rattled."We need something to play it on."
"What about this?"Standford pointed to a small black box lying on the floor with a slot on
the front roughly the same size as the tape.
"This isn't standard issue stuff."Dexter crouched down as he pulled the ribbon off and
slipped the tape into the slot.With a whirring noise it pulled the tape from his fingers and
lights flickered on.The main screen flickered as the hiss of static came from the
speakers.Abruptly the screen cleared and the noise stopped,replaced with a white painted
face.Dexter slowly rose and the eyes seemed to follow his movement.The face was
painted with black smiling lips with large bat wings sweeping around each eye.It waited
for a few seconds.
"Hello Captain.I am Thief."

Chapter Four
CIRCUS GAMES

BOOK TWO
CHAPTER FOUR

The name had Dexter and Haskins exchanging a glance,something "Thief" seemed to
have expected because he smiled.The bizarre figure was wearing a leather jacket over
what looked like a black shirt and in the background they could see some consoles and
several blank screens. Almost as soon as the smile appeared it faded and the face
hardened.
"Captain,I'm the one responsible for stealing all of your top secret equipment,"Thief
continued."It's been very interesting assignment.Your bases were almost a challenge."
"We need Paul in here,"said Dexter."If anyone can make anything out of this he can."
"Right."Haskins stuck his head out the door and whistled.The piercing noise shrieked
through the base and Paul appeared a few seconds later.Dexter spared a thought for the
unusual signal but returned to looking at the screen.Thief seemed to be waiting for them
to finish.
"Henry is pretty bad,"said Paul."But Alec reckons if we get him to the Victoria they
should be able to save him.Who is this?"
"Thief.He seems to be our nemesis at the moment."
"Our target for today is one of your Attack Units and a memory core to activate the rest of
the ships.And we'll get them,one way or another."
"Doesn't want much does he?"said Haskins.
"It's the only part of the ship they haven't got.Stands to reason that will be their next
target."Paul looked under the console at the tape player."Video?"
"Yes,"said Dexter.
"When you play this tape it will send a signal to one of our ships which is waiting
nearby,"said Thief. "Since your ship is landed on the pad outside and you can't get it
without leaving your man we left in the hangar,don't think you will be leaving soon.So
the choice is yours.Save your ship or save the man and lose the ship.Either way we win."
Dexter visibly stiffened and started reaching for his communicator.
"Since we will not meet again,"continued Thief."I can tell you I am part of a group
known as the Circus.It was a pleasure doing business with you.Oh,one more thing:the
tape also activates a bomb. Just a small one but big enough to wipe you
out.Goodbye,Captain."
The player shut down and started to hiss.The green digital clock started a five minute
countdown. Haskins pointed it out.
"Clear the room,"said Dexter.None of them noticed the screen was still lit up with Thiefs'
face.Dexter was walking quickly over to the others who were cleaning up and bandaging
a barely conscious Henry.
"We've got a bomb."Dexter looked at Alec."How's he doing?"
"If we get him aboard the Victoria within the next hour I think he'll make it.How long-"
"About four and a half minutes."Dexter started to pace."There must be a way out.We
can't use the ramp and it'll take too long to walk back through the escape
tunnel.Paul,signal Robin Bloodfeather. Tell him what Thief said.Adam,get hold of
Shara.Get a status on Rader and Starcruiser One."
"The ship?"
"Was struck by lightening."
"Right."
Dexter knelt in front of Henry and turned his head to look at him.The blurred,bloodshot
eyes flickered with recognition."Henry.Henry.It's Captain Dexter."
"Dexter?"Henry's voice was faint but clear.
"Yes,it's Dexter.Listen-listen to me.We need a quick way out of the base or we'll go bang
in about three minutes.The ramp is gone and the tunnel is too long.How do we do it?How
do we-"
Alec took Dexter's arm."Captain-"
Dexter pulled his arm away and turned back to the old man."How do we escape?"
"They're gonna blow up my base?"Henry seemed to focus for a few seconds.
"Yes,with us in it."
"Use the....bikes."
"Bikes?Henry,what bikes?Henry."
"In the underground....course.Race track."
"Race track?Where is the race track,Henry?Where are the bikes?"
Henry managed to point a limp hand at a large recess set into the wall under the
steps.Dexter nodded to Solow and Haskins to go and investigate.
"Henry,there's nothing there.The wall is empty."
"Hidden panel.....on left wall."
"Got it."Solow pulled the panel open and thumbed the button. Immediately a large
section of wall simply slid aside.What was behind made him swear.
Haskins turned as the wall began to move.He stopped in his tracks.
"Captain,they're still here.We've got four old fashioned dirt bikes."
Dexter never even looked up."Operational?"
Solow sat astride one of them and pulled it off its kick stand.He leaned down and turned
the fuel on,then heaved down on the kick start with his foot.Immediately the bike blared
into life with a cloud of blue exhaust.
"Kept them fuelled for you Willian,"said Henry."In case you come back for another ride."
Dexter started pulling Henry to his feet."Let's go."
With help from Alec they managed to get Henry sitting in one of the bikes.The movement
started to turn his bandages red.Alec slipped in front of him and put his hands around his
waist,fishing something yellow from his pocket.Holding Henry's hands together he
wrapped the yellow ties around them and zipped them together.Dexter looked across as
Adam joined him on the back of his bike. Because there wasn't enough for each of them
they were going to have to double up.Paul joined Solow.Haskins got one to himself.
"You're cable tying him to yourself?"
"You're the one always telling me to improvise."Alec put on his helmet and kick started
his bike. Without waiting for the others he popped the clutch and started off down the
tunnel,followed by Solow and Paul then Haskins.Dexter brought up the rear,taking a few
seconds to glance behind him and over Adam's shoulder after he put his helmet on.He
could see the open door to the small control centre and Thiefs' face.He still seemed to be
watching him.He used his visor to home in on the video units display.Its numbers were
down to two minutes thirty.His bike left a black streak as he accelerated away.The tunnel
was filled with curves and ramps,constructed deliberately to test the rider.All of them had
problems handling the unfamiliar machines,built and maintained by Henry to give the
starcruiser crew recreation.Now they were their only means of escape.Rather than being
white to match the starcruiser Henry had decided on a different colour for each
bike,probably to give the crew a break from their rather sterile colour.Dexters' was
black,Solows' was red,Haskins' was blue while Alecs' was a bright yellow.Alec began to
slow as they approached an intersection,forcing Solow to hit the brakes."Henry,we've got
a fork coming up,one going up,the other down."
"Take the down...goes around then leads to the....surface.The other more
difficult....course."
Alec barely heard the last words as he hands around his waist went limp.Concerned but
not having the time to stop he gunned the throttle and accelerated down the right
tunnel,turning on the headlamp as the over head lights began to fade.
"Adam,status of the ships."Dexter shouted,even though his communicator was working.
"Rader is patched up and is waiting on board Starcruiser Five.Shara has S.One fired up
and waiting. She seems to be working okay.I've got to get me one of these machines."
"Not now,Adam.But I've got to admit I'm enjoying myself."
"Now who's getting carried away?"
"We've got about a minute and a half before this base goes skyward.I might as well go
with a smile."He followed the others wondering why Alec had apparently chosen the
apparently harder tunnel of the fork but the ramps had flattened and the curve became a
wide left arc,allowing them to increase speed.He'd settled on the seat,getting used to the
vibration and heat from the engine.He hoped they were going fast enough.
On the surface it had stopped raining and the sun was starting to set over the trees.Both
ships shut down their shields but they were dripping water.Their sensors were sweeping
the surface for their crewmembers.Shara had changed into a fresh uniform after applying
dressings to her wounds from the explosion.Rader had needed his back stapling closed
and his uniform had been soaked with blood,but he had chosen not to change.He was
sitting in his pilots seat,his hand hovering over the controls to lift his ship into the air.
Alec was nearing the end of the tunnel and it suddenly banked up in a sharp climb.The
bike began to labour under the weight and he changed gear but he was still losing
speed.Suddenly a hatch opened in front of him and he got a glimpse of clear blue
sky.Then he was airborne,coming down with a bang and he lost control.The front wheel
slid away and the back dropped,sliding away from his.He twisted in mid air so Henry
landed on his back.Pain shot up both legs but he picked Henry up and ran,just as Solow
flew from the end of the tunnel,missing him by less than a metre.Solows' bike landed
hard and veered several metres before he dropped it.The riders went sprawling and lay
motionless.Haskins burst into the air,landing on his back wheel.With only himself on the
bike he managed to keep control and he steered over to Solow and Paul,sliding to a stop
beside them.Dexter must have anticipated the end of the tunnel and he emerged at a more
respectable speed.On their left both starcruisers sat in the sun,over a thousand metres
away.
"Shara!"Dexter took a look at the crewmembers lying around them and the fresh blood on
Henrys' bandages.The ships would have to come to them and if his internal clock was
right they had less than thirty seconds.They scrambled to help each other,battered and
torn as they were.The ships rose on their lifting jets and turned before they began to close
on them on their wingpod engines.As their engine noise became louder Dexter felt Adam
climb off the back of his bike.Solow and Paul climbed unsteadily to their feet.Alec was
trying to get up but the pain in his legs was too great.He fell down again next to
Henry.Grass blew in the hot breeze as the ships landed in front of them.The Command
Base door slid open on remote under Starcruiser One as the steps dropped from
Starcruiser Five.Adam dragged Henry into the ship as Solow,Haskins and Paul staggered
up the steps.As soon as they were on board Starcruiser Five lifted off and
accelerated.Robin Bloodfeather on board the Victoria had reported a ship closing in on
them.Dexter extended his arm and help Alec onto the back of his bike.As soon as the
Rubican got hold of his uniform,and a few cuts underneath,he gunned the throttle and
rode straight through the open Command Base door.
"Go,Shara!"
Starcruiser One lifted off and was turning to follow her sister ship even as the base door
was closing.The main engines fired and the ship sharply accelerated just as the ground
rippled where she had landed and debris exploded around the ship.Dexter saw a bike
wheel impact off the windows on the side of the base as the skies went dark with
earth.The shields flickered on with their blue glow before they dimmed and died.The roar
of the engines was drowned out by the impact of rock and lumps of brown and green.The
ship shook and rocked by the blast,throwing him and Alec off the bike.The hot exhaust
burnt into his leg,his uniform giving him little protection.The ship was struggling to gain
height then she was suddenly flying in blue skies.She seemed to hesitate then swooped
into space, accelerating all the time before settling alongside Starcruiser Five on a course
for the Victoria.
"Shara!"Dexter kicked at the bike to get it off his leg and heaved himself to his feet.
"Avery here.On course for Robins ship,speed Quantum Two.ETA three minutes."
"Dock in their hangar.We need to get Henry in their medical facilities as soon as
possible."
"Right.Signalling Victoria."
"We all need medical attention but it's going to have to wait.Adam,find out what the hell
happened to the shields!"He looked down at Alec."Can you walk?"
Alec took the offered hand and pulled himself up.His knees screamed at him and he put
his arm around Dexters' shoulder as they started for the steps.The burn on Dexters' leg
felt like it was on fire.In the corridor he pulled a med kit out of a locker and put it on his
console as he slumped in his seat in the Command Module.As Dexter sat in his seat he
injected pain relief into his arm then handed the injector to Dexter,who refused with a
shake of his head.
Dexter was working his console through a haze of pain."Starcruiser Five.Rader,how are
you doing?"
"We're cut and bruised but doing well.You only just made it off the surface,that explosion
was huge."
"We noticed.Listen,we're going to drop off Henry on the Victoria.I want you to take point
until we're back in space.I don't have the ship on any of my screens yet,do you?"
"Robin says its on the far side of the planet.The Victoria is using the orbitting satellites so
her sensors extend around.It's possible they don't know exactly where we are."
"Starcruiser One to Victoria."
"Robin here.You okay?"
"We're struggling with injuries."Dexter looked across at Alec,who was very pale and
sweating."Our ETA is one minute but I'm dropping off Alec as well as Henry.Is your
medical team on standby?"
"Ready and waiting."
Alec started to complain but Dexter held up his hand to silence him."No arguments
Doctor.You're going to sit this one out."
Alec simply slumped in his seat,prompting Dexter to increase speed.The ship passed
Starcruiser Five which changed course to take point.The Victoria shifted so her portside
hangar was facing the approaching starcruiser.The bay doors opened as the ship closed
in,revealling several small shuttles in the brightly lit area.The starcruiser slowed and
slipped through the gap in the much larger hull, turning just before she settled on the clear
area in the centre of the deck.Immediately the outer door closed and air flooded in.Robin
himself led the medical team as they ran through the airlock pushing anti grav trolleys
with their white emergency packs resting on them.The Command Base door slid open
and Dexter carried Alec out and laid him on the first trolley.The medics pulled their packs
off,smoothly shifting into a well practised routine for receiving casualties.Shara and
Adam carried Henry and gently put him on the second trolley.He was bleeding
again,prompting gasps of horror from the team,some of them knew him personally.Robin
looked at the cut,bleeding and dirt strewn Dexter as the trolleys were pushed out.Dexter
watched Alec as he was covered by a thin blanket,his face twisted with pain.
"You okay?"
"I will be when we get these guys.This is more than just technology,Robin.This is
personal.We all had friends on the Carrington and we all knew Henry.These people are
cruel and intelligent and I want them."
"Cruelty and intelligence are a dangerous combination,Marshall.They make an
unpredictable enemy."
"They haven't tried me yet.I'm tired of picking up the pieces after they've just done what
they want with us."
"Calm down and think the situation through.Just going in with weapons probably won't
solve the problem."
"They've gone beyond diplomacy-"
"Listen!We've been scanning their ship.It's a bright yellow,ugly looking thing but it's well
armed with thick hull armour.We might not be able to beat it."
Dexter looked at the deck,trying to calm the feeling of ripping Thiefs' heart out through
his neck. Frustration at the situation was stopping him from working things out.
"We watched them approach and the ship is underpowered-"
Abruptly the Victoria rocked and the lights flickered onto a red alert.Shara appeared at
the base door.
"Captain,Starcruiser Five has engaged the Circus ship."
Dexter looked Robin in the eye."Good luck,Captain."He shook his hand and headed back
into Starcruiser One.Sitting in his command seat he spared a glance at the empty seat
beside him.His monitor was showing him the battle going on outside.Starcruiser Five had
splintered,with all three ships splitting up and going for the Circus ship from different
directions.Weapons on the yellow hull glowed,but the starcruiser ships were faster and
managed to avoid most of the shots.Some of the shots had managed to hit the Victoria's
shields.The Victoria had broken orbit and was closing in to attack.
"Standby,Starcruiser One,"said Robin."I think we have the element of surprise here."
"How do you work that out?"Dexter pulled on his helmet and closed the visor,his hands
moving to controls to get the ship ready to fly.
"They don't know you escaped the explosion.You could have been destroyed on the
surface.I'm going to get you right in close then open the door."
"Understood.Adam,status of the shields?"
"Working but as soon as these shields go out of phase they take a lot of fine
adjustment."Adam was back in the Interceptor.Some of Henrys' blood was on his tattered
uniform.
"So have we got full shields or not?"he snapped,then instantly regretted it.
"Yes,Captain.We have full shields but we could lose them quickly if the emitters aren't
phased right."
"Understood.Combat Mode.Standby to splinter on launch."
The shields came on as the weapons extended.Generators ran up to full power.Sensors
swept but their range was severely limited in the hangar bay.Targetting and tactical
computers came on line.The lights dimmed in the hangar bay,allowing any departing ship
an unhindered view of space.Dexter lifted off the deck and jetted to just in front of the
door,holding the ship just airborne.He gripped the lever for the main engines,selecting
weapons on his visor and watched the fight on the monitor. Starcruiser Five was putting
up a good fight but her weapons were barely scratching their shields. The Victoria opened
up with its heavy guns, but she was only a transport ship and her artillery and defences
were limited.
Dexter could hear Adam in a hurried conversation with someone on the Victoria's
bridge.He could only spare a brief bit of attention as he watched the monitors.Around
them the ship shook and all the lights went out on the Victoria.The hangar lost its
artificial gravity,usually a sign of heavy damage, and the starcruiser suddenly found itself
weightless.It jumped into the darkness,the Interceptor almost catching the ceiling.
"Marshall,"said Robin."I'm going to cut you loose now.We've been hit pretty bad."
"How serious?"
"If we stay much longer we're going to lose the ship.I don't think we can win this
one,their ship is packing a punch.Standby."
The outer doors opened into a war zone.Weapons fire was everywhere.Starcruiser Fives'
Interceptor blasted passed,its weapons firing at something at the Victoria's
stern.Starcruiser Ones' main engines fired and the ship blasted into the fight.Immediately
the Interceptor and the Command Module separated from the Attack Unit,their weapons
coming to bear on the much larger ship.The garish Circus ship was taking pot shots at the
faster,smaller ships,but its red shields seemed to be dimming.
As soon as the starcruiser was clear the Victoria accelerated out of the battle zone.A
massive smoking hole was just in front of her engines and a stream of debris followed the
ship.The Circus ship moved to intercept but both Attack Units and an Interceptor
swooped in and opened up on its bow.Its shields flickered and faded on the front half of
the ship.Sensing a weakness the starcruisers centred their weapons on the exposed hull.
"Find another target!"cried Adam."The hull armour is two metres thick on the bow.Try
amidships where the shields are weakest!"
Suddenly Adam's Interceptor was caught by one of the blasts from the Circus weapons,a
lucky shot because the Interceptors seemed to be faster than their targetting computer.His
portside lower manoeuvring engine exploded,throwing the ship over.Adam jettisoned the
tubular engine with its missile launcher in the front and fought to regain control.Solow
put his Interceptor between Adam and the Circus ship and launched a full assault on the
gun turret.The turret broke up with a yellow fireball,their first major damage to the ship.It
seemed to flounder,losing guidance as all the weapons dotted all over the hull exploded in
a chain reaction,keeling over.But the starcruisers were in no condition to finish it off
having sustained a lot of damage.As it accelerated away they could only watch,only the
Attack Units were fast enough to catch it.
Dexter and Rader wasted no time getting their ships docked with Solow holding Adam's
Interceptor steady in his tiny tractor beam.Getting the damaged fighter docked was a
complicated and time consuming business and by the time they were ready to give chase
the Circus were long gone.Dexter got in contact with the Victoria.
"Robin,how are you doing?"
"We're limping,Marshall.After you left we took a direct hit on the hangar.We couldn't get
you on board even if we wanted to.What about you?"
"Both of us took our fair share but it was close.If those weapons hadn't chain reacted we'd
be in deep trouble."
"Are you all okay?"
"We've took mostly superficial damage but it's enough to slow us down.Adam's
Interceptor came off worst.It's junk."
"So what are you going to do?"
"We're compiling damage reports and we're going to give chase on its last course while
we repair the ships.Best speed for us is Quantum Two."
"I've got the ship on my sensors,"said Rader."It's pulling Quantum Three point Five.In
three hours it's going to be out of sensor range."
Adam joined Dexter in the Command Module and sat in Alec's seat."Captain,I was
watching the Circus ship perform during the fight and got some interesting readings from
the Victoria's sensors and her bridge crew."
"What did you find out?"
"Well,we think their computers are no where near as advanced as ours.That goes for their
navigation and tactical computers too.Their engines are powerful but the ship is poor to
react.It's basically big and slow and very well armoured,probably to make up for the lack
of manoeuvrability."
"Even if the ship is the slowest in space if it has enough armour it can survive an
attack,"said Rader.
"That's true.So we've come up with a more covert way of immobilising the ship.We can
force their computers to accept a virus from our master computers."
Dexter sat back and considered."If their computers work on a different set of protocols
it's not going to work.And we'd need to be right on top of them to get enough power into
the link."
"If both starcruisers combine their computer power we can increase the distance,"said
Rader.
"Okay,let's get started on the repairs."Dexter unstrapped."Shara,the ship is yours.Normal
Cruise Mode.Set course for the Circus ship.Best speed."
Adam joined him in the corridor as both starcruisers settled alongside each other and
accelerated after the bright yellow ship.Both bore the thick black scars of the
fight.Starcruiser One's Interceptor was leaving a trail of smoke behind it.
"How are we doing,Adam?"said Dexter as he pulled a diagnostic pad from a locker.
"We really need to land in a dry,warm enviroment to get the best results from the
repairs.She should really go home while we can."
"Or a starcruiser base?"Dexter gave an ironic smile and tried straightening the pain from
his joints.It felt like his cuts and bruises had fresh bruises."I could do with a shower."
"Shower is off line,also the food dispensers.But we've got fresh water stored so we'll be
okay for a while."
"What else?"
"Power is down to about fifty percent but I'm directing a lot to recharging the weapons
and shields. Missiles are going to be a problem if we're going into combat again.Most of
the damage is minor,just a lot of adjustments and rerouting.We got away lightly.I lost the
Interceptor.We should really ditch it and reduce mass."
"We can't.It's a MK 3 model.They haven't got their hands on one of them yet.Wait a
minute." Dexter leaned against the wall and cursed himself for being so stupid but the
pain from his back got him back on his feet. Instead he paced."The component ships
they've managed to get hold of is all MK 2 stuff."
"Yeah,so?"
"Well,it's out of date.The new starcruisers are faster,more powerful and with greater
range.I think they've just made their first mistake."
"And destroying the bases wasn't?"
"That isn't what I mean.I think they've underestimated the power of the new ships.All
along they've been testing us,seeing what we'll do given any situation,Henry is an
example of that.This whole thing has been a big exam."
Adam pulled a panel off the wall near the floor and plugged Dexter's pad into it."The
question has to be why?"
"Thief said they were working for an employer,that they were on an assignment.The
question should be who are they working for?"

Chapter Five
Circus Games

BOOK TWO
Chapter Five

"Do we have a destination yet?"Dexters' voice came from the ships small shower,which
he'd taken time to repair.The water was only luke warm and his numerous cuts were
stinging like crazy but the water felt good.The burn on his leg was the worst.Shara
hovered outside,waiting for him to come out."We think it's heading for a large planetoid
in the system ahead.It's heavily industrialised with an estimated workforce of over three
thousand people,species unknown."
The water shut off."What about distance?"
"From their ship?We can catch up at anytime.Starcruiser Five is almost up to speed too."
"ETA planetoid?"
"They'll get there in just over thirty minutes."
The door slid open suddenly."Thirty minutes?"Dexter emerged from the shower with his
small towel round his waist."If they touch down we've lost them."He thumbed the comm
panel on the wall. "Rader,we need to catch that ship and catch it now.Have you got the
virus ready yet?"
"Haskins is just about finished-"
"Put it through to my station over here.Standby to increase speed to overtake.Station
please Shara." He thumbed the panel off and started heading for the Command
Module.Shara coughed to get his attention and he turned back.She pointed to his
towel."Damn."He almost dropped his towel as he opened his locker door.Shara
innocently looked at the ceiling as she headed for her dropped pilots chair.
"Okay.Shara,accelerate to Quantum Five.Use their exhaust as a sensor blind.Not many
ships can see very accurately through their own engine wake.I'm betting they can't
either."Dexter settled into his seat and pulled his helmet onto his still damp head.He
looked across at Adam."Any sign they've detected us?"
"None but I've been scanning their ship.It isn't very fast,heavily armoured and at the
moment without any weapons."
"I know this,you've already told me."
"I'm not finished.Can I finish?"Adam smiled."Instead of just blankly aiming the virus at
the computers I think we can target specific systems.I think we can take over their ship."
"And do what?"
"Point it here."Adam put an image of a yellow planet on the console screens."It's free
from dominant predators,breathable atmosphere.And if we do this right,they'll have
absolutely no idea who's doing it or where they are."
"So what do we have to do?"
"You're going to have to adjust Haskins program to take over their guidance computer
and engines and then shut down their sensors and defences.They'll have to be deaf and
blind."
Dexter changed the image of the planet for the code of Haskins computer virus and
started work.By adding or altering the code he hoped to force the Circus computers to
lock them out of their own systems then take the ship onto the surface of the planet.It
would be harder than simply instructing the ship to shut down.
"ETA two minutes,Captain."Shara could see the Circus engines looming larger in her
ports.Reactant from the glowing exhausts began to impact the hull.
"Starcruiser Five,sending a copy of the virus to you.Standby to transmit to the Circus
ship."
Rader looked across at Haskins,who nodded confirmation they'd received it."Got
it.Captain,we've got exhaust impacting the ship.Should we raise shields?"
"Negative.They might pick up the power signature.Try and hold the ship on course for
two more minutes.If this works we'll be out of here soon enough.Shara,it's your show.Get
us as close as you can."
The starcruisers were closing fast on the stern of the damaged Circus ship.The exhaust
increased in strength,buffeting the ships.
"Ten seconds to transmit."Shara gritted her teeth as she fought to keep control of the
ship.The helm was starting to be unresponsive."Four seconds.....Two....Transmit.Moving
away."
"No!"said Dexter."Hold your course."
"Captain-"
"Hold your course!"
The starcruisers were managing to hold an unsteady course in the violent wake of the
much larger ship.They were starting to weave, sometimes coming within metres of each
other.
"Captain-"Shara was having to shout over the noise from the massive wake.
"It should take soon,"insisted Dexter.
"Keep this up and we won't last long enough to see it!"
Alarms started to go off in the Command Modules of both ships.
"Captain,"said Adam looking at his screen."I'm getting stress warnings from all over the
ship!"
Dexter sat back in defeat."Break off-"
Abruptly the Circus ship altered course,diving away from the large grey planetoid
growing larger ahead of them.Both starcruisers broke away from each other,cutting their
speed until the ships got themselves on a better keel.Then they gave chase to the disabled
Circus ship,deaf and blind to anything around it. "ETA for the planet?"Dexter turned to
Adam as he unstrapped.
"Twenty eight minutes at present speed of Quantum Six.We should get there two minutes
after they land."
"Can we get there before them?"
"Quantum Six point Five is our maximum speed,Captain.We shouldn't even be going this
fast, especially after the combat."
Dexter left the doors open as he pulled his gun and holster from his locker."How are we
doing anyway?"
"We're running at about ninety percent and we need to rearm the missile launchers.Rader
is running at about the same."
Dexter fastened his ancient firearm under his left armpit and checked the spare clips in
the pouch under his right.He slipped a fresh clip into the pistol and chambered the first
bullet."We've got a few minutes.Why don't you go and get cleaned up?"
"You saying I stink?"Adam was still cut and bruised with concrete dust all over his ripped
uniform.
"No.But you're a state on active duty Lieutenant.You could be changed for it."
Adam sighed and smiled as he climbed from the seat."Okay,Captain. Five minutes."
Dexter looked at the state of him."Take ten."
As Adam headed for the shower he sat back in his seat and took control of the ship,asking
Shara to join him.A few seconds later she was sitting in Alecs' seat,checking her laser
weapon and sliding it into a holster over her right hip.
"So what happens now?"
"If I've gotten the virus reprogramming right their emergency bulkheads should have
sealed them into whatever compartments they were in when it kicked in.It'll be a simple
of picking them up.Hopefully they'll be separated."
"I think I should warn you that emotions against these people is running a bit high."
"And mine isn't?"he snapped."Henry was a friend too.I want them alive,Shara.I want
them to swing for what they've done to our people and I want to pull the rope.This Thief-
this animal-has gone too far."
"With the starcruiser technology?"
"Forget the technology!They tortured and abused a ninety year old man just to get my
attention!And some of the crew of the Carrington.I'm not going to shake his hand for it."
"Captain-"
"What do you feel like?You've crossed swords with people like this. Don't you want to
break his neck?"
"Everything in me is wanting to take that ship apart right now.Or order it to fly into the
nearest sun.But I've learnt a lot from you since I joined your crew and I think you're
actually calming me down.Two jail bird brothers will toughen anyone to anything
eventually."
"Don't get too relaxed.That tough edge is something I'm relying on."
The sensors watched the Circus ship gently touch down in the centre of a huge desert.It
was an incredible 55 degrees with barely a trace of moisture to the air but the sun had
only been over the horizon for thirty minutes.It was going to get hotter,very soon.Shara
and Dexter were already waiting in the Command Base as Adam landed Starcruiser One
alongside the massive ship.Starcruiser Five settled slightly behind.Both starcruisers left
one crewmember on board for the security of the ships.This time it was Adam and
Haskins.As the crews stepped into the sweltering heat Dexter noticed Rader and his crew
had also found time to get themselves cleaned up.But their helmets, currently acting as
shade and light reducing equipment,still bore the scars of their recent action.With Dexter
leading the way they walked to the airlock on the stern.The door was massive,obviously a
cargo entrance.Solow pulled a small black box and plugged it into the access panel on the
right of the door.All of them pulled their various weapons as the door hinged down to
form a ramp.Dexter motioned for them to split up,with Paul,Rader and Solow going left
and he and Shara going to the right.They found themselves in a huge cargo bay with nets
and straps hanging from the walls and ceiling but no cargo.None of the equipment stolen
from them was there.
"Where's our gear?"said Shara.
"Obviously not here,"said Dexter.His visor picked up the others slowly advancing for the
far side in the dim light."Anything Rader?"
"Nothing.If the gear was here it's long gone."
"That springs the question of where is it?"said Paul.
"Could they have been met by another ship?"said Solow.
"Is it the same ship?"said Dexter.
"What makes you say that?"Rader swept his visor across the floor, ducking around a
hanging net.
"We don't even know Thief is on or ever was on board.We can't scan what's on this
ship.We can scan its systems but have we had any life signs?And we can't see what's in
the holds.This could be another trap."
"Well,I think it's safe to say none of our component ships are on board.The ship had to be
on the surface to load them."Paul ducked around the same net Rader had problems
with."This is the only cargo hatch on the lower surface and there isn't any way to get
them into another part of the ship."
"Thief had to be in the area to plant the video bomb,"said Shara."And the wounds on
Henry had to be very recent."
"It's all a game,"said Dexter."A big first contact test.And I'm getting tired of them pulling
the strings."
They arrived at the far side of the cargo bay and found the large battered doors
sealed.Solow moved to the door panel.
"Captain,"said Paul."I've been thinking about that video tape."
"I thought you would be."
"I don't think it was a tape at all.I think it was live."
"Live?He was watching?"
"It was the way his eyes followed us around.When Haskins stuck his head around the
door his eyes looked up at him.He could see us."
"All a game,"murmured Shara.
"He knows what we look like."
"He's gonna know what we look like when we find him,"said Solow.
"Don't forget we want him alive,"said Dexter."Him and anyone else on this ship."
"Couldn't we just have five minutes with him,Captain?"
"Let's just see what happens."
The doors opened and they got a flash of black and white bursting through the open
hatch.The figure was running for the open main door.Dexter brought his gun round by
instinct and got off a single shot.The figure arched its back and crumpled into a heap.
"Paul and Solow,wait here!"Dexter,Rader and Shara ran across to the body and turned it
over onto its back,opening their helmet visors.The white painted face under the short red
hair had black lips with two black stripes running down over each eye.The man wasn't
Thief.He appeared to be a young male human.The blood was red,seeping through the
leather.
"He's dead,Captain."Shara took her fingers from his neck."You killed him."
Dexter sat back on his heels and studied the body for a few seconds, their first good luck
at a member of the Circus."Yes,"he answered."He doesn't look any older that twenty
under that crap on his face."He tried to smudge the make up but it didn't move.The skin
was very warm.
"Some kind of a tattoo?"said Shara.
"Hell of a disguise,"Rader straightened up."Even after a good look I still wouldn't
recognise him with it off."
"I think that's the idea,"said Dexter as they joined the others."With bare faces they could
walk passed you and you wouldn't suspect a thing."He chambered another bullet and led
the way into the corridor,closing his visor to make the best of the available light.
The corridors were plain,a pale green colour on their visors,dirty and scratched.There
were very few doors.The overhead lights were mostly empty sockets,some had fragments
of glass still in them.But the floor,though dirt strewn,was free of broken glass so they
weren't broken recently.They were running on their suits enviromental systems so they
couldn't tell what the air smelt like but Paul assumed the ship smelled of every locker
room he'd been in.Dexter commented the cargo bay had the odour of a machine shop,all
light oil and grease.So far the structure of the ship had hampered their hand sensors,either
by accident or design.Forcing the doors on several levels they came across four sets of
disturbed living quarters with several bright suits hanging on pegs.One even had a small
hat on an abused low table.All had evidence of harmful,addictive substances in them.
"How can they live like this?"said Solow as he checked another set of quarters.
"I don't think they really care,"Rader was going to pick up a bloody syringe but Paul
caught his arm,shaking his head.
"I wouldn't,Commander,"he said."Even with gloves on."
Rader pulled his arm back like he'd been stung."I'm pleased I'm not breathing the air in
here."He looked at a pile of dirty clothes in a corner, simply thrown there when they were
removed,weeks worth by the looks of it.
Solows' hand sensor started beeping loudly and he swung it around to confirm the
reading."I'm reading a toxin flooding the atmosphere.Is everyone sealed?"
"Looks like they've got limited control back,"said Shara."They're trying to stop anyone
coming on board."
"Wouldn't it affect them as well?"said Paul.
"Not if they shut off the life support to whatever location they were in,"said Solow."And
unless they have portable breathing apparatus they're gonna start running out of air."
They double checked each other as they walked back into the corridor, then looked at
Dexter for instructions.
"Let's get to the bridge.Rader and Paul,try and find their engine room.If they are getting
passed the virus we'll need to stop them taking off."
They split up at an intersection,Rader and Paul going left and Dexter,Shara and Solow
going right.Instead of elevators or ladders joining the decks together simple spiral
staircases led up or down.Some of the steps were missing.
"This ship wasn't built for comfort,"said Shara.
"Raised on a freighter and you're expecting comfort?"answered Solow."You should feel
right at home here."
"The Marlbor was never like this,"she returned.
"Yeah,"Solow laughed."In some ways it was worse."
Unfortunately Solow chose to pull her leg just as they reached the next level and she
turned,gripped him by the neck of his uniform and slammed him against the wall."Want
to rephrase that?"she hissed.
Dexter turned and visibly sagged at the sight."Shara,put him down.I think we're here."
Shara simply let go of Solow and he dropped to the deck,rubbing the flesh under his
uniform and followed them to a large pair of battered doors.
"You caught some skin,"he murmered to her.
"I got some skin?Want some more?"
"Yeah,you got some skin,"he answered."You got me off guard."
"Will you two pack it in!"Dexter turned to the doors and he motioned for Solow to open
it,taking up a position on the other side of the frame with Shara.He turned the safety off
on his gun.He waited as the others got ready with their sidearms drawn then nodded to
Solow,who pressed the final button on his pad to open the door.As soon as the doors
started to part in the centre shots came flying through the increasing gap,not aimed at the
centre but at an angle,trying to hit whatever was standing at the sides.All of them hit the
deck just as the beams of light impacted the metal frame where their heads were a split
second before,melting small coin sized holes.All of them realised these were precise
energy weapons,very powerful and possibly hand held.They also realised they would
burn a neat hole right through them and keep on going.And with the doors still opening
they were rapidly running out of cover.
"These look like medical lasers,"said Solow.
Dexter groaned as his wounds complained at the abuse."So what are you saying?"
"They're probably an automated defence system."He rolled out of the beam which was
rapidly nearing his left arm."They're firing with a predicted pattern;edges of the door first
then the centre with a central detector sweeping for infra red."
Dexter looked at Shara,who was closer to the beams."Well,you're nearer."
"Right."Shara studied the beams for a split second,judging their spread and recharge
patterns.Then she raised her gun and fired three shots in a vertical line.Immediately the
beams stopped.Smoke from the burning metal stung their eyes.Dexter stuck his head out
then pulled it in,just in case they were still active.Nothing happened.Slowly he dragged
himself to his feet and stood in the opening.Aching from head to foot he motioned to the
others.But he didn't wait for them.Instead he moved into the control centre of the ship
with its dark consoles and dirty chairs.A large viewscreen,probably the one Thief had his
conversation with him,dominated the far wall.He checked one of the consoles,just in time
to see one of the power displays slowly drop to zero.
"Rader's killed the power.Looks like the ship is on reserve power now. It's not going
anywhere."
"So where is everyone?"said Shara looking around the battered bridge.
Apart from the four consoles there was nothing else in the room.
"Obviously not here,"answered Dexter.
"I wouldn't be so sure."Solow was studying an apparently blank wall.
"What have you got?"Dexter put his gun away and joined him.
Solow slid his fingers behind the panel and the whole wall section slid away,revealing
steps leading down.He put his finger in front of his helmet for them to stay quiet."Listen."
The audio sensors in their helmets picked up frantic footfalls on the steps.Someone was
running away as fast as they could.
"How many?"said Dexter.
Shara looked at Solow."Three?"
"I'd go along with three."
Dexter hit his communicator."Dexter to Rader.You've got company heading your way.We
guess there's three of them."
"Understood.You're very faint."
"It's the damn shielding,"explained Solow."It runs throughout the ship."
"Come on,let's follow them."Dexter drew his gun and started to run down the steps.
Rader and Paul were watching the main power cables hiss and spark where their weapons
had cut through them when Dexter had called to them.Immediately they began checking
the machine crammed engine room for any doors or extra steps.
"There's only the door we came in through,"said Rader.
"These are a set of professional thieves,Commander.They'll have an escape route planned
in case they get caught.The question is:where is it?"
"It could be anywhere.Where do we look?"
"Listen."
Both of them could hear running foot steps coming closer,apparently from behind a large
generator near the wall.They moved over to it and looked behind to see a small hatch set
into the wall.Paul noticed it was of a different design to the rest of them they'd seen,like it
was added later.
"Looks like we found it."
Rader and Paul took up positions on either side of the dirt streaked off white
generator,holding their guns at the ready.As the footsteps grew louder he put the gun
away and picked up a length of pipe instead,testing its weight.Rader looked at him and
shook his head.He motioned for them to hide.
Abruptly the panel was kicked open,closely followed by a white face and a leather
jacket.The figure quickly got out of the way to let his crew mate through,who was
followed by a third.They headed for the main door out of the engine room without
looking round.Paul and Rader moved from their hiding places on either side of the door
and held their guns on them.The Circus stopped mid stride in surprise,the figure with the
black bat wings over his eyes relaxing first.
"Commander,"he greeted,motioning to the others to drop their guns.
"I think you should stay where you are,"said Rader."Identify yourselves."
"I've already told you.I am Thief and these are members of my Circus.I suppose you're
going to take us into custody."
"Something like that."They turned at Dexters' voice behind them,in time to see him
pulling off his helmet.He stood right in front of the Circus leader.
"Hello Thief,"said Dexter just before he punched him in the face, knocking him cold.

Chapter Six
CIRCUS GAMES
BOOK TWO
CHAPTER SIX

Marshall Dexter sat in his office staring at the wall,the lights dimmed to deep shadows.In
the corner was a new addition to his sparse furniture,the bike which had let himself and
Alec escape into Starcruiser One.Alec was in Medical,still unconscious from the surgery
on his legs.His mother had decided it was a miracle the man had walked at all,both his
knees were ruined in the crash.Dexter had stood at the side of his bed less than an hour
before,looking down at the bruised face,twisting with the pain drugs couldn't quite
relieve.He would be in rehab for weeks.Henry,on the other hand,was recovering.In fact
he was thriving.The ninety three year old (Dexter had looked it up) was sitting up in bed,
flirting with the nurses and arguing his treatment.Dexter himself was in roughly the same
shape as his ship,tired but generally okay.His cuts had been sealed but his mother had
decided to leave his bruises to heal naturally.She was trying to teach him that not all
wounds will heal quickly and easily and to be more careful.After he'd seen Alec he didn't
need reminding.Starcruiser Five and her crew were in better shape,after a few days they
could return to active duty.He turned his attention back to his report and finished the last
few lines.
He couldn't complete it because the captured Circus members weren't talking.Their
history and their mysterious employer were still unknown, other than the names they
gave themselves.Thief seemed to be their leader, as he suspected.There was also Deceit
and Destruction in the cells with him.The one he shot was called Torturer.It seemed they
were named after their particular criminal talents.It was obvious who was the dominant
members were in their last contract crime spree.Since he hadn't been into the security
cells since he dropped them off two days ago he couldn't put anything else into the
file.They left a bad taste in his mouth.Since he'd given his crew five days medical leave
he didn't expect the door to chime.
"Enter.Standard lights,computer."He squinted as the lights brightened.
The door opened to reveal Admiral Jorgenson,his superior officer and the lunar base
commander.He was carrying a digital clip board.Dexter gestured to the chair in front of
his desk and offered the admiral coffee.He refused but sat down.
"I'm going to have one,"he said,rubbing at the dark rings under his eyes,a gesture not lost
on Jorgenson.
The admiral waited until Dexter sat in his chair and sipped the steaming cup."Have you
slept yet?"
"Not properly.I've had a few hours here and there.I can't rest until I tie up the loose ends."
"You should.You did well to catch them at all.You're mission succeeded."
"Did it?We lost a lot of lives to these people.And some very sensitive starcruiser
equipment.And the bases they were stored on.I keep thinking there should have been
something I could have done to stop them."
"You did.You caught the perpetrators and brought your ships back mostly in one
piece.Sounds like a success to me."
"Tell that to the crew of the Carrington.And to Henry.And to Alec Johns for that
matter.He's going to be on sick leave for a long time.Feels like I've lost my right arm."
"Losing members of your team on missions like this is fairly common in combat
situations.You can either get used to it or get out.Hide under your kitchen table where it's
safe."
"You were a member of the old Starcruiser One crew.Is that how you handled it?You
became hardened to losing your friends?"
Jorgenson smiled."When I left the ship under your fathers' command I felt I'd left the best
part of me behind.As first officer nothing could replace the excitement of a starcruiser
mission.I even started to look forward to the danger,the risk of being in combat millions
of miles from home in a tiny starship. It was then I decided to leave for a command of my
own,a safer assignment.Then I wouldn't have to run the risk of seeing my crew die
following my orders."
"So instead of getting used to the risk you hid under the table?"
"Um,not exactly.I had my fair share of combat.And I never got used to it.I get the same
feeling every time I brief you on a new mission."
Dexter shook his head and looked at the dramatic painting of Starcruiser One behind his
chair. Eventually he turned back to the admiral."What you got on the clip board?"
"This?I thought you'd never ask."
Dexter smirked and took the board from the admiral."A report from their ship?"
"Right,we've got teams crawling all over it.That virus you planted in their computers
stopped them from dumping the memory.They tried but only succeeded in a partial
wipe.It seems there is a lot more Circus people out there and all of them available to the
highest bidder,if you know where to look."
"They're mercenaries."Dexter sat back in his chair."Thief hinted at being paid by an
employer.I thought he meant he was on someones payroll permanently."
"According to that,if you have a particularly nasty crime like major theft,murder or even
public assassination,you can pay these guys to do it and they'll do whatever it takes to get
the job done."
"Someone paid them to steal the starcruiser equipment?Why?"
"Proably technology advancement.It's always easier to steal than create your own."
Dexter stood and began to pace."That doesn't seem right in this case. Paul mentioned he
was watching us during that video bomb thing.And Shara said it was all a game.All a
game....."He reached the wall and almost bumped into the bike.Turning he slowly walked
back."They had all the information they needed from the Carrington's computers to both
find and gain access to the remote bases.They could have taken the equipment without
blowing them up to hide evidence.We wouldn't have had a clue who or what had
happened to either the Carrington or the bases if they hadn't insisted on destroying
both.By trying to cover up their actions they actually led us to them."
"Why would they do that?"
"Because it wasn't just the starcruiser gear they wanted.It was us."
"Us?You mean the starcruiser crews?"
"Maybe.They carefully engineered situations for us just to see how we'd react to
them.The thing with Henry is an example.Why leave him alive? Why challenge me to
either save him and lose the starcruisers or leave him and save the ship?And he was
watching all the time."He started shuffling the digital pages,quickly searching for
something.
"Their employer wanted information on you?Why?"
"With the new ships we're starting to venture further than ever before.Maybe we got
someones attention and they thought the starcruiser would be an easy target because of its
size."
"And they want to see who they're dealing with?"
Dexter shrugged."It fits.And the gear was a means to get our attention and an added
bonus."
"But they destroyed the Carrington,a ship a lot bigger than a starcruiser."
"The Circus destroyed the Carrington."He looked up at the admiral."There's nothing in
here about their employer."
"No,there wasn't anything in their computer about them."
"What about their guidance computer?If we can get a history of their routes we can get a
start off point."
"Point for what?"Jorgenson got out of his chair as Dexter opened the door.
"To find their employer.And I'm going to ask Thief who it is we're looking for."
Jorgenson grabbed his arm."Wait.Amanda should have her medical exam results on them
by now.If we get those we might have a better idea of how to question them."

"What are you saying?These people aren't human?"Dexter looked down into his mothers
blue eyes.
"Only one of them was human,"said Amanda.They were standing in her exam room
surrounded by beds.Only one was occupied and there was a sheet over it.
"Torturer."Dexter cast a glance behind his mother.
"Right.He was killed by a bullet wound to his spine,we know that."
"Thanks Mother,"said Dexter.
"But that wasn't the only wounds on him.There's indications of beatings,numerous cuts
and this:"she pulled the sheet from his leg, revealling a small round wound that had
twisted the skin above his pale hairless knee.
"A bullet wound?He's been shot before?"Jorgenson pulled a face as he inspected the
wound,he could smell a strong acid like odour.
"Yes,it's an old wound.Got the smell?"Jorgenson nodded to her."The body has been
releasing an advanced decompositioning agent from an implant under the skin which
activated at the time of death."
"Why?"
"I read your report and I think it's the same thing that was eating away at the Carrington."
"To destroy the body."
"Without leaving a trace.If I wasn't keeping the body near freezing it wouldn't be here
right now."
"So secrecy is paramount with these people,"said Jorgenson.
"Even to the point of destroying their dead."Dexter turned back to his mother."What
about the others?"
"That's the interesting thing.Deceit and Destruction are both Rubican.They've got the
extra lung capacity,both stomachs and the extra glands."
"We can estimate how old Torturer was because he was human,"said Jorgenson."How old
would you say these two are?"
"Rubican physiology works slightly different to ours.They don't age the same way.But
they look in their thirties."
"Any distinguishing marks?"
"You gonna try identifying them?"
"It won't hurt to get onto the Rubican government,Captain.They'll have a list of missing
persons or something."
"I'll get a full report for you,"said Amanda."But they aren't saying anything."
"What about Thief?"
"Thief?He's the best part.I'm not sure what he is."
"I think that deserves an explanation."
Amanda sat on the edge of an empty bed."Physically he is humanoid but that's where the
differences start.There's more reptilian than human in him."
"Reptilian.Like the Katris?"
"I've been using them as a guide but there's differences with them too.It's possible they
once had the same gene pool but we're talking millions of years apart.Like humans and
apes."
"So we're dealing with a new species?"
"Looks like it."
"Admiral,I think it's time to question our prisoners."
The main security office was situated on level three,along with the training and weapons
control.A large outer office with the security consoles dominated the section with the
cells in the back,cut into the lunar rock to prevent prisoners escaping.Only two doors led
into the cell area,both bomb proof.The base had a population of sixty security personnel
on duty at all times with a further forty on standby.Starcruiser crews and their
maintainance teams were also on call to assist in times of emergency,which fortunately
were rare.The constantly manned consoles could see into every part of the base.Dexter
and Jorgenson went straight in to see Thief who was sitting in his sparse cell behind the
force field.All of them knew the security cameras were watching their every move and
recording their every word.Further along the corridor Deceit and Destruction were also in
identical cells.None of them had removed their make up.What caught Dexters' attention
was the fact none of them seemed particularly nervous,almost as if they were waiting for
something to happen.
Thief climbed from his bunk and stood just behind the faint blue glow of the security
field.He was sporting a large bruise around his left eye,obvious even through the make
up.He acknowledged the two men but never even smiled.
"What's the routine for a Circus member who has been captured by the enemy?"said
Dexter.
"We have no enemies,Captain.We have only our targets."Thief met his eyes and held
them.
"Okay,targets."Dexter didn't break the eye contact.
"Since we've never been caught we don't know.What would you do?"
"I'm not in the cell."
Thief smiled and broke the contact,turning to get a drink from his small water
dispenser.He swallowed then gently put the plastic cup into the small bin.
"Are all of you named after your particular.....talents?"
"Why not?You have quite a team here,a liar,a demolition expert,a thief,we used to have a
man good at getting information until you executed him."
"Executed?He was killed trying to escape."Jorgenson couldn't help himself.Thief ignored
him.He wasn't part of the conversation.
"You mean Torturer?He was human,the other two are Rubican.What species are
you,Thief?You look like us but you're not."
"No I'm not.I'm the same as my employer-my former employer."
"Former?You delivered what you stole from us."Dexter began to pace in front of the
security field, motioning for the admiral to sit at the monitoring console at the
back.Jorgenson looked like he was going to object but went anyway.Dexter moved back
to the middle of the field.
"What was it worth?How much were you getting paid for what you did?"
"Paid?"Thief finally began to show some emotion."You think I'm getting paid for this?"
Dexter picked up on the anger."Yeah,you know,you do a job for someone you usually get
paid for it.What is it?Currency,precious metals-"
"Try food for my family!"Thief barked."I don't do the job,they don't get fed!"He seemed
to realise what he said and forced himself to calm.
The answer caught Dexter off guard."You saying you don't do what they say,your family
starves?"
"No!Yes."Thief sat on his bunk."This was supposed to be all mysterious and keep you
guessing what was happening.I'm not meant to get emotionally involved."
"This is another test!You're getting information on us again.Dammit,Thief,you're doing it
again!"
"I am,Captain.We all are.It's what we were employed to do.The whole thing was to get
information on you're species,your technology.You were set up and monitored all the
way.From the first attack on your freighter right to us being captured.They even
anticipated you killing Torturer."
"Who did?Who was it?Who wanted information so bad they'd kill hundreds of people to
get it?"
"They'll kill me if I tell."
"And I'll kill you if you don't!We can't help you if you don't tell us!"
Thief seemed to consider the proposition and started to speak quickly. "They're called
Shawnia.The area of space you are starting to move into is in dispute and they noticed
one of your starcruisers in the area.They didn't know who it was so they decided to get as
much covert information before they made contact.That's when we were brought
in.Captain,we don't have much time.They know I've talked."
"How?How do they know?"
Thief started to shake and green blood burst from his nose.He rolled onto the floor of the
cell.
"Open the cell!We need a medical team in here now!"Dexter pointed the admiral to check
the others as he rushed into small room.Thief was convulsing on the floor with blood
pouring from every hole in his head.Dexter knelt beside him,reluctant to touch
him.Jorgenson shouted the others were doing the same.
"Captain,"Thief gasped."The Shawnia are a dangerous people.They will stop at nothing
to get what they want."
"What do they want?What are they after?"
"Your....your ship.If they can't get it....they'll destroy it.Like your freighter."
"The Carrington?It was destroyed by some kind of acid."
"Their greatest weapon.......Find more of the Circus......They'll help you find her."
"Her?The leader?"
"The one in charge....of finding your starcruiser.Stop her and they'll.....leave you alone."
"Where do we find them?Where do we start?"
"The......industrial planetoid we were......heading for.More of my people are there."Thief
gasped in pain and fresh blood came from his mouth."A final thing,Captain.Tradition
among the Circus."
Dexter looked confused until the black and white pigment faded from the dying mans
face,revealling greenish skin.The eyes were totally black.
"To see my face will give you access to the Circus there.We each have a mark
that........can only be seen at the moment of death."He turned his head so Dexter could see
his right temple and the small picture of an eye,shaped like the ancient Egyptian
eye,could be seen.Dexter reached out and touched it and it drained from the skin,only to
reappear inside his left wrist.Thief nodded in satisfaction."The mark will......give you
access to information that will.....allow you to find her."
"Who do I look for?What name-?"
"Seek out.....Swordsman.He will help............you."Thief slumped to the floor and
relaxed.Dexter closed his eyes.Jorgenson was standing behind him when he stood up.
"The others are dead,"he said."They seem to be melting like him."
"Did you hear what he said?"Dexter watched the medical team run in, his mother in the
lead."They're dead,Doctor."
Amanda Dexter slid to a stop and looked at his rolled up left sleeve."What is
that,Captain?"She motioned for the rest of the team to scoop up the remains.
Dexter looked down and saw a white pigment with streaks of black spreading up his
arm.Reacting with shock it spread to his neck then his face where it changed to all
white.In seconds his face had the black and white make up of the Circus.
He checked his face in a blank monitor."Oh damn."

"Can you control the pigment at all?"Amanda let him sit up on the bed.
His skin was all white apart from the black pattern on his face.He'd sprouted smaller
batwings around his eyes.Wearing nothing but his shorts he stood up."No.If there is a
way,I can't find it."
"I thought he said you could only see the mark when they were dead?"Amanda inspected
the mark still visible on his wrist.
"I'm working on the theory he lied to me to give me the mark and make me look like
this."
Adam and Shara came in with Jorgenson pushing an anti grav chair. Alec was sitting in
it,wearing a thin hospital gown.Both his knees had impressive dressings on them.The
Rubican looked pale but alert."I go missing for a few days and look at the state you've got
yourself in."He smiled.
Dexter visibly cheered up."Hi Alec.How are you doing?"
"Hurts a lot but I'll live.What have you done?"
"Landed myself right in the deep end this time.If my mother can't get rid of this I'm going
to have to find these Circus and try and get them to get rid of it."
"That's why we're here.We're going with you to find the Circus."
"Only I've got this black and white thing.I can't take you with me."
"Why not?"
"Because in case you haven't noticed you're sitting in a chair."
"These two aren't and you need someone to get as much information as you need before
you leave."
Dexter sat back on the bed."What have you found out?"
"The Rubican Circus members were criminals that broke out of one of our detention
centres.They've been missing for over fifty years."
"Fifty?"
"We age a bit slower than you.We can account for those two but how they got involved is
still a mystery.The human-"
"Torturer."
"Yes.Anyway,he only went missing last year.He was called Jenkins,Matt Jenkins."
"Don't know him."
"I did,"said Adam."He was a student of engineering.Here."
"On the base?"
"Yes.He was checking a transport ships star drive and never came back.No trace of either
were ever found."
"So what does that tell us?"
"He could have been the first sign of humans these Shawnia ever got."
"I think finding Swordsman would be easy enough,if these people don't kill me
first."Dexter reached for his uniform.
"You can't wear that."Jorgenson emptied the uniforms pockets and handed the stuff
over,including his gun wrapped in its holster."You can't go on active duty looking like
that."
"What are you saying?I'm suspended?"
"Afraid so."
"But I've only changed colour.I'm still me."
"Maybe,"Amanda took his hand."We don't know what else this will do to you.Until we
can get you back to normal I'm taking you off duty until further notice."
"I'm grounded on medical reasons.I've never been grounded before."
"She didn't say that,"said Shara."But it's a good excuse to ground Starcruiser One and for
you to be off the base."
"All of us off the base,"said Adam."While we find the rest of the Circus and then the
Shawnia ."
"If we find this leader of the Shawnia and ....get her to lose interest,"said
Jorgenson."Thief said they'll leave us alone."
"You mean kill her,"said Dexter.
"We have enough evidence to justify that action.All the major species we have contact
with will back us up.They've been made aware of this new species too but none of them
recognise them."
Dexter started to dress in the jeans and shirt Adam had brought from his quarters."Let's
start compiling what we know into a proper report.And get some information on this
industrial complex Thief mentioned.I don't want to go in blind."
"So we're coming with you?"said Shara.
"Do I have a choice?Adam?"
"Yes,Captain?"
"We're gonna need a ship.And call me Thief."