

Helium3.1

First published as an ebook by Nick Travers at Smashwords 2008

Copyright © Nick Travers 2008. Smashwords Edition

Nick Travers has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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With grateful thanks to everyone who has helped me, in any small way, to write, and re-write this book.

Special thanks to my writing buddy, David, whose wisdom and honest critique kept Mervyn on the straight and narrow. To Rachel Wade of Hodder Children's Books who freely gave of her time to provided invaluable advice when I most needed it. To my readers Sally, Josh, and Angela, who provide honest, and sometimes painful, feedback.

I would also like to thank the members of Writers In Touch at www.writersintouch.com who provided much advice and encouragement when I first set out on this journey.

Nick Travers

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### Helium3.1

### By Nick Travers

– Chapter 1 –

'Abandon ship! Abandon ship! Hull breach imminent! Life-support failure in thirty seconds!' Blared the sled's computer. Mervyn looked out at the featureless expanse of deep-space. He ran through all the other emergency options -- ejection into space remained the only hope of survival.

'Twenty seconds to life-support failure!'

He felt remarkably calm, 'This is it, Loren. Are you ready?'

'Affirmative, all other courses of action are negative. We've gotta go.' Tiny droplets condensed onto the equipment  poisonous gases escaping into the sled's cockpit. Mervyn's heart began to pound. He checked the integrity of his spacesuit and sealed his helmet.

'May-Day message sent. Emergency beacons activated,' Loren said as she completed her checklist.

'Let's go then.'

'Ten seconds to life-support failure!'

Mervyn lifted the cover off a fluorescent button, marked 'Eject', then hesitated. Free floating in deep-space with nothing more than a spacesuit for protection meant almost certain death. He asked himself whether it might not be better to remain in the sled and succumb to the gas? He tried to calculate the odds, but his brain ceased up. He should have paid more attention in mathematics. Loren would know how to do it; now though, was not the time to ask her. More gas hissed into the cockpit. A slim chance is still better than none at all however the numbers added up.

'Life-support failure imminent!' He gently touched the eject button. Suddenly, everything happened at once: Mervyn's seat hugged him in a vice like grip, the canopy above his head split open, and he shot upwards. The force of the acceleration rammed him even further into his seat. Below him the sled fell away. He was alone in the darkness of space.

Everything abruptly turned white.

The intensity of the brightness hurt Mervyn's eyes, and a gentle voice sounded in his ear, 'Simulation over. Emergency evacuation procedure complete.'

Mervyn found himself dangling from a crane. Below him, the rest of his class crowded on to a gallery -- he could see De Monsero pointing two fingers at him like a blaster and taking pretend pot-shots. The simulator squatted on the floor with pieces of canopy swinging around him on wires. The escape had felt real.

'Well-done, a perfect escape.' Cage said. 'As everyone has now passed their emergency simulations, even Maurice, we can move on to real sleds and plan a real race.' Cage had worked them hard for weeks, perfecting every variation of the emergency procedure. In his excitement, Mervyn could almost forgive the ignominy of dangling from a crane in front of his peers. 'Remember, though,' Cage said, repeating his mantra, 'always stay with your craft unless it is going to kill you.'

For the rest of the week, the class worked on data collected from field trips, moulding it into a flight plan for their first race. In mathematics, they learned how to calculate their position inside a globulus cloud. In science, they learned how gravity tides and magnetic fields react in star clusters. There were more science lessons that usual that week. Even physical recreation continued the theme, with circuit training for flight fitness and stretching exercises to relieve aching legs on the long flight. In communications, they wrote out specimen flight plans for one other.

Prep was abandoned for the week. Calculating trajectories and completing flight plans dominated everyone's mind. The Misfits, spent many hours in the simulators testing their plans. They checked ever trajectory for safety, speed, and fuel consumption, then flew the race again from the start. Eventually they declared themselves satisfied and handed in the perfect flight plan. Then they waited.

The night before the race, Mervyn tossed and turned. He tried to sleep, but all he could think about was the flight plan. When he did eventually doze off he dreamt the Naga of Pershwin was pursuing him in a sled yelling, 'Die, Runt, die.' Then the Naga's warship appeared and blasted him with its main guns and he spun out of control into the fiery furnace of a young blue star. He woke with a start. He knew it was useless trying to get back to sleep. Why was sleep always so elusive when he needed it most? He hauled himself out of bed, pulled on his dressing gown, and wandered into the common room looking for something to distract him. There was nothing there, and opening his biolink would only set his head buzzing, so he wandered out into the corridor.

The stardome was in darkness, lit only by the glitter of a thousand distant stars. Mervyn climbed the mound and sat down, searching for NCZ2398. It would be one of the closer blue stars. He could ask the computer to pinpoint it for him, but tonight he felt like finding it himself.

A noise startled him out of his revelry. The door opened and footsteps enter the room. Who could possibly be out at this time of night? Instinctively, he slithered back over the ridge so he could hide in the shadows. Another set of echoing footfalls joined the first. They mounted the hill. Soon Mervyn could just make out two forms standing on the summit. The light was not good enough to make out their features. Then one of them turned side on and weak starlight lit their profile: Rufus De Monsero. From the walk Mervyn guessed other was Hidraba. Curiosity made Mervyn lie flat in shadows, watching and listening.

De Monsero spoke first, 'Is it done?'

'It's done,' Hidraba said. 'I've sorted the rods -- no one will suspect anything. I still don't understand why I had to switch the extinguishers though.'

Whatever they were talking about it was clear they were up to no good and Mervyn wanted to hear more.

'What did you do with the old ones?' De Monsero asked in a quiet silky voice.

'Put them back in the store.'

'Good.'

Both of the silhouettes gazed up at the stars. Mervyn held his breath in the silence, in case they discovered him.

'How's the race going to go tomorrow?' De Monsero asked.

Pains shot up Mervyn's right leg, he was not in a comfortable position. To make matters worse he was slowly sliding down the steep slope of the mound. He dared not shift into a move comfortable position in case they heard him.

'It'll be a synch,' Hidraba said. 'Jenny from the Comets is good, but as long as she's paired with that buffoon Maurice she'll be no threat to us. The only competition we need worry about are the Misfits. Aurora and Bright are gifted pilots and withholding the syndicate answers has made them into a tight team – not exactly what we intended.'

Mervyn listened intently, distracted only by the cramp in his leg. He tried to change his grip, but only succeeded in slipped a bit further down the mound. Now he was clinging to a steeper part of the slope.

'Well we don't need to worry about the Misfits tomorrow, they're....'

Mervyn finally lost his grip and slid down the mound, his fingers squealed horribly on the shinny floor as he went.

'What's that noise, Rufus?'

'There's someone down there. Get after them! Quick, don't let them get away, they heard what we said.'

Feet pounded down the slope above him, but Mervyn had no intention of hanging around. He jumped to his feet and hobbled as fast as his cramped leg would allow him towards the door. Behind him De Monsero and Hidraba blundering around in the dark.

'It came from down here.'

'I can't see anything, turn the lights on.'

'No, no! The crew will see the lights from the flight deck. We don't want them coming to investigate. Stand still and listen.'

Mervyn stopped, gritting his teeth against the pain in his leg. He stretched his leg out and the pain eased a bit. He breathed as shallowly as he could. Then he started to tiptoe towards the door on bare feet. As he neared the door it tagged his biolink for instructions.

'The door! Someone's tagged the door. This way!'

Mervyn fled as two pairs of booted feet charged toward him. The door opened and he leaped through into the darkened corridor. It would not stay dark for long though, his pursuers would have no fears switching on these lights.

On impulse Mervyn doubled back to the door. He ripped open the emergency panel, grabbed the manual over-ride, and twisted it to the lock position. Two solid thumps on the other side provided his reward. That would keep them occupied for a while. By the time De Monsero and Hidraba managed to crank the doors open by hand he would be long gone. With any luck, the crew would come to investigate and catch the pair red-handed. Mervyn, meanwhile, returned to the apartment, and tried to work out how the Raiders planned to sabotage tomorrow's race.

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– Chapter 2 –

Mervyn waited expectantly for the third of three red launch lights to shine. After a short pause, it would change from red to green. His finger hovered over the launch button while his stomach churned with nervous. He sat expectantly in the cockpit of his sled waiting for the race to begin. To distract himself he thought about the conversation he had interrupted the night before. What mischief were De Monsero and Hidraba plotting? If only his grip had held for a few more seconds he would have learned why the Raiders were so confident of winning. Frustration boiled within him -- he'd been so close to finding out. He would just have to keep his wits about him.

Mervyn's focus snapped back to the race as the third light turned red -- any moment now they would launch. His eyes watered with the effort of staring at the lights and trying not to blink. Suddenly, the lights turned green. He stabbed the button.

The launch tube exploded into dazzling light. His pilot's chair grasped him firmly and the sled shot forward. The race was on. All around him other sleds launched. Tower control lasted for ten seconds, until the group had safely dispersed on their pre-planned trajectories. After that, it was all down to Mervyn's skill as a pilot.

'Nice and easy now,' Loren reminded her pilot.

'I know,' they had been over this a hundred times: don't waste fuel, save it for the home straight. Mervyn knew Loren meant well, but she desperately wanted to win this race, and for the same reasons – to humiliate De Monsero.

Mervyn licked his finger, to make it glide smoothly on the slip pad, and eased the throttle up; the sled's speed increased exponentially (something to do with the properties of space: an object will continue accelerating until acted on by an equal and opposite force). The launch was not brilliant, there were six sleds ahead, but Mervyn steadily gained on the hindmost. The first obstacle, a newly formed nebula, approached fast. Mervyn checked Loren's flight plan: across the nebula's shock wave, through the cloud of supper heated gas, and gain speed from a slingshot round the new-born white-dwarf star; then out the other side towards the next obstacle.

An ancient giant star had exploded one hundred and fifty years before, at the end of its life, giving birth to the gleaming white dwarf, the nebula, and the huge gas sphere. The nebula looked like streaked marble. The shock wave from the explosion would travel through space for thousands of years. When they hit it, the sled leaped and bounced through the turbulence, and their pace slowed. With an effort, Mervyn restrained himself from hitting the throttle to recover their headlong charge. The gravity kick from the white dwarf would more than make up their speed loss without wasting valuable fuel. Besides, Mervyn could almost feel Loren's razor-sharp eyes drilling into his back. Ahead, two sleds burned fuel and accelerating away, including the one they were chasing.

'They'll pay for it in a minute, Merv,' Loren warned. 'They'll have to fly a higher orbit so they'll pick up less speed from the slingshot.' Mervyn could tell Loren was bursting to tell him what to do, but she restrained herself admirably. The gravity of the white dwarf pulled them in, faster and faster.

'You're too low, Merv.'

'Don't worry, she can take it, and we'll save even more fuel for later.'

'It's not on the flight plan, Merv.' Stuff the flight plan, it felt right, and there wasn't anything Loren could do about it.

Just then, the proximity alarm sounded -- amber lights flashed in the corners of the cockpit.

'Impact warning: altitude too low, raise altitude immediately,' the computer crooned. Mervyn ignored it and flew even closer to the White Dwarf. The computer increased its volume and the urgency of it's warning, 'Red proximity breach imminent, automated course correction standing by,' it blared.

'Merv?'

'Don't worry, Loren, I got it covered.' Loren wasn't the only one concerned.

'Mr Bright, you're too low,' Cage shouted over the biolink. He had his technicians stationed throughout the course.

'It's ok, sir, it's only the amber warning, I'm still out of the red zone.'

'Damn you, Bright, you're as bad as De Monsero. If you hit the red zone you're grounded for a month. Do you hear me?'

Mervyn gulped, a grounding was the worse punishment he could think of -- he loved flying, but he kept to his course, 'Affirmative, sir.'

Cage cut the transmission and left them to it.

'That's how De Monsero does it,' Mervyn said, feeling excitement welling up through his chest. 'Well if he can do it, so can we.'

'Of course. Simple really.'

Mervyn eased the sled even closer to the red zone, 'Loren, rehash the flight plan -- from now on we're flying a quarter point off the red zone. Can we tell Aurora?'

'She's too far ahead, she's out of our biolink range, and I don't think you want to go through Cages technicians with this one.'

The sled hurtled away from the white dwarf in fourth place. Only De Monsero, Hidraba, and Aurora were ahead now. The gap soon closed, and they could pass their discovery to Aurora.. Mervyn could almost hear Aurora kicking herself.

'We've got them now,' Aurora said. 'There's no way the Raiders are going to win this race.' Mervyn thought about the conversation he had overheard in the Stardome. They had probably just discovered the Raiders winning secret, so there was little point in worrying his team-mates further. He decided to say nothing.

The next obstacle, the Globulus, was uneventful. Just a thick cloud of cooled space dust that dragged on the sled's integrity field slowing it down. The only hazards within the cloud were pools of dense dust; one day these might just collapse under their own mass and form new stars. They were easy to spot due to their strong gravity fields.

In free space again Mervyn eased up the throttle. The first test of their new strategy would come with the star cluster. Loren uploaded the new trajectory to Mervyn. She had worked in two tight loops around stars to regain even more speed. One around a supermassive red giant, and another round a small yellow star.

The proximity alarm triggered as they grazed the outer atmosphere of the first star. Mervyn let it go, knowing he was only in the amber zone. It sounded repeatedly as they skipped between the gravity waves and tucked in as close to each star as they dared. Twice Cage's technicians warned him to stay within clear tolerance levels. Mervyn politely acknowledged their request, and ignored them. Didn't they know this was a race? All the sleds had taken different routes through the cluster. When they emerged, Mervyn found he had slipped ahead of both Aurora and Hidraba.

Next was NCZ2398. The tatters of the blue star's gas clouds, like black lace, tugged at the sled as they skimmed the dazzling jets erupting from its north pole. Magnificent they may be, but deadly, and avoided at all costs, as was the rocky disc around its equatorial plane where planets were being born . To achieve the maximum slingshot, Mervyn flew a corkscrew path: over the jets, right round the North Pole and off at right angles to their original trajectory. He took the sled to the limit as they rounded the pole and rather too close to the equator.

'Look out!' Loren cried, as a tower-block sized chunk of rock hurtled towards them– he had strayed into the planetary disc.

***********************************

– Chapter 3 –

Mervyn came over all hot and sweaty, he was in trouble and he knew it. His cockiness had put them in danger. His seat tightened its grip as he jerked the sled round the block.

'We're clear,' he said. Except they weren't.

Another soaring rock confronted them, closer than the last -- this was worse even than Aurora's meteor simulation. As the sled swept past Mervyn saw shear-sided craters on the rock's surface, like giant footprints. Finally, he dodged between a tumbling group of three. Only when he cleared these did Mervyn realise he was holding his breath. He released it slowly. His hands were shaking.

He had grown so used to the incessant sound of the proximity alarm that it surprised them when it fell silent -- they were clear.

'That was fun,' he said, knowing it had scared him witless.

'You were right on the border of the red zone there,' Loren said breathlessly.

'You mean the sled could have steered its own route through that lot?'

'Nah, it would have aborted and turned back. Of course the chances of it completing that manoeuvre were about nil.' Mervyn realised how close he had come to killing them. He took a couple of deep breaths to steady his hands and concentrated on their new course. From here it was a straight run home.

Despite the near disaster, their creative route round NCZ2398 had flung them into the lead, followed closely by Aurora. By Loren's calculation they had plenty of spare fuel for he home run too. Mervyn piled on the thrust, increasing further their lead over the Raiders. Soon Academy One hove into sight. Victory was assured.

Above Mervyn's head a small light winked silently. He tried to ignore it, but it demanded attention.

'Loren, why's this light flashing?'

Before Loren could investigate the sleds automated voice came to life again, 'Fuel reserve at two per cent. Switching to auxiliary power. Engine shut down imminent.' Without warning, the cockpit was plunged into darkness, lit only by the soft glow of emergency lights.

'What's going on Loren? We've got loads of fuel.'

'I know, we should have at least a whole fuel rod spare,' Loren said working frantically at the control station. 'Oh no, one of our rods is missing -- we should have ten, but we've only got nine.' At that moment the engines cut out.

'Nine? What the...,' then realisation dawned. 'De Monsero!'

'Hey guys, what's going on?' Aurora asked as she and Tarun hurtled past, but before he could explain his head filled with expletives as Aurora's sled died too.

The sleds glided towards the finish. Without drive engines it was only a matter of time before De Monsero and Hidraba caught up. De Monsero barrelled his sled into a victory role as he powered past, and Mervyn thumped his fist into the consul in frustration. Aurora swore -- shocking the lads with her coarseness. Where did she learn such language? There was nothing they could do except sit back and watch the rest of the pack overtake. In the end they drifted over the line in eighth and ninth places. Mervyn used the time to fill the others in on the conversation he had witnessed in the Stardome.

As they clambered from their sled in the shuttle bay Mervyn wanted to lay in to De Monsero immediately, but the others restrained him.

'This is exactly what they want,' Tarun warned. 'If we accuse the likes of De Monsero and Hidraba of cheating they'll throw us out of the academy.'

'But we've got proof,' Mervyn said, determined to see justice done.

'No Merv, you overheard a conversation,' Tarun said. 'It's your word against theirs, and who do you think the Principal will believe?'

'So what do we do?' The Raiders chose that moment to stroll past on their way to the locker rooms.

'Hard-luck, Misfits,' De Monsero sneered. 'Great race -- shame you couldn't hold it together until the end.'

'And they were doing so well,' Hidraba laughed.

Enough was enough, Mervyn launched himself at De Monsero intent on wiping the smile off his arrogant face. De Monsero toppled backwards onto Hidraba in surprise, but Tarun and Loren managed to restrain their friend before he could inflict any damage.

'No, Mervyn, this is not the way,' Aurora hissed.

'You should control your Outworld puppies, Aurora, teach them some manner,' De Monsero snarled. 'If you can't stand the pressure, Bright, get out.' Mervyn could feel his blood boiling. He struggled to get at De Monsero again, but Tarun and Loren held on tight. 'Better luck next time, Misfits,' De Monsero called as he strolled off with the rest of his team, laughing once more.

'How can you let him do that, Aurora,' Mervyn demanded. 'How can you just stand there and let him make a fool of you?'

'Subtlety, Mervyn. You need to learn subtlety. There are other ways to deal with this,' then she changed the subject. 'Loren, can you send an anonymous message?' Just about everything sent through a biolink contained a brain print, but Loren, of course, knew how to do it. Aurora led her to one side and they were soon deep in conversation, pointing occasionally to the sleds and the ceiling. Mervyn had no idea what they were discussing, but it was clear Aurora had a plan.

Shortly before midnight, Mervyn crouched in the darkness of the star dome. He was not alone: the other Misfits had arranged themselves around the mound; waiting. At midnight, the doors opened and a couple of figures crept in, De Monsero and Hidraba. They were responding to an anonymous message, which said simply. 'Evidence,' with a location and time. He watched them climb the mound warily. As they reached the summit Mervyn made his move. De Monsero, looking down into the gloom would only hear approaching footsteps -- four sets.

'Who's there?' De Monsero demanded.

Mervyn climbed in silence. The Misfits all crested the summit together.

'Oh, you lot, I might have guessed,' De Monsero said when he identified them. 'What do you want?'

'We know you switched our fuel rods,' Aurora said coming straight to the point.

'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'You didn't think we would leave our sleds unguarded before a race, did you?'

'Rubbish, you wouldn't have been caught out if you had.'

Loren held up a data key, 'Evidence.'

'You're bluffing. One of you was scrabbling around here last night, eavesdropping,' De Monsero said cautiously.

'So you admit you switched the fuel rods then?' Aurora accused.

'I'm not admitting anything. You overheard half a private conversation, put two and two together, and came up with thirteen. You're just blaming someone else for your own mistakes. I've a good mind to complain to the Principal. Your word against mine.' Now De Monsero was bluffing, Mervyn was sure of it.

'Show him,' Aurora said and Loren slotted the data key into a small screen. Mervyn could just make out a sled filling the screen in Loren's hand. A shadowy figure crept into the frame towing a refuelling rig. The figure removed one fuel rod and replaced it with another. Finally, just as the figure was leaving it looked up at the camera. Loren froze the motion.

She held the screen out to Hidraba, 'Recognise yourself?' In the weak starlight of the dome Hidraba looked noticeably paler.

'That doesn't prove anything against me,' De Monsero said coolly.

'You told me to do it,' Hidraba said, turning on his team-mate.

'Besides, it's fake,' De Monsero added. Hidraba looked dubious.

'Suit yourself,' Aurora shrugged her shoulders. 'Let's see what the Principal thinks,' she turned away.

'What's it worth?'

Aurora turned back, 'Oh, it's not for sale. We're keeping this safe -- to ensure you don't mess with our sleds again. One hint of foul play and this...' she waved the key in the air, 'this goes to the Principal.'

'That's extortion!' Hidraba cried.

'No -- this is blackmail.'

'That's not fair.'

'Nor's cheating,' Mervyn added.

'Who're you calling a cheat, Bright,' De Monsero snapped, spinning round.

'You don't call switching fuel rods cheating?' Mervyn asked incredulously.

'It was your fault -- you should have checked your equipment better.'

'Rubbish. You cheated.' Mervyn could not believe what he was hearing.

'Call me a cheat again, Bright, and I'll have to call for satisfaction.'

'Merv, be careful--,' Tarun began.

Aurora pushed him aside, 'A cheat he called you, and a cheat you are, De Monsero. Now are you going to challenge _me_ to a duel?'

For a moment De Monsero looked as though he might, but Hidraba distracted him with a light touch on his arm, 'Your father would kill you, Rufus ...' De Monsero stared angrily at the spot where Hidraba had dared to touch him, '... tangling with a member of the ruling house... and all that.'

De Monsero shook off his team-mate, turned on his heals, and stormed down the mound without another glance at the Misfits. Hidraba scurried after him.

***********************************

– Chapter 4 –

The ploy worked. Professor Pike happily organised a field trip to the planetary nebula NGC4635. Mervyn observed from the science station while Loren drove. Cage warned the syndicates to keep in touch at all times, and not to disappear behind any star-fingers – dense, towering pillars of dust where stars formed. In these stellar nurseries, massive globules of space dust condense until they gained enough mass to ignite into bright new stars. Smaller dust clouds condense into rogue planets hurtling lifelessly through space until captured by a star or swallowed by the gravity well of a black hole.

Cage wanted his charges where he could keep an eye on them.

From a distance NGC4635 glowed like a multifaceted jewel -- shimmering with hues of blue, orange and red. The nebular had formed thousands of years before when a giant star came to the end of its life. As it died layer after layer of its outer surface pealed away -- each layer pulsating outwards as a bubble of unique elements. Eventually, the ancient star exploded, ripping apart the spheres of gas, and throwing trillions of tonnes of dust light years into space. The incredible force of the explosion compacted the very atoms of the old star's core, forcing out every electron to form a new type of matter -- a neutron star. Unbelievably dense, the tiny new star glowed with a whiteness never achieved by its ancestor.

'Think of the composition of rock,' pike had enthused, holding an imaginary rock in her hands. 'Although it seems solid enough if you stub your toe on a corner, inside its structure is made up of atoms. Each atom is made up of electrons whizzing round a central nucleus,' she mixed her hands round an imaginary core. 'Between the nucleus and the electrons is space -- lots of it. In fact, the main constituent of solid rock is empty space, though, I'm sure your toe wouldn't agree,' the class gave a ripple of laughter at her joke. 'Now if you crush all the space out of your rock it would reduce to the size of a pin head. There would be no room for the electrons inside, so they would all be left running around on the outside trying to get in,' Pike ran in a circle to the amusement of the class. 'Now, there's only one known way to crush out all the space from your rock, and that is to blow up a star. So let's go and look at an exploded star -- our subject today is Planetary Nebular NGC4635.'

'So what's a black hole them, miss?' Loren had asked.

'A black hole, my dear, is just a very dense neutron star. So dense in fact that its electrons stand still. Even light cannot escape the gravity of a black hole. If we crushed our imaginary rock into a black hole it would be a thousand times smaller than a pin head. And to make one of those you need a very big explosion.'

As Mervyn examined the nebula, he could see how the neutron star's light changed colour as it filtered through the different layers of super-heated gas. Each colour formed by unique elements. Giant clouds of dust shone eerily with reflected light or blacked out whole sectors of space. Most beautiful of all were the star fingers, glowing blue from within as new stars formed. Some stars were so established that their solar winds had already blown away the surrounding dust -- shredding the surrounding gas clouds into ragged streamers. Mervyn thought the scene starkly beautiful and as always he felt moved by the grandeur of the Galaxy. How could such destructive forces have such beauty?

As always, the magnetic and gravitational fields, and the spectrum of invisible radiation, which were normally hidden to view, showed on the view screens both separately and overlaid with the visuals.

'NGC4635 is also known as the flower Nebula,' Pike advised from within Cage's sled. 'Seen from a distance the overlapping bubbles of gas make it look like a beautiful flower.'

Suddenly there was a commotion behind him.

'Argh. Get it off! Mervyn! Get this thing off me.'

Mervyn turned to see Loren frantically waving her arms as something buzzed noisily round her head. He recognised the Skitterbug.

'Stay still, Loren, then it won't bother you.' With an effort Loren froze, following the flight of Skitter Bug with just her eyes. Mervyn unstrapped himself and drifted slowly over Loren's head until he could reach out and snatch up the troublesome bug. From the other sled they could hear laughter.

' _Anyone seen my Skitterbug? I seem to have mislaid it somewhere_ ,' Tarun laughed over the biolink.

' _I suppose this is your idea of a joke, Tarun_ ,' Loren said _. 'Not funny!_ ' Loren's fury brought more laughter. Mervyn had to agree with Tarun: Loren had looked well funny trying to fight off the Skitterbug. He stowed the struggling bug in an overhead locker and returned to the science station.

The sleds dived into the first gas layer. Mervyn watched as the outside temperature gage leaped up by a few hundred degrees -- the gases were superheated. Further in, closer to the neutron star, they would become hotter still, but the sleds were designed to withstand such extreme temperatures. The space outside glowed pale blue. Mervyn used the sled's spectrometer to analyse the different colours and identify the elements in each bubble, but what he was really searching for was the tell-tale ion trail of a spybot.

'Stay on this course, Loren. The trail heads straight into that globulus.'

Soon the sled was ploughing through a dark cloud of dust. Light from the neutron star filtered weakly through the swirling murk. It reminding him that only a thin wall of poly-vanadium, and the hull's integrity field, kept the gaseous vacuum of space at bay. At these speeds each dust particle would be hitting the sled's hull with the force of a meteor. The integrity field absorbed the impact and used the excess energy to charge up the fuel rods -- a neat eco-friendly design.

Mervyn concentrated on the x-ray display, which clearly showed the position of Aurora's sled beside them. As usual, Tarun had wimped out of driving.

'Aurora's good at the driving and I'm good at the science stuff, so let's just leave it at that, shall we,' Tarun had said As a result Aurora got to indulge her love of speed to her heart's content, while Mervyn had to share with another speed junkie: Loren.

' _Hey, what was that?'_ Aurora called over the biolink _. 'I just saw something on the edge of my field.'_

***********************************

– Chapter 5 –

' _One of the other sleds?'_ Mervyn suggested. _'I got nothing here.'_

' _No, they are all round the far side of the nebula. There was definitely something there.'_

'The silly girl's seeing space sprites,' Loren muttered from the pilot's seat.

' _We are going to investigate,'_ Aurora said as their sled veered off to the right.

' _Cage said we should stay in touch,'_ Tarun reminded everyone, but it was too late.

'We'd better go with them,' Loren said, chasing after the first sled, 'someone's gotta keep them out of trouble.' The two sleds sped off through the dust.

' _Anyone see anything?'_ Aurora asked.

' _No,'_ Mervyn searched the screens for anything unusual. _'Wait, yes I see something, it's like a ball. It's stopped....now it's off again.'_

' _What do you think it is?'_ Loren asked.

' _It looks like some sort of probe,'_ Mervyn said, giving new co-ordinates to Loren. The two sleds continued their pursuit of the mysterious ball. Around them the dust became thicker. Once again the probe stopped as if waiting for the sleds to catch up.

' _I don't like this,'_ Tarun said. _'Cage said not to go into the star fingers. We should go back.'_

' _I still have contact with the rest of the group,'_ Mervyn said.

' _Ok, Tarun, if we lose contact we turn back, but I still want to find out what this thing is,'_ Aurora said.

' _But who's controlling it?'_ Tarun asked.

'He does have a point,' Loren muttered.

' _This is weird,'_ Aurora said.

' _Uh oh. I've lost contact,'_ Mervyn announced, _'One moment the other sleds were there, the next there was nothing.'_

' _Our signal's been jammed,'_ Tarun exclaimed, _'what's happening?'_

' _It's a trap. Let's get out of here,'_ Mervyn shouted.

Suddenly the sleds broke through into clear space and starlight flooded their vision once more. A small spherical probe sat motionless in front of them. On either side floated a full-blown fighter craft powering up their photon cannons.

' _Split!'_ Mervyn instructed.

' _We're cornered, and there's two more behind us,'_ Aurora said.

' _Heave to, Academy sleds, or we finish you off,'_ a voice commanded over their biolinks. They had little choice but to obey.

' _There's some mistake,'_ Aurora said. _'We are students at the Ethrigan Space Academy, we are on a survey mission.'_

' _I know. Prepare to be taken in tow,'_ replied the voice from the fighters.

'How do they know who we are?' Loren hissed.

The fighters towed the sleds deeper into the star fingers and Loren took advantage of the gloom to drop an emergency probe. She explained it would stay dormant just collecting information until they were clear, and then alert Cage to their predicament. Mervyn licked his lips; his heart pounded out his fear – this was wrong, very wrong. Somehow, knowing Cage would soon be on their trail was not a great comfort. A large spacecraft loomed on the displays, the fighters made straight for it. The sleds were guided into a hangar and the occupants instructed to emerge.

Armed guards flanked the sleds. Mervyn noticed, with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, that their captors were human. His fears proved accurate as a giant, wild haired figure strode their way. 'Oh no,' Loren hissed under her breath.

'Who is in charge around here?' Aurora demanded in her most imperious voice as she stepped from her sled If Mervyn had been closer he would have kicked her; she was about to get them all into deep trouble.

'I am,' the giant Ethrigan said looking down at them. Mervyn tried to make himself as small as possible.

'And who are you?' Aurora asked.

'This,' announced one of the humans, 'is his Greatness, the Naga of Pershwin.'

'Well you've made a terrible mistake Mr Naga--'

'Your Greatness,' the Naga whispered. 'You shall address me as, 'Your Greatness'.' Mervyn had to strain to hear the Naga's voice. Then he leaped out of his skin as the Naga bellowed, 'Or I will shoot you!'

'Well Your Greatness,' Aurora said, ignoring the Naga's outburst, 'we are students in the Space Academy and...,' but the Naga waved her to silence. He turned to one of the humans, 'Guthrik, these two,' he pointed to Aurora and Tarun, 'have value. Throw the others out the airlock.'

'No!' Aurora shrieked.

'Shut up, brat, or I'll chuck you out too.'

'I'm the Patriarch's niece,' she shouted stamping her foot.'

'No. You're a piece of merchandise, and I'll sell you, trade you, or dispose of you as I wish. You belong to me now.' Mervyn watched the colour drained out of Aurora's chima as the full realisation of their predicament hit her.

'My name is Mervyn Bright,' Mervyn volunteered desperately, 'you were searching for me, I have value.' He could feel Loren glaring at him accusingly. The human, Guthrik, grimaced as if Mervyn had said the wrong thing.

The Naga grinned maliciously, 'You had value. Now Starlight has fallen you have none. Throw him out the airlock.'

'Perhaps, Your Greatness,' he human, Guthrik cut in, 'you should work them to death in your helium3 mines instead.'

The Naga rounded on him, 'Are you questioning my judgement, Guthrik?'

'No, Your Greatness, but a quick death seems too good for the likes of these. Besides, I'll have to send someone in to clean up the mess, and we're short handed as we are.'

The Naga glared at the human who stared back unblinkingly. Eventually he relented, 'Very well, set them to work in the mines. And take care of these two,' the Naga said pointing to Aurora and Tarun, 'they're worth a great deal of ransom money,' He stalked away muttering to himself.

'Take them to the brig,' Guthrik instructed his men. 'Oh, and you might as well keep this,' he threw something at Loren, something small and round -- the emergency probe they had dropped from the sled. Mervyn's heart sank -- the probe had been their only hope of rescue.

***********************************

– Chapter 6 –

'Thanks Aurora -- you stuck your neck out for us there,' Mervyn said later when the Misfits were alone in the ship's brig.' He stared at his friends through the shimmering bars that separated them.

'Yeah, thanks for getting us into this mess Aurora,' Loren muttered from a corner of her cage where she fiddling with the probe. 'If we'd stayed with the rest of the class we'd be safely back on Academy One by now.'

Aurora glared at Loren, but her voice was contrite, 'I was just curious.'

'That's usually Mervyn's vice.'

'Don't be too hard on yourself, Aurora,' Tarun said through the bars, 'they would have got us sooner or later.'

'How do you mean?' Mervyn asked.

'They knew who we were before they'd even seen us, remember. They weren't just trawling for any old victims, they were lying in wait for us -- hunting us. If they hadn't caught us today, then they would have got us on another trip, these people don't just give up you know.'

'And that's going to help us how?' Loren asked from her corner. The others ignored her.

'We will soon be missed. My uncle will rescue us,' Aurora said confidently.

'Ah, got it,' Loren exclaimed. Mervyn turned to see her holding up the probe. Somehow she had managed to split it open. She held up a hair slide, 'Useful little things aren't they? Don't suppose you use them any more, Aurora.'

Aurora ran her fingers through the spiky clumps where once luscious curls had hung, 'Can you get us out of here?'

'Hmm, maybe, but I can't do it alone -- I'll need some help,' Loren dived into the electrical components and began to disassemble the probe.

Mervyn peered closely at his friend, 'You mean us... help you?'

'Of course. We are a team, aren't we?'

'Yeh, sure.' He was so used to Loren doing her own thing he sometimes forgot she couldn't do everything.

'Mervyn, would you mind standing between me and that camera? Thanks, and pass this to Aurora, she needs to hide it about her person somewhere,' Loren slid a circuit through the bars.

'Why me?' Aurora asked.

'Because as soon as they realise what I'm doing they're gonna come running in here and search me.'

'And not search me?'

'What, and risk damaging the Naga's goods? I don't think so'

Mervyn thought he understood the logic of this, but it didn't sound very convincing. Still, any plan was better than none. Loren seemed to have great difficulty with the probe. She spent a lot of time scratching her head, perhaps only having a hair clip to work with was the problem. It took a lot longer for the guards to become curious that Mervyn expected. By the time a couple of guards came crashing through the door, Loren had stripped down the probe to its casing. All four of them had pieces stuffed up their sleeves, in their pockets, shoes, and anywhere else they could think of.

The guards were velcats, an aggressive race, but not famed for their intelligence, which might account for the delay. The fury beings levelled their guns at Loren and ordered her to surrender the probe. Their ears twitched as they waited, and they eyes swept round the room as if expecting her to conjure up a rescue party. She snapped the case closed and handed it over without complaint. One of the Velcats snatched it through the bars. If Loren had booby trapped it the velcats wouldn't have stood a chance. They were even thicker than Mervyn had been led to believe.

'The tool too,' snarled one of the velcats showing its pointed teeth. Loren handed over a pointed piece of metal from the probe  clever, Mervyn thought. The velcats produced a portable scanner and waived it around Loren's body, searching for whatever might be hidden. Every time something showed up on their screen they put a gun to her head and demanded she hand it over. It was an effectively simple way to search their victim. Once Loren had handed over a small pile of components the velcats moved on to their other prisoners. Mervyn and Tarun reluctantly handed over all the electrical bits and pieces Loren had passed to them. Only the items in Mervyn's shoes escaped detection. Finally the velcats searched Aurora. At first she gamely refused to hand over the electronics, even when they pointed a gun at her head. She must have been scared, because Mervyn could see a vein pulsating in her temple and beads of sweat on her brow.

'Go on then,' Aurora said, 'shoot me, see what the Naga has to say about that.' The velcats didn't even hesitate: they shifted their aim to Loren instead. Aurora deflated before Mervyn's eyes and meekly handed over everything the velcats demanded.

'Well that worked well then,' Mervyn muttered once the velcats had left. A growing tide of helplessness threatened to overwhelm him. Loren's plan had given him the hope that somehow they might just be able to escape. Now, with a rising sense of panic he realised they were trapped and powerless.

'Loren, I though you said they wouldn't dare search me,' Aurora said.

'I lied. It wouldn't have worked if you'd known you were the decoy,' Loren said with a wink, 'Don't worry, they didn't get anything important.' Mervyn wondered what she meant, then noticed a thin wire poking out from under her thick curls.

'Uh Loren, there's something....,' and he indicated the spot on his own head. Quickly she wound the wire into her flaming locks until it disappeared.

***********************************

– Chapter 7 –

Mervyn stared gloomily through the bars at the grey room beyond. Never had a room looked so dull and featureless. The Velcats had stripped away all hope. Even a small victory would have given them a lift, some hope of escape. Tarun and Aurora looked just as dejected.

Curiously, he watched Loren fiddling with her hair again. Carefully, she removed a strand and placed it in her hand. Next, she extracted a box, followed by some wires and a small circuit board.

As more and more hardware emerged, Mervyn realised she had fooled them all. Here was the important stuff. For a while, Loren fiddled with the components in her lap, careful always to keep her back to the cameras. Mervyn watched in silence.

Eventually, Loren pulled something from behind her ear and popped it in her mouth. From the expression on her face it tasted disgusting, but she chewed anyway. Slowly, she shuffled round her cage and placed two boxes next to the bars.

A blue horizontal line appeared between the boxes. Gradually, the line split in two -- one remained stationary and the other edged upwards. Mervyn gasped as a hole, devoid of bars, appeared. Loren winked, then tied something springy between her thumb and first finger. Removing some of the chewy stuff from her mouth, she took aim at the camera in the top left corner of the room, 'Quarks, I can't see it properly.'

'Here, let me try,' Mervyn hissed, 'I've got a clear line of sight.' Loren passed her makeshift catapult through the bars, 'Try to shield it with your body so the Velcats can't see what you're doing -- this is our last chance to escape.' Mervyn assembled the catapult and took the gooey stuff Loren offered him. He stood as close to the bars as he dared and took aim at the tiny button camera winking in the corner. He drew in a deep breath and concentrated on keeping his hand steady. He exhaled as he fired. Splat. 'Nearly. More ammo, please, Loren.'

'Here, take the lot.'

Aurora took an interest in their activity, 'Come on, Mervyn, concentrate.' How easy did she think this was? He recognised the expectation in her eyes and felt beads of sweat blossom on his brow. Splat. 'Got it.'

Loren smiled with satisfaction, 'Great shot, Merv. Now the one in the other corner.'

'Shh,' Tarun hissed, 'there's someone in the corridor.' They froze; listening. Mervyn could hear his heart pounding. They could not risk discovery. Slowly, Loren crouched to her gadgets, and flicked them off.

Suddenly the door burst opened and she leaped to her feet. Mervyn hid the catapult behind his back and stuffed the remainder of the gum in his mouth. It tasted of rancid butter and made his eyes sting -- he struggled to keep a straight face as a Velcat, grinning from ear to ear, strode into the room. It frowned suspiciously at their bored faces, then pointed at Mervyn, 'Hands!' Mervyn showed his empty hands.

'Turn around!' He turned to his left, and then back to his right.

'All the way round,' the Velcat growled. Mervyn turned slowly, conscious of the catapult tucked into his waistband and praying nothing showed. He completed the turn, but jumped back in surprise when he found the Velcat's face pressed right up to the bars. It sniffed the air, 'Bad smell.'

'He always smells like that,' Loren said. 'Doesn't brush his teeth.'

The Velcat growled softly, breathing foul air into Mervyn's face, he wrinkled his nose in disgust. The Velcat turned its attention to Loren. The two little boxes stood glaringly obvious at her feet. It would only take one flickering glance for the Velcat to discover their escape plan. 'Don't look down, Loren, don't look down', he thought as though he could warn her telepathically. For some bizarre reason, now the idea had entered his mind, he had an overwhelming urge to look at her feet.

'Hands... Turn.' While Loren obeyed, Mervyn deliberately stared at the ceiling. Without thinking his gaze came to rest on the gummed up camera. Quickly he looked away. The Velcat caught the sudden movement and returned its attention to Mervyn. Rather than risk giving something away he locked eyes with the Velcat.

For what seemed like hours he stared unblinking into those blank green eyes. The rancid taste in his mouth started to make his eyes water and now he wanted to swallow as well as look down.

Carefully, he shifted his gaze to a spot midway between the Velcats eyes and allowed himself to blink. His mouth was filling with saliva too, if this went on for much longer he would have to swallow -- he prayer the gum contained nothing poisonous. Without warning, the Velcat snarled, making Mervyn jump again. Then it looked from one prisoner to the next, 'No funny stuff or you gets it.' With a final petulant sweep around the room, like a child missing a treat, it stalked out.

They waited while its footsteps recede down the corridor. Mervyn signed as the tension drained from his body and spat the gum into his hand, 'Phew, this is disgusting.'

Tarun licked his lips nervously, 'That was close. I couldn't stop looking down at those boxes.'

'Hurry, we don't have much time,' Loren said as she crouched to restart her devices. Mervyn retrieved the catapult, hooked it round his fingers, and took aim at the second camera. His second shot partially covered the lens, but his third hit it dead centre. Behind him, Loren struggled through the hole which now gaped in the bars of her cell. She crossed to the door and switched off the bars fronting their cells. Free at last, Mervyn leaped from the cell punching the air in triumph. Aurora looked impressed, 'Great work, guys.'

'What do we do now?' Tarun asked.

'Get off this ship, stop De Monsero, and find my father' Mervyn said heading straight for the door. He ripped opened a panel beside the door and activated the manual override. Carefully, he cranked open the door and peaked out. Satisfied with his recognisance, he disabled the override and let the door slide fully open. Everyone crowded through. Mervyn looked up and down the featureless corridor, 'Which way, Loren?'

'We came from the left so I suppose we go left.'

Aurora hesitated, 'You mean you don't know, do you?'

'Nope.'

'Wow, some plan this is turning out to be.'

***********************************

– Chapter 8 –

Loren glared at Aurora, 'Why don't you do something useful for a change instead of relying on everyone else to save your precious skin.'

'My skin was perfectly safe back there,' she jerked her thumb towards the jail, 'unlike you I'm worth something.'

Loren turned back furiously, 'Well you can go back there and rot for all I care!' Mervyn stepped between the girls as they squared up to each other, 'This is the wrong place to have this argument. Let's find somewhere safe.'

Tarun raised a hand for silence, 'Shh, I hear someone coming.'

Aurora's eyes swivelled towards the ceiling, 'Not again.' But she listened anyway.

'He's right. They're coming up behind us,' Mervyn said. He punched the button by the nearest door, but it refused to yield, 'Try the other doors, we've got to get off this corridor.' He tried the next and the next, but they all refused to budge; panic set in and he rush along the corridor trying door after door.

'Here,' Loren hissed, 'I've got one.'

'We can't go in there, it says 'Head of Security',' Tarun said.

'We don't have a choice,' Mervyn hissed and shoved Tarun through the open door.

They waited anxiously until the footsteps receded then examined their surroundings. The harsh light reveal a cramped private cabin; a small lounge, kitchenette, and dining table. To the left, an arch led through to darkened sleeping quarters. Dirty plates, balanced precariously, littered every surface, and clothes littered the floor. Tarun wrinkled his nose, 'Phew, someone could do with a wash.'

Mervyn ignored the smell, 'Now what?'

'All this skulking around is pointless,' Aurora said. 'I say we go back to the jail and wait.'

'Aurora's right,' Tarun said. 'Getting caught out here will lessen any bargaining power we have.'

Mervyn shook his head in disbelief at Ethrigian logic, 'What if your uncle doesn't pay the ransom, Aurora?'

'Even worse, what if De Monsero pays more to have us silenced? ' Loren asked.

Aurora blanched, 'Ok, you are right. We simply have to get out of here. Any ideas how?'

'We've only got two choices -- steal a shuttle or find our sleds,' Mervyn said. 'We just need to find out where they are.'

'Got it!' They all turned at the sound of Loren's voice. She moved a pile of plates to reveal a terminal set into the table. A request for security clearance flashed on the screen, 'Hmm, it must be here somewhere,' she ran her hands over the surface of the table. 'Ah, there we go,' a keyboard glowed through the surface of the table. Loren tapped furiously at the virtual keys then stood back in triumph, 'We're in.'

They all crowded round the screen. Aurora looked impressed again, 'How do you do that?'

'Easy, this ship is Centaph built. Centaph programming is pretty basic stuff -- hasn't progressed for centuries.' The others stared at her in awe, then her chima blushed pink, 'Besides, the last user left themselves logged in – since when have you know any head of security t worry about their own security?'

Mervyn suppressed a laugh, 'How do you know it's Centaph?'

'It's got a single fuel core, see,' she pointed to a schematic of the ship, 'Most ships have duel cores -- two fusion reactors -- just in case one breaks down. The Centaph have never bothered with such niceties, they have so many ships they write off the broken one and send another. Cuts the manufacturing cost I should imagine.'

'Another piece of the puzzle,' Tarun said, and they looked at him questioningly. 'The Centaph, well, the Naga had to get this warship from somewhere -- they don't just drop off comets you know.'

'Deary me,' Loren muttered, 'whoever left this terminal open has administrative privileges too \-- very lax.'

Aurora looked over Loren's shoulder, 'Who's Squiggles?'

'My new user name -- I'm setting myself up with a user account and password -- just in case I need to get in again. Which domain do you think I should give myself access to -- network, ship, sector... or the whole empire.' She ticked all the boxes to be certain. 'I think it's asking me what security clearance I want. Do Centaph think aces are high or low?'

'Who cares,' Tarun said, 'just tick the lot so we can get out of here.'

Loren ticked everything again and hit enter, 'Quarks, look at that security clearance -- I could override the captain.'

'Save it for when you need it,' Mervyn advised.

'Ok everyone, pay attention please,' Loren pointed to a schematic of the ship. 'We are here. There are shuttle bays here, here, and here, and fighter bays here, and here. Our sleds are in this shuttle bay, the one closest to us,' she looked round at their faces. 'If we can't get to our sleds I say we take some fighters, because they're next closest.'

Aurora started at the schematics, 'You can tell all that from this?'

'Just trust me on this one, Aurora.'

'Loren's right,' Mervyn said, 'if we can't get our sleds we go for fighters.'

'In the worst case scenario,' Loren said, 'we steal suits, pop an escape hatch, crawl round the hull on the outside and climb into a fighter bay.'

'How do we get back in?' Mervyn asked.

'Mervyn,' Loren looked exasperated, 'there are some things in this galaxy which are universal -- to all races -- and getting an engineer to go outside the hull without a manual override on the escape hatches is one of them. No one steps outside unless they are sure they can get back in. Squiggles gives us the manual override -- we can enter whenever we like.'

'You are crazy' Aurora said. 'You really think they will let you take fighters?'

'No more than they'll let us take the sleds. Come on let's go.'

Suddenly, the sound of running feet filled the corridor outside. Mervyn crossed to the door to listen, 'We're trapped,' he flicked the door lock, a useless gesture, but it made him feel safer.

'We could wait here and hope they pass by,' Tarun suggested weakly, but even as he spoke a groan sounded from within the darkened bedroom. They looked at one another -- their escape bid was over.

Loren sighed deeply, 'Best to give in before the shooting starts.' She moved to unlock the door.

***********************************

– Chapter 9 –

'Wait,' Mervyn said before Loren could touch the door, 'Where does this lead?' He peered into a large grill set into the wall.

Loren sprang to the grill, 'Of course -- the service shafts. 'Take this and get those bolts undone, Merv' she unhooked her belt and handed it to a puzzled Mervyn. 'You loop it like this and as you pull it'll create it's own tension on the bolt. Trust me it works. I'll work out a route,' Mervyn followed Loren's instructions and to his surprise discovered he could undo the bolts. He removed one from each corner of the grill. The others crowded round as he removed the last bolt. He yanked the grill off.

'Crawl in, take the first right, and wait for me,' Loren said, 'I won't be long.'

Mervyn handed back her belt, 'Why, what are you going to do?'

'Re-boot this terminal so they don't know I've given myself access. Now get going.'

Mervyn dived into the darkened opening, and scuttled through the tunnel on his hands and knees. He took the first right and waited -- a gentle breeze cooled his face. This must be the duct for the air-conditioning as well. At regular intervals, blue diodes cast just enough light to navigate the tubes. Even so, he still felt alone and vulnerable. He listened for sounds of pursuit above the clatter of the other Misfits, but could hear nothing.

'I reversed the bolts and replaced the grill,' Loren panted as she slid in behind them. From the room they heard a blast, the unmistakable sound of a forced door, then a shot and raised voices. The sleeper must have awoken with a shock. They sat in silence. Mervyn felt sure the service shaft would amplify his pounding heart. Eventually, the noise died down; no one tried the service grill or entered shaft. Cautiously, he crawled onwards until he encountered a crossroads, 'Which way, Loren?'

'Not sure. It all looks so different in here.'

Mervyn held up a wet finger and checked the wind strength in each tunnel, 'If we follow the one with the strongest draught it should lead us to the central service well, shouldn't it.' Without waiting for a reply, he crawled into the tunnel with the strongest headwind. The long cramped crawl to the central well proved uneventful, though as they progressed, a roar, like a waterfall, filled his ears. The last tunnel led into a circular chamber without ceiling or floor. A wall defined a narrow path round the edge of the central well. Mervyn looked over the edge at the service ladder plunging into the depths of the warship and recoiled as storm-force winds whipped into his face.

'Eleven decks down, then take the shaft on your right,' Loren shouted above the roar of the gale. At least, as he climbed down, he could stretch his aching limbs, Mervyn thought. Soon, though, he found himself struggling against the force of the wind trying to blow him up the well again. He moved his legs deliberately, one step at a time, and counted the rungs as he descended: One hundred, two hundred. Finally, eleven decks down and with his legs feeling like jelly, he reached the new junction. The wind eased as he commenced another cramped crawl. Just as he wondered if they would ever arrive Tarun tapped him on the back, 'Look, sleds.'

Mervyn peered through a grill and found himself looking down into a vast shuttle bay heaped high with containers. Each container was big enough to accommodate a shuttle in its own right. Then he spotted their own sleds between two stacks. He waited for the girls to catch up, 'How do we get down there, Loren?'

'I don't know. There're no grills at ground level. There's a room further along, I thought we could maybe sneak down some stairs or something.'

Aurora rolled her eyes again, 'How come your plans never have an ending?'

'Because I make them up as I go along.'

'Don't fall out now, guys,' Mervyn warned. 'I think I can see another grill ahead.' They crawled onwards.

When he reached the gill Mervyn peered through. The room looked deserted, 'We're in luck, it's the control tower.'

Loren squeezed her way past Aurora and Tarun, 'You keep a lookout, Mervyn, I'll undo the bolts.' Tense moments passed as she struggled with the reluctant bolts. Eventually, with fingers raw and knuckles bleeding, she removed the last one, 'Gently does it, Merv. Don't let that grill fall.' Too late: with a crash that echo throughout the ship the grill toppled inwards. Everyone frozen, listening for sounds of discovery. As the moments passed and no alarms sounded, and no voices betrayed their whereabouts, Mervyn realised their luck still held and released his breath. Carefully, he squeezed though the opening into the deserted room and stood up to look around. He ducked down again quickly, 'Keep down, the shuttle bay's crawling with Velcats.'

'How do we get to our sleds then?' Tarun asked.

Loren patted around by a viewscreen until another keyboard appeared, 'I say we open the outer doors on time-delay and create a diversion,'

Tarun frowned at her, 'But won't that just create a vacuum that sucks everything out with it?'

'See that blue shimmer by the doors to the shuttle bay,' Loren said pointing. Tarun nodded. 'Well that's the osmosis curtain: it keeps the air in, but allows solid objects through, kind of reseals itself behind them.

'I don't like this. It's like they're waiting for us down there,' Mervyn said. 'I think we should try the fighter bay and see if it's not so well guarded.' He turned back to the grill, but a mechanical clunk drew his attention, 'What's that?'

Aurora stared in horror, 'The lift. Someone's coming up in the lift. We have to get out of here.' Mervyn looked from the lift to the stairs and from the stairs to the grill, assessing the chances of reaching each. Two of them might reach the stairs, and one might disappear into the service duct, but the chances of them all getting away looked slim. They desperately needed more time. Unexpectedly, the lift rattled to a halt. He looked up in surprise, 'What happened?' Even as he spoke, the wail of a klaxon split the air and a shimming force-field snapped across the service shaft.

'I um... I pressed this red button marked 'lift shut off,' Aurora said looking guiltily at her friends, 'Thought it would buy us some time.'

'Oh, great plan, Aurora – fantastic ending,' Loren said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 'Why don't you just hang out a flag saying 'HERE WE ARE COME AND GET US'?'

'Well I didn't notice you doing anything.'

Mervyn jumped up to chance a look through the windows, 'Hate to break up the party guys, but those Velcats are swarming towards the stairs. We need an escape plan and quickly.'

Loren voiced their options, 'We can't use the service shaft or the lift, and the stairs'll be swarming with velcats. I guess we're strapped.'

***********************************

– Chapter 10 –

'Now is a good time to use Squiggles, Loren,' Mervyn suggested expecting her to leap to the computer terminal.

Loren stayed put, 'I can't, the alarm she set off has locked down the terminals. What good is the highest security clearance in the empire if you can't get into the terminal?' She glared accusingly at Aurora.

'The end of the line I think,' Tarun said with a sigh.

'We will try to negotiate our surrender,' Aurora said. 'See if we can get better conditions than we had before.'

'No. We're not giving up yet,' Mervyn said frantically searching the room. He refused to believe he would never see his father again. Evil must not triumph over good; De Monsero had to pay for Starlight's destruction; this couldn't be the way it all ended. 'There has to be another way out. Look, the lift is right beside the stairs. A fire at this end of the room would block both exits.'.

'If we don't make the first offer we'll lose the initiative,' Tarun said. 'This is no time for a human style gamble, Merv.'

'You really think Velcats are going to talk before they shoot? Come on, there must be another way out.'

'Who're you trying to convince, Merv?' Loren asked.

'He has a point,' Aurora said 'Velcat's are not exactly renowned for their negotiating skills.'

'Stop philosophising and start searching,' Mervyn yelled, running to open the nearest cupboard. The lift sprang into life again galvanising them to action. Desperately, they ran around the control tower opening and shutting doors searching for Mervyn's elusive third exit.

The doors at the top of the stairs burst open in the same instant the lift disgorged its frustrated occupants. Both parties sprayed the room with blaster fire as they entered.

Silver flashed before Mervyn's eyes as he tumbled, then darkness. Above him, he could hear blasters ripping the control tower apart. The sound of battle quickly faded, replaced by a buzzing like the flight of a Skitterbug. Light suddenly glared all around him and something flashed towards his head, 'Agh.'

'Get out of the way, Merv!' Tarun shouted hacking at the inflated escape chute with a shard of glass. 'We've got to deflate this thing so the Velcats can't follow The girls have gone ahead to start the sleds.' Mervyn searched for his own shard as he rolled free of the death-slide. Above him, more windows blew out, showering the shuttle bay with fresh glass. 'Stupid Velcats are fighting each other,' Tarun said and slashed down again. Mervyn pulled his sleeve over his hand and selected a large splinter of glass. 'That could have been us up there,' he said, plunging the glass into the inflatable, which let out a satisfying hiss.

'Yeah, but thanks to you we're down here -- does this plan have a good ending?'

'Not if we stay here. Come on, that should do it. We're out of here.' As they dodged for a gap between the stacked containers a howl or rage followed them. Mervyn looked up at a struggling bulge in the limp escape chute, 'It'll take 'em hours to get out of there.' But even as he spoke a knife appeared through the fabric. 'Oh, quarks. Run!' They raced through the narrow alleys and hoped they led to the sleds. As they burst into a clearing they both saw the sleds in front of them with their canopies up. Aurora waved frantically from the nearest sled, 'Hurry up, guys, the outer doors are about to open.' Mervyn sprinted across the open space and threw himself breathlessly into the cockpit of the second sled. He scrambled past Loren and strapped himself into the navigator's seat. Then he felt the familiar presence of the sled's biolink connecting to his brain -- it felt like home.

Loren sealed the canopy, 'What do you reckon, Aurora, hot-start or dead-drop?'

'This is the most dangerous thing I have ever done,' Aurora said. 'Whatever we do the front end of the sled will hit space-time before the rear. Will that speed us up or slow us down?'

'Slow us down, I think. Which means we need to get the back end out as fast as possible.'

'Hot-start it is then. I am setting a time delay to stabilise and brake my sled.'

'Send across your settings so I can co-ordinate with you. What if we get separated?'

'Er...'

Mervyn snapped his harness shut, 'Make for the nearest M-class planet and leave a message in each others' mailbox.'

'Good idea, Mervyn,' Aurora said as the outer doors ground open, 'Ready, Loren?' The engines howled as the girls held them on both full power and full brake. 'On my mark: three...'

Mervyn caught a movement from the corner of his eye as a couple of Velcats shot out from an alley and skidded to a halt.

'Two...'

The Velcats stared at the scene before them. Mervyn glanced at the doors grinding open ever so slowly. The Velcats raised their blasters.

'Go!' Mervyn yelled

The G-force when the sleds cleared the warship and ripped back into space-time hit Mervyn like a sledgehammer. The speed differential between front and back sent them tumbling uncontrollably -- simultaneously spinning, spiralling and corkscrewing -- driven ever faster by the sled's howling engines.

It was all Mervyn could do to hang on to consciousness. Even though his body moved in time with the sled everything still spun before his eyes. Then the sled's positioning jets cut in and the braking manoeuvre wrenched them gently to a stand still. The dizziness slowly cleared, his rasping breath clamed, and he gulped in great lung-fulls of air -- glad to be alive, but where were they?

***********************************

– Chapter 11 –

Several hours later, a small yellow sun appeared on the viewscreens. A disc of rocky asteroids circled the sun, but no planets. The largest asteroid, spinning crazily, but thick with spacecraft proved to be their destination.

' _That's Revlon,'_ Loren announced.

Once they tracked down the other sled and recovered from their escape, they turned to the task of going home. Revlon turned out to be the only populated world within range.

Solar panels or docking stations cluttered the entire surface of Revlon.

' _Strange no one's tried to contact us,'_ Loren said.

' _Maybe they're not interested,'_ Tarun suggested.

' _There must be a tower to co-ordinate all these spacecraft. I'll give it a call,'_ Loren said. _'Incoming sleds to Revlon Tower, do you read me?'_

A gravely voice responded, _'What do you want?'_

Loren frowned, _'Sleds requesting permission to dock.'_

Silence. Then, _'If you got credits you can dock. No credits no dock.'_

Mervyn leaned forward, 'Doesn't waste words, does she. Ask how much.'

' _One hundred credits a day for each ship. Minimum stay three days.'_

' _What?'_ Tarun screeched, _'A hundred credits, but that's starlight robbery.'_

' _No credits, no dock,'_ growled the tower and cut the transmission.

Someone hit mute, _'It's all right, I'll pay,'_ Aurora said, _'it's no problem for me.'_

' _Oh no you don't,'_ Mervyn said. _'One whiff of whom you are and someone will kidnap us again. I'll pay.'_

' _But this will eat your entire bursary in a mater of days.'_

' _You can pay me back later.'_

Loren opened the transmission again, _'Tower, sleds here. We've got the money, where do we dock?'_

' _First you pay, then you dock.'_ Reluctantly, Mervyn fed his account details across to the tower and once more they waited. And waited.

' _They've taken our money and run,'_ Tarun said as the silence stretched out further. Mervyn started to think Tarun might be right. A blip from a homing beacon made them all jump, _'Your money's transferred. Follow the beacon to the budget docking--'_

' _Budget?'_ Aurora squawked. _'We pay a Patriarch's ransom and all we get is budget docking?'_

' _Welcome to Revlon.'_

The beacon led them to the far end of the spinning asteroid and a couple of metal tubes snaking out from a cluster of airlocks. With difficulty, they zigzagged through the closely packed spacecraft until the designated docking tubes came into view.

Tarun pointed out a sleek black yacht nestling beside something resembling a large rusty barrel. Guns barrels pointed in every direction, _'Wow, an Albright Xatrak VI. You don't see luxury yachts like that everyday.'_

' _Are guns part of the standard spec?'_ Loren asked as they glided past.

' _Never seen one with guns before.'_

' _Personally, I prefer the black one,'_ Mervyn quipped.

They manoeuvred around a cargo tug, compensated to match the spin of the asteroid, and sidled up to the docking tube. With a clank, which reverberated throughout the ship, the tube snapped itself onto their airlock. Mervyn tested the seal, 'Yep, air pressure looks ok in the docking tube. Let's go.'

He led the way through the airlocks: first crawling from the cabin into the sled's fuselage, then into the docking tube. His heart fell as he opened the outer door and a blast of icy air rushed past. He slammed the door quickly, 'Jumpsuits, Loren, it's freezing.' An unheated docking tube would be as deadly as the cold of space itself.

Mervyn sealed the jumpsuit which he normally wore while flying sleds. Although it lacked the sophisticated climate control of their full suits it would keep them warm enough in the tube. He retrieved his spare helmet, 'They weren't joking when they said budget, were they?'

'Don't bother with an air tank, Merv, you could stick in the tube,' Loren advised. 'Use the emergency one built into your jumpsuit.'

After checking each others suits, they snapped on their helmets and crawled into the tube. Mervyn found tiny rungs, coated with frost, to propel himself forwards into the darkness. As he negotiated the twists and turns of the tube the asteroid's gravity took hold and pulled him relentlessly towards it. _'Should have gone feet first,'_ he shouted as he fell towards a circle of light. He burst out into a dimly lit airlock and landed on something soft.

' _Ouch, careful,'_ Tarun moaned as Mervyn crashed into another air-lock.

' _No damage done,'_ Aurora laughed. _'You only landed on your head.'_

' _Ow, watch out,'_ Tarun cried as Loren joined them.

The airlock opened into a heated grey room lined with lockers. They stowed their jumpsuits in a locker. 'We can get everything into one locker if we squash it all flat,' Tarun said, cramming in the last helmet. 'I'm not paying for four at these prices.'

As they turned towards the door, Mervyn grabbed Aurora and Tarun, 'Whatever happens, guys, no one must suspect who you are. Think up some aliases. You're worth as much to these people as you were to the Naga, ok?' The others nod, 'Come on then, let's see what this place is like.' He strode up to the airlock's iris, but noting happened -- no biolink then. He punched the manual control and the iris obediently slid open.

***********************************

– Chapter 12 –

A great cacophony of noise hit first, followed by a dazzle of lights. They stepped into a high vaulted cavern alive with the bustle of a fair. Straight in front of them a rainbow carrousel pumped out tinny music as models of fantastic creatures, from every major planet in the sector, spun round and round. Children of every local race rode on the creatures waving hands, feet, and tentacles to grinning passers-by. Of all the sights he might have expected in a den of thieves a carrousel astonished him the most. Around the carousel, hawkers shouted out the prices of sweet-meats from brightly coloured booths.

The main street stretched away ahead of them. It climbing at an ever steeper angle until it hung over their heads then looped back down behind them. What Mervyn had taken for a cavern was in fact a cylinder with Revlon spread around the inside surface. The asteroid's rotation produced centrifugal force which created the effect of gravity, and prevented the buildings above Mervyns head crashing onto the carrousel. Canals criss-crossed Revlon at frequent intervals and ornate bridges took the roads across. Mervyn could see sunlight glinting from some of the canals and for a moment he thought they might actually contain water. Surely no one would waste such a valuable commodity so recklessly, not even on Revlon? Then he realised the canals were actually windows, and the sunlight was pouring in from the small yellow sun they had seen on their approach. The canals took it in turns to light up then dim, creasing a weird patters on shadows, as the Revlon spun on it's axis.

The friends wandered between rows of stalls selling fast food and offering games of chance, taking in all the sights and sounds. 'Hot roots?' A snub-nosed reptilioid presented them with a steaming tray of baked tubers, 'Young Ethrigians might enjoy these.' It indicated a pile of bulbous pink tubers. The smell of food made Mervyn hungry, but he passed on the roots.

'It's like a giant fairground,' Aurora said, as Loren bought barbecued Racta burgers for them all. 'Maybe this isn't going to be too bad after all.'

Tarun took a side order of the baked tubers, 'Hmm, not bad. I fancy a go on that lottery game, you couldn't buy me a card could you, Merv?' Tarun opened the card with trembling anticipation, but as expected he won nothing. They all tried their hand at a Slug-a-Sgat Shy. Mervyn succeeded in toppling a woody Slug-a-Sgat from its cup with his last ball: a perfect pitch bounced off the floor hitting the unfortunate fruit with an uppercut. It squealed as it thudded to the ground -- an unusual sound from a plant, but part of the game's attraction. Mervyn won a cuddly Slug-a-Sgat for his efforts, complete with squealer. Aurora offered him a high-five, 'If you don't like the game.'

'Change the rules,' they intoned together and their hands met briefly above their heads.

'Hey look at that,' Mervyn said. 'An airstream,' he pointed to a cage filled with floating beings in multicoloured suits.

'Quantum!' Loren crowed. 'I've always wanted a go on one of those, come on' They followed Loren to the cage and pushed through the watching crowd. A large turbine, forcing a torrent of air upwards, supported the flyers.

When it was their turn they struggled into baggy coveralls of different colours. Mervyn chose a blue one. Membranes, like wings, stretched from his wrists to his ankles, this is what would catch the air and give him lift. Some beings, Mervyn noted, wore their own jumpsuits with the front unfastened so the air would catch inside and lift them like balloons. Mervyn climbed the steps to the cage and stood above the rotating turbine. Below him a white safety net stretched across the mouth of the turbine to catch the unwary. It was full of rolling beings. He had survived the gravity net across to Lord Tivolli's dart so surely a fairground amusement could harbour no dangers.

He crouched, coiled his energy into his knees, and leaped, arms wide to spread the membrane, like diving into a pool. His dive was too good and he plummeted head-first into the safety net. Next he tried leaning forward and spread his arms, but somehow he found himself lying on his back. Someone giggled. Aurora and Loren were floating above him. He looked around for Tarun and saw him sprawled on the opposite side of the net.

'Watch this,' Aurora shouted and performed a summersault. 'It's easy, Mervyn, feet together, arms out, and fall forward.' Mervyn followed her instructions and fell forward.

Suddenly, the torrent of air took hold of him and he was floating. He whooped in exhilaration -- suddenly he felt free. Wow, birds must feel like this all the time. He tried a few swoops and dives, as long as he kept some part of the membrane angled towards the air stream he could stay airborne. He tried a summersault and found himself rolling on the net again. For some reason he couldn't stop laughing -- this was fun. He lay on his back and stretched out his limbs. All of a sudden he was airborne again, but this time he was floating on his back.

'Look out below!' Tarun swooped past and crashed into the net again.

'I don't think he's got the hang of it,' Loren said hovering above him. Then Aurora appeared.

'What are you going, Mervyn?'

'Just hanging around. How do I turn over?'

'Bring your right arm over before you drop your left.'

It worked, Mervyn turned over, and over, and over, then spun into the net again. Loren and Aurora joined him -- so doubled up with laughter they were unable to fly. All too soon they had to hand the airsuits back. He was definitely going to try that again.

Together, the Misfits wound their way through the booths on the asteroid's main street and crossed bridges over the light giving canals. At every turn beings shouted their wares and traded in a hive of activity.

'Has anyone else noticed people looking at us?' Loren asked as they strolled along. Now that she mentioned it, Mervyn noticed passers-by giving them the once-over. He saw a customer turn to look at them as the store-holder pointed them out. Mervyn looked away so as not to catch their eye.

'It's because we're wearing Academy uniforms,' Tarun said knowledgeably.

'Not because we have money then?' Aurora asked. Whatever the reason, Mervyn felt conspicuous and tried to ignore the stares.

Bars, shops, casinos and clubs spilled out into the street. Some of their patrons looked decidedly seedy and the worse for ware. Midway along the street the bars gave way to a square flanked by a giant swot pool. Mervyn looked up to get his bearings and realised the carousel, where they had entered Revlon, was now directly above their heads.

'Wow, look at that,' Mervyn said crossing to the entrance.

'Fancy a game, son?' A small rodent-like mammal asked. 'Five-hundred credits if you beat the resident champion and a place in our hall of fame. Who knows, you could even become the Revlon Champion yourself.'

Mervyn took the proffered leaflet, 'Thanks, I'll think about it.'

'Good lad. Bet you could thrash him.'

Mervyn saw the others frowning at him, 'What? What have I done now?'

'Mervyn, 'Loren began as if explaining to a child, 'only one type of swot has a champion called Killer Keno.'

'Huh?'

'Wake up, Merv, it's Killer Swot.'

'Oh,' he stuffed the flyer into his pocket and took a sudden interest in a side alley to hide his embarrassment. A shadowy movement from within the alley caught his eye, a Velcat stood outside a door holding a photon rifle. As his vision adjusted to the dimness of the alley, a second heavily armed Velcat resolved itself from the shadows. Curious: why would anyone need that much protection? The next alley held no surprises so he wandered down to have a look. A dusty bookshop, selling old copies of real printed books, a pawnbroker offering instant credit for anything, and a blanked out shop front.

As he approached a guard stepped out from the doorway and gave him a cold appraisal, 'Buying or selling?'

Mervyn shrugged, 'Just looking.'

'Well go look somewhere else.' As the guard moved threateningly towards him, Mervyn caught a glimpse of photon rifles, some looking well worn, racked in glass cases. The corridor behind the guard stretched on down to a shooting range, but the guard blocked the way before he could see any more.

'Clear off,' the guard reached for something inside his jacket, and Mervyn decided a hasty retreat might be wise.

Soon the stalls thinned out, most of them now selling used goods, and the side alleys contained seedy drinking dens, and huddles of whispering beings. Loren glanced anxiously into each alley as they approached, 'Have you noticed how many people are wearing guns at this end of the town?'

Mervyn had to admit he no longer felt safe either, 'I say we head back to the carousel and find a bar where we can make some plans.' He could see the carousel not too far ahead of them -- they had nearly circumnavigated the inside of the asteroid -- but the town looked even rougher the district they were passing through. The others agreed they should go back the way they had come, even though it would take them longer.

As he turned, Mervyn caught sight of a gang of ragged children crossing a scruffy bridge and heading towards them: a young Rinhus, a Velcat, three reptilioids, an Ethrigian and several rodent types. The Ethrigan looked about eight so the others must be of similar age. The children split into two groups one on either side of the street.

'Those urchins are following us,' Aurora said.

Loren quickened her pace, 'I'd say they're stalking us.' Automatically, Mervyn patted the pocket containing his credits, just to check. Then he kicked himself for showing the stalkers which pocket to target.

'They are just kids,' Aurora said, but she quickened her pace anyway.

Tarun looked back over his shoulder, 'They've speeded up.' One group of children ran past, then spread out across the street in front. Their pace slowed to match the hastening Misfits.

'We're boxed in,' Loren said.

Mervyn searched for an escape route. He did not care for the eager glint in the children's eyes. Then they closed in.

***********************************

– Chapter 13 –

'In here!' Mervyn grabbed Aurora and pushed her into a dimly lit bar. The others bundled in after them. Mervyn glanced back, but the urchins had already moved on.

Inside, the stuffy bar looked almost empty.

'Weapons,' a gruff voice demanded beside him, and Mervyn found his path blocked by a bouncer.

'Sorry?'

'Leave your weapons at the door,' the bouncer frisked him with a hand-held scanner, then let him pass, 'Welcome to Bar-None.' Mervyn spotted an empty booth and herded his friends towards it. As they settled he took a long look around the crowded bar. Small booths like their own lined three walls and tall tables with stools dotted the open space between like a village square; a brightly lit counter ran along the fourth wall behind which rack after rack of bottles stretched to the ceiling, here was anything and everything to inebriate the unwary drinker. Mervyn spied a row of water bottles -- highly intoxicating to some hydrocarbon species. Here and there a bottle bubbled furiously, others glowed weird colours or looked frostily solid. In one Mervyn felt sure he could see something swimming round, peering out at the revellers -- he thought it waved, but it must have been his imagination.

The patrons were even more varied than the bottles. A wallowing Rinhus held court in another booth surrounded by Silvin laughing uproariously at its jokes, its huge body shaking alarmingly with each snort. A Bragal Beast, pretending it could not see anyone and therefore invisible, sprawled in another corner. Most surprising of all, half hidden in a shadowy corner where every other creature gave it a wide birth, sat a yellow and orange reptilian with four arms. The arms waved animatedly as it argued with two Puncheon.

Tarun glanced nervously from one group to another, 'I don't like this, I feel out of my depth, what am I meant to do?'

Loren grinned at his unease, 'Relax, this is the raw outworld experience. Mervyn and I are used to this.' Mervyn gave her a withering scowl, she was boasting again. Loren found such places exhilarating, but Mervyn wasn't so sure -- there were dark undercurrents on Revlon, he could feel them working below the surface. Bartenders moved among the patrons taking orders and delivering trays of food and drink. Mervyn waved at the nearest one.

A dome-headed bartender hustled over to their booth, 'Ah, Academy students, I is not remembering the last time I had Academy students in my bar. What can I get you young beings?'

'I'll get these,' Mervyn said and ordered four drinks of Quaff.

Aurora glared suspiciously at the crowed bar, 'So now we're here what are we going to do?'

Mervyn glanced round uncomfortably, he had the distinct impression the seemingly busy crowd were listening to their every word. The four friends lean forwards and pressed their heads close together.

'If we're going to stop you-know-who and find my dad, we need to find the first transport back to the Academy as fast as we can,' Mervyn said

'What about the sleds?' Loren asked, 'Cage will kill us if we lose the sleds.'

Aurora rolled her eyes, 'Who cares about the sleds?'

'But they're Academy property,' Loren said as the bartender returned with four tankards on a tray.

Mervyn handed round the drinks, 'You'll love this stuff, I'm surprised they don't have it at the Academy.'

Tarun sniffed suspiciously at the thick green liquid, 'What is it?'

'Quaff, it's made from the juice of the Quaff-Quaff fruit. It originated on Remus IV, but it grows everywhere now.'

'Isn't Remus IV a desert?' Loren asked.

'It is now. Completely farmed out by the demand for quaff -- a huge ecological disaster.'

Aurora took a deep swig of the bubbling liquid, 'Hmm, not bad -- refreshing.'

Mervyn grinned as he held the pay machine up to his eye for an iris scan, 'I told you -- I don't know why they don't serve it on Academy One.'

'A word of warning, young sir,' the bartender said leaning into the booth. 'I be getting myself some one-use debit cards if I were you. I be losing less that way.'

'But iris scans are secure.'

'Not in these parts.'

'Oh, er... thanks,' Mervyn held out his hand, 'Mervyn Bright.'

The bartender took it hesitantly.

Loren offered her hand too, 'Loren.'

'Talulla,' Aurora said remembering Mervyn's instruction to remain anonymous.

Tarun hesitated, 'Erm...Zonka.'

'I be Bartended. Not very personable, but that's the way I like it. Folks in these parts mostly keep their names to themselves. You not be related to Damien Bright, of the Mining Federation, is you?'

'Er, yes, he's my father.'

'Put it there, son,' the bartender said grasping Mervyn's hand enthusiastically. 'Your father is great champion of the Republic. Anything you wants you just ask your old Bartender, you hear?'

Mervyn finally shook his hand free, 'Yeah, thanks. Actually, do you have any idea how we could find transport back to the Academy?'

The bartender suck air through his teeth with a hiss, 'Difficult one that, but I know jus' the being you need. Be here tonight at ten an' I introduce you.'

'Thanks, that's fantastic. We'll be here--'

'Who's the Silfar in the corner?' Tarun asked unable to contain himself any longer.

The bartender glanced around the room, 'Silfar? Oh, you mean the Centaph. 'Tis dangerous to ask personal questions around here lad. Even more dangerous to answer them.'

'Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just that the President said he was the only one left.'

'An' so he is, but Silfar and Centaph be one and the same race, lad.'

Tarun looked puzzled, 'You mean Al-Zak-Uilin is a Centaph? But they're at war.'

The bartender laughed, 'Don' they teach you nothing at that fancy Academy? The Silfar and the Centaph civil war has dragged on for 'undreds of years -- different ideologies see. Silfar value all life; Centaph value none but their own. Real messy. Why they can' resolve their differences like normal folk I'll never know.'

Tarun stared into the shadowy corner, 'So that's a Centaph...'

Aurora leaned across the table, 'Fascinating, but if we are meeting someone here tonight we will need accommodation. Would you happen to know where we could find some?'

The bartender stared at her, 'Talulla, ain't it?' Aurora nodded. 'Well you be in luck -- I have lovely room upstairs jus' for you an' your friends. Give me a shout when you finish and I be taking you up,' he bustled away to another table.

'When I said use an alias I meant something sensible,' Mervyn hissed appalled at his friends' feeble imaginations.

Tarun looked embarrassed, 'Sorry, there's a bar at home called Zonka's... First name I thought of...'

'My great-aunt is called Talulla.' Aurora said.

Mervyn felt his face reddening with embarrassment, 'Oh, sorry. I um...'

'Nah, only kidding,' Aurora grinned, 'My mind went blank as well.'

Mervyn felt a glow of affection for his friends as they laughed at his expense, 'Drink up, we'll need a rest before we meet with this contact, and we'll need our whits about us.'

***********************************

– Chapter 14 –

As ten o'clock approached, the Misfits weaved through the throng and slid back into their. Bar-None looked like a popular evening destination. Mervyn scrolled across the backed bar trying to identify their contact. Stately Zetoigs moved through the throng head and shoulders above the crowd. The Rinhus still held court in the adjoining booth, now surrounded by its own kind now -- the booth shook alarmingly as they all snorted their laughter. A lumpy crustacea, whose exoskeleton bumped and banged as it illustrated some adventure to the ever-present Silvin, sat in the corner previously occupied by the Centaph. Nearby, a blue reptilioid squatted on stool wheezing into a face mask.

'I though they breathed oxygen,' Tarun whispered nodding towards the reptilioid.

Loren followed his eyes, 'They do. Don't you pay attention in ecology?' Tarun looked blank. 'The mask is for our protection. They poisoned their world so badly that even their breath is toxic.'

Now Tarun looked impressed, 'Bunghoy! You mean it can kill you by breathing on you?' He breathed all over Loren to illustrate his point.

'Something like that. Look here's our guy.'

The bartender approached with a small mammal covered in razor-sharp scales, 'This is Valna, he's a Polerna. Call me if you need anything.' Mervyn had heard of Polerna: scaled mammals that could roll themselves into an impenetrable ball when threatened.

Valna's little ears twitched continuously as though scanning the bar chatter for trouble, 'So, you are son of Damien Bright?'

'Yes, he's my Father.'

'He is great leader.'

'Why?' Aurora asked leaning across the table. 'What makes him great?'

Scales raised above the Polerna's beady black eyes in what Mervyn took to be a frown.

'Only asking... ,' Aurora said.

Valna stared at his paws considering the question, 'Bright stands up for Outworlders -- deep-space communities like ours.'

'Ethrigia does that too.'

'Begging your pardon, miss, but Ethrigia looks only to itself these days. The prosperity of this sector lies with the Republic. The Republic is the future.'

'You approve of the Republic?'

'Oh yes. I could not run my business under Centaph rule.'

'You mean crime.'

Valna grinned, showing Aurora a row of sharp pointy teeth, 'I prefer to think of it as the grease which keeps the economy running. Besides, I not fancy being a Centaph's main course. Are you getting the drinks in?'

'Yeah, sure.' Mervyn order more Quaff. While they wait, Valna casts nervous glances across to the Rinhuses in their booth. At last the Quaff arrived, Valna raised his tankard to the others and took a deep draught, 'To business. You have basically two options -- barter your sleds to pay for your passage or raise enough credits to take the sleds as well.'

Tarun looked startled by Valna's bluntness, 'Cage will kill us if we return without the sleds.' The other Misfits nodded in agreement.

'How much to take the sled?' Mervyn asks.

'A thousand each, plus a hundred for each of you, and fifty to cover backhanders and smooth the whole process. More if you need to leave in a hurry.' Considerably higher than Mervyn expected.

'And if we raise the credits you can get us home?'

'For sure. But you must pay in local credits, and to exchange your galactic credits for local ones will cost another ten per cent.'

'Why?'

'Because the Rinhus requires it to be so.'

'What have Rinhuses got to do with anything?' Aurora asks angrily.

'Shh, they will hear,' Valna implored glancing nervously at the booth where the Rinhuses continued to enjoy their jokes. 'Not Rinhuses, The Rinhus -- he heads the crime syndicate which controls Revlon, takes a cut of everything. If you do a deal you must pay his share.'

'That's not fair,' Mervyn said.

'Life is not fair,' Valna mumbled into his Quaff.

'I say we talk to someone else,' Aurora said leaning across the table once more. 'See if we can't arrange a cheaper deal.'

'I hear the Naga of Pershwin is looking for Academy students,' Valna murmured.

Aurora went ballistic: she looked as if she might reach across the table and grab the Polerna's snout 'Are you threatening us?'

'He pays handsomely for return of his students,' Valna said. 'And there you are parading round in your uniforms for all to see. You think anyone else will talk to you?'

Mervyn scanned the bar anxiously \-- Aurora's outburst had attracted a fair amount of attention, even the Rinhuses stared in their direction, 'So why are you talking to us?'

Valna looked more nervous than ever, 'I talk too long already.... come back when you have the credits. Bartender knows where to contact me.' He got up to leave.

'You haven't answered my question,' Mervyn said. The answer suddenly seemed important as though his future depended on the outcome.

'You are Damien Bright's son,' Valna said and disappeared into the crowd. With Valna's departure the noise levels increased again as the observers lost interest and returned to their former business.

'I don't trust him,' Aurora said removing her Academy tunic and stuffing it under the table. Mervyn took his cue from her and removed his tunic too -- if the Naga was hunting for them then the less conspicuous they appeared the better. Tarun and Loren followed suit.

'We have to trust him,' Mervyn said. 'We don't have any other choices.'

Aurora leaned across the table, 'There is no way we can raise enough credits to get the sleds and us out of here.'

'I agree,' Mervyn said. 'We ditch the sleds and just concentrate on our own passage.'

'Cage will kill us if we don't return with the sleds,' Loren repeated.

'I've thought of that,' Mervyn said. 'What we do is send the sleds off on autopilot to designated co-ordinates, then the Academy can collect them later.'

'When?'

'As soon as possible so we don't have to pay any more docking fees.'

'No,' Loren said. 'Not until we have a berth out of here. In an emergency the sleds are the only way off. We'll just have to cover the cost until then and stay here a bit longer.'

'But they're nearly out of fuel. They won't get us anywhere,' Mervyn argued, but found himself up against the Ethrigan instinct to play safe. The others were unanimous: the sleds stayed.

'Look, there's an easy way out of this,' Aurora continued. 'My uncle transfers the credits tonight and we are out if here by tomorrow morning.'

Mervyn shook his head, 'You really think Valna will let us go once he knows who you are?'

'I'd be more worried about The Rinhus,' Loren said.

'Ok, so I just tell my uncle where we are and ask him to come and get us.'

Mervyn stared in disbelief, 'That's worse than the first idea. Didn't you see the gun emplacements when we landed? It'll take a whole fleet of warships to crack this place open. And what are the chances of us surviving that?'

Aurora shrugged, 'Ok smarts, how do we get the credits then?'

'We earn them,' Mervyn said.

Tarun looked from one friend to another, 'How?'

'Get some jobs.'

Aurora swallowed hard.

***********************************

– Chapter 15 –

Noise burst briefly into the dingy room from the bar below. Tarun closed the door, pushed past the hanging sheet dividing the room, and collapsed exhausted on to one of the beds. He stared out the tiny window at the artificial dusk descending on Revlon. Flickering lights from advertising hordings in the main street lit the room in a stream of different colours.

Mervyn watched his friend from the adjacent bed, 'How's the Casino business?'

'It stinks. They're going to sack me if I don't rip-off the customers.'

Loren's tired voice came from the girl's side of the sheet, 'Gambling's a rip-off anyway.'

'I know, if there's big money on the table they like to make certain the punter loses. There's this button under table... I didn't use it and someone won a load. Anyway, now they take me off the table if there's a big bet.'

'Good for you,' Mervyn said trying to cheer up his friend. 'I wouldn't cheat anyone either.'

Loren's flaming hair appeared round the side of the sheet, 'How much did you earn this week, Tarun?'

'Er... well... I um...'

'It is pay isn't it?' She demanded.

'Yeah, but...'

Mervyn felt a sudden surge of exasperation for his friend, 'You didn't gamble it away again, did you?'

'There was this dead cert...'

Loren's chima turned a frosty white, 'How much did you lose?'

'The lot.'

'What? Everything? A whole week's wages?'

Tarun nodded, 'I think they used the button under the table -- perhaps they were trying to teach me a lesson.' Loren's chima burned bright red and Tarun cowered before her rage.

'Look at this,' she stormed, crossing the room and shoving a screen-sheet in his face. 'This is all we have left once we've paid for food and board -- three-hundred and fifty credits. Not even enough to get us off this quark-spawn of a place let alone our sleds. How are we going to pay mooring fees now our bursaries are gone? We'll be stuck here for the rest of our lives if you keep acting like a moron.' Abruptly the fire left her and she slumped on the bed. Her chima cooled to a dejected blue as she buried her face in her hands, 'We've been here for weeks -- the new semester will be starting soon.'

'Sorry, I thought I could double my earnings... it looked easy.'

Mervyn stared at the ceiling, 'What's De Monsero doing on Starlight while we languish here? This isn't stopping him and it isn't finding my dad.' Loren was right, they spent most of their earnings just surviving. Somehow they needed to earn more or spend less, 'You're right, Loren, it's time to say goodbye to the sleds. We'll cut them loose tonight. And, Tarun, no more gambling -- it's a mug's game. Otherwise you can come and sweep up with me in the barber-shop. The hair clippings aren't bad, but the tentacle off-cuts still wriggle,' he shuddered at the thought.

'Can't you get a better job?' Loren asked.

'They all think my dad is wonderful, but they won't employ me because I'm too well known. I only got this job because I lied about my name.'

They lapsed into silence.

Eventually Loren stirred herself, 'Anyway, Mervyn, as I was saying, before Tarun barged in, they promoted me today.'

'Repairing laser razors, instead of sonic toothbrushes, are we now?' Tarun chided.

'Better than that -- spybots.'

Mervyn bolt upright, 'How did you manage that, Loren?'

'The gadget shop is a front for the spybot business. They liked by work so they moved me over.'

Mervyn stared earnestly at Loren, 'You don't suppose the spybot from Starlight...?'

'Actually, one of the repair stock does have an orange scratch the same colour as my helmet.'

Mervyn remembered how the spybot had clunked off Loren's helmet in central control before disappearing, 'You think that could be it?'

'I don't know, but I'm going back tonight to take a look.'

'We'll come with you,' Mervyn said. 'Where's Aurora?'

Tarun suppressed a smirk, 'She's on night shift at the restaurant. They promoted her to wait on tables

'Waiting on other people? She'll hate that,' Loren said with a glint in her eye. 'Anyone fancy a bite to eat after we've raided the gadget shop?'

'Where shall we go?' Mervyn asked, then spotted Loren's predatory grin. 'No, we can't afford it.'

'We've gotta have some fun,' Loren said as the grin spread even further. 'And she'll want to show us how well she serves.'

Mervyn thought of the look Aurora would give them if they walked into the restaurant, 'It's irresponsible, and Aurora will hate it -- so I'm in. But spybot first, then sleds. Tarun?'

Tarun laughed, 'Yeah, I'm in. Come on.'

The trio wandered up the darkened main street with the lights of Revlon around and above them. They had become so used to Revlon they barely, if ever, looked up at the sweeping town above their heads. At night the market came alive for the evening. Food stalls predominated as the residents of Revlon sought evening sustenance. The smell of dishes from all over the galaxy mingled in the air alternately tantalising and revolting their taste buds. Mervyn's stomach growled in hunger as he watched a Zetoig twirling noodles on stick, then transferring them neatly to its mouth. A Polerna eating fat wriggling grubs with relish made Mervyn almost retch -- all of a sudden he lost his appetite.

They pause by the swot pool to watch a game of tag swot cheered on by a half-hearted crowd.

'Look, Killer Keno's on tonight,' Mervyn said. 'I could win five-hundred credits if I beat him -- that's half a sled.'

'No, Merv, it's killer swot,' Loren said firmly. 'It's far too dangerous.'

'I wouldn't need to kill him -- I could win on points.'

Tarun pointed to a picture of the Revlon champion, 'He snapped the last contestant in half--'

'Even if you won, Merv,' Loren cut in, 'he'd do you serious damage. It's not worth it.'

Loren guided them off the main street and down an unlit side alley. Carefully avoiding the reeking bins and piles of rubbish, they wound their way through a maze of alleys connecting the backs of offices and shops. Twice Mervyn halted thinking he spied movement in the shadows ahead. Each time they waited patiently for more movement then pressed ahead when nothing showed. I must be jumpy, he thought to himself. Eventually Loren paused by a back door.

'How are we going to get in?' Tarun hissed.

Loren produced a key card, 'Bought a blank and a second-hand card reader at a gadget stall. Took a copy earlier.' She held the card up to the door and Mervyn heard a heavy clunk from inside. Loren swung the door inwards and stepped through, 'Stay here until I've disabled the alarm.' A few minutes later she reappeared and beckoned them inside.

They entered a scruffy room piled high with crates. Mervyn stepped round a particularly high stack and gasped in surprise. Rack upon rack of spybots lined every wall like balls in a bowling alley. He never imagined so many existed, and this was just the small proportion needing repair. Somewhere a lot of eavesdropping took place. Loren cleared a space among the remains of bioelectronics sprawled over a large table. She fetched down a battered spybot and pulled over a wide-screen viewer seated in the centre of the table.

'See, this is the scratch where it hit me,' she said pointing to an orange smear. She selected a multi-tool and opened a hatch on the side of the ball, 'Right, let's see what we can find out.' She plugged in a lead. A line of writing and a data box appeared on the screen, 'Not much we can tell without the password, except it's registered to one Halival Tarak.'

'Halival Tarak? I know him,' Tarun said. 'He was Lord De Monsero's head of security.'

'If this is De Monsero's spybot,' Mervyn said excitedly, 'then it's all the proof we need to implicate him in the raid on Starlight.'

***********************************

– Chapter 16 –

Tarun stared at the spybot, 'Maybe, but De Monsero exiled Tarak for embezzling funds from his accounts, so he could work for anyone now.'

Mervyn frowned in disappointment, 'That doesn't help a lot.'

'Cracking the password methodically will take hours,' Loren said. 'Anyone like to hazard a guess?'

'Halival Tarak?'

'Tarak Halival?'

'Halival?'

'Tarak?'

'Revlon?'

'Starlight?'

'Starlight Raid?'

'Raid?' Soon they lapsed into silence as every suggestion came up negative.

'This is useless,' Tarun said. 'We don't know anything about this guy.

'Try, Destroyer,' Mervyn suggested. Loren gave him a sideways glance but tapped in the word anyway.

'It's thinking about it,' Loren said and they waited with baited breath. 'Quarks, Mervyn, we're in. How did you guess that.'

Mervyn shrugged, 'De Monsero's nickname in the sledding league, remember.'

'That doesn't prove it's De Monsero's probe though,' Loren said carefully. 'You just got lucky. Perhaps they knew each other at the Academy or something.'

Loren selected the playback mode and they watched the big screen as the spybot approached Starlight. A light flashed and Starlight's dome burst outwards. The spybot shot forward past debris from the asteroid and dived into central control. It recorded the firefight between Starlight's defenders and the raiders. Mervyn watched in silence as his father surrendered his weapons. Grey suited invaders crept warily into central control, collected the fallen weapons, and herding the defenders out of the room.

The spybot focused on the invaders and Loren froze the recording, 'Look, the shorter ones are definitely human, but who are the tall ones -- I can't see their faces?

'Whoever they are they must be in league with the Naga,' Tarun said.

Loren restarted the recording. One tall and one short spacesuited figure came together. They started to point and gesture as they discussed some aspect of the invasion. The more they discussed the more vigorous their gestures became. The human glanced up briefly.

'Hey, that's the human leader -- Guthrik, I remember seeing him beside the Naga when they waylaid the Silvin Trader,' Loren said, 'I think they're arguing.' Without warning both sides drew their blasters and a stand-off ensued. The taller figure finally lowered its blaster and stalked out of view followed by the rest of the tall invaders. 'What was all that about?' Tarun asked.

The humans pocked round central control for a while then left. The spybot drifted into the emergency room and hibernated.

It sprang back to life as four orange figures passed the door.

'That's us,' Loren said. The spybot shot out into central control crashing into Loren's helmet as it went. The screen fizzed and cut to a black star-field. A sled sat in the centre of the screen.

'That's why it's in for service,' Loren said. 'They can't access the middle section.'

'You mean they want to see who we are,' Tarun said.

'Quarks, look at that,' Mervyn cried. 'De Monsero actually swerved to avoid hitting it.' The spybot flew so close to De Monsero's sled they could see him grinning. Mervyn paced back and forth to work off the anger now coursing through him. 'De Monsero had lied through his teeth -- not only did he see the spybot, it nearly killer him.'

'What's that,' Tarun said holding up a hand. They all paused and listened.

'It's the back door,' Loren hissed and frantically pulled leads out of the spybot.

Mervyn dived for the door, 'Quick, I'll get the lights. Tarun, kill the screen.' They scrambled to remove evidence of their occupation as Loren snapped shut the spybot and replaced it carefully on the rack.

The trio settled themselves behind a wall of crates as the lights flicked back on and two sets of feet entered the room. Mervyn found a crack between two crates through which he could spy on the table. He wanted to shift position to see the newcomers, but dare not in case he gave himself away.

'Is this your spybot, Mr Tarak?' Mervyn glanced to where the others peered through their own vantage points. Loren's hand hovered in front of her mouth.

Two Ethrigians stood by the table: one male, one female. They opened the spybot and plugged it into the screen. The playback skipped to the collision with Loren's head.

'There is your problem,' the female said. 'Spybots are quite delicate really.'

'Can you fix it?' Halival Tarak asked.

'Probably,' the female said tapping away on a virtual keyboard. Tarak paced up and down while the female worked.

'Well?' Tarak asked.

'I have fragments. No more than stills really.'

'Let me see.' The first picture looked fuzzy and showed four orange spacesuits diving in different directions. The next showed a close up of two gloved hands.

'What are they doing?' Tarak asked.

'Trying to catch your spybot I think.' The third picture resolved itself into a clear shot of all four Misfits running after the probe. Mervyn swore to himself.

'Zoom in on their faces,' Tarak said. Even from behind the crates Mervyn could clearly make out his own features.

'Know them?' the female asked.

'I know these two,' Tarak said pointing to Aurora and Tarun. 'But not the others.'

'Quarks, I employed this one this morning,' the female exclaimed pointing to Loren's upturned face.

'Here? On Revlon?'

'Here, in this very room, working on the spybots.'

'Are you sure?'

'As sure as there's a black hole at the centre of the galaxy. Do you want me to sack her?'

'No. She'll lead me to the others. I got to make a call.' Tarak disappeared from view and Mervyn heard the back door bang. The female packed up the spybot and followed a few minutes later.

'That's blown it,' Tarun said as peace returned to the workshop. 'What do we do now?'

'Get off Revlon tonight,' Mervyn said crossing to the rack of spybots. 'And we need to take this with us,' he handed the spybot to Loren.

'We can take an extract, Merv. It'll be easier to hide.'

'No, the link to De Monsero is in the password.'

'It's just a name, Merv -- it doesn't prove anything.'

'We're taking the whole spybot,' Mervyn said firmly. 'Got a bag about you?'

'Of course,' Loren produced a tablet from her utility belt. She unscrewed the top and stood back as a backpack unfurled itself, 'Bought this from the gadget shop yesterday -- I've always wanted one.'

Tarun eyed the backpack with envy, 'Wow. How do you get it back in?'

'Memory molecules -- opening the capsule releases an amino acid which makes the structure reshape itself, another amino acid folds it back into the tablet. Same way your spacesuit's piton sticks to the target then releases again. Good huh?'

Mervyn dropped the spybot into the bag, 'You're almost as bad as Tarun. Maybe if you hadn't spent so much on gadgets we'd be home by now.'

'Well what about the money you've spent watching swot,' Loren retorted.

'That's different.'

'How?'

Tarun held up his hands, 'Hold it, guys. None of this matters, the important thing is how do we get off Revlon tonight?'

'I've got an idea,' Mervyn said. 'You two go find Aurora -- she might have picked up some sizeable tips at the tables.'

'That doesn't sound very promising,' Loren said leading the way to the door, 'And what are you going to do?'

Mervyn paused, 'I'll find Valna,' he lied.

***********************************

– Chapter 17 –

Mervyn sat on the bench. His hands felt clammy and his stomach fluttered with nerves. A raw metallic taste rose in his mouth -- the taste of fear. He blinked in the dazzling light of the changing cubical. The harsh glare of a bulb reflected off a toilet, a hand basin, and a bench. The smell of fear hit him like a physical presence -- others had passed this way before him. A patched and stained suit hung on a peg. He reached for the suit trying not to think what the stains might be. The suit sagged at the knees and elbow and he had to jog fast, for a full minute, to shrink it to size. Ominously, this suit contained no armoured fields to protect him from the photon ball.

'Hurry up laddie, we ain't got all night,' a harsh voice called from outside – the fight manager.

Mervyn searched for the headgear, 'Where's the helmet?'

'You want protection as well? Wait 'til I call ya.'

Outside he could hear the roar of a crowd and belatedly realised they were gathering to see him die.

'Hey, Killer,' the manager called, 'we got a real droozal here. He's just a skinny kid so finish him off fast before the crowd take a shine to him. Plenty of gore -- they'll lap it up. Here, take this one, I've prepared it for you.'

Mervyn stared at his trembling hands. What have I done? Will my blood stain this Swot suit too? He imagined what encouragement his friends might offer. Aurora would give, 'Come on Merv, pull yourself together, you're a Misfit. You're going to go out there, beat him on points, and walk away with that money.'

'Stay high and keep moving,' Loren would say as she analysed the situation, 'Don't let that ball get you or you're in trouble,' then she would give him a hug.

Tarun, of course, would give him a noble look and shake his hand, 'Go get 'em,' he would say with tears in his eye.

Finally the manager's head appeared round the door, 'Hey, kid, you're on.' A gut wrenching fear suddenly doubled him up and he retched in the toilet pan. After a moment of blind panic, he wiped his mouth, forced himself to stand, and stepped out the door. He was doing this for his friends he reminded himself: if he won they would all escape the Naga, if he lost the others would have just enough money to get themselves off Revlon without him. He crossed the short corridor to the Swot Pool and stood in the doorway. Outside, the oversized sphere heaved with screaming spectators.

The manager clapped him on the back, 'Ya'll thrash him, kid. Here, don' forget ya stanza.' The manager handed him a double-ended pole-axe and pushed him through the door. Mervyn stared at the sharp bladed weapon trying to work out how to use it. Could he really kill someone with this? For the first time, Mervyn noticed a muscular Rinhus standing in the centre of the pool with thick leathery skin protecting every exposed area: Killer Keno. The Rinhus swirled his stanza expertly: cutting with the axe heads at either end and thrusting with the spear points.

'Look, ya chop with the edges, hit the ball with the flat heads, and stab with it any way ya like,' the manager explained. Mervyn looked from the stanza to the manager, 'You keep it. It'll only slow me down.'

The rodent gave him an appraising glance, 'Wise call, kid. What you say your name was?'

'Mervyn.'

'Nice knowing ya, Marvin.'

The pool door slammed shut and Killer Keno gave a malicious grin, like a hunter eyeing up its pray.

Loren and Tarun dragged Aurora from the restaurant as they filled her in with the news.

'Where's Mervyn? Aurora asked

'He's headed back to Bar-None to find Valna,' Tarun said.

'If you leave now you never come back,' the restaurant manager shouted after them.

Aurora tore off her apron and threw it to the manager, 'Keep it, I am not coming back. Not now, not ever.' A throng of people tumbled out of bars and restaurants choking the street ahead. The excited crowd poured into Main Street and flooded towards the Swot Pool.

Tarun shouldered his way through the crowd as the friends found themselves battling against the flow, 'What's going on?'

'No idea,' Loren shouted above the din, 'but something's up.' Aurora stopped a passer-by and asked. 'Apparently, Killer Keno has another victim. They are going to see the slaughtered.' She stood stock-still while the crowed buffeted her, 'You don't suppose...'

Tarun caught her drift, 'Nah, Mervyn wouldn't. Would he?'

Loren turned back immediately, 'Oh yes he would. This way, quick.' Together, they ran with the crowed towards the Swot pool.

'I can't see anything,' Loren shouted. 'There're just too many people.'

Aurora headed for the turnstiles, 'Then we will just have to pay for seats.' Reluctantly Loren followed her.

'I'll get these,' Tarun said producing a debit card and paying for their tickets.

As they climbed the side of the crowded sphere a commentator introduced the contestants, 'Tonight, for your amazement, we bring you an extraordinary spectacle. In the blue, I give you, Killer Keno -- the Revlon champion -- unbeaten in twenty-six consecutive matches and using his favourite weapon, the stanza.' The crowd cheered. 'And in the green -- young, keen, and very mean, I give you, Manic Marvin.' The crowd roared.

'Phew, it's not him,' Loren signed fighting her way up the sphere.

Aurora forced herself between two spectators, 'Of course it is, you Muon, they just got his name wrong. I can see him from here.'

Loren pushed her way through, 'Is that Killer Keno? Hey, he's got a weapon, you don't use weapons in swot.'

'Obviously they do here,' Aurora muttered. 'Look, Mervyn's handed his back. Smart move, Merv. Don't waste time trying to learn new tricks.'

'Will Manic Marvin finally trounce the Killer or will he too go home in pieces like Rizza the Rat? To win his prize Manic Marvin must outlive Killer Keno or win on points. Contestants, to Strike positions please.' Loren watched the players leap to their grab handles. The crowd hushed.

***********************************

– Chapter 17–

Mervyn sat on the bench. His hands felt clammy and his stomach fluttered with nerves. A raw metallic taste rose in his mouth -- the taste of fear. He blinked in the dazzling light of the changing cubical. The harsh glare of a bulb reflected off a toilet, a hand basin, and a bench. The smell of fear hit him like a physical presence -- others had passed this way before him. A patched and stained suit hung on a peg. He reached for the suit trying not to think what the stains might be. The suit sagged at the knees and elbow and he had to jog fast, for a full minute, to shrink it to size. Ominously, this suit contained no armoured fields to protect him from the photon ball.

'Hurry up laddie, we ain't got all night,' a harsh voice called from outside – the fight manager.

Mervyn searched for the headgear, 'Where's the helmet?'

'You want protection as well? Wait 'til I call ya.'

Outside he could hear the roar of a crowd and belatedly realised they were gathering to see him die.

'Hey, Killer,' the manager called, 'we got a real droozal here. He's just a skinny kid so finish him off fast before the crowd take a shine to him. Plenty of gore -- they'll lap it up. Here, take this one, I've prepared it for you.'

Mervyn stared at his trembling hands. What have I done? Will my blood stain this Swot suit too? He imagined what encouragement his friends might offer. Aurora would give, 'Come on Merv, pull yourself together, you're a Misfit. You're going to go out there, beat him on points, and walk away with that money.'

'Stay high and keep moving,' Loren would say as she analysed the situation, 'Don't let that ball get you or you're in trouble,' then she would give him a hug.

Tarun, of course, would give him a noble look and shake his hand, 'Go get 'em,' he would say with tears in his eye.

Finally the manager's head appeared round the door, 'Hey, kid, you're on.' A gut wrenching fear suddenly doubled him up and he retched in the toilet pan. After a moment of blind panic, he wiped his mouth, forced himself to stand, and stepped out the door. He was doing this for his friends he reminded himself: if he won they would all escape the Naga, if he lost the others would have just enough money to get themselves off Revlon without him. He crossed the short corridor to the Swot Pool and stood in the doorway. Outside, the oversized sphere heaved with screaming spectators.

The manager clapped him on the back, 'Ya'll thrash him, kid. Here, don' forget ya stanza.' The manager handed him a double-ended pole-axe and pushed him through the door. Mervyn stared at the sharp bladed weapon trying to work out how to use it. Could he really kill someone with this? For the first time, Mervyn noticed a muscular Rinhus standing in the centre of the pool with thick leathery skin protecting every exposed area: Killer Keno. The Rinhus swirled his stanza expertly: cutting with the axe heads at either end and thrusting with the spear points.

'Look, ya chop with the edges, hit the ball with the flat heads, and stab with it any way ya like,' the manager explained. Mervyn looked from the stanza to the manager, 'You keep it. It'll only slow me down.'

The rodent gave him an appraising glance, 'Wise call, kid. What you say your name was?'

'Mervyn.'

'Nice knowing ya, Marvin.'

The pool door slammed shut and Killer Keno gave a malicious grin, like a hunter eyeing up its pray.

Loren and Tarun dragged Aurora from the restaurant as they filled her in with the news.

'Where's Mervyn? Aurora asked

'He's headed back to Bar-None to find Valna,' Tarun said.

'If you leave now you never come back,' the restaurant manager shouted after them.

Aurora tore off her apron and threw it to the manager, 'Keep it, I am not coming back. Not now, not ever.' A throng of people tumbled out of bars and restaurants choking the street ahead. The excited crowd poured into Main Street and flooded towards the Swot Pool.

Tarun shouldered his way through the crowd as the friends found themselves battling against the flow, 'What's going on?'

'No idea,' Loren shouted above the din, 'but something's up.' Aurora stopped a passer-by and asked. 'Apparently, Killer Keno has another victim. They are going to see the slaughtered.' She stood stock-still while the crowed buffeted her, 'You don't suppose...'

Tarun caught her drift, 'Nah, Mervyn wouldn't. Would he?'

Loren turned back immediately, 'Oh yes he would. This way, quick.' Together, they ran with the crowed towards the Swot pool.

'I can't see anything,' Loren shouted. 'There're just too many people.'

Aurora headed for the turnstiles, 'Then we will just have to pay for seats.' Reluctantly Loren followed her.

'I'll get these,' Tarun said producing a debit card and paying for their tickets.

As they climbed the side of the crowded sphere a commentator introduced the contestants, 'Tonight, for your amazement, we bring you an extraordinary spectacle. In the blue, I give you, Killer Keno -- the Revlon champion -- unbeaten in twenty-six consecutive matches and using his favourite weapon, the stanza.' The crowd cheered. 'And in the green -- young, keen, and very mean, I give you, Manic Marvin.' The crowd roared.

'Phew, it's not him,' Loren signed fighting her way up the sphere.

Aurora forced herself between two spectators, 'Of course it is, you Muon, they just got his name wrong. I can see him from here.'

Loren pushed her way through, 'Is that Killer Keno? Hey, he's got a weapon, you don't use weapons in swot.'

'Obviously they do here,' Aurora muttered. 'Look, Mervyn's handed his back. Smart move, Merv. Don't waste time trying to learn new tricks.'

Contestants, to Strike positions please.' Loren watched the players leap to their grab handles. The crowd hushed.

***********************************

– Chapter 18 –

'I can't watch,' Loren said not taking her eyes off Mervyn. Keno hung by one hand while taking swipes at Mervyn with his stanza.

'Where is Tarun?' Aurora asked looking around her. 'He was here a moment ago. Have you seen him?'

Loren had no time for Tarun, 'Shh, they are going to start.'

'Ready...,' the commentator called. 'Strike! Keno's fast waiting to skewer Marvin with his stanza. He's finished off two opponents with that move already this year. Manic Marvin's not drawn in, though, and goes high. Oh, great shot. Hit! Manic Marvin moves into an early lead with a superb shoulder shot: Fifteen points to nil'

'That's it Merv, keep moving, keep moving,' Aurora shouted.

'You're not meant to enjoy it, Aurora.' Loren said. Couldn't she take anything seriously?

'Strike positions, please. Killer favouring his right shoulder, but he's left-handed so I doubt it'll slow him down. Ready... Strike! Killer ignores the ball and lashes out at Marvin with his stanza. Marvin back-flips deftly out of the way. Killer's going crazy chasing Marvin round the pool, but Marvin stays high out of harms way. Marvin picks up the ball. Nice shot, but easily deflected off Killer's stanza.' Loren watched Mervyn leap high again.

'Marvin with the ball again. Killer ignores the shot and lunges straight at Marvin. Wow -- close. You nearly got him that time.' Loren gasped as Mervyn ducked.

'Killer's off balance. Marvin closes in and sneaks in a low ball to the Killers knee. Hit! Another five points to Marvin: Twenty points to nil.'

Loren breathed again, two strikes down and Mervyn was fine. She tuned into the commentary again.

'We have strategic play developing here tonight: Manic Marvin's going high and looking for points, while Killer Keno -- well he's going for the kill of course. It's all a matter of stamina, and who can stay clear of the ball and that killer blade.'

'Ready... Strike! Oh, fantastic play Killer.' Loren shoved her fist in her mouth to stop herself crying out. 'Marvin goes for the quick ball, but nearly loses his head in the process. A few more of those Killer and we'll be home for supper in no time.'

'Killer with the ball. Take you time, take your time. Cracking shot -- that'll have smashed a few of Marvin's ribs -- no points in it for Killer though as it didn't connect with a hit zone. But who cares about points -- Marvin's on the ground and Keno's closing in for the kill.'

Aurora leaped up and thumped the sphere in desperation, 'Get up, Mervyn! Get up!' Loren watched in horror as Keno stabbed down at her friend.

'Oh, this is fantastic... I mean gruesome. I've never seen play like this before: Marvin's squirming on the floor at Killer's feet like a wild animal. Killer's stabbing frantically, but still he can't find his mark. It's all over now. Just a matter of seconds.'

Mervyn rolled to his right to avoid the searing death jabbing at him. The gleaming point of the stanza missed him by a finger's width. Keno jabbed again. Mervyn squirmed onto his side and sucked his stomach in. The point snagged the suit by his belly button. The fabric ripped as he rolled clear and the stanza rose again. He wanted to roll onto his front and hide his eyes, but that way lay certain death -- he had to face the deadly stanza to stand any chance of surviving the next few seconds. He didn't think, he didn't feel; he just moved.

Something bumped against his hand -- the ball. The stanza jabbed again. He used the ball to leaver himself away, but a sudden pain shot through his leg. Was he hit? No, Keno was standing on his leg to hold him still. This was it -- his last whistle.

An image of his lifeless body with a stanza protruding through the throat, and Rufus De Monsero standing triumphantly on his chest, flashed before his eyes. No you don't. Mervyn lashed out at the offending leg with the only weapon to hand. Keno froze -- a look of surprise on his face. Mervyn used the opportunity to roll clear and scramble to his feet. Outside the pool he was dimly aware of the crowd leaping and screaming. The scoreboard registered another point, he had survived another round, but only just.

Without warning Mervyn's knees gave way. He could feel his heart pounding as though it would burst through his ribs at any moment. He tried to calm himself, but suddenly he felt hot, and faint; fresh sweat -- cold and clammy erupted on his forehead, and his hands shook as though he were freezing to death. He ignored everything and kept his eye fixed on his opponent, waiting to react. He neither knew nor cared who was winning. His single thought was that to stay alive he had to keep hitting the Rinhus with the ball, and if he hit him enough the Rinhus would stop chasing him.

***********************************

– Chapter 19 –

'Hit! Hit! I cannot believe it. I just cannot believe the luck of this boy. Manic Marvin scores from within a hairs-breadth of death. Somehow he found the ball and tapped it against Killer Keno's ankle. Another five points to Marvin and he wins the first set: twenty-five points to nil. Just how long can this boy last against the champ?'

It took a moment for reality to sink in, then Loren leaped to her feet screaming with joy, 'He's alive, he's alive.' Someone wrapped their arms around her and she realised Aurora was embracing her.

To Loren's surprise Aurora burst into tears on her shoulder.

'Don't leave me, Loren?' Aurora sobbed. 'I've never had real friends before, and I am about to lose one. What would I do without you -- you are so strong.' If the surrounding throng had not supported Loren, Aurora's revelation would have floored her.

For the first time Loren realised how much she needed the syndicate -- including Aurora. Prickly and annoying Aurora might be, but also a bundle of energy and enthusiasm. She needed that energy as much as Aurora needed her strength.

Without another word Aurora untangled herself, stepped over to the pool, and started banging rhythmically on the surface. As she banged she chanted, 'Mervyn, Mervyn, Mervyn. Come on Loren, let's get a chant going -- give him time to recover.' What the heck, Loren thought, it's worth a go. She joined in as the chant rippled round the sphere. Soon they had the whole crowed banging and chanting, 'Marvin, Marvin, Marvin.'

'Quiet please...,' the commentator tried to restart the match, but the chant continued to swell and grow.

'Quiet please...' Keno looked shaken by the crowd's enthusiasm as if betrayed by his fans. Mervyn beamed -- pleasure or relief -- and grew stronger with every chant.

'You seen Tarun yet?' Loren asked. Aurora shook her head and continued to lead the chanting.

'Contestants to strike positions,' the commentator shouted. The players returned to the centre of the pool and the chants tailed off. One-third of the way through the game now, but Loren knew the odds still looked bad.

A hush descended as the players once again hung from their strike rings.

'Ready... Strike!' The players dropped together, Mervyn ducked as Keno slashed with his stanza then leaped high. Both ignored the ball.

'He's behind you, Killer,' the commentator chanted. Keno swung round angrily with his stanza, but Mervyn leaped high again. The crowd began to laugh as Mervyn repeatedly sprung high and landed behind his opponent.

'Still behind you, killer.'

'Go on, Mervyn,' Aurora shouted. 'Make a fool of him.' Mervyn treated the crowd to a superb display of acrobatic skills, working hard to keep them on his side. It came at a cost though, and Loren noticed how each leap took longer than the last and drained his energy reserves -- not surprising with smashed ribs. Eventually, Mervyn faltered and Keno lashed out dizzily with his stanza.

'Wow, careful Killer -- you could hurt someone.'

The girls jumped as Keno's stanza crashed down in front of them and left a greasy stain. Keno leaped up and charged dizzily after Mervyn.

Aurora nudged Loren, 'Move up, it's all smeary in front of me.' Loren ignored her and continued staring at the grease.

'What is it?'

'Poison, I'd say. It came off Keno's stanza. Probably slow-acting so it'll look like Mervyn's tiring.'

'Oh quarks, what are we going to do?'

'Pray.'

Keno swung again at his exhausted opponent. Mervyn ducked, picked up the ball and lobbed it almost casually at Keno's shoulder. The Rinhus twirled his stanza expertly and slammed the ball straight back.

'Hit! Killer Keno hits the beauty spot -- straight into his opponent's chest. That puts them on level pegging at twenty-five points each. Who knows, the Killer might be heading for his first ever points victory.'

Loren watched as Mervyn doubled up in pain holding his stomach with one hand and his ribs with the other. Someone muscled through the crowd beside her.

'How's he doing?' Tarun asked.

'First set to Mervyn, but Keno's just equalised,' Loren said without taking her eyes off the pool. 'He's running rings round Keno, but he's hurting -- cracked ribs I think -- and he's tiring. Keno nearly got him a moment ago. Mervyn just needs three more hits to win the game. Oh, and we think the smeary stuff is poison off Keno's stanza.'

'Oh quarks.'

'Don't worry, he'll fight back,' she said wracking her brain for any games where Mervyn had successfully fought back. 'Where you been anyway?'

'I'll tell you later. Look, they're just starting again.' Mervyn reached the strike rings on the second attempt.

'Ready...,' Loren watched Mervyn grit his teeth against the pain of his battered body. 'Strike! Manic Marvin drops. He picks up the ball and runs up the wall. Killer charges after him.' Loren watched Mervyn run straight up the sphere towards her, glance over his shoulder, then casually back-flip over his opponent's head.

'Lovely back flip from Marvin. And it's a hit! Manic Marvin sends the Killer sprawling with a classic shot between the shoulder blades.'

Keno head-butted the pool in front of Loren and saliva splashed across the sphere. She turned away from the sight of Keno's thick purple tongue splayed across her field of vision. His sprawling bulk slid slowly down the side of the pool and smeared the sides even more.

'Yuck, that is disgusting,' Tarun said, 'what an ugly brute.'

'Another twenty points to Manic Marvin. Even the Killer will feel pain from that one. Marvin leads: Forty-five points to twenty-five.'

Aurora thumped the wall of the pool again, 'Great play, Mervyn, keep him running.'

'Two more hits and you're out of there,' Loren yelled.

'Contestants to the strike rings.' Keno struggled to his feet and retrieved his stanza. As he headed for the strike rings he stopped to spit at Mervyn.'

'Uncalled-for,' Tarun said. 'It just sums the guy up, don't you think?'

'Keno's spitting mad now. Ready...,' Keno continued to spit at Mervyn while dangling from the ring. 'Strike! Killer goes for the ball. This is a new tactic for the killer. And it succeeds.' Mervyn's knee buckled as the ball slammed into it. 'Hit, to Killer Keno. Nasty strike to Marvin's knee -- bound to slow him down. Forty-five points to thirty, Marvin still leading.'

***********************************

– Chapter 20 –

Mervyn struggled to his feet and hopped around the court unable to put weight on his shattered knee. The pain served to clear the confusion from his head. Winded, with smashed ribs, and a shattered knee -- there was no way he could survive much longer. All it would take was one more slip and Keno would run him through with the stanza. He wondered what it would feel like or maybe he would be dead before he felt anything -- he hoped so. Mervyn knew he was staring death in the face, but he felt calmer than he expected. If he was going to go, he would do it with dignity and honour, and if Keno thought he had an easy win he was mistaken. I'm a human, Keno, and humans don't die easily. He needed a miracle.

'Strike rings, please.' Mervyn jumped for the strike ring, but his hand closed on thin air and he fell back to the floor. He cried out as his bad knee crumpled all over again.

'Manic Marvin's struggling to reach the ring -- his injuries are really hampering him now.' On the third attempt Mervyn found the ring with one hand. Keno stood shaking his head as if to clear it before jumping to his own ring.

'Ready...'

With an effort Mervyn lifted his other hand to the ring and hung there waiting for the strike. So great was the pain in his chest he was forced to breathe in short sharp gasps. Keno squinted as his opponent.

'Strike!' With a great effort Mervyn heaved himself aloft. Pain lanced through his chest as the cracked ribs rubbed against each other.

'Manic Marvin swings high, but Killer Keno's on his case, if somewhat slowly. Both contestants are tiring now.'

Mervyn tried to stay aloft, but with a shattered knee and at least one broken rib he just did not have the strength to keep pushing off the sides. He came down for another big leap, but he miss-timed it and landed on his bad leg. He gasped as pain shot up his thigh and his knee failed him. He collapsed to the floor in a heap. Keno moved in with his stanza.

Above him, through the top of the swat pool, Mervyn could see the carousel, on the other side of Revlon, spinning merrily. In his mind, as Keno raised the glittering stanza above his head, Mervyn could hear the stupid tinny music as it turned. If he just lay where he was it would all be over.

Distantly, through the noise of the crowd baying for his blood, he thought he heard Loren's voice. 'Move Mervyn. Move -- please.' Probably just his imagination. He hoped the other Misfits would not see his last moments. He felt nothing but loathing for this mob who wanted his death. Anger at the crowed replaced the numbness, and he move, crawling away from the point of the stanza with as much energy as his shattered body could muster.

'Manic Marvin better move quicker or he'll join Rizza the Rat in the next world.' Keno raised his stanza ready to plunge it into Mervyn's heaving chest.

'Marvin's still trying to crawl away -- it's no use that leg just won't support him.' The crowd howled their approval.

'This is it -- the Killer's going for the chop. He savours the moment of victory, and here it comes... Come on, Killer, put him out of his misery...' In disbelief the crowd watched Keno's stanza fall from the champion's grip and clatter to the ground. Keno's knees buckled beneath him, and slowly, like a felled tree, the giant Rinhus keeled over and lay twitching on the floor of the swot pool. The crowd fell silent.

Mervyn had no idea what had happened. He turned at the sound of something heavy falling beside him, and was startled to see Killer Keno, purple tongue flopping out of his mouth, collapsed lifeless beside him. Was this some cruel trick? Something to extend the agony of death? Or was he already dead and his mind, unable to accept the reality of death, was conjuring up a miracle of its own?

A single shriek broke the silence, 'Yes!' In the back of Mervyn's dazed mind he recognised Aurora's voice. As if she had uncorked a bottle, the crowd exploded.

'Keno's poisoned himself. Keno's poisoned himself,' Loren shouted ecstatically. 'Mervyn's won!' Tarun grabbed both girls and hugged them in relief.

Loren wanted to just sit and absorb the facts, but Aurora had other plans, 'Come on, let's go and congratulate him,' she fought herself free of the crowd and led the scramble to get out. Loren followed in her wake still reeling from the climax of the tournament.

'I'll meet you there...,' Tarun shouted heading in the opposite direction. 'I'll explain later.'

Round the side of the pool a nondescript door with an old-fashioned doorknob bore a sign announcing, 'Manager's office -- Contestants apply within'. At the threshold Loren held up a hand to stop Aurora. They could hear raised voices from within.

'Where's the rest?' Mervyn's muffled voice shouted. 'There should be five-hundred here.'

'That's your one per cent of seat takings, less fifty for the damaged suit. No win, no prize money,' a high-pitched voice explained firmly. Aurora crowded against the door to hear better.

'That's not fair,' Mervyn shouted. 'I did win, I beat him on points.'

'Look, it's all 'ere in the contract: no prize money for a draw, and death by natural causes equals a draw.'

The pressure of two people crammed against the door proved too much for the frail lock. Without warning it burst inwards. For a moment the scene froze: Mervyn, battered and bruised, mouth agape at their entrance, a squat rodent in a bowler-hat standing behind a piled desk waving a sheaf of papers, Aurora staggering to catch her balance, the smell of sweat and old socks. The rodent's hand snaking towards the desk caught her eye: danger.

Aurora regained her balance, 'Death by natural causes, was it? More like killed by the poison from his own stanza,' Aurora pointed accusingly at the rodent, presumably the manager, and waded in further. 'Anything on the use of poisons in that useless contract of yours?'

The manager's hand emerged holding a blaster, 'You can't prove it, so beat it.' Loren's heart dropped as Mervyn set his jaw in what she knew meant stubborn determination.

'I'm not leaving here without my winnings,' he said, his face contorted in fury. 'Shoot me if you want, but that will only put you out of business,' he spread his hands to show an imaginary headline. 'Swot winner murdered by swingeing paymaster -- think you can survive that?'

The rodent recoiled form Mervyn's fury and grinned toothily, 'Oh no, I wouldn't touch you Marvin, but your friends here have broken down my door and are trying to rob me.' He pointed the blaster at Aurora's head. For once Loren's brain failed to find a solution: flight meant staying on Revlon tonight, to press on risked an unnecessary death. Her Ethrigan instincts screamed for her to negotiate, but anything less than the full five-hundred would leave them out-of-pocket. What would Mervyn do? Throw himself at the manager probably in the hope he could disarm him. She readied herself to jump.

A scuffle of feet at the door turned everyone's head. Tarun, hands above his head, stood in the doorway, 'It's ok, we're leaving. This isn't worth dying for guys. We're all going to back out slowly and leave you in peace,' he said, 'we don't need your money that badly anyway.' The rodent nodded agreement, and step by step Loren backed out with the others.

Mervyn cleared the door last, 'And the name's Mervyn,' he shouted, then turned, and limped away. Tarun tried to help, but Mervyn shrugged him off.

'We need to get you to an automed, Merv,' Tarun said.

Mervyn shook his head and turned on his friend, he was shaking uncontrollably, 'Tarun, I nearly died in there. If you think I did that for just fifty credits you must be joking.'

'But that's what I'm trying to tell you,' Tarun said. 'We can afford it -- we can do the automed, leave Revlon tonight, and even take our sleds with us -- we've got loads of money.

Loren looked at her friend suspiciously, 'What were you doing while we watched swot, Tarun?'

Tarun beamed, 'I gambled on Mervyn's victory.'

'With what?'

'Our sleds. The odds were pretty good at the beginning.'

Loren watched as Mervyn, wincing with pain, turned on Tarun again, 'You gambled our sleds? What were you thinking? What if I'd failed? Cage would kill you if you'd lost his sleds.'

Tarun shrugged, ' We're all dead if the Naga catches us again, besides, do you seriously think any of us would have survived the scandal of losing a student?'

For once Loren could see the logic in Tarun's argument, 'He's right, Merv, there was nothing to lose, and everything to gain.' Mervyn shook his head as if still confused.

'Right then,' Aurora said taking charge. 'I'll contact Valna and arrange our escape. You two get Marvin to the automed.'

Loren and Tarun grabbed Mervyn's arms as he lunged unsteadily at Aurora. Together, they marched him away from a protesting Aurora.

'I called you Mervyn. Honest. I said Mervyn.'

***********************************

– Chapter 21 –

Mervyn woke groggily -- something had stirred him from a deep sleep. From beyond the curtain he could hear Aurora's deep breathing and Loren's snores. A movement caught his eye, he frowned as he recognised the figure of Tarun silhouetted by the flashing lights of Bar None.

'Valna's not coming for us until the morning, Tarun. Go back to bed.'.

Tarun pointed out the window, 'What do you make of this, Merv?' Mervyn struggles out of bed. Even though the automed had fixed his knee and repaired his ribs he still ached from head to toe. Newly grown muscle always ached.

He stared out into the night. Revlon never slept -- even in the artificial night induce by shuttering off the canals, now inky black lines snaking through the sparsely lit town. Lights blazed in the bars and clubs around the carousel and the swot pool, but in the residential areas few lights showed and Revlon's wrap-around town was largely dark. Mervyn lowered his gaze to the street below. At first he could see nothing except the deserted street and closed up booths. Then he caught a movement in the shadows opposite.

'There,' Tarun said. 'In the shadows by that booth. There's something moving, see. I've been watching it for a while.' As he spoke the silhouette of a tall bipedal mammal flitted from one booth to another. The fog in Mervyn's head evaporated and he focused on the spot. Nothing moved. After a while he wandered if perhaps he had imagined it, but he felt sure he recognised the shape; he just needed one more look.

Just as he thought about returning to bed another figure slipped out of the shadows. This one stood clearly silhouetted in the weak light. It held a brace of small bipedal reptiles on leashes. Mervyn swore under his breath.

'What are those things on leads, Merv?'

Mervyn's stomach churned fit to burst and he mouth felt suddenly dry, 'Raptors,' he croaked. 'Hunt in packs, great for tracking. They've got these knife-like claws on their hind legs which can disembowel you in seconds.'

'Quantum, but what are they doing on Revlon?'

'Hunting,' he said hoarsely. 'See, they're sniffing at that cloth to pick up a trail.'

'What do you think they are hunting?'

'Wake the others,' Mervyn instructed. 'I've got a bad feeling about this.' He licked his lips nervously and jumped as someone rapped on the door.

'Master Bright, open the door,' hissed a voice from the corridor. It sounded like Valna.

Mervyn opened the door a crack on the skittery Polerna. He was alone.

'You must leave, Master Bright \-- right now. The Naga knows you are here. He's searching for you.' So Mervyn's hunch was correct -- Halival Tarak had called the Naga, but the pirate had arrived much quicker than Mervyn expected. The raptors were hunting them -- this was worse that bad.

'What you wake me for?' Loren demanded groggily

Aurora, as usual, woke almost instantly, 'What's up, Mervyn?'

'Grab what you can -- we're out of here.' Luckily they were mostly packed for the morning already. Even Loren, when she saw the look on Mervyn's face, snatched up her stuff without complaint.

As they filed out the door Aurora grabbed Mervyn's arm, 'I don't trust him, Mervyn, he's too shifty.'

Tarun looked back over his shoulder, 'Nah, he's ok -- nervous, and cautious, that's all.' Loren just shrugged.

'We don't have a choice,' Mervyn informed her. 'Valna's our only chance. Come on.'

Valna led them up to the still night air of the roof. All around the pale outlines of flat-topped buildings stretched around and above them: a frontier town packed into a bubble of air. The twinkling lights of the town added an almost magical quality to the night. The air smelt cool and fresh as machines scrubbed and purified the day's used atmosphere.

Silently, they crept around the perimeter of the roof, careful not to cast silhouettes along the skyline. They stopped above an alley separating Bar-None from the adjoining building. Mervyn peered cautiously into the darkness below. Was that movement? Suddenly, someone charged toward him.

For a moment, Mervyn though Valna was going to shove him into the alley. Instead, the Polerna launched himself into the air. Mervyn and Aurora both tried to grab a limb, but he was too quick for them. They watched helplessly as their guide sailed across the alley and landed, sure-footed, on the far building. Aurora's face wore an 'I told you so' expression, but before she could respond Valna beckoned for the others to follow.

'He's joking,' Tarun whispered.

'I don't think so,' Mervyn said, 'follow me.' Tarun breathed a sign of relief as Mervyn headed off down a fire escape leading to the alley below, but after ten steps he doubled back.

Aurora looked confused, 'Where you going?'

'False trail,' he explained, 'everyone back to the roof.'

Tarun looked horrified, 'You want us to jump? Are you mad too?'

'We have to break the trail,' he said pointing to the alley where squat figures prowled the shadows. 'Once those raptors get the scent they'll be on us in no time.'

Aurora eyed up the deep darkness between the two buildings, 'I'll go first.'

Mervyn laid a hand on her arm to restrain her, 'Quietly, they're in the alley below.' She nodded, stepped back a few paces, then sprinted towards the edge. Without any visible change in pace she hurled herself at the opposite building and flew gracefully through the air. She landed lightly with plenty of room to spare. With courage like that she could have been human.

'Watch that brick on the edge,' Loren said, 'it wobbled when Aurora jumped.'

'You're next, Tarun,' Mervyn said, but Tarun shook his head. 'I can't do it -- I'm scared of heights.'

Loren grinned at Tarun's discomfort, 'Heights are ok -- getting squished by the ground is the scary part.' Tarun chima blanched and stood out in stark relief against the night.

'Thanks, Loren, that fills me with confidence.'

Mervyn glared at Loren angrily, she could be a right pain when she was nervous, 'Take no notice, Tarun. Keep your eyes on Aurora, and pretend you're leaping a stream.'

'But it's not just a stream, is it? If I miss I get more than a wet foot.'

Loren punched a fist into her palm, 'Splat. But if you don't jump you're dead anyway. Hmm, hard choice.'

If Loren carried on like this Mervyn doubted if Tarun would ever jump, 'Tell you what, Loren, why don't you show him how it's done?'

'Oh... err... I could do, I suppose.'

'It's just a stream, Loren,' Tarun added.

'Quarks. It's a three-storey drop with raptors at the bottom. Here I go.'

***********************************

– Chapter 22 –

Loren sprinted silently towards the edge and launched herself at the far roof. Lacking Aurora's grace she landed heavily and stumbled. Valna leaped forward to haul her away from the precipice.

'Ok, I'm ready,' Tarun said. He steadied himself, then, with determination etched on his face, sprinted towards the alley. Fear gripped Mervyn's stomach: Tarun's acceleration was too slow. He wanted to shout out, but recalled the raptors below. Opposite, Aurora and Loren waved frantically. Maybe Tarun saw them or maybe he just lost his nerve; either way he tried frantically to break his forward charge. He came to rest on the edge of the roof, but his forward momentum continued. With his arms windmilling backwards he teetered above the alley undecided whether to stay or fall. Mervyn reached him before disaster struck grabbed his collar.

'Thanks, Merv. Bit slow wasn't I.' He tried to look nonchalant, but was clearly shaken. 'I'll just wait here.'

Mervyn dragged him round to face him, 'If you stay, Tarun, you're dead.'

'You go, Merv, I'll find another way; I'll only slow you down anyway.'

'Very noble, Tarun, but I'm not leaving you. Quarks, you're my friend, what sort of person leaves their friend?' Then Mervyn had an idea, 'How about we go together?'

'Ok. It's a stream, ain't, it Merv, with babbling water and singing birds, and we're going to sail right across it, aren't we?'

'That's right. In your own time.' Encouraging Tarun took his own mind off the fatal drop, but he still felt nervous, not that he could show it, otherwise, Tarun would never jump.

'Ready,' Tarun rocked from heal to toe.

'Steady'

Tarun crouched for a sprint start, 'Go!'

Together they sprinted towards the edge of the roof. Tarun reached the precipice first. He leaped without slowing. Pride surged through Mervyn: Yes -- they were doing it.

The crash of a splintering door sounded from the alley below and for a spit second Mervyn took his focus off the leap. Even as he did so he knew he should have ignored the distraction: he had found the wobbly brick.

Mervyn's toe dipped forward and his knee gave way as the brick tipped alarmingly towards the alley below. He pushed off hard to compensate, but was it enough? Opposite, he saw Tarun land heavily and roll; he must have jumped with his eyes closed. At least Tarun was safe.

For a moment Mervyn though he could make it, but the look of horror on his friend's faces said otherwise. He was falling too low to clear the gap. Panic rose in his chest. He clutched wildly for the parapet. Loren reached out towards him, but she was too far away. Horror turned to despair as his fingers closed on nothingness and the wall shot past his head. He tried to cry out, but his voice choked in his throat. He fell silently towards the raptors below.

Bricks flashed past. A searing pain shot through his wrist. A burst of light exploded in his forehead.

Mervyn wondered where he was. Someone had punched him. Intense pain engulfed his wrist -- he must have broken it. Why was he in a maze? A thought tugged at his mind, something important. What had happened? He focused on the pain in his wrist. Slowly the fog in his head cleared and he remembered the leap. Something wet splashed onto his ear. If his wrist was broken what about his legs? He kicked his legs and stubbed toes on both feet. The maze in front of him resolved into a pattern of bricks.

'Keep still,' someone hissed. 'Do you want to kill both of us?'

Mervyn looked up to see Valna grinning down at him. Then he looked at his arm. He could see the Palermo's sharp claws sticking out both sides of his wrist. Fresh blood dribbled from the entry and exit wounds; another drop splashed onto his ear. Loren & Aurora steadied the little Palermo to stop him falling over the parapet.

Tarun suddenly appeared, 'Give us your other hand,' he whispered reaching down as far as he dared.

'Don't look down,' Aurora hissed, but Mervyn looked anyway. The alley below appeared deserted.

'They're in the building looking for our apartment,' Tarun explained. 'Now give me your other hand.'

Cautiously, Mervyn raised his free arm towards Tarun, and felt his friend's firm grip like a lifeline. He breathed a bit easier.

Valna's claws dug ever deeper towards the bone as his friends hauled him slowly upwards. To dull the pain he concentrated on Tarun's hand entwined with his. Finally, Aurora and Loren grabbed his belt and hauled him unceremoniously onto the roof. He landed on his back staring up at the town above him.

He stifled a cry as Valna extracted the claws from Mervyn's wrist. Fresh blood oozed from the puncture wounds and spewed onto the roof leaving dark tell-tale splodges. Tarun produced a T-shirt from his pack and strapped it round Mervyn's wrist to staunch the flow of blood, 'That'll do until we can get you into an automed -- can't have you dripping everywhere.'

'Thanks,' Mervyn mumbled gritting his teeth against the pain. 'You saved my life -- all of you.' Even Aurora's chima blushed pink with embarrassment.

'Then I have repaid the debt I owe your father,' Valna said grinning a toothy grin. Mervyn wandered what the debt might be; if he ever found his father he might ask him.

Loren tried to cover her embarrassment with activity, 'How's your foot, Tarun?' For the first time Mervyn noticed Tarun limping.

'Not bad... sprained I think,' he whispered, 'had my eyes closed -- trying to imagine a stream.' Loren looked accusingly at Mervyn who just shrugged. Weren't they all safely across? Well, across anyway.

' We ought to be long gone before the hunters discover you have flown from your apartment,' Valna said, reminding them of the peril they still faced. 'The raptors won't give up their search until they find you. Very persistent are Raptors.'

***********************************

– Chapter 23 –

'How much do we have left on the one-use debit cards?' Mervyn asked struggling against the pain in his wrist.

Aurora collected the remaining cards together and inserted them in the pay slot one at a time, 'About enough for one arm and one leg, I think,' she said. The automed contained several different sized compartments, including a full-body tank that Mervyn had used after the killer swot. 'Stick your arm in there, Mervyn, I will feed the credits in.'

Mervyn waived his friend forward, 'You go first, Tarun,'

'No. You are more badly injured than me, all I've done is sprained my ankle.'

'I'm not being considerate, Tarun -- I can run, you can't.'

Tarun stood his ground, 'I insist you go fist, Merv.'

'This is no time to be chivalrous, Tarun.'

'Quarks, will one of you just shove something in the hole,' Loren said, her chima blushing a murky green with frustration. Mervyn waved Tarun to the machine again. Reluctantly, Tarun placed his leg in an aperture near the ground while Aurora selected a gender from the four options and clocked in his other essential details: species, age, injury, weight. A minute later when Tarun withdrew his leg the swelling had vanished. He flexed his ankle and tested it with his weight, 'Excellent.'

Mervyn placed his arm gingerly into a waist-high aperture and felt the tingling warmth as the automed repaired the damaged tissue of his wrist.

'Muons,' Aurora muttered, 'no more credits.'

Mervyn withdrew his arm and examined the repair. Crusted scabs still covered the puncture wounds, but at least the pain had eased to a dull ache; the rest would just have to heal naturally.

'No more time either, I think,' Mervyn said watching Valna hurry towards them from his lookout post at the far end of the street.

'Raptors,' Valna squeaked, he scooped up their bags and headed off down an alley, 'follow me!'

'This is captain Belushi,' Valna said. 'He will take you out of there tonight.' Belushi's trading ship was docked against a main airlock. It must have cost a fortune in docking fees -- Belushi had connections. The stout Ethrigian smiled in a friendly fashion and greeted his guests, 'Welcome to my humble tub, The Valiant.' His well-cut clothing suggested quality and general good taste, 'Academy students are always welcome on my ship. Oh that we had more as worthy as yourselves,' he bellowed. 'Come, I will show you to your quarters.' He turn to the Palermo hovering to say his farewells, 'Ok, Valna, you've delivered your payload, now get the hell off my ship.' Belushi turned his back on the rodent and shepherded his passengers towards a lift. Mervyn tried to wave goodbye over his shoulder, but the bulk of the captain stood between them. Soon stacks of containers obscured Valna from view.

Mervyn watched the scruffy crew while waiting for the lift. No sign of hurry here. He thought nervously of the Raptors tracking them, 'When do we get going?'

'Don't you worry about that, laddie, there's no rush. We'll go when we are good and ready, and not before. You can't hurry departures you know.'

'This is more like it,' Aurora whispered, 'a descent sort at last.'

'Too smarmy if you ask me,' Tarun muttered. 'I'd rather trust Valna any day.'

'I don't like his ship,' Loren said. 'It smells, and I'm sure that emergency door isn't secured properly.'

The lift opened and another crew member, as scruffy as Belushi was smart, ran up and whispered in the captain's ear.

He looked quickly at the Misfits; then away again, 'We got a problem kids: clearance denied until we been searched. This way, I got a hiding place already prepared.' With the friends trailing behind he weaved a path through the stacked containers.

'See,' Aurora said, 'he is prepared. What did I tell you?'

Belushi stopped by a ladder propped against a stack of containers. The door of the topmost container stood ajar.

Tarun looked apprehensive, 'Up there?'

'You will be safe in there,' Belushi said, and Mervyn's stomach started to churn again. Aurora nodded and started to climb without hesitation.

'I've got a bad feeling about this,' Mervyn said following her through the darkened opening.

'Nonsense, he is just well organised.'

The door slammed plunging the Misfits into darkness. Mervyn shivered, the container retained some of its chill from deep space, and it smelt rancid -- leftovers from the last cargo? He felt alone in the blackness and reached out for the others, but no one was close, 'Where are you?'

'Shh or they'll discover us,' Tarun whispered from near the door. 'Do you think it's the Naga?'

'Of course it is,' Aurora said from behind him. 'Why else would the good captain hide us?'

A tiny light winked at the far end of the container. Curiously, Mervyn made his way towards it. Loren had made herself a torch: a diode and tiny wires, one running to her belt buckle, the other to a tunic button. 'Different types of metal,' she whispered to his unspoken question. 'Acts like a crude battery... doesn't produce much light though. Anyone seen my bag?' Trust Loren to have a gadget.

'Valna had it last,' Mervyn hissed, 'we'll find it later when the search is over.' They crowded around the tiny diode as though it were a flaming brazier in the night. In the darkness everything sounded much closer than normal: inexplicable bangs and scrapes, raised voices, shouted instructions. Mervyn jumped as chains clanged against the container. A moment later, the floor lurched as the container was lifted for the top of their stack. Loren's light swept from one side to another.

'They're moving the container,' Mervyn hissed stating the obvious.

Tarun groaned from the darkness, 'Oh no, we're caught -- they have us.'

'Just making us harder to find,' Aurora said brightly. 'Nothing to worry about...' But Mervyn could hear the strain in her voice -- he could tell she didn't believe her own words. As abruptly as it had begun the movement stopped.

Mervyn found himself holding his breath, waiting for something to happen. He strained his ears, listening for any tell-tale noise outside. When it came it raised the hairs on the back of his neck: he knew that fizzing sound only too well. No one spoke -- they were all too frightened.

***********************************

– Chapter 24 –

Without warning, Mervyn's head crashed against the roof of the container. He was weightless.

'Flaming muons,' Aurora cried. 'He's chucked us out the airlock.' Mervyn's heart sank. They were betrayed.

'The good captain would prefer the Naga didn't discover us aboard his ship -- such a decent sort,' Loren said mimicking Aurora.

'I didn't hear you complaining before. All you could worry about was whether his ship was clean or not,' Aurora retorted, she sounded shaken.

'That was me worrying -- untidy ship, untidy mind, untidy morals.'

'We should perhaps be thankful the container is sealed against air loss, otherwise we would be in real trouble' Tarun said.

'Real trouble?' Loren yelled. 'We're adrift in space without life support -- what more trouble could we possibly be in?'

'We need to think of some way to make the air last longer,' Mervyn said fending himself away from a wall with his hands. 'It won't last long with us all shouting at one another.'

'Don't worry about the air, Merv,' Loren said shakily from behind her diode, 'the cold will get us long before the air runs out.'

Mervyn thumped the container in frustration and panic, 'There must be something we can do.' The metal felt cold already.

'Mervyn, we are in space, it's a vacuum, no one is going to hear you,' Aurora snapped from the darkness.

'We're going to die, aren't we?' Tarun said.

'Yes. From hypothermia,' Loren said, 'first you feel drowsy, then your memory goes and you become irrational, then you close your eyes and...' her voice trailed off.

The growing chill in the air matched the chill in Mervyn's heart. So this was it: drifting into sleep knowing there would be no dawn. The chill slowly leaching the life out of his bones.

Aurora coughed, 'Erm... I'd just like to say, thanks... for being my friends -- even you Loren. I've never had friends before...It's been good.'

'You're ok, Aurora,' Loren said, her voice cracking, 'I'm just an old Muon.'

'You're not old, Loren.' They all laughed nervously and a lump caught in Mervyn's throat. He felt he should say something momentous, but the words failed him, 'We gave them a run for our money though, didn't we?' It sounded pretty lame.

'I would like to have beaten De Monsero at sledding,' Tarun said.

Mervyn shivered, 'If we ever get out of here it'll be top priority.' More nervous laughter. He felt weary: he wanted to close his eye and sleep.

'No, the main... erm... priority...,' Aurora muttered with difficulty, 'will be to... erm... take down thingy...,' she giggled. 'I mean De Monsero, both... both of them... senior and... erm...less senior,' she giggled again.

Mervyn fought to keep his eyes open aware Aurora was not making sense, 'We should hug one another...keep warm,' he said wondering if he were being irrational 'Everyone head for Loren's torch.'

'What... what's the point, Merv?' Tarun asked. 'We're going to die anyway.'

'Never give up, dad says... never give up.'

'Actually, he... he says, never... never give up hope,' Loren stammered and they lapsed into a heavy silence.

Mervyn jerked awake as something smashed against the container. Instantaneously, gravity reasserts itself and he crash to the floor. They were saved. Never had cracking his skull on the floor brought such relief. He struggled to his feet and felt about for his friends, shaking them until they regained consciousness. Together, they hammered desperately on the sides of the container.

Voices sounded from outside, then light flooded in as the door flew open and fresh air surged in, 'Quarks, the kids are still alive.' Mervyn squinted to make out the shadowy figures flitting beyond the door. A squat silhouette leaped into the doorway, straightened, and stalked forwards. Steely claws clicked against the floor with each step: a raptor.

Mervyn's heart pounded in his chest, and he retreated quickly to the far end of the container. The other Misfits joined him. Such irony: to escape a freezing death only to be ripped apart by a raptor's claws. 'Back, Dino! Back,' a voice called and the raptor jerked to a halted. It was tethered.

Then a giant, and more terrifying silhouette filled the entrance, 'Well, well, well, and what do we have here?' Boomed the Naga of Pershwin. 'Out, or I release the raptor.' Reluctantly, Mervyn led the Misfits from the container, pressing himself flat against the wall to bypass the raptor. A container's width was too close to the carnivore for Mervyn's liking. Saliva dribbled from its razor-sharp canines, and its compassionless reptilian eyes followed his every step. Mervyn concentrated on the open door and tried to avoid its gaze. The raptor sniffed suspiciously at him as he approached then snorted foul breath, like decaying flesh, as he passed. Instinctively, Mervyn knew not to turn his back on the beast.

To Mervyn's surprise their own sleds now stood before him. Quickly, he glanced over his shoulder, as expected, the shattered remains of a control tower hung from the roof. They were back in the Naga's warship.

Gun totting Humans surrounded the Naga, not a single Velcat in sight -- had they been castigated for their incompetence? Maybe the Misfit's value had increased? Or the Naga was just playing safe.

'You should be more careful who you trust,' the Naga roared with laughter, then turned to the humans, 'Hibernate them!'

Eager hands pinned Mervyn's arms behind him and someone produced a mask. He tried in vain to turn his face away as a mask was forced over his mouth and nose. The stink of hydrogen sulphide filled his lungs and he tried to hold his breath. Eventually, he had to breath and when he did his lungs willed with the vile gas. He was suffocating.

Desperately Mervyn fought to free himself, but there were too many of them. They held him fast. Through a blur he could see Aurora struggling against her captors. Her eyes bulged with terror. Did he look like that too?. More stinking sulphide swamped his lungs. A chill deeper and more primordial than the cold of space settled on his heart, then darkness descended like a curtain.

******************************

Thank you for reading Helium3.1, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The adventure continues in the next book, Helium3.2, which can be purchased from <http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/31835> for $0.99.

Nick Travers

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About the Author

Nick Travers wanted to be that mystical figure, an author, from almost the very first book he read. As a child his mind constantly buzzed with characters and adventures, fed by an insatiable appetite for stories. Unfortunately, a childhood tramping the wilds of Dartmoor, the joys of playing jazz trombone, and generally having a blast, left little time for serious writing as he grew up.

Later, an education in science and the demands of holding down a career again pushed writing to one side. Then he hit forty, and realised his imagination had never grown up. Finally, with a second-hand laptop (off e-bay), a fascination with astronomy, and a character named Mervyn Bright lodged firmly in his mind, Nick embarked on the most thrilling adventure of his life: writing a novel – this one.

Mervyn Bright and his friends will return in other adventures soon. I hope you enjoyed Mervyn's adventure as much as I did.

Nick

www.NickTravers.com

