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Chapters (42)
  1. Cover Blurb
  2. Contents
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty

Charles threw caution to the winds and ran forward.  There was a heap of alien bodies, twitching unpleasantly, lying at the far end of the compartment.  Several of them were already dead – even when sleeping, according to the doctors, they moved constantly – and others were definitely dying.  Their skins, normally bright vivid colours, were shading down towards the murky grey he remembered from the first body.  But what did it mean?

“They thought they were going to be captured,” the Sergeant speculated.  “Instead, they chose to die”

Charles nodded, then listened as reports started to come in from the rest of the ship.  Some aliens had been captured, but others had killed themselves, either through poison or simply shooting themselves in the head.  Were they that fearful, Charles asked himself, of being taken prisoner?  For all he knew, the aliens had a long tradition of murdering prisoners ... although the treatment of their human captives seemed to suggest otherwise.  But they’d also drugged the humans mercilessly ...

He shook his head.  That too was something that might be answered when human analysts went prowling through the alien ship, trying to recover computer files.  There was a great deal of information in any standard teaching program on humanity, from biology to psychology.  The aliens had probably cracked the systems they’d taken from Vera Cruz by now, if they hadn't recovered any from the Heinlein.  But then, the aliens wouldn't really have had to work hard.  Civilian teaching machines weren't designed to make it hard to learn.

“We need to find a way of talking to them,” he said, as the prisoners were hauled back towards where the shuttles were docked.  It would take some ingenuity to link up the shuttle’s airlock to the alien ship, but they didn't have any spacesuits suitable for the alien captives.  “Some way to tell them that they won't be killed on sight.”

He fought down the urge to rub his forehead.  There was no way to touch his skin through the suit.  “And contact Ark Royal,” he added.  “Tell them ... tell them that the ship is ours.”

And hope that the engineering crew can make use of it, he added, silently.  Because alien reinforcements are already on their way.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

It had taken a considerable amount of polite arguing before Ted had been able to convince Commander Fitzwilliam that he should be allowed to board the alien craft.  Captains were not supposed to risk themselves, Fitzwilliam had pointed out, reminding Ted that most television or datanet programs were grossly unrealistic.  Ted had countered by reminding his XO that the alien ship had been rendered safe and he was damned if he wasn't going to take a look at it, just once.  He certainly had never expected to be able to visit an alien ship before the war started – or even after it, for that matter.