She tackles him and they crash to the floor. She locks him, and he immediately realises that she’s a combat model. She is precise and deadly, her elbow cutting off his air supply and the fulcrum effect pressing on his carotid arteries. He has a few seconds at most before his brain uses up the dregs of oxygen left in it. He stops struggling and goes limp. There is no point trying to counter since he will never be as strong or skilled as her. She probably does not have pain receptors. Fin is desperately trying to reach… ah. He activates the device and the disruptor deactivates the Artificial without fanfare. She simply stops moving and is frozen. It’s difficult to extricate himself, but, sweating, muscles lit up with pain, he stands. She remains in a strange, all-fours cradling position. He kicks her in the gut. She would have killed him. His gun is on the floor. He picks it up and kicks open the door. His body is going crazy now with warnings causing him to shiver. He takes off the night vision, which is cracked anyway. The room’s a temple or something. In the very centre, a Lamber bobs in mid-air. A smaller one than Fin has ever seen, barely five feet along the vertical axis, tentacles reaching in every direction, lovingly coiled around humans who just stand there, eyes closed, arms in various directions as if they are floating in water, flapping or just still.

The room smells of farts and unwashed bodies and urine.

A tentacle buds from the Lamber and protrudes obscenely towards Fin, but he is unbothered. He draws his alien weapon. The tentacle touches him and recoils, something Fin has seen before. He wonders if he is in some way toxic to them.

“My name is Rasheed Fin. I’m an officer authorised to send you home. Release the humans.”

Usually, Lambers are docile and do as they are told. Usually. Fin is shocked that this one stays in its position. A wave of undulation flicks from its tail to the head, but otherwise nothing happens. Fin arms the weapon, as a threat, though that niggling curiosity remains: what exactly do these weapons do?

Without warning, the Lamber flings one of the intoxicated humans at Fin. He has to drop to the ground to avoid collision. Before he can understand what’s happening, another human is flying through the air towards him. And another. Fin is now in an obstacle course. There are free tentacles whipping around the room. The thrown humans are moaning in pain, but two of them attack Fin, knock him to the ground. His armour absorbs some of the impact, but the weapon goes off.

He knows what has happened from the sudden limpness of the tentacles.

The Lamber is dead.