Cormac looked back up at Carn, who was hanging belted in his seat, clutching his broken arm. Thorn hung next to him, unconscious, blood dripping from his mouth. Aiden was the first to move. He unclipped his harness, dropped down to the screen, then shoved his hands into the distorted metal to one side of it. Somehow he got the required leverage, and kicked down with legs like hydraulic rams. Cormac was not quite sure he believed what he was seeing. The screen moved forwards with a crash. Two more kicks and it hinged away, on the distorted metal to one side of it, like a domed lid. Aiden immediately hauled himself up and over the flight console, and then across his seat to reach Carn. As Cormac freed himself, he winced at the feel of broken ribs moving in his chest. Very carefully, he lowered himself down from the shuttle. There he took hold of Carn, whom Aiden lowered to him with a single grip on the collar of his coldsuit. Thorn came next. Soon all four of them were safely on the shuttle-bay floor. Using the shuttle medical kit, Aiden splinted Carn’s arm and injected painkillers. Thorn came to and vomited. Cormac just sat and clutched his own head.

‘Emergency personnel to sector three, with fire retardants. Automatic systems out. All hull breaches temporarily sealed. All drop-shafts inoperative. Sector one closed to all personnel until coolant leaks traced and repaired . . .’

The list went on and on, yet there was no word of what had happened to Dragon.

‘Hubris, what’s going on? What’s Dragon doing?’

The list continued to be recited by subsystem while Hubris spoke to them in the shuttle bay.

‘Dragon has taken hold of this ship with its pseudopodia. It is dragging us back to Samarkand. I have had to close down engines because of coolant leaks. All attempts to remove the pseudopodia have failed. I do not wish to resort to energy weapons at this range.’

There was a thump, and the entire ship shuddered. The shuttle groaned, then slid to the bay floor with a crash.

‘What the hell?’ pleaded Carn.

Hubris said, ‘Dragon is attempting to gain entrance to the shuttle bay. I suggest you abandon this section and head for the communal area.’

As one, they turned to stare at the shuttle-bay doors. They were creaking, flexing.

‘I have temporarily engaged drop-shaft one,’ said Hubris.

They headed there as the armoured shielding slid away from the shaft. Carn went first, and was wafted up to the communal area. Thorn went next. Cormac turned and watched as the bay doors were slowly wrenched to one side. The shimmer-shield was out, but there was no danger from vacuum at that moment. Beyond the door was a wall of scaled flesh. And all down the edge of the door appeared pseudopods like blue-tipped fingers.

‘Is it after me?’ Cormac asked.

‘We go,’ said Aiden.

They stepped into the drop-shaft.

* * *