‘Trying to persuade him to put it to his forehead?!’ Greeneye shook his head in frustration. ‘Crukking cruk.’

‘Exactly. We don’t want a little Time Lord on our hands. That would be going back to square one. Therefore, I don’t want the boy to feel that he’s in danger. Smith will get the Pod from him and bring it to us. Simple.’

‘He was quite prepared to, you know.’ Joan spoke up. ‘Until you captured me. Now I hope that you don’t get what you want.’

‘Very noble. Any idea what you’re being noble about? What this object we’re after is?’ August plucked a hair from her head and chewed on it thoughtfully.

‘I’ve experienced it. It felt rather terrible and rather wonderful at the same time, like a bottle with a demon in it. It’s very powerful.’

‘Indeed it is. With it, we could multiply endlessly, conquer half the galaxy, start venturing through time, turn almost everything in the cosmos to our advantage.’

‘Why? Aren’t you happy with what you’ve got?’

‘No,’ Greeneye sighed. ‘As I’ve often said, our whole motive in life is to find something to do. And once you’ve done that, you have to find something better to do next.’

Joan managed to smile at him. ‘I felt like that after Arthur died. But then I found myself involved in teaching. And then I fell in love again. Love really does make you feel satisfied. Have you never known that emotion?’

‘I suppose… I keep trying.’ Greeneye looked at her seriously. ‘Though the others laugh at me for it. I reach out to people, want to touch them, get involved in their reproductive processes. But they always see that as something negative.’

‘If you mean what I think you do,’ said Joan, ‘then I am not surprised. Is that your only definition of love?’

Greeneye shrugged. ‘We love each other, us six, us five. Now. That ought to be enough, oughtn’t it?’

‘If it is, why do you want to multiply so much?’

Greeneye thought for a moment, then shook his head slowly, pulling a sword from his harness. ‘If you say anything else to me, anything at all, I’ll cut your head off.’

Joan pursed her lips and smiled sadly again, looking almost sorry for the alien.

‘We are unused to such discussions,’ Serif hissed. ‘If Aphasia still lived, then I might.’

‘Look!’ Greeneye shouted.

Outside the dome, between two trees, stood Bernice Summerfield, a pistol in her hand. The gun was pointed at the dome, but her eyes had just fixed on Greeneye staring at her and her mouth had formed a single dismayed syllable.

She turned and ran.

Greeneye grabbed the nearest member of his family, which happened to be Serif, by the sleeve. ‘It’s her!’ he yelled. ‘The one who got away! Come on!’

And he pulled Serif out of the door with him.