always gotten out. Why should this time be any different?â
âBecause this time weâre trapped in a cage billions of miles from Earth?â
Watch yawned and leaned back on his bed. âNow youâre depressing me.â
There was nothing else to say, for the time being.
They both lay down and rested. They may have even dozed.
Time went by. They werenât sure how much.
Without warning they heard a soft knock at the door.
âHey. Are you in there?â
11
A s Sally predicted, there were four guards waiting for them when they docked. Sally had Ek invite them in so she and Cindy could stun them. They stored the guards belowdecks with the others. To Sally and Cindyâs immense relief, no other guards rushed to the scene. Perhaps Ek was partially rightâhis people were not experts when it came to security. Sally, Cindy, and Ek had time to work.
Unfortunately, Ek was making little progress with his plan. They had been in space dock an hour and he still hadnât been able to locate Adam andWatch. He was searching through some kind of computer map that was projected on a three-dimensional computer screen located to the left of the saucer control panel. He said it was supposed to register all living creatures on the station.
âI do not understand why they do not show up.â
âItâs the way I told you,â Sally said as she paced behind Ek. âThere must be restricted areas aboard this station. You have to forget about trying to find them. Just broadcast on your telepathic network what has happened. Maybe one of the thousands of fatheadsâI mean, maybe one of your many network partnersâwill have an idea where they are.â
âI donât know if thatâs a good idea,â Cindy said. âThe moment Ek makes such a broadcast, more guards will show up.â
Sally was agitated. âI know that. Iâm not stupid. But theyâre going to come here anyway. At least we will have got our message out. Once they arrest us, thereâll be no chance. Weâll probably be put to immediate death.â
âOur culture does not have the death penalty.â
âYou donât know what your culture does behindclosed doors,â Sally snapped. Then she paused, thinking. âHow can we protect ourselves inside this ship? When they do come for us?â
âWe can lock the door. But they will burn through it quickly, if they want to.â
âCan you fire the shipâs weapons while weâre in space dock?â Sally asked.
âThat would not be a good idea. Many could be hurt.â
Sally rolled her eyes. âLike Iâm worried about a few casualties. Listen, Ek, I am not a violent person by nature but you guys started this, and I intend to finish it. When your authorities show up, we need something to fight them with until we can get Adam and Watch back. Better yet, we need something to force them to give us back our friends. Even if we just use it as a bluff.â
âWhat is a bluff?â
âItâs what you do when you want to win at poker,â Sally said. She pointed to the floor beneath them. âThis ship accelerated to near light speed in two hours. It must have a powerful engine or warp drive. Whatâs its source of energy?â
âOur space drive is powered by the decay of an element called Zelithium 110. It cannot be found on your periodic table of elements because it does not exist naturally, except in the corona of extremely hot blue stars. As the element decays in a chamber of Hyperzoid Quartz, it radiates subatomic particles we call Bostonians. They are very powerful but unstable, unless carefully controlled.â
Sally glanced at Cindy. âI got less than half that,â Cindy said.
âYou say the Bostonians are unstable?â Sally said. âI like things that way. Instability brings out my finer points. Tell me, Ek, can this stuff be used to make a bomb?â
Ek looked
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