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made a note not to turn his head towards it. He wondered had Stanley already found it and the pulse gun that lay inside? How long had he been in here before they had arrived? He glanced at India who was giving him a look that clearly indicated she was thinking the same thing.
    Earth One
    Office of the Chancellor
    “Florence, I am leaving you in charge in my absence,” said Arturo. He almost laughed out loud at the mere thought of it, but what could the woman really do? Besides, he had left a standing order for her to be observed very closely by the Colonial Guard. If she even dressed incorrectly, she was to be eliminated and the colony to be put on lockdown until his return.
    “I am honoured, Chancellor,” she replied looking at the ground.
    “Of that I have absolutely no doubt,” he said while typing encryption algorithms into his computer console.
    “You are under instructions not to discuss my whereabouts with anyone in the colony, is that understood?” he said pausing for a moment and looking coldly into her eyes. He knew she understood the consequences of disobedience. The scars on her body should have had the desired effect at this stage.
    “Of course, Chancellor,” she replied, “May I ask how long you intend to be gone for?”
    “It should not take longer than a couple of weeks,” he said, “I will be contacting you twice a day at the designated time slots. If for any reason you are not available to take those communications, you will be… replaced.”
    “I understand completely, Chancellor. I will obey your instructions to the letter. Are there any specific tasks you would like me to take care of in your absence?” she asked.
    The sound of defeat in her voice comforted him. He had broken the poor woman years ago and had to admit he had done a superb job doing it. He remembered the attractive assistant she had once been, in days gone past. She had looked at him with glassy wondrous eyes and had once had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. Not so now. He felt like he was being haunted by this withered up old woman who tended to his needs. Definitely time for a replacement when he returned. Although her administrative abilities had their uses, a man of his position had certain needs that she just couldn’t fulfil anymore.
    “I am leaving the tribal database open to you while I am gone should Vishal require any volunteers for the power plant. I am giving you discretion on this matter, just leave medical and engineering personnel out of the selections for obvious reasons,” he said.
    “Yes, Chancellor,” she said, “Will that be all?”
    “Yes, Florence, you may leave me and attend to your daily duties,” he said.
    She bowed slightly before turning and moved gently out of his office. His comm system bleeped. He waited for a moment while Florence left before answering.
    “Yes, General Escat,” he said.
    “We are ready for you now, sir. The Unity is moving off and preparing for its sub light jump. We should get moving,” he said.
    “Did you install the tracking beacon successfully?” Arturo asked.
    Yes,” Escat said.
    “Very good, General, I am on my way. Arturo out,” he said closing the communications channel. He looked out of his window at Aron Elstone’s ship which was currently drifting away from the docking ring.

6
    The Agathon
    B arrington and Tyrell entered the engine room to scenes of chaos. There was cabling all over the place and most of the engineering staff were buried in broken consoles. Sparks from laser welders lit up the walls of the room. In the centre lay the Faster than Light drive, The Betty. Its spinning blue orb sat like a beacon of light at the heart of a network of large conduit cabling and metallic rods. They approached it and stood looking up at it.
    “Captain,” shouted a voice from behind one of the bulkheads. Daniel Tosh emerged. His shoulder had a regeneration clip attached to it. He manoeuvred his wheelchair around some broken metal that was lying