Jenna relaxed in her chair and wearily rubbed the back of her neck. "We're clear of Horizon now."
"Good." Blake said. "Perhaps now we can clean ourselves up and get some rest."
"I'll just skip to the 'rest' part, thanks." Vila was slumped on the couch beside Blake, exhausted. He'd barely had the energy to get a tunic from his cabin, and 'barely'—at least to the waist—was the concept that had driven him there. "I can hardly move."
"What a pity," Avon said, shutting down the force-field. "It would be so much tidier and more aesthetically pleasing if you collapsed elsewhere."
Vila's stomach was beginning to hurt again. "I'll have you know I've been tortured, forced to work in a mine, and irradiated."
"Just like most of us, Vila." Cally said severely. "And the decontaminant drugs I gave you should work soon."
"A pity he won't," Avon said.
Vila glared at him. "And you higher grades think you know what work is? A few hours a day in a nice clean office? I've seen people die of it which is why I decided long ago I wouldn't."
"Then you're lucky I rescued you, aren't you? Not that it was intentional; you just happened to be part of the package."
"I'm bloody lucky you didn't shoot me! Not that they'd call it friendly fire in your case."
"Oh shut up, you two!" Gan snapped, getting up from his position. "Or I'll do what I used to do to my little brothers and bang your heads together."
Avon turned on him. "Ah, mystery solved. The prevalence of this form of punishment in your family doubtless explains your intellect."
"There are times," Cally said, putting her head in her hands, "when the thought of being alone and silent has its attractions."
Jenna sighed. "We really need a rest, Blake."
"Yes, I know."
"The question is," Avon said. "will you do something about it?"
"Give me some credit, Avon. We were on our way to a safe planet when we encountered that freighter."
"Are you going to enlighten us or keep it a surprise like everything else?"
"Gardenos?" Vila brightened up slightly. "Del 10?"
Blake shook his head. "We're too well-known to go to resort planets, Vila."
"No, that's where you're wrong! What with all those tourists coming and going, it's the perfect place to blend into a crowd."
"He could be right," said Avon, much as he hated to admit it.
Blake considered this. "All right, perhaps next time. However I'd prefer to avoid planets with dubious loyalties, and the place I've chosen has no love for the Federation."
Avon narrowed his eyes. "Its affection for rebels seems conspicuous by its absence in that statement."
"On the contrary. They have every reason to be very grateful to us."
Vila grinned. "Lindor! A heroes' welcome! Restaurants, bars, zoos..."
Avon looked at the star chart on his monitor and sighed. "Wrong sector, Vila."
"Oh." Vila's face fell. "You mean that mouldy hole, Destiny, don't you?"
"It's recovered very well in the last year," Blake said briskly. "I hear the new crops are thriving."
"I can hardly wait."
Jenna grinned. "Take heart, Vila. That's where we got all our games from."
"Yes." Avon stood up. "We can acquire an even greater selection for me to beat you at."
"You don't always."
"True. You've occasionally been known to think."
Vila let that one go. As Avon insults went, it was almost a compliment.
***
They materialised in a large room filled with slightly faded furniture and bright sunlight which poured in from large transparent rectangles in two of the walls. Dr Kendall saw the surprised looks a couple of them gave the windows and smiled.
"Welcome back to Destiny. It might not be what Earth dome-dwellers are used to, but I hope you'll be comfortable here. I've rented this house for two weeks, and it's completely at your disposal. If you need anything at all, my home isn't far away. Here are my contact details." He handed Blake a card.
"This is very kind of you, Dr Kendall."
"It's little enough after everything you did for us. Right. I'll leave you all to settle in and get some rest." Kendall paused in the doorway. "You may need it by the weekend. I've invited the others out."
"Oh, good, I'd like to see old Pasco again," Vila said cheerfully. "I hope Levett's bringing her kids too."
"I believe she is. She said they were excited at the prospect."
Blake laughed, remembering Vila teaching them juggling tricks last time. "Stick to magic tricks, Vila. We don't want a juvenile crime wave after we've left."
Vila looked offended. "Wouldn't be able to teach them much in that short a time anyway."
Kendall nodded to them all. "You should have everything you need here. Do make yourselves at home."
Jenna smiled warmly at him. "Thank you very much, Dr Kendall."
"Right," Blake said when the door had closed behind him. "Relax and enjoy yourselves, but remember that we are Dr Kendall's guests." He gave Vila a hard look, then Avon.
Vila was offended. "I have my standards too, you know."
"Yes," Avon said, annoyed at being included. "It's just that we haven't been able to ascertain them."
"This might be a rest," said Blake, "but I want two of us on the Liberator at all times."
Vila saw him exchange a speculative look with Avon and wondered briefly why.
"Jenna and I will take first watch. We'll see you tomorrow. Ready for teleport, Orac."
"Right," said Vila as they disappeared. "First things first." He opened the cupboard behind one of the overstuffed couches and withdrew a bottle of wine. "Well, hello there. My name's Vila Restal and I'm delighted to meet you." He uncorked it. "Don't mind if we repair to the bedroom straight away, do you? I thought not."
Gan laughed. "I'm going to take a look around outside."
"I think I will too," Cally said.
Avon sat down and looked at the pile of games on the coffee table. They would be a pleasant diversion, but in the meantime there was a far more interesting puzzle to solve.
***
"Ovidian? I thought you might like to know. Blake's people have arrived. ... We'll all be out there this weekend. ... Yes. I thought so too. In fact, I have a better idea."
***
Jenna looked curiously at Blake as they walked to the flight deck. "You're giving them a chance to leave, aren't you?"
"I never gave them much choice before. I think I owe them that after almost getting them killed back on Horizon. And this is—" Blake gave her an ironic smile "—a safe bolthole."
Jenna slid into her seat and leaned on her console. "Are you so sure I won't leave too?"
Blake met her eyes for a long moment. "You're unlikely to here. But you're free to if you want to."
Jenna said nothing.
***
"Bloody hell," Vila said resentfully. "Can't a fellow get a bit of sleep around here?" He rubbed his eyes and not just because he'd just woken up. "What are you doing?"
"Chopping wood." Gan put his axe down and stretched. He had removed his tunic some time ago and his muscles gleamed in the sun.
"Well, I can see that. But why would anyone want to? And anyway, I thought we were supposed to be resting."
"Exercise is very relaxing." Gan laughed at the expression on Vila's face. " I thought I'd top up the woodpile."
Vila looked even more puzzled. "Why would anyone want a pile of wood?"
"It probably gets quite cold at night here. And you want to be warm, don't you?"
"They burn it, Vila." Cally said, amused, from her garden seat.
Vila's mouth dropped open. "Burn wood?"
"That's right." Gan wiped his brow. "It's not a luxury item like on Earth, you know. There's plenty of it here."
"And it's not much use for anything else, that native stuff."
They turned to look at the new speaker, a woman who was leaning on the fence watching with interest. She was large and powerful-looking, a picture of strength and health with her tan and short blonde hair. Vila was impressed. He thought she'd stand a good chance of taking Gan in a fair fight, although from the looks she was giving him, she had something else in mind.
"Why is that?" Cally asked.
"It's all dying now we've got Sol-type frequencies. Might as well burn it."
"Do you mean that the neutrotope has destroyed the native ecology?"
The woman grinned. "Out with the old, in with the new."
Cally stood up, eyes flashing. "That is unconscionable."
Vila looked from her to the newcomer. "Why? Weren't sentient, were they?"
"That is hardly the point, Vila. We have assisted these people to kill all the native plants—perhaps all original life—on this planet so that they can grow Terran crops."
The woman frowned. "And what's wrong with that? We couldn't eat what was here before."
"You could have found a more suitable planet."
"There aren't many fertile ones; you should know that. Piles of rock, most of them."
"Hmph." Cally turned and stalked inside.
Vila wondered whether to follow her and risk being snapped at or stay out here. He looked at the woman smiling at Gan and decided to go and annoy Avon.
"You're the offworlders old Kendall has staying here, aren't you?"
"That's right," Gan said.
"You're not from Earth like that other one though."
"No, Zephron."
"I've heard of that. Granary of the third sector, isn't it?"
"That's right."
She grinned, a flash of white against the tan. "I'm Dovitz."
"Gan. Olag Gan."
"You look hot. My farm's just over the hill. I could fetch you a cold drink."
Gan smiled. "I wouldn't say no."
***
"Now this is what I call food." Vila had slept well overnight—once he'd closed the curtains on the glass bit in the wall and pretended there was comforting solidity behind them—and he was feeling rested, hungry, and happier than he'd been for a long time.
Avon looked at Vila's plate. "Yes, all good country fare. Mammary gland secretions designed to feed young cattle and rotted with the help of bacteria. Not to mention the unfertilised ova you consumed earlier."
Vila regarded his grilled cheese on toast, then shrugged. "Nothing died for it though," he said, and took a large and appreciative bite.
"True." Avon hid a smile and helped himself to more bacon. "Ahhh, yes. Slices from the belly of a mud-wallowing—"
"All right, that's enough." Vila took his toast and cup of tea, and retreated to the window. He looked out at the hills and the sea glistening beyond. "Nice place, this, isn't it?"
Cally finished her apple and selected some more fruit from the bowl in the centre of the table. "It is a pity we couldn't have seen it in its original state. I'm going for a walk."
Gan piled his plate high for a third course. "Dovitz is showing me round her farm today."
Vila grinned. "That what they call it here?"
"When that's what they mean, yes." Gan said mildly.
Good old Gan. He'd always be faithful to the love of his life. Vila turned his attention to Avon. "Why'd you and Blake look like that before? What's going on?"
"I have no idea what you mean." Avon lowered his left eyelid in a slow and deliberate wink which almost caused Vila to choke on the last of his tea. "Perhaps I'll go for a walk too." Avon stood up. "Want to join me?"
Vila was about to say no, then realised what Avon meant. "All right then. Might as well stretch my legs."
"You think the house is bugged?" Vila panted along behind Avon.
"Probably not, but it's best to be safe."
"Why would they ... oh. Then you think ... Here, why'd you have to climb a hill anyway? You think someone else was in on the neutrotope heist?"
"I do. And wouldn't you prefer to go down the hill on the way back?"
"There is that." Vila caught Avon up. "So why?"
"Nothing about it puzzled you?"
"Wouldn't know, would I?" The path was less steep now and Vila was beginning to get his breath back. "I never got the whole story. I like stories," he added resentfully.
"Well, then." Avon looked sideways at Vila. He had a good mind if he chose to use it. "I shall indulge you just this once."
***
Cally removed her tunic and trousers and closed her eyes in pleasure at the feel of sun on her bare arms. If she did not look at the spiky gold and blue plants growing under the silvery trees above the sand-line—and it did not pay to look too closely, as they were dying—she could almost pretend she was on Auron. She wriggled her bare toes in the sand, luxuriating in the feel. It had been years since she had been on a beach.
She ran lightly into the water, then dived into the cool turquoise world of dappled shadows. She broke the surface into brightness, shook shining drops from her hair, and swam strongly out to deeper water.
It was quiet out here, the only sound the gentle lapping of water. She turned on her back and floated, limbs spread, feeling the tension of the last few months draining slowly away.
***
"So," said Vila at last, "let me get this straight. That Sara put them all to sleep, bumped Dortmunn off, decided dragging him to the life-rockets was too much like hard work, and stuffed him in the storage room so he could fall on Cally."
"Correct."
"Wonder why. I mean, why Dortmunn?"
"He was the engineer. It had to be someone was capable of setting the circular flight path and who knew what to damage and what not to. So it was him or Sara's co-pilot, Rafford." Avon shrugged. "Perhaps she liked Rafford better."
"Didn't do him much good, did it? Why'd he have the ventilation closed anyway?"
Avon shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he smoked. It's banned on spaceships, so he'd hardly want anyone to know."
They had reached the top of the hill; Vila looked around appreciatively. "Nice view." He could see fields in different shades of green and gold, grazing or sleeping animals, their house, and a handful of others. The closest was probably Dovitz's; he wondered which one was Kendall's. In the other direction was the sea. "Very nice view," he said, looking down at Cally emerging from the water below. "Bit dangerous though, swimming there."
"I wouldn't think so. None of the introduced life would do her any harm, and if there's any native fish left, they wouldn't regard her as edible." Avon sat down on a large rock, ignoring Vila's wince. "Yes, it's quite a pleasant outlook."
"Mm." Vila looked at the twisted silvery-grey trees, bare of all leaves even though it was early summer. Cally was right; it was a pity. He lay down in the grass and squinted up at the clouds through the tracery of branches.
Avon watched him, feeling a little disappointed when Vila closed his eyes. After a few minutes however, Vila spoke.
"Big woman, was she? Like that Dovitz?"
Avon smiled. "On the contrary."
"Ah." Vila opened his eyes and twisted his head a little to look at him. "You think someone helped her put Dortmunn on top of those cupboards."
"Obviously."
"You got any ideas?"
"Considerably more than you, but not in this case."
"I'll go for Sonheim then. I don't like him."
"Neither do I. That, unfortunately, is not sufficient reason to accuse him. Besides, he was with Pasco."
"Grovane? He said he was repairing the communications but perhaps he smashed them first. He was alone."
"As were Levett and Kendall."
"Not Levett!" Vila said, upset. "She's got kids."
"Yes, and she may well have wanted to provide them with a financially secure future."
"We're back where we started then." Vila looked frustrated. "And whoever it was, why didn't Sara shop them too once she was caught? Come to think of it, why did she choose to stay? I can't see the people she was dealing with being thrilled to get her without the goods."
"No. Real life puzzles aren't as easy, are they?" Avon stood up. "All right, let's get back."
"Why not? I've worked up an appetite." Vila had a niggling feeling that he'd forgotten something, something Avon hadn't even mentioned, but the thought escaped him.
***
"So you see, there's a lot more work now the crops are growing so well." Dovitz smiled invitingly at Gan. "Able-bodied immigrants are welcomed with open arms."
"I suppose they are." Gan buttered himself another slice of dark rye bread. It was pleasant here, but if he'd wanted to settle for this life, he'd have stayed on Zephron.
Dovitz poured him another cider and took the opportunity to move closer. "A man like you belongs in the fields, working with the land." She lowered her voice. "Close to nature."
"It's how I was raised." Gan chewed imperturbably. People often thought he was slow and he found it useful at times to play up.
Dovitz pushed the jam closer to him, which enabled her to manoeuvre her upper arm against his.
"I suppose I should be getting back," Gan said. "Don't want to eat you out of house and home, do I?" He stood up. "Thank you, Dovitz. I've enjoyed our conversation."
"You're bonded with one of them." Dovitz said flatly.
"No."
"Someone waiting for you back at home then."
"Not at home." Gan said, very softly. "But yes, she's waiting for me."
Dovitz watched him go. "Damn," she said.
***
Going downhill, Vila took more notice of the scenery. He liked the spiky alien plants best, but when he touched them, they were brittle and dry, dead for months by the looks of them. All the same, he picked a few fiery orange and pink papery flowers.
"You're wasting your time, Vila. Cally won't like those."
"Jenna might. Oh." Vila blinked at the biggest creature he'd ever seen, standing in front of him, blocking the path. "Hello there." The beast regarded him curiously with large thickly-lashed brown eyes. Vila decided it was friendly and patted its nose. "Nice day, isn't it?"
"I ... don't think I'd have done that," said Avon.
The animal put its head down and blew air out of its nostrils. Vila yelped and leaped out of the way just as it charged.
"Run, you fool!" Avon said, putting his words into practice. The creature gave chase, catching him easily. It put its horns under his behind and lifted him into the air without breaking stride. "This," said Avon, striving for calmness in the face of adversity, "is getting serious."
"Leave him alone!" Vila shouted, running after them, waving his arms and inadvertently letting his flowers go.
The animal saw the fluttering bits of brightness out of the corner of an eye and halted abruptly. Avon kept going for a short distance, his trajectory ending in a large bush.
"Oh, now look! I 'm harmless!" Vila protested as the huge head swung round towards him. The horns went down, and on impulse, Vila grabbed them to keep them where they were.
Avon got to his feet and stared in horror. What the hell was Vila doing?
"Avon!" Vila said urgently, losing ground.
Avon took hold of the horn closest to him, and immediately regretted it. "When I told you to run, I didn't mean towards it, idiot." He wasn't sure whom he felt more annoyed with—Vila for trying to save him, or himself for reciprocating. "And haven't you ever heard the expression 'taking the bull by the horns'?"
"That's what this is, is it? And I thought that was a dilemma you were on before."
"I hope you have something in mind."
"Um ... pray?"
The bull closed its eyes as if to join in.
"Quick, while it isn't looking!"
"In opposite directions this time," Avon said, letting go.
Vila ignored this—they were not far from the house and he believed in taking the shortest route to safety—and pounded down the path straight towards the closest fence and hurdled it. He had a surprising turn of speed, Avon thought remotely, doing his best to stay just ahead of the bull.
"Quick, in here!" Vila opened the gate.
Avon and the bull entered in quick succession, and Vila closed it. Fool, Avon thought, he was supposed to shut the thing out, but he didn't have the breath to complain. Behind him, he heard Vila yelling again, rather closer than he should have been, but didn't look until he'd cleared the far fence. He was in time to see Vila doing much the same with the helpful assistance of the bull.
"There," said Vila, sitting down abruptly. "He can't get at us now."
Avon brushed himself down, not wanting to think about why Vila had risked his life distracting the bull twice. "Did you entirely lose your mind back there?" He walked, somewhat stiffly, round to where Vila was.
"And I didn't think you thought I had one."
"I said entirely, meaning what little you had left." Avon smiled and held out his hand to help Vila up.
Vila grinned back as Avon pulled him to his feet.
"Perhaps," said Avon, "It would be best if none of this got out."
"Oh, I locked the gate well."
"Vila. You know what I mean." Avon hoped he did not have to spell it out that neither of them had cut particularly dignified figures.
"Yes," Vila said gravely, his eyes twinkling. "They might think we were taunting the poor thing."
"Exactly."
"You know, I wouldn't mind a really hot soak in that big outdoor tub with the bubbles."
"I rather think I concur."
***
"Enjoying yourselves?" Blake asked.
"The rest is very welcome," Cally said.
"So, who's replacing us?" Jenna said. "Where are Avon and Vila?"
"Outside in the hot tub." Gan waved his hand vaguely towards the back of the house.
Cally smiled wryly. "Their little walk seems to have tired them out."
"Well, never mind," Blake said. "They can take the next watch."
When Cally and Gan had teleported up, Blake turned to Jenna. "I'm meeting some government people up at Dr Kendall's house. I'll see you later. Have fun."
"I'll try," Jenna said coolly.
She had considered going into town to check out the spaceport just to prove she couldn't be taken for granted, but she knew perfectly well that it would contain only an agricultural freighter or two. Why give up the fastest and most beautiful ship she had ever seen for a planet hopper? She preferred not to think about any other reason she might have for staying.
She sighed. A holiday that included as little of Avon and Vila as possible would be the most beneficial. She decided to go for a walk.
"I wouldn't mind staying here," said Vila.
"You'd get bored."
"If I did, I could always leave. But I'd quite like a good dose of boredom for a change. What about you?"
"Unlike you I should require a certain amount of mental exercise. I doubt that crop rotation would suffice."
Vila looked at him slyly. "Nice safe bolthole though."
"Safety is only one of my criteria."
Vila shrugged and closed his eyes. If he looked asleep, Avon might put the next load of wood in the furnace.
Jenna wondered briefly why there was a bull in the field next to the house, but the two horses on the farm over the hill interested her more. She leaned on the fence and watched them with pleasure, losing herself in memories of that year on Amagastan when she had learned how to ride and had met Tarvin.
"Beautiful, aren’t they?"
She jumped. A young man with fair hair had joined her unnoticed. She really must be tired. "Yes, they are."
"Do you ride?"
"I have done." Jenna rested her chin on her arms. "It's the closest thing to flying that isn't."
"You're a pilot!" The youth's rather petulant face lit up with delight.
"Is it so obvious?"
"I wondered if you were. That's what I want to be." His words tumbled eagerly over each other. "It's in our blood, you know. My family have always been in space. My brother and sister were both pilots." His face darkened.
Jenna noticed the past tense. "I'm sorry."
"No, you're not. You didn't even know them." The boy's face flushed red, then he looked away. "I didn't mean that. You were just being polite." He bit his lip, then said in a rush, "You're from the Liberator, aren't you?"
Jenna stared at him.
"It's not that hard to work out. Kendall's got a group of off-world friends staying here and he doesn't know that many. If you're the pilot, you're Stannis, aren't you?"
Jenna gave him a hard look.
"Aren't you?" He looked as if his life depended on it.
"Oh, all right. Yes, I am."
A grin briefly lit up his face. "I'm Tomas. Look, I know who owns those horses. She's a friend of Kendall. I can introduce you." He hesitated. "Though in return ... well, could I spend some time with you?"
Jenna laughed. "You’re a bit young for me."
Tomas scowled. "I didn't mean that. I just wanted ... I just want to talk about the Liberator and space and what it's like."
"Yes, all right. It's a deal," she said, thinking of the high deserts and vast skies of Amagastan and the feel of wind in her hair.
***
They had been there almost a week, and Blake was pleased to see how much better his crew were looking. Today the house was full of the ex-Ortega crew as well, plus a couple of others. Avon, the only one who didn't seem to have acquired a tan, was nonetheless looking as relaxed as Blake had seen him, playing some sort of three-dimensional Go with Pasco, Sonheim, and Grovane. Jenna was chatting to a local farmer and what was presumably her son, and Vila was outside with Levett's children. Judging from the shrieks of delighted laughter as he taught them to juggle coloured balls and produce flowers from each other's ears, he was as much a success as he had been last time.
Levett met his eyes and gave him a rare smile. "He's a good man."
"Yes," Blake said. "He is." He looked up with amusement as Jenna passed by with a jug of fruit juice. "I see you have a young admirer."
"Just a groundhog with space fever. He's an improvement on that letch Sonheim. I don't know who that is though." She jerked her head towards the window. Blake turned to look.
A very angry-looking man was striding up the paths. "Thieves!" he shouted.
Blake closed his eyes briefly. He might have known it was too good to last. He put his head out the window and bellowed, "Vila! In here. Now."
The man barged straight in the open door. "You bunch of thieves! That's my bull out there."
Vila came in looking suspiciously innocent. "Oh, it's yours, is it?"
"Vila," said Blake with exaggerated patience. "What do you know about this?"
"Nothing much." Vila, Blake noticed, exchanged a quick glance with Avon who had joined them. "It followed me home."
"Followed you— Why you—" The farmer was momentarily lost for words. "D'you know what the penalty for cattle-theft is?"
Vila shrugged. "Dunno. You have to eat it?"
"Eat it? Why you—"
"He would regard it as a punishment," Avon said smoothly. "He is a vegetarian."
"I don't give a damn where he comes from. He's a thief."
"True," said Vila, "but I'm on holiday. Look, it was wandering around loose so I put it somewhere safe."
Blake looked at his indignant expression and almost laughed. "If that is what my friend said happened," he said sternly, "then that is what happened."
Kendall put his arm across the farmer's shoulders. "Come on, Moser, no harm done. Let me get you a drink." He led him away, past the avidly watching Tomas.
"I don't know what you two were up to, but I know it was something," Blake said quietly. "I think it would be best if you made yourselves scarce for a while. Relieve Cally and Gan on the ship."
"It's an hour early!"
"Now, Vila."
***
Avon sat on the flight deck staring unseeingly at the view of Destiny displayed on the main screen. He was no closer to working out who Sara's accomplice had been. It probably didn't matter, but an unsolved mystery annoyed him.
"Hey, Avon," Vila said over the comms. "Want to play a game?"
"I have played enough games in the last few days."
"Not darts, you haven't. Come on, I've set up a couple of targets in the teleport room."
"I am not playing a Delta pub game."
"You're just afraid I might beat you. After all, I'm a better shot than you. And anyway," Vila added enticingly, "you haven't seen the targets. I had to get Orac to help and I think he enjoyed it."
Well, there wasn't much else to do, and he probably wouldn't shut up unless Avon humoured him. "All right. I'm coming."
***
"Go on, Jenna. I just want to see. It wouldn't be for long," Tomas pleaded. "I’d remember it for the rest of my life."
Jenna considered it. Blake's assumption that she would stay still niggled, and it was after all her ship in a way that would never be true for the others; Zen had bonded with her and taken its name from her mind. And besides, she remembered being young and excited like that once too.
"Oh, all right. Let me find you a spare teleport bracelet."
***
There was a life-sized picture of Servalan to one side of the teleport bay, and one of Travis to the other.
"What with the security ban on images of top officials and all that, it was hard finding one of Servalan any later than her Fleet General days," Vila said. "This one's the most recent."
Servalan was wearing a white gown with a reptile picked out in beads on the bodice, appearing to hold her plunging neckline together.
"More opportunities to score than a dartboard," Vila said encouragingly. "Travis might only have one bull's eye, but Servalan's got—"
"Two cow's eyes, yes."
"50 for an eye or Travis's laseron crystal, 30 for an eye-patch, 20 for Travis's badge, and you can go for various other parts of their anatomies too, like—"
"I can imagine."
"—like their noses or mouths." Vila grinned. "But you have to nominate your target. The darts are proper ones, you know, beautifully balanced. And before you say anything, Kendall said we could have them." Vila stepped up to a line he'd marked on the floor with masking tape. "Servalan's right eye." He threw.
"You've been practising."
"Only on pursuit ships. But I wasn't bad, back on Earth."
Avon picked up a dart and examined it. Vila was right; it was well-balanced and surprisingly solid. "Servalan's heart."
"She hasn't got one."
"Then," Avon bared his teeth, "that point just visible under her dress which indicates where one might be."
"Missed."
Avon removed the dart and looked at the tiny hole. "I rather think I got a salamander's eye. As it's such a small one. I'd say it's worth at least 100."
"You weren't going for it though." Vila sniggered. "Unless you can't tell her tit from her tat."
Avon strove not to look amused and failed.
There was a chime from the console. "Vila?"
Vila pulled a face and hit the comms. "I'm here, Jenna."
"Two to teleport."
Avon put his dart in his pocket and stepped back as Jenna and Tomas materialised.
Jenna raised her eyebrows at the targets. "Having fun, boys? As you were. I'm just showing Tomas a bit of the Liberator."
"I'd say the 'bit' was her cabin except they've gone the wrong way," Vila said, watching them leave. "Dunno what she sees in him though. He's a right sourpuss."
Tomas was less than impressed with the image of Destiny from orbit. "I see that on the news intro every night. Where's the array?"
"At a much higher orbit of course, so more sunlight passes through it. Put it up on the man screen, Zen."
"Confirmed." The view changed to show a small glittering disc resembling delicate bead-work on a black velvet dress.
Tomas looked disappointed. "Can't we see it from up close?"
"There's a five-spacial exclusion zone around it protected by automatic defences. However we can magnify the image. Zen?"
"Confirmed."
For someone who wanted to see the Liberator so much, Tomas showed surprisingly little interest in Zen. He had eyes only for the array which filled the screen, glowing with reflected sunlight. Jenna supposed it was understandable; the thing had saved the planet. Every now and then there was a faint glow from an attitude jet as the array kept itself between Destiny and the sun.
"Is the centre where the neutrotope is?" Tomas was so fascinated, he almost had his face pressed against the screen as if it were a window.
"That's right." Jenna went to stand beside him. "Along with the control computers."
Tomas turned to her, smiling, and stuck something sharp in her arm. As blackness descended, all Jenna could think was, You ungrateful little bastard.
"Another 80 to me, I think." Vila said, removing his darts. "Your throw."
Avon regarded his rear view. "Don't tempt me."
"You get points deducted if you hit another player."
"It would be worth it."
"Oh, yes? The score you've got, you'd end up negative."
"As I said, it—" Avon stopped at the unexpected sight of a Liberator handgun pointed at his head. At the other end of it was a figure in a spacesuit.
"Keep your hands where I can see them and get behind the controls." Tomas said over the suit comms, "And you, Restal, drop those things."
Vila let go his darts with alacrity. "Look, if you want to teleport down, all you have to do is ask nicely."
"Not down. Up. And you're going with me. Put a bracelet on."
"Up? What d'you mean, up? And I've got one on already." Vila showed it to Tomas, who kicked a spare spacesuit in his direction. Vila looked at it with suspicion. "What would I want with that?"
"There's no air in the array control centre and that's where we're going."
"You're after the neutrotope!" Vila looked appalled. "What about everyone on the planet? They'll starve!"
"I don't care. They didn't care about Sara or Rik when they were killed. They didn't care about me when they wouldn't accept me for pilot training. Another bad apple, they said."
"And they were right!"
"Shut up and get that suit on." Tomas pointed the gun at Vila.
"I wouldn't wave that around if I were you. You might put a hole in me, and then where would you be?" Vila picked up the suit with distaste. "I get claustrophobic in these, you know," he said, struggling into it, "and I don't do my best work under pressure."
That, Avon thought, was a blatant lie. Vila seemed unnaturally calm however, in direct contrast to Tomas; it was surprising that spit from his intemperate shouting hadn't spattered his faceplate. Avon began to edge along the seat in the hopes of being able to rush Tomas while his attention was on Vila.
Tomas noticed the movement. "Get back where you were and set the coordinates for the control centre."
"There is an automatic defence system." Avon said smoothly, looking with some pride at the view of the array he had called up. He had a more than fair idea of how it worked, having proposed the design to Destiny's engineers "Not to mention a randomly-set molecular lock which no-one has the key to."
"I know Restal's reputation. And the defences point outwards, not in. We'll just teleport past them."
"I like that 'we'," Vila grumbled. "No-one asked me if I wanted to." He dolefully put his helmet on.
"Have you got those coordinates set? Remember, your friend's coming with me, so no funny tricks."
"Of course not," Avon said coolly. "You would also do well to remember that I won't bother to retrieve you without him." He put one hand on the controls, and under its cover moved the other slowly towards himself, hoping he would be able to retrieve the dart in his pocket although he was unsure what he could do with it. He was just as likely to hit Vila as Tomas, especially as he wouldn't have much time to aim, and it was unlikely the thing would penetrate a suit. The most probable outcome would be that Tomas would fire as soon as he moved. He hesitated, wondering what other option he had.
"Avon?"
He looked at Vila, who shook his head behind his faceplate. "Don't worry about me, Avon." The eye furthest from Tomas closed in an unmistakable wink. "I'll be all right."
Ah. Avon knew immediately what Vila had done—or hoped he did—and unobtrusively changed a setting. "Teleporting ... now," he said, moving the lever.
Tomas shimmered out of existence.
Avon's shoulders relaxed in relief. "You took your bracelet off while you were getting into that suit, didn't you?"
"That's right, it's in the corner over there." Vila removed his helmet, grinning. "Where'd you send him?"
"One spacial from the defences." We can pick him up at our leisure. Preferably when he's almost out of air and nicely unconscious." A sudden flare of light lancing out from the edge of the array caught Avon's eye. "Unless of course he is stupid enough fire his gun in a fit of pique. Or suicide."
"Bit precipitate of him," Vila said, wriggling out of his suit. "We still don’t know who he was working with."
"I would suggest that Jenna is our priority at this point."
Vila hooked horrified. "Jenna!" He ran out.
"Pity. I'd like to have dealt with him myself." Jenna said savagely, sitting up, and this time succeeding. She immediately regretted it.
Vila got the bowl there just in time and held her while she was sick, stroking her hair back from her face. She was rather like a dangerous wild animal, only approachable when ill, and he believed in taking any chance he could get. "You'll be all right," he said. "It’s just a reaction to the drug. Here, drink this, it'll help." He handed her a glass of green liquid, hoping she wouldn't realise what it was and tell Cally that he'd located her store of adrenaline and soma. On second thoughts, he poured himself a glass too, just as Avon came in.
"Physician, heal thyself?" Avon said obscurely. "I've been getting Orac to check a few things, and one mystery has been solved. Sara's brother Rik Ovidian and his best friend swapped rostered duties with two other pilots to do an ore transport run while the Ortega was picking up the neutrotope."
"Ah, no wonder Sara thought they were a better bet than prison. Explains why she kept quiet about her accomplice too, so they'd do the same about her brother." He took Jenna's glass. "Feeling better now?" he asked solicitously.
"I think so. And you can let me go now." Jenna said, but smiled faintly at him. "You make a good nurse, Vila."
"You should remember that and do the same for me sometime instead of making uncalled-for remarks about eating too much before meteorite storms." Vila's eyes widened. "That's what I was trying to think of! Why didn't Blake check that bloody neutrotope box? Could have saved me two very unpleasant trips."
"Not to mention your companions," Avon said. "But what do you mean, Vila? Wasn't it locked?"
"Eh?"
Avon frowned. "Didn't you open it?"
"No. It fell off the table during the storm and Gan did." Vila smiled slowly. "Avon, I know who it was."
***
"What the hell are you two doing here?" Blake demanded.
"It's all right," Vila said. "Jenna's up on the ship and she's feeling a lot better now."
Before Blake could ask for clarification, Avon spoke. "Dr Kendall. Vila and I have two questions for you."
Kendall looked puzzled, which was understandable. Blake felt a bit that way himself.
"I'm a thief, you see." Vila said conversationally. "I have a special interest in locks. What sort did you have on the neutrotope box?"
"Really, I don't see what that's got to do with anything."
"I agree." Blake was about to remind the most troublesome members of his crew that they were Kendall's guests, when he saw the look on Avon's face. "But let's humour them, shall we?"
Kendall shrugged. "A molecular key and code."
"Like the one on the safe?"
"A cut-down version, yes."
Everyone else had now stopped talking to listen to the conversation.
"Only thing is," Vila said, "it wasn't locked when we got it. Blake thought it was though."
"So what we'd like to know," said Avon, "is whether you locked it after you showed it to him."
"Not that it makes much difference," Vila said.
"No." Avon smiled disconcertingly. "Because there are only two possibilities. The first is that you deliberately left it unlocked so that Sara could remove the neutrotope."
"Or," said Vila, "you weren't the only one who knew the code after all."
Blake leaped to his feet at the same time as Kendall did. "You told me you were."
Kendall drew a gun, but it was Levett who got to him first, moving like a panther. Her fist connected with his jaw and he went down, knocking the coffee table over and spilling drinks and assorted nibbles onto the floor. She grabbed the fallen gun and aimed it at him.
"No," Blake said. "Leave that to the law."
Avon raised an ironic eyebrow at him, but merely said, "And they should be here soon. I took the liberty of calling them before we came down."
***
"We're clear of Destiny," Jenna said. She gave Blake a sharp look. "And still with a full crew. Aren't you lucky?"
"Yes," Blake said simply. "Set a course back towards the third sector. I'll take the first watch if you like." He spread his arms out along the back of the flight couch. "It was a good two weeks, wasn't it?"
"And we're heroes all over again!" Vila said.
Blake smiled warmly at him. "You two are, yes. I don't know why I never wondered about that lock."
"Probably because you're a man of action," Avon said, not intending it as a compliment. "Darts, Vila? Or would you prefer to hone your deductive skills?"
Vila looked wary.
"We now possess a game called 'Murder on the Galactic Princess."
"Darts," said Vila.
Cally lingered on the flight deck after the others had left. "You were giving us a chance to leave, weren't you?"
Blake said nothing.
"Not because of what happened on Horizon though," she said quietly. "We've been in as much danger before. I think you did it because you wanted us to follow you by choice. You've got something big planned, haven't you?"
She was, Blake thought, the only other true rebel on board. He sighed. "All right. Sit down, Cally. Have you ever heard of Central Control?"
The end