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    The Coming of the Teraphiles

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      player had been especially badly hurt.

      When Amy heard all this she was horrified. All those

      poor players killed! They had come all this way, across vast

      swathes of space just to die in this horrible accident.

      'It must jeopardize your chances of playing th(

      Tournament,' TrYr'r was saying, but she hardly heard him

      Some of those who had died had almost been her friends.

      Then she wondered how much of her experience out then

      in the Second Aether had been hallucinatory? She made her

      way through to the Doctor and asked him the first chance she

      got. He too was mourning the dead, but he reassured her.

      'Don't worry,' he said, 'I've known Captain Abberley and

      the Bubbly Boys for a very long time. That's the advantage of

      travelling via Miggea. They're really all right. Sad as I am, Mi

      TrYr'r is correct: it could have been an attempt to sabotage

      the team.'

      Amy was almost crying, angry. 'Someone would kill all

      those people just because of this Tournament?'

      'I don't know, Amy.' The Doctor sighed heavily. 'We could

      be disqualified if we don't turn up with a full team. And we

      have to win that arrer. That's still the most important thing.'

      Amy felt obliged to step up. 'I'll help out if you need me.

      I was a pretty good fielder during the rehearsals, wasn't

      I?' Then she became embarrassed. How could she possibly

      be any better than the tried and true players of the Second

      Fifteen, let alone the surviving First Fifteen?

      He understood and patted her on the shoulder. 'Thanks,

      Amy. I'll remember that.'

      She felt like biting her tongue.

      As she looked up at the dark screen again she could have

      sworn that she saw another shadow fall across it. The outline

      was familiar. Were they still in the Second Aether? Had she

      just spotted a Chaos ship?

      And there it was, suddenly clear, filling the screen, turning

      gracefully against a star cluster. Seemingly only a few parsecs

      away.

      'Look!'

      They turned, surprised by her emphasis.

      'A ship,' she shouted, then dropped her tone. 'Isn't it? I

      mean, do they have ships like that in space? It's like an old

      galleon! With huge sails and stuff?'

      'Oh, dear me,' said the Doctor. 'You're right about it

      being a ship, Amy. And I know her master. He's a very old

      acquaintance of mine. I was rather hoping he wouldn't find

      us. Not in our weakened condition. He's a long way from his

      usual hunting grounds. He used to cruise the Rim worlds

      at this time of year. Collecting his rents. Looking for prey.

      They're closer to home for him. He's fast and he's very, very

      dangerous. The IPC have sent whole fleets after him, but he

      has his ship and his little galaxy well defended!'

      'Little galaxy?' She was bewildered by this. 'Can you have

      a little galaxy?'

      'Dwarf galaxies. Groups of star systems caught in our

      galaxy's gravity. Sort of islands off the coast of the Milky

      Way. Remember?'

      She was sure he hadn't told her about them, but that was

      typical. She suspected him of mixing her up with some other

      girl he'd known. At first she had resented his confusion. Now

      she understood it better and was more forgiving. She no

      longer bothered to correct him.

      The others were joining them to stare at the screen. 'What

      is it?' W.G. Grace wanted to know. 'It's huge, isn't it. Looks

      like an old-time clipper ship, though considerably bigger.

      Hard to tell, of course.'

      'Oh, she's big.' The Doctor took a deep breath. 'Yeah. And

      fast, too. A beauty, isn't she? I remember a time when—' He

      caught himself. 'There was an era long ago, when space was

      full of them. They called them "starjammers".'

      'Can she help us, Doctor?' asked Amy.

      'I'm not sure she intends to offer help exactly,' he answered.

      'She's the Paine out of the dwarf galaxy Canis. Commanded

      by Captain Cornelius. That's what he calls himself. An old

      acquaintance of mine. A sort of enemy, you could say. Or a

      rival. Depending on the circumstances. He doesn't do a lot

      of universe saving, Amy, that's for sure. He must have been

      following behind the storm. Waiting. Keeping out of the

      way. A dark wind is the last thing he needs. Light's totally

      important to him. Still, I doubt he has any plans to attack

      us. I bet he wasn't expecting to find the biggest liner in the

      galaxy helpless as a newborn baby, just waiting for him to

      take her.'

      'A prize?' W.G. Grace leaned her bow-case carefully against

      a console. 'You make her sound like a pirate, Doctor.'

      'That's because she is a pirate. The most infamous and

      feared pirate in the galaxy.' The Doctor was grim. 'I've come

      up against her in the past. There's only one other ship like

      her in the entire pirate brotherhood. Remembered Lombardy.

      And I suppose we should be grateful it's not her. Colonel

      Gaspard Reynauld would be shooting at us by now.'

      He sharpened the picture.

      'She's an old Rim clipper. I doubt if there's another living

      person in conventional space-time who has seen a ship like

      that in the ordinary way of things. Powered by photons. By

      the power of suns. By light itself! Built before the colour-

      engine was invented and made her obsolete, at least as far as

      the major shipbuilders were concerned. Imagine a whole fleet

      of them! They were formidable. Oh, yes! I've tangled with

      Captain Cornelius more than once. He's known as Ironface,

      because of the metal mask he used to wear in battle. A sort of

      phantom of the space opera.' He winced at his own joke. 'But

      I've never had so much to lose before. Or so many other lives

      in immediate danger to think about.'

      W.G. clasped her fancy bow-case to her. 'But by definition

      she can't travel faster than light. We can. Or could. We can

      get away, can't we?'

      'You didn't study relative relativity at school, did you

      W.G.?' The Doctor was rubbing his face, as if to get circulation

      back into it. 'Light travels at many different speeds, depending

      on context. We just use the old Einsteinian speed to make

      certain calculations, the way we use Earth kilometres or litres

      or parsecs. Or Anglo-Saxons used their feet. Same as time.

      You know that time moves at different speeds, don't you? If

      it didn't, there wouldn't be any space as such. No matter, as

      we understand it. Does your enthusiasm for the past, W.G.,

      mean that you only went to schools which taught Dark Age

      science?'

      Grace turned a substantial shade of puce and would not

      reply.

      The Paine banked again, sweetly, elegantly. These jammers

      were the first ships Earth had used for deep-space exploration.

      Those great fleets moved before winds of light radiating from

      the stars, the way old-time galleons used the wind. At some

      point, decades or centuries earlier, the Paine had been built

      in space and then towed or boosted up to speed until she

      could sail under the power of light
    alone. She never stopped

      moving, circling planets while her tenders went back and

      forth, using the power of galaxies to travel.

      Amy wondered if the Paine was really their enemy. After

      all, if dark matter spread to dominate the universe, the Paine

      would become incapable of movement and drift for ever

      in the doldrums of space. But maybe Captain Cornelius

      did not care what happened in the future. What if he lived

      merely to enjoy the moment and refused to worry about any

      consequences? Already Amy was becoming intrigued by a

      man she had never seen...

      'Oh, thank goodness! You're safe. I looked for you

      everywhere and was beginning to think - oh - you know...'

      Bingo Lockesley was trembling. He seemed on the verge of

      tears. He still wore his emergency suit, splashed with blood.

      He was horribly pale.

      'Are you all right, Bingo?' Not wanting to hurt him if he

      was wounded, she hesitated before hugging him.

      He looked down at the blood. 'Gosh, no! Ha, ha. That's

      not me. Poor old gent broke his arm, got some cuts from a

      ripped inner plate. Medics fixed him up pretty much on the

      spot. I've just come from the hospital section. All I got was a

      bump on the head. Knocked me out for a few minutes, that's

      all. It's the others need our help. A nightmare, what?'

      'Old Bingo's been a brick!' Hari joined them, wiping his

      hands on a rag.

      Flapper was with him. She wore nurse's overalls and her

      hair was hidden under a blue hat. 'Glad you're safe,' she

      said. 'Some people were actually sucked out through the hull

      and into space. Others were seriously injured. They had to

      go into the cryogenic bay. We did everything we could do

      until the medics had things under control We heard some of

      our own people were killed. We thought we'd better come up

      here and look for you and met old Bingo on the way. Thank

      goodness you're safe. Ah, there's the Doctor. How is he?'

      'A bit tired.' Amy was delighted to see them. She was

      reminded of the first and second world wars, when the

      unlikeliest people suddenly became heroes. 'His steering

      saved our lives. He got us out of the storm.' She knew she

      would never be able to explain the Second Aether.

      'I hear Greeb and Donna bought it, what?' Hari Agincourt

      was embarrassed at his show of emotion. 'Jolly bad break.

      Somebody said that the whole Second Fifteen were lost. Is

      that true?'

      'Yes, poor devils.' Bingo kicked at the floor.

      'Those two were both ace players, weren't they?' asked

      Flapper. 'I mean they're a serious loss. I know it's not good

      form to talk about the team's chances at a time like this, but

      isn't this going to make it difficult for the Gentlemen?'

      'It will a b i t I think the casualties - those who weren't

      sucked into space - will be all right, of course, when we get

      back to a civilised world. But meanwhile things are a looking

      a bit sticky, yes. Miggea's not exactly advanced as far as

      medicine's involved. For the sake of Donny and Masher we

      can't risk resurrecting them there, can we?'

      The Doctor nodded vaguely, studying the banking space-

      clipper.

      Amy realised that the mood in the control room had

      changed. There was a sudden silence. Everyone was now

      looking at the screen on which she had seen the sailing ship.

      'Big, isn't she?' said Bingo quietly, rubbing his head. He

      looked about him for a seat

      'Rather!' agreed Hari. He glanced at Flapper. 'You all

      right, old thing?'

      'She might be here to help.' Flapper shivered and drew

      closer to a manly Hari. 'I mean, it's possible, isn't it?'

      'I don't think so.' Amy clutched at the 'celestial' necklace

      in her pocket, suddenly wishing she too had a manly arm

      to gather her in. For reasons obscure to her, she took out

      the necklace and put it on. 'That's the Paine. She's a pirate

      ship, captained by a villain they call Ironface. Because of his

      mask.'

      'Oh, Lord!' exclaimed Bingo. 'I've heard of him. I say, Hari,

      I think we'd better get our bows and a couple of quivers of

      arrows. Stand by to repel boarders and all that.'

      The Doctor heard him. 'Not much chance we can chase off

      Ironface the way we did General Force. His grapple beams

      could crush us like a tin can. And we're already pretty much

      in the position of a can someone's trodden on. Half the force

      screens are down. Our hull plates were seriously damaged in

      the storm. We're a sitting duck for any predator. We can only

      hope he doesn't think of us as prey.'

      The ship's monstrous black sails bulged as she came about.

      Her masts were hundreds of metres high, her sails miles

      across. Yet, because the Gargantua was herself such a gigantic

      ship, the Paine seemed relatively small in comparison. Apart

      from dark brass furnishings, she was all black. Any light not

      directly used to sail her was saved in energy converters deep

      in her slender hull. She had two colour engines as auxiliaries.

      Her gun ports gleamed, showing just a hint of her banned

      Mann and Robersons. The energy cannons inflicted worse

      than death on any living thing they as much as brushed with

      their radiation. They were considered the best armament in

      the universe, hugely effective, but nobody had used them

      in centuries because of the terrible torture they inflicted.

      Nobody died quickly from a Mann and Roberson shot, but

      they did, inevitably, die. It was unwise to engage the Paine in

      battle. She never lost. And fluttering unostentatiously from

      her foretop was a black flag on which a skull and bones had

      been embroidered in pure white thread.

      The Paine kept close to the Gargantua. She sailed beside the liner but made no threats, took no action, simply continued

      to shadow her. Only the Gargantua' s own flickering lights

      and the glimmering of faraway stars made the pirate visible.

      Passengers and crew crowded to look at her, craning their

      necks to follow the masts and get some measure of the size

      of her sails.

      All was silence.

      Finally Captain Snarri wiped his huge mouth and said

      wearily, 'Normally we could probably outrun her, but she

      can see we've been hurt. I can't engage her because we're a

      civilian ship and my first duty is to the passengers. So. I can't

      run. I can't fight. I suppose I'm going to have to barter. Pirates

      have kidnapped rich passengers in the past and held them

      to ransom. Well probably be made to surrender volunteers.

      Generally most of them have been returned in one piece.

      Ironface might be satisfied with any treasure the passengers

      have.' Snarri took a deep breath. His sigh was long and bitter.

      'I've had no training for this situation. I am responsible. Yet I

      have no idea, Doctor, what to do.'

      'Perhaps I can negotiate a way out.' The Doctor put a

      comforting hand on Snarri's shoulder. 'Cornelius and I have

      crossed swords before. Quite literally on one occasion. In a

      coalmine. Near Newcastle. About 191
    8. Leopard Men.'

      'I can't think of an alternative.' The captain appeared to

      sag. He sat down in a chair just as a resonant, ironic voice

      came in over their communicators:

      'Captain Cornelius of the privateer Paine wishing to

      establish contact. Do I have Gargantua' s permission?' At least

      he was following the polite protocol of the space lanes.

      Captain Snarri pulled himself together, licked dry lips and

      said softly: 'Permission granted, captain.'

      He signalled to the bots and the busy little machines tuned

      the Paine in and trained their V on Captain Snarri. 'Good

      evening to you, Captain Cornelius. I am Captain Snarri,

      commander of this ship.'

      'And to you, Captain Snarri.' Unexpectedly a head, covered

      by a tight leather helmet and a simple, white papier mache

      Arlecchino mask from the Italian Commedia dell'arte, filled

      the screen, as if he had deliberately chosen a less menacing

      persona. He wore an undecorated dark blue naval jacket

      buttoned to the chin. 'I apologise for the rather melodramatic

      hiding of my face. I like to travel and that would be impossible

      if anyone recognised me. Might I express my regret at your

      misfortune?'

      'Let's not resort to hypocrisy, Captain Cornelius. I know

      you for a pirate and you know my ship as one of the greatest

      passenger liners in the galaxy, protected by intergalactic law.

      Which I invoke. Your ship has a duty to rescue mine.' Snarri

      could not easily hide his anxiety for his ship and passengers

      and was doing the only thing he knew to try to protect

      them.

      'Put me on now,' murmured the Doctor. At a sign from

      the captain the V now showed both men and Amy on the

      pirate's screen. 'Good evening, Captain Ironface. We've been

      thrashed, I'm afraid. Black storm. We're pretty much out of

      commission. I suppose there's no chance of your giving us a

      hand?'

      For a moment the pirate captain's gaze moved from Snarri,

      to the Doctor and lingered a moment on Amy, making her

      shiver. Then, letting his attention return to the Doctor, he let

      a shadow of a smile cross his face.

      'Why, Doctor! What a compliment. But you forget my

      calling, surely? I'm a star thief. We wish to board. If you

      refuse - well, I'm sure I don't need to make the conventional

      threats. We've both seen Mann and Robersons at work.

      There's not a survivor of the Rim Wars who hasn't. However,

     
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