TWO SECTIONS OF WALL ARE SEALING OFF THE CRAFT DIAGONALLY THROUGH ITS

CENTRE.

“What do you mean?”

IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE CRAFT IS SPLITTING INTO TWO HEMISPHERES.

“Get Apricot out of there!” shouted Phoenix. “GET THEM ALL OUT!”

The unbelievable happened. One side of the asteroid erupted, blasting rocky debris into space. Two hemispheric craft, looking forall the world like a single gigantic yo-yo, could be seen emerging from what was left of the shattered asteroid. A large, round iris portal opened in one hemisphere, venting its contents of over a thousand people to space. Unrecognisable pieces of machinery, furniture and corpses drifted after the other hemisphere.

The second craft shook and shuddered as it tried and failed to get away from Marshia’s invisible embrace.

“Dear God!” said Phoenix sinking back into his chair, unable to believe what the screen showed him. The vented craft imploded, paused and disintegrated explosively in nightmarish orange silence. The remaining craft stopped shuddering.

Phoenix found he was counting his breathing. “... five ... six ...”

INCOMING MESSAGE.

*

Apricot barely registered what happened to him. His weapon was torn from his grip and ripped from its securing tether as his body was pounded, twisted and hurled about.

A thought condensed inside his mind.Nametags. We could sew nametags to the outside of these suits. Then I’d know who was who.So simple.

Everything wasblack ...

Except for a little green bit off to the left.

A green light.A green light! The suit hadn’t been compromised!

Apricot’s left leg hurt.A lot.

His right arm hurt.More.

He couldn’t turn his head without the feeling that someone was trying to sever his neck with the prongs of a blunt pitchfork.

He realised he was weightless.Cart-wheeling slowly.

“ What was that? In the distance?”Apricot squinted through his pain at a hazy, flickering white image.“

Marshia! ” Apricot managed a smile. “ I’m saved! ”

The hazy shape slowly split like a shiny white amoeba then reformed into the pin-sharp image of child’s doll wearing a nappy.

“ My life was never such a cliché, was it? Didn’t I make a diff ... ”

Apricot never finished the thought.

A pretty, white-orange, silent, sun-hot plume of death rushed up from behind to engulf him. What had been Apricot became untraceable.

It would be billions of years before any two of his atoms ever met again.

*

Marshia’scontrol room main screen suddenly cleared to matt grey and then to a man's profile. His balding head glistened in the lights as he bobbed and weaved about. Never still for a moment.

"Now then," said an off-pitch, off-hand voice that could take the plaque off your teeth at a hundred yards, "we seem to be in a bit of a pickle,don't we." The man did not look at the camera, as was the usual protocol, but rather continued to duck and dodge about. There was a tapping noise in the background. Pik-kapok ... pik -kapok.Insistent.Annoying.

Phoenix swallowed. Anger filled his brain. His mind screamed, “KILL HIM, MARSHIA! KILL HIM!”

He counted three breaths.

"I am Captain Phoenix ...” yes, his voice sounded calm enough , “of the S B C Marshia. To whom ..." The tapping noise was most distracting." ... not bothering you are we?" enquired Phoenix his voice seeping sarcasm.

"What? Oh. Sorry. Won't be a minute ..." The man on the screen was getting out of breath. "Colin here is damn good at this."

The camera zoomed back showing the man's shoulders, which appeared to be encased in chrome. More of the scene came into view. The man stood in the centre of a large circular room. Along the walls were small screens, dials and flashing lights attended by people in bright red overalls. A green, square table separated the man from a large cube of grey metal about eight feet high. He was hitting a small, white ball with a short-handled, green bat, bouncing it off the table against the cube. As phoenix watched the bizarre scene, further details became apparent. The man with the bat was wearing a skin tight black body-suit. The body the suit was skin tight over was that of a very well developed young woman.

The large, grey cube bouncing back the small white ball had a roughly hemispheric lump sticking out of its top surface. The lump sported features which made it into something ... Phoenix screwed up his eyes

... head-like. Every now and then an area in the lower portion of the head moved and a huge rumbling voice could be heard saying, “Nice one," and "Nearly had me there," and "Ooh, that was close!"

“Is it my imagination or does the wall of that cube thing move where it hits the ball? ” thought Phoenix.

Bev, who had been silently watching the proceedings from the rear of the control room, moved forward and leaned towards Phoenix. "That's Twip," he hissed.

"Which one?" askedPhoenix.

"The one with the bat," said Bev. "The one with the ..." Bev held two apparently arthritic hands in front of his chest.

Phoenix nodded. "So the other ... must be Colin," he said.

: Loose