Doctor Who_ Longest Day - Michael Collier [62]
'You think that's the only antique in my possession? I have another ship on the way, and I've stolen your entry codes and your safe-path coordinates.'
Laughter. 'Perhaps I'll let the Homeworld send a rescue mission here to find you. I'm sure they'll be interested in picking you up when the truth of your depraved life story is out in the public domain.'
The scum was enjoying himself. Sangton stared around himself more wildly. 'You're bluffing.' He saw two of his men crouching behind one of the ramshackle shelters the inmates had built to protect the precious bruk from the glare of the sun. Fettal still lay unconscious to his right, but Tanhith and Yast had vanished into the crowd of prisoners.
Of course. While the girl-thing had provided spectacle, Felbaac had slipped round and joined the throng of men, moving about in it whilst fighting to fool the guards. He watched grains of red dust begin to settle of the glossy black of his boots as he tried to decide what to do. Surrender was not an option. Even one such as himself who had abused the vows of the sacred Houses time and again would not stoop to that - besides, he would surely be killed, the honour of his House stripped bare. His only chance was to bargain. Making sure the two guards were between him and the seemingly bewildered prisoners, he reached his long bony arm between the two guards and pointed his pistol at Sam's head as it lay face down.'I can kill this wretched creature before you can destroy my flight matrix, Felbaac; he called, his voice collected and calm.'Consider your next move very carefully.'
'Go ahead. That creature means nothing to me.'
There was a sudden murmuring from the crowd of men as a figure forced it way through. Sangton cowered back still further behind his guards, but his finger tightened on the trigger of his pistol.
'No!' It was Tanhith, standing with his arms up in surrender. 'Why kill her?'
Sangton stared at him, an icy amusement suddenly in his eyes.'Rebelling against the rebellion?"
But suddenly Tanhith jerked, and a puddle of blood began to form at his feet. His mouth opened as if he were about to speak, but he only pitched forward on to the prone body of the girl-thing.
Felbaac's voice rang out over the astonished whispers rustling between the men.'No, he isn't.'
***
Felbaac cursed. The idiot! Just as everything was going well, his words coming out clear and in the right order and everything working like a dream.
Sangton down to his last men, the camp back in his hands, the K'Arme ship theirs for the taking, his ship and its cargo coming into land. The work of a true hero. He'd taken some time to enjoy the moment and now Tanhith had spoilt everything. He felt the faces of the terrified, desperate men around him now turning to him in angry disbelief.
'I had to shoot him: he was going to get us all killed,' he hissed, hoping Sangton and the K'Arme wouldn't hear, but his voice was so quiet that only those close by stood a chance of hearing, and their shock was such that it seemed they couldn't take in his reason anyway. 'He was surrendering our advantage. Look, it's all right, it was a low-level blast, I had to do something
-'
One of the men - it was Elb, the idiot - was reaching out for Felbaac's weapon, trying to wrest it from his grasp.
'I'll get us out of this,' said Elb, gruffly.
'Get off!' hissed Felbaac in indignant surprise. Elb wouldn't. Felbaac felt a surge of anger and ingratitude, and fired. The man spun backwards with a surprised cry, his stomach suddenly melting. He knocked down two men beside him, and left Felbaac staring in disbelief. He realised the men around him were outraged, angrier than ever.
'It went off in my hands!' he protested, pleadingly. Damn Tanhith.
Everything was going wrong, the moment slipping away. The situation