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first one. They must be going to the same place."
    "I think the first one might be coming this way," Lucilla offered. "I presume we won't collide."
    "Not by accident," the Tin Man replied.
    "What's that meant to mean?" Gaius asked in a suspicious tone.
    "I'm afraid the situation has suddenly got out of control," the Tin Man said, and he seemed hesitant as he said it, which, given his usual lack of emotion, gave his message unusual gravity. "It seems Ulse is at war. The first of those ships is Ulsian, and it's in deep trouble."
    "And the other two are the other side?" Gaius asked.
    "Yes. The Ulsian ship has been damaged, and its motors are not functioning properly. It's weapons are not exactly functioning well either."
    "I see what you mean by deep trouble," Gaius noted. As he watched, a jet of metal vapour streaked off it. Suddenly the front ship seemed to slow, turn, and seemed to head directly towards one of the attackers. The attacker fired, more metal peeled off, but then, suddenly, the attacker realized what was to happen. The ship tried to turn, but the Ulsian ship tore right into its side. There were huge flashes of light, streams of metal flew in all directions, then darkness.
    Then quite unexpectedly, there was a thump on the ship.
    "What's that?" Gaius asked, in concern.
    "The Ulsian pilot has escaped in a 'life-boat'," the Tin Man said.
    "A clever move," Gaius noted. "If the other ship thinks the Ulsian died in the collision, he lives to fight another day."
    "I'm afraid he doesn't," the Tin Man said. "That miserable wretch who commanded this ship previously has reported the thump to the remaining ship. It's closing. I must go and warn the Ulsian."
    Gaius watched the enemy warship pull up alongside. As he understood it, this ship had its motors fully on, so the warship was clearly faster. That was not a surprise. Success in war depended on being faster, and preferably stronger. The ship he was on also appeared to be unable to do any damage to the warship, so in principle, the warship could simply destroy this ship. However, simple destruction did not seem to be the warship's intention. Why not?
    The simplest answer was that the previous captain had done some sort of deal with the warship. Those soldiers would presumably capture the single Ulsian, that wretch would be back in charge, and he and his family would be killed. That was the future.
    Except why was there only one Ulsian? This huge ship was operated by one alien and the Tin Man. Perhaps there were not many on the warship either. Perhaps his only chance of living was to pick a side, and win. The problem was, the only side that looked like offering him any hope also seemed to be the losing side. Actually, he reflected, there was a second problem. Suppose he did pick a side, how would he recognize which was which?
    There was a simple answer to that. He had to find the Ulsian before the others arrived. Not only that, but he had to do it quickly. There was what was obviously a smaller craft half way between them and the warship. He should go down to the docking bay and that, fortunately, was one of the very few places on this ship with which he was familiar. He should also find something to act as a shield.

Chapter 3
    For a shield, he returned to one of the storerooms where he had previously found a large metal object with a handle. He had no idea what it was supposed to do, but then nobody else would know what he was going to do with it either.
    He was creeping along a corridor somewhere near where he was sure the docking bay should be when he felt a heavy vibration. The other ship had docked. The hardest time for an attacker would be entering through the door. But if the attackers could not get through the door, they could retreat to their shuttle, and the warship would simply destroy them. But then, if they defeated the boarders, then what? That would depend on . . . No! One thing at a time!
    There was the Tin Man, talking to another strange looking creature.