Title: Adrift
Chapter: Four
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating: PG

..................lets play piggy in the middle.............

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"Captain.....there's someone coming!" Barry's shrill voice cut through Fitzhugh's long list of complaints, drawing Steve and Dan's attention to the doorway.

"Finish securing these bundles, then lock down the window shutters and strap yourselves in," Steve instructed, already starting towards the hatchway before Dan or Fitzhugh could make a comment. Both men exchanged a startled glance before quickly tying off the last loose item, Fitzhugh leaving Dan to finish up, weaving his way rapidly between the seats to reach his own, plopping down with a thump and scrabbling for his seat belt. Dan only shook his head and pulled on the rope to check his knot before turning and finding his own seat. Briefly he stopped to check on their two injured crewmates. Valerie was still out for the count, her arm securely strapped across her chest, a large purple bruise blooming on her cheek. Mark also lay there with his eyes closed, but Don knew he was only lightly sleeping, the pain from the bump on Mark's head making him lapse in and out of consciousness. After a quick check that Chipper was secure within his dog basket and strapped to Barry's chair, Dan found his own deeply cushioned flight chair and buckled himself in.

Steve reached the cockpit and hit the button to secure the blast shield, the metal shutters sliding across the expanse of windscreen, cutting off the afternoon sun. Barry was already strapped into the co-pilots chair, his eager young face upturned, awaiting Steve's instructions.

"I checked the radar, but I think the metal of the boat is making it.....loopy, I couldn't make out how many giants there were, only that someone was coming,"

"That's okay Barry, the others should be secure by now and Dan will check on Chipper for you,"

Reaching across the control panel, Steve picked up a set of headphones and put them on. "I'm going to switch over to the exterior mike and see what I can pick up," he explained, pulling his seat belt tight while reaching for the over shoulder restraints and snapping shut the buckles. With one hand on the headphone set, and the other on the sound control board, Steve shut himself off from the noises inside the ship and concentrated on what was going on outside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dang it, I was hoping for something more interesting than stationary and some children’s clothes," groused Beris, kicking at a clod of dirt as the two boys made their way down the slope towards the grounded boat.

"Hey, at least Dad wasn't mad about the livestock, and you still have that toy thing to show him," Kert reminded him, reaching down to ruffle the ears of the large shaggy dog pacing beside them.

Kert reached the metal boat first, the dog leaping into the hull and instantly sniffing around the partially uncovered spaceship, now laying nearly flat on the bottom of the boat. Lifting his leg over, Kert sat down on the middle seat and stared, puzzled, at the muddy red craft.

"How did this thing get down there ?" he asked, scratching his head. Beris leaned over the gunwale, his face screwed up in thought.

"Looks like that support thingy on its side broke, look....see, its all bent,"

"Yeah.....still....lets get this thing up to the house.......hey stupid dog, stop sniffing around it....it ain't a fish!"

Kert reached across and grabbed a hank of the dogs fur, tugging to pull it away from its intent investigation of the toy. The dog ignored him and continued to press its nose against the door -like indentation on the side of the ship as well as putting its paw on the roof of the ship and scratching.

"Beris call this fool dog out of the boat, it seems to think this thing is dinner," laughed Kert, pushing the dog away with his bare foot. His brother whistled and the dog instantly lost all interest in the strange red toy, leaping nimbly over the side of the boat to join its master back on the grassy slope. While Beris held the dog, Kert rewrapped the sacking around the bulky toy and heaved it onto the metal edge of the boat. Together, the two boys manhandled the ship onto the grass, some of the sacking falling away to reveal the slowly pulsing light on the ships upper hull.

"I wonder what this thing runs on ?"

"Well whatever it is....it can come out of your wages," said Kert, punching his brother on the arm before turning back to pull out some netting from under one of the seats. A noise made both boys pause in their banter, their heads swivelling to look out over the flood plain. Another boat was slowly making its way towards them, the chug of the motor loud in the peace of the late afternoon. Off in the distance they could see another boat coming in at an angle, some way beyond the boat now passing through the break in the fence. The first boat was close enough for them to see the people inside, two men and a woman. Kert and Beris exchanged a glance, Beris keeping a tight hold on the dogs ruff as it started to bark at the strangers.

"Hello there," called the woman, casting a wary glance at the dog before waving a hand at the boys.

"Hello yourself," said Kert, folding his arms across his chest.

"We were hoping you could help us," said the woman, "we've lost something, but we think it might be in this area, you may have seen it,"

"What are you looking for ?" asked Beris, kneeling down and putting an arm around his pet to calm it down.

"Well this is going to sound kind of funny, but its about the size of a large toy.......like a spaceship,"

Kert flicked a quick look at his brother before turning back to the woman, who was now climbing out of her boat and wading towards the bank where the boys stood.

"Who are you ?" asked Kert, moving to block the woman’s view of the sack covered bundle beside his brother. Eyeing the dog, the woman extended her hand and smiled broadly at the two boys.

"My names Tam, I work for the Sherik Corporation, our workshops were flooded and we lost a good deal of equipment and experimental projects, the....toy...... was one of them....have you seen it ?"

"There's alot of debris and rubbish floating out there on the lake......." Kert hedged, shuffling his feet.

"Yes I know...we collided with a fair bit of it in our search," Tam laughed, her smile stretching wider although Kert could see it didn't reach her eyes. Behind her the two men sat tensely, one in the prow while the other clutched the handle of the outboard at the rear, both of them watching the boys faces intently while their own expressions remained grim.

Deciding that it wasn't worth the effort, Kert stepped to one side and swept a hand down to indicate the bundle on the ground.

"Is this what you were looking for ?"

Keeping her reactions firmly in check, Tam stepped forward to better see what the two boys were busy unwrapping. With a gasp, she saw that the boys had indeed found what they were looking for. Behind her one of the men climbed out of the boat and came to stand next to her.

"Is this it ?" the man asked curtly. Kneeling down, Tam reached out a hand and touched the hull lightly, noting that the light was pulsing strongly on the top, and that the windows and front viewscreen were all tightly shuttered.

"This is most definitely it," she breathed, moving out of the way to give the man room to move. Both Beris and Kert moved out of the way as the man reached down and gathered up the toy spaceship with one easy move as if the ship weighed nothing at all.

"Was there a reward or something for finding this ?" asked Beris, still holding onto the dog although it had stopped barking and now stood quietly by his side on its haunches. After watching her accomplice carry the spaceship and place it in the boat, Tam turned back to regard the two boys watching her intently. Reaching into her jacket pocket, she pulled out a wallet and opened it, counting out a number of bills that she handed over to the taller of the two boys.

"No reward, but I'll give you this for your trouble........and to ask you to tell no-one what you found today,"

Kert and Beris regarded the suddenly serious woman in surprise, but after counting the bills both boys nodded unreservedly, their faces wreathed in smiles at their unexpected bounty. Without waiting for another word, the woman returned to the boat and climbed in, her companion quickly pushing the boat off the grassy bank and leaping in after her as the boatman gunned the small outboard as they swung around and pulled away, the wake making small waves that slapped against the metal hull of the boys boat with a hollow sound.

"You gonna tell Dad about our......bargain ?" asked Beris, letting go of his dogs ruff as the boat rapidly moved out of earshot and sped away across the water.

"Are you ?" retorted Kert, his grubby fingers eagerly counting the bills for a second time.

"Not as long as you give me half," said Beris, coming over and eyeing the money greedily.

In the boat, Tam cast a last glance back at the boys still standing beside their boat, her eyes narrowing against the glare of the setting sun. Behind her one of the men spoke.

"I promised Sherik that before sundown he'd have the Little People in his hands....and I always deliver on my promises," said Sarn.

"We don't know that the Little People are even in the ship, or if this is the right one," said Tam sharply. Sarn only laughed, one foot coming to rest on the hull of the red spaceship resting on the bottom of the boat.

"This is the right ship.......and as for the Little People....well Sherik can have the fun of prising them out of their shell.....afterall, he already has the key to opening up the door,"

"Key ?"

"The other Little Person he captured with the Nephoscope.......I'm sure they won't want anything to happen to her...."

"Maybe they all drowned, and the ship is all that's left ?" said Tam, shrugging to indicate her indifference to Sarn's gloating.

"Then we'll have the fun of dissecting this.....toy....and finding out how it ticks."

A shout alerted them to the arrival of the other boat and a quick conference confirmed the success of their search. With a roar of the outboard motors, the small flotilla headed away across the flood waters, the combined wakes sending the rafts of debris bobbing madly.

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Betty stretched luxuriously, her slender arms reaching above her head while her toes wiggled. Her stretch over, she pulled up her knees and tucked her elbows once more into her sides, snuggling down into the heavenly soft surface of the bed. A waft of something tasty made her stomach let out a loud rumble, reminding her of just how long it had been since her last meal . Opening her eyes, she rolled over and pulled herself upright to sit on the edge of the bed, her feet dangling just above the floor. After knuckling her eyes, Betty looked around but couldn't see where the delicious smell was coming from. Getting up, she trailed around the room and entered the bathroom, still seeing nothing to account for the scent. Looking up at the mesh ceiling above the bedroom area, Betty decided to risk it.

"Is anyone out there ?"

Waiting for a few seconds, she listened intently before trying again.

"Hello.....can you here me ?"

"I can hear you, we have microphones in the room to pick up the slightest sound, so there's no need to shout," said a female voice, its tones nicely modulated, but disembodied.

"Oh....well.... do I have you to thank for moving me to this room ?" Betty asked, seating herself back on the side of the bed.

"No...that was on the orders of Sherik....we were concerned when you stopped eating, we don't want anything to happen to you," said the voice.

"I see....well if you truly meant that, you'd let me go,"

"That is not an option." said the voice regretfully. "As you are awake, would you like something to eat now ?"

"Um.....yes please....and I'm thirsty as well,"

"Please climb on the bed and stay there while I remove the security mesh," ordered the voice. Betty scooted to the centre of the bed and watched as a slim hand reached down and easily lifted off the roof. Betty noted that it wasn't secured, but sat in a recess. Even so the weight would be too much for Betty to lift up without help, but she salted the information away for future reference. With the mesh gone, the hand reappeared and reached down to place a tiny table at the end of the bed. This was followed by a small stool and finally with a tray , carrying an assortment of bowls. Betty waited for the hand to be withdrawn before crawling to the bottom edge of the bed and peering at the table and the bowls. Casting a wary eye at the sky before getting off the bed, Betty decided to take a chance, her stomach instantly agreeing with her decision and growling loudly.

"All right, I heard you the first time," she muttered to herself, pulling out the stool and lifting the lid off the first container. Inside was what looked like broth, with little curls of steam to prove it was still hot. Lifting the bowl up with both hands, she tipped it towards her mouth and took a sip.

"This is wonderful......!" she exclaimed, before tipping the bowl up again and making serious inroads into the soup. Another bowl contained chunks of what looked like bread, which Betty dipped into her soup to soften it before stuffing it into her mouth. She closed her eyes in bliss as the savoury soup filled the empty space below her ribs.

"Is the food satisfactory ?" inquired the voice.

"Very satisfactory....thank you," said Betty, using a hunk of the bread to wipe out the last drop of soup from the bowl. It had passed fleetingly through Betty's mind that the food could have been drugged, but she was too hungry to worry about that, and anyway, they seemed concerned about her welfare so what was the point of drugging her if they wanted information. Shrugging, Betty gave up the unequal task of trying to fathom the ways of giants and reached for another bowl which appeared to contain small berries.

Eventually Betty reached a point where she simply couldn't stuff another morsel in and pushed away the bowl of fruit before leaning back to give her stomach more room.

"Please move back onto the bed so I may remove the remains of your meal," said the voice, making Betty jump. Without arguing, Betty scuttled back onto the bed and watched as the same giant hand reached in and removed all evidence of her meal, including the furniture. Once the mesh was replaced, Betty shuffled to the edge of the bed and sat there expectantly.

"What happens now ?" she asked.

"I will inform Sherik you are awake and have been attended to, he will want to speak to you very soon,"

"Who are you ?" asked Betty, curiosity getting the better of her.

At once a face appeared above the room. Looking up, Betty saw a serious faced woman of about thirty with brown hair, neatly pulled off her face, and brown eyes.

"My name is Elish, I have been assigned to maintain your welfare, and keep you in condition," said the giant.

"In condition!" Betty squeaked indignantly, " I'm not a tame guinea pig!"

"What is a.......ginny pig ?" asked Elish, her face screwing up in a perplexed expression as she regarded the angry woman on the bed.

"A guinea pig........a pet mouse........a laboratory rat!" spluttered Betty, throwing her arms wide in frustration. Elish pondered Betty's explanation and took a large cue from the tiny woman’s body language.

"You mean an experimental breeding animal," exclaimed Elish, her face clearing in understanding.

"Oh my god........" said Betty faintly, sitting down hard on the bed in shock. "Is that what you have planned for me ?"

"I haven't been informed of the whole project.....Sherik will be able to answer your questions....I am just here to provide for you and keep you healthy."

"Oh my god," whispered Betty, horrified. Ignoring the giant woman still peering into her room, Betty leaned back onto the bed and curled herself into a ball, her arms wrapped around her legs in a protective gesture.

Above her, Elish viewed the tiny woman’s behaviour with a perplexed frown. Shrugging, the giant woman swivelled around on her chair and reached for her journal, intent on recording all her observations. Before starting to write, she switched off the recording devices and pulled out the tapes to label them. After completing her journal, Elish cast a final glance into the miniature room, noting that Betty hadn't moved.

"I will leave you now...I have other duties to attend to...I will talk with you at the next meal break,"

Getting no response from the woman on the bed, Elish clicked her tongue in annoyance at the complexity of the test subject and got up to leave the room.

Hearing the giant leave, Betty uncurled a little way. She stared dry eyed at the wall facing her bed, her mind whirling at the news that she was to be used as potential breeding stock. Stuffing her fist into her mouth to stifle her sobs, she lay on the bed and contemplated her situation. The only pin point of hope that kept reoccurring to her was that to breed they would need to find another Little Person...which ultimately lead to the hope that she would at least have someone to help her try to escape.

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"Are you okay Barry ?" asked Steve, forcibly relaxing his tense jaw are the rough ride into the boat. Beside him, in the co-pilots chair, the young boy that had kept him company, turned worried eyes to his captain.

"I only caught part of the conversation, it was too muffled....where are we this time ?"

"In another giants boat Barry....that's all I really know for now." Steve told him, making a start at loosening his harness. He indicated for Barry to also get out of his restraints and they both struggled for the next couple of seconds to loosen their life saving bonds. Once free, Steve led the way out of the cockpit and into the passenger cabin. There, Dan was already out of his seat and checking on the injured, Fitzhugh choosing to remain firmly buckled in, his lugubrious face turned to face the shuttered portholes. Chipper whined hopefully at the sight of his master and Barry plumped himself down on his seat and started to talk to the little dog, poking his fingers through the wicker basket while keeping his voice low as the other discussed their current predicament.

Mark was awake, the bruise on his forehead marring his tanned skin and giving him a piratical look. Dan had loosened his safety belt and raised the seat back into its upright position just as Steve had entered the cabin. Now both men had their eyes fixed on the Captain, eager for news.

"We appear to be on the move again," stated Steve, perching on the edge of one of the chairs.

"Any idea who has us this time round ?" asked Dan. Steve only shook his head before turning his gaze on Mark.

"How's the head ?"

"Still attached to my body, mores the pity...I could do with a transplant right now," said Mark, wincing at the sound of his own voice.

"We appear to be the captives of a group of giants that were specifically looking for us....or atleast for the ship," said Steve, rubbing a hand over his chin. "They bought off the boys who originally picked up the ship and they are now carrying us off to who knows where...or why,"

"Do they know we're in here ?" asked Mark, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Not as far as I can tell....but there was some talk of a key....and the possibility of breaking into the ship," said Steve grimly. This comment pulled Fitzhugh out of his sulk, the older man snapping his head around to stare open mouthed at him.

"Break us open.....we'll be killed for sure...and what about the ship...without it, we're doomed to spend the rest of our lives on this godforsaken planet!"

"Nice of you to join the meeting, Mr.Fitzhugh," said Dan, "Now how about telling us something we don't know."

"I don't see the need for sarcasm Mr.Ericson," Fitzhugh retorted, "I'm only voicing what everyone else is thinking."

"You're quite right, Fitz, that is exactly what we're all thinking.....Mark, what shape are the motor's in, is there any chance of a short flight ?" asked Steve, " I know we've vetoed using the engines before now to conserve our power, but I think that's pretty redundant given our present situation."

"Well the batteries were at seventy five percent before the flood, which is enough to fire up the engines." said Mark, " but our main problem is fuel....we simply don't have enough to achieve lift." Shifting a bit, Mark tried to lean forward, stopping abruptly when pain lanced through his shoulders."The reactor core is low on hydrogen cells......if you recall we used up our spare and we haven't found a source to replace it,"

"I was hoping they'd be enough to get us off the ground, maybe carry us up high enough....." Steve trailed off when Mark started to shake his head.

"Oh we could take off....given a smooth airstrip and a tail wind...the problem comes when we've exhausted our thirty seconds of fuel burn.....with the cells exhausted we'll plummet to the ground like a rock," he explained, "then the ship.....always assuming we survive the crash.....would be beyond anything I could hope to repair."

"What about the beta-control system ?" asked Dan, again Mark shook his head.

"We pretty much exhausted that when we got that giant out of the quicksand....I haven't had the resources to replace the radium, what we got from that clock simply wasn't enough."

"So what are we left with........bargaining with our captors and hope that the giants don't want to dissect us or the ship ?"

Steve's statement hung in the air, no-one able to refute it, or suggest anything else.

"Okay then" said Steve after a minute, " I'll keep an ear on what's happening outside....hopefully pick up something from the giants. In the meantime, everyone rest while you can.....it could get rocky once this boat trip ends."

Everyone remained silent until Steve had left the cabin, then Fitzhugh huffed loudly before pulling his straps tight once more and returning his gaze to the blank windows beside his chair. Barry looked over his shoulder and saw Dan roll his eyes at Fitzhugh's reaction. The boy had listened intently to the conversation, his own fears temporarily squashed as his mind tried to find an answer to the problem of how to escape the giants. Now he settled back into his chair, checking that his beloved pet was also securely strapped in. The movement of the boat through the water was soothing and Barry soon found himself nodding off, Chipper's wet nose pressed against his fingers still sticking through the hole in the whicker basket. Mark, with Dan's help had risen from his chair and was making his way to the small bathroom at the back of the ship. As he passed by Valerie’s couch, he paused, staring down at the still unconscious woman. Briefly his eyes flicked up to meet Dan's sympathetic gaze before he reached out and trailed a gentle finger down Valerie's swollen cheek. Suddenly aware of how it must look to the co-pilot, Mark snatched back his hand and continued on his way, albeit not entirely steady, not daring to check and see if Dan was still watching.

Dan had been watching but soon turned away to spare Mark's embarrassment and busied himself checking that both Fitzhugh and Barry were safely secured in their seats before returning to his own. When Mark returned he paused to check that Valerie’s restraints were still secure before making his way to his own and dropping into the chair, a deep sigh escaping him.

"You okay Mark ?" asked Dan.

"Yeah.......just......"

"I understand.......she'll be alright, Steve did a good job setting that wrist.....and I'm sure she'll come around soon,"

Reining in the urge to make an instant rebuttal, Mark swallowed and turned to smile crookedly at the co-pilot, receiving a toothy grin in reply.

"Anyone would think you're getting soft in your old age Dan," said Mark wryly, turning back to face forward.

"Your secrets safe with me Mark," replied Dan, so quietly that neither Fitzhugh or Barry heard him.

Outside the ship they could here the distant drone of the giants motor start to slow down, the vibrations through their feet getting more pronounced as the giants boat started to slow and bob as the wake from the outboard caught up with them. Finally they felt the bump as the boat heeled against its mooring and then they were once more tilted at a crazy angle when giant hands lifted their ship, the Spindrift, high up into the air.

And away.

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Valerie lay for a few minutes cataloguing her aches and pains before deciding to risk opening her eyes. The quick stab of light made her shut them again hurriedly, her previously smooth forehead now furrowed in pain. Groaning to herself, she tried to lift her left hand, only to find it firmly strapped down, completely immovable. Perplexed, Valerie tried to move other parts of her body, only to realise that she was quite tightly secured to her flight chair, tilted back to be almost laying flat. Deciding to risk it, she opened her eyes again and found herself staring up at the roof of the passenger cabin of the Spindrift. Blinking to bring her view into focus, Valerie tilted her head to look down her body. She saw her arm swathed in bandages, her fingers almost touching her chin where they rested on her chest. Surprised, but not perturbed, she bemusedly cast her eyes around the room. Seeing no-one in her immediately line of sight, she ran her tongue over her dry lips and attempted to call out. The result was a low croak, but it was sufficient to motivate some movement behind her. She heard footsteps before the light currently blinding her was shut off by the head of the person leaning over her.

"You're awake....." stated Mark, his fingers already starting to undo the restrained before she had a chance to ask him. Valerie lay still while he worked on the straps, quickly freeing her right arm and body. Then he moved to raise the back of the chair slightly, so that Valerie was upright but still reclining.

"How are you feeling ?" he asked, his eyes never leaving her face. Valerie decided she rather liked waking up to Mark's face and lay there for a second just gazing up into his blue eyes, before trying to speak again.

"How....what....when..." she croaked, again running her tongue over her dry lips. Ignoring her questions for the moment, Mark reached down and picked up a cup, bringing it to her mouth and cautioning her to take small sips. The water felt like cool silk running down her parched throat, and after a couple of swallows she tried talking again.

"What happened ?"

"What do you remember ?"

"Urrh...there was a flood....um....the ship was in the middle of a lake....you went swimming ?"

"Yeah.....I did....sort of," smiled Mark, "what else do you remember ?"

"I......" Valerie's eyes took on a glazed look as she tried to recall, " its no good....its all blank,"

"That's okay.....might be a blessing,"

"Obviously something happened," retorted Valerie, looking pointedly at her arm.

"Its a long story...but the short version is, we've been captured......but so far the giants don't appear to know that we're inside the ship,"

"The ships nots moving......how long have I been...?," Valerie started, indicating her bandaged arm before raising her hand to touch the dark bruise on her cheek with tentative fingers.

"You've been out for about twelve hours, give or take a few," Mark told her,"you broke your wrist during our first capture....Steve set it for you, its in a splint and needs to be kept still,"

Nodding her understanding, Valerie reached for Mark's hand that held the cup, her fingers trembling slightly against his arm as he guided the cup to her lips. After a second swallow Valerie's head flopped back on the headrest, her small supply of energy exhausted already.

"Where is.....everyone ?" she panted, her eyes looking past Mark to the cabin doorway.

"Barry and Fitz are monitoring the exterior mike and radar," said Mark, " Steve, Dan and myself are working on the engines, trying to repair some damage caused by our less than smooth capture."

As Mark moved back, his face came out of shadow and Valerie gasped when she saw the extent of the bruising across his cheek and above his right eye. Seeing her wide eyed gaze, Mark self consciously reached up and touched his tender face, smiling lopsidedly.

"Colourful isn't it.....it matches the ones I have on my ribs,"

"It looks painful," said Valerie, biting her lower lip.

"I could say the same for yours," said Mark, touching the back of his fingers to her cheek so softly Valerie almost didn't feel it.

"I'm glad I don't have a mirror right now...I'm sure I'd have a fit," laughed Valerie to break the tension, her eyes sliding away in confusion. Gathering up the cup, Mark turned to go.

"Get some rest Val, call out if you need anything, we're only in the engine room,"

Before Valerie could do more than raise her hand in protest, he was gone. Closing her eyes, Valerie raised her good hand and once more felt around her face, wincing when her finger tips encountered a bruise. Feeling as weak as a kitten, she lowered her hand and shifted to a more comfortable position before dropping into a light doze.

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"Is she okay ?" asked Steve, looking up from the panel he was working on as Mark entered the small engine room.

"As well as can be expected....she doesn't remember anything, and her arm doesn't seem to be hurting her too much," said Mark, coming to stand next to Dan who was checking the reactor's control panel.

"It's been more than an hour since the ship stopped moving......any work from Fitz or Barry about what's going on outside ?" asked Steve, reaching for a rag to wipe off his hands.

"I checked with them first, so far nothing since we were brought into the building, there's been sounds like someone moving around, but nothing close enough to make out words,"

"Why go to all the trouble to capture the ship and then do nothing ?" queried Dan, casting a quick look over his shoulder before returning to the panel.

"I don't know why Dan, unless they're hoping we'll make the first move," said Steve.

"There's been so little talk between the giants that caught us that I'm almost sure they suspect that we're in here......what worries me is what are they going to do to find out for sure ?"

"That is the crux of the problem....do we wait for them to break in...or do we show ourselves and hope for the best,"

"If we wait for them to make their move, the ship could be irreparably damaged," stated Mark, folding his arms, " we could offer up one of us to distract them and allow the rest a chance to escape,"

"No," said Steve, slashing the air with his hand emphatically. "I won't put anyone in that position, it would be suicide."

"I don't think that anyone that has gone to this extent to get their hands on us would intend us harm.......we're obviously here for a purpose," argued Mark.

"Are you crazy...since when did you become a champion for the giants ?" asked Dan swinging around to stare at him in disbelief. Mark only shook his head.

"I'm not saying that the giants don't have something planned.....I'm just saying that for someone to put this many resources into finding us...they must want something more than just an excuse to kill us."

"All that aside, I'm still not willing to risk your theory Mark, and put someone out there as a Judas goat."

"Even if I volunteer ?"

"Especially if you volunteer...forget it, we wait it out and see what the giants decide to do with us." said Steve, " and that's my final word."

"No argument from me Steve," said Dan, turning back to his control panel.

Mark and Steve regarded each over across the room, a silent battle of wills lasting only a few seconds before Mark dropped his eyes and turned away. Satisfied that his chief engineer wasn't about to do anything foolhardy, Steve hunkered down and started checking the wiring behind another panel.

The three men continued to work in silence, passing tools and methodically checking all the ships systems while all the time the atmosphere continued to crackle with tension as each man considered the possibility that all their efforts would ultimately be in vain.

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"What do the test's show ?" asked Sherik, his chin sunk on his chest as he regarded the monitor that showed several views of the Spindrift.

"Without actually touching the ship and possibly alerting the creatures inside, we've established that there are approximately half a dozen entities in the ship, but the numbers can't be exact as the power supply tends to mask the energy signatures and plus they are moving around alot inside there."

"But we are sure that they are in fact inside the ship ?"

"Oh yes....without a doubt, despite the apparent deserted appearance of the shuttered windows."

A satisfied smile curved Sherik's lips as he acknowledged his head scientist report.

"Then all we have to do is get them to come out without damaging the ship," said Sherik, rubbing his chin absently.

"How do you want to proceed ?" asked Tam, clutching a thick sheaf of readout’s to her chest as Sherik suddenly swung around and put both his hands on her shoulders, his intense gaze now pinning her in place.

"We use our key......tell Elish to get her charge ready....its time to induce our tiny travellers out of their shell!"

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