"Avon, you're cutting it fine," Tarrant's voice broke through Avon's concentration. Avon glared at the intercom I can talk or I can work he thought. The final relay clicked into place and he exhaled with relief. Almost at the same moment, he felt the ship move as the door sealed and Liberator began to turn onto its new heading.
By the time he reached the flight deck, he'd built a pretty good mental picture of what was happening. Vila was sparingly activating the force wall and Tarrant was trying to find an escape vector which wasn't cut off.
"Are the blasters cleared for firing?" Avon asked.
Cally confirmed that they had been for several minutes. The problem was that because they were moving so slowly, returning fire was virtually impossible. The Pursuit ships were out manoeuvring Liberator.
"Those ships are probably under orders to disable and capture us, not to destroy us," said Tarrant.
"Would you bet your life on it?" asked Avon.
A huge blast rocked the ship.
"I'm not sure they see the difference between capturing and destroying!" said Vila, picking himself off the floor.
Avon was about to reply when two more plasma bolts impacted the ship.
"Ram one if you have to, but find a way through!" he shouted. Tarrant held his gaze momentarily, then set a heading towards a pursuit ship. At that moment Zen shut down.
"Brace yourselves!"
A massive boom reverberated throughout the ship, the internal structure groaning, from the shock of the impact. Tarrant struggled with the controls as Liberator began to yaw. The damaged pursuit ship span out of control, smashing into another. A distant explosion confirmed both were destroyed. There was no time to celebrate however.
"Avon, get to the auxiliary stabilizer controls. Don't let them red line!"
The ship lurched sickeningly as Tarrant wrenched it back on course. A salvo of plasma bolts shot beneath them.
"Increasing speed. Let's hope she holds together!"
As the remaining ships fired the last of their plasma bolts, the engines began to whine and Liberator accelerated into empty space.
Tarrant began to breathe a little easier as the Pursuit ships slowly fell away.
"Would someone care to explain to me what happened to Zen?"
"It is unable to take actions which could damage it," said Avon. "It should reactive any time."
"Now the danger's passed," added Vila.
Greggs looked on impassively as Liberator disappeared from view.
"No matter," he murmured.
Cay left to check on Blake. Although Greggs had not accused him of failure publically, he felt partly responsible.
It didn't take Cay long, after he had opened the door, to find the ropes abandoned on the floor. He rushed back to inform Greggs who came to inspect the scene. There was a tense silence as both Cooplan and Cay wondered who would be blamed for Blake's escape.
Greggs however remained calm again.
"When I was a full member of the Federation and my scientific knowledge was sought after, I used to find that every problem had a solution, if one waited for the facts to be brought to light. Who tied these bonds?"
"Cay tied the ropes and I checked them. There's no way he could have escaped," Cooplan said.
"Indeed. And yet he is clearly no longer our prisoner. So either he is able to loosen ropes with his bare hands or…" his voice trailed off.
"Leaving that aside for a minute. How sure can we be that he remains on the ship?"
"The door was still sealed when I opened it just now," said Cay. "I don't think he could have got out that way."
"It is reasonable to assume that he didn't get to Liberator as Avon was so reluctant to leave. So that means..."
"He is still aboard," said Cooplan.
"With an accomplice, "added Greggs. "Either one of you helped free him or there's someone else on the ship."
Listening From inside the vent, Blake's heart dropped. So it had been Liberator. Avon had been within a hair's breath of rescuing him. Greggs' voice cut through his thoughts.
"Search the room. Check the floor and walls. Blake won't have gone far."
As silently as possible, Blake crept back to Tamsen.
"They're coming. I'll let them capture me. Make sure you stay hidden."
Tamsen nodded and moved deeper into the ship.
A short time later, Blake found himself back in front of Greggs.
"You were nearly rescued Blake," he smiled nastily. "However, you will not get another chance at freedom. I am curious though. How did you escape your bonds?"
"Your lieutenants are not as thorough as you think," said Blake. "I had a small blade hidden in my shoe."
"Possibly. But I doubt it. Cay, check the rest of the ventilation vents. If there is someone else aboard, I want them found."
"Auto repair circuits report extensive damage. Liberator will not be fully operational for 700 hours," Zen reported.
"That's it then," said Vila. "We can't go back after the Dublin. It'll reach the Federation in a fraction of that time."
Avon glared at him. "We were being manipulated. Greggs alerted the Pursuit ships. He wanted to capture us and Liberator. He already had Blake."
"You think he was there?" asked Tarrant.
"The Dublin had at least one extra passenger and they were bound. Orac, I want you to monitor all ships in and out of the Federation world. I want to know if anything leaves that planet!"
"Information. 3 Pursuit ships have entered range," said Zen.
"Avon, we have to give him up for now. We have to run," said Cally.
"Tarrant, get us out of here!" Avon said with icy restraint.