It blinked owlishly at them over the top of the trolleyit had been pushing. Apart from anything else, Kirstyhad been aiming the gun well above its head.There was one of those awkward pauses.

'Around this time,' said the Captain behind them,'the crew on the bridge have a snack brought to them.'

Johnny leaned forward, nodded at the little old alien,and lifted the lid of the tray that was on the trolley.There were a few bowls of something green and bub-bling. He gently lowered the lid again.

'I think you were going to shoot the tea lady,' hesaid.

'How was I to know?' Kirsty demanded. 'It couldhave been anything! This is an alien spaceship! You'renot supposed to get tea ladies!'

The Captain said something in ScreeWee to the oldalien, who shuffled around slowly and went off backdown the corridor. One wheel of the trolley keptsqueaking.

Kirsty was furious.

'This isn't going right!' she hissed.

'Come on,' said Johnny. 'Let's go to the bridge andget it over with.'

'I didn't know it was a tea lady! That's your dreaming!'

'Yes, all right.'

'She had no right to be there!'

'I suppose even aliens get a bit thirsty in theafternoons.'

'That's not what I meant! They're supposed to bealien! That means slavering and claws! It doesn't meansending out for ... for a coffee and a jam doughnut!'

'Things are just like they are,' said Johnny,shrugging.

She turned on him.

'Why do you just accept everything? Why don't youever try to change things?'

'They're generally bad enough already,' he said.She leapt ahead and peered around the next corner.'Guards!' she said. 'And these have got guns!'Johnny looked around the corner. There were twoScreeWee standing in front of a round door. Theywere, indeed, armed.

'Satisfied?' she snapped. 'No hint of Danish pastriesanywhere? Right? Now can I actually shootsomething?'

'No I keep telling you! You have to give them achance to surrender.'

'You always make it difficult!'

She raised the gun and stepped out.

So did the Captain. She hissed a word in ScreeWee.The guards looked from her to Kirsty, who wassquinting along her gun barrel. One of them hissedsomething.

'She says the Gunnery Officer has instructed them toshoot anyone who approaches the door,' said theCaptain.

'I'll fire if they move,' said Kirsty. 'I mean it!'The Captain spoke in ScreeWee again. The guardsstared at Johnny. They lowered their guns.

Suspicion rose inside him.

'What did you just tell them?' he said.

'I just told them who you were,' said the Captain.

'You said I was the Chosen One?'

One of the guards was trying to kneel. That lookedvery strange in a creature with four legs.

Kirsty rolled her eyes.

'It's better than being shot at,' said the Captain. 'I'vebeen shot at a lot. I know what I am talking about.'

'Tell her to get up,' said Johnny. 'What do we donow? Who's on the bridge?'

'Most of the officers,' said the Captain. 'The guardsays there have been arguments. Gunfire.'

'That's more like it!' said Kirsty.

They looked at the door.

'OK,' said Johnny. 'Let's go . .

The Captain motioned one of the guards aside and touched a plate by the door.

Humans!

Johnny saw it all in one long, long second.

Firstly, the bridge was big. It seemed to be the sizeof a football pitch. And at one end there was a screen,which looked almost as big. He felt like an ant standingin front of a TV set.

The screen was covered with green dots.

Players. Heading for the fleet.

There were hundreds of them.

Right in front of the screen was a horseshoe-shapedbank of controls, with a dozen seats ranged in front ofIt.

It's here, he thought. When I was sitting in my roomplaying, they were in here in this great shadowy room,steering their ship, firing back

Only one seat was occupied now. Its occupantwas already standing up, half turning, reaching forsomething .

'Go ahead,' said Kirsty. 'Make my stardate.'The Gunnery Officer froze, glaring at them.'Too late,' he said. 'You're too late!' He waved a clawtowards the screen. 'I've taken us back to where webelong. There is no time to turn us round again. Youmust fight now.'

He focused on Johnny. 'What's that?' he said.

'The Chosen One,' said the Captain, starting to walkforward. The others followed her.

'But we must fight,' said the Gunnery Officer. 'Forhonour. The honour of the ScreeWee! That's what weare for!'

Johnny's foot touched something. He looked down.Now that his eyes had become accustomed to thegloom, he could see that he'd almost tripped over aScreeWee. It was dead. Nothing with a hole like thatin it could have been alive.

Kirsty was looking down, too. Johnny could seeother shapes on the floor in the shadows.

'He's been killing Sc- people,' he whispered.

Shoot them in space, shoot them on a screen, andthere was just an explosion and five points on the scoretotal. When they'd been shot from a few metres away,then there was simply a reminder that someone whohad been alive was now, very definitely, not alive anymore. And would never be again.

He looked up at the Gunnery Officer. ScreeWeewere cold-blooded and a long way from being human,but this one had a look about it - about him that sug-gested a mind running off into madness.

There was a silvery sheen on his scales. Johnny foundhimself wondering if the ScreeWee changed colour,like chameleons. The Captain had always looked moregolden when she was acting normally, and becamealmost yellow when she was worried

She was the colour of lemons now.

She hissed something. The guards looked at her insurprise, but turned and filed obediently out of thebridge. Then she turned to the Gunnery Officer.

'You killed all of them?' she said, softly.

'They tried to stop me! It is a matter of honour!'

'Yes, yes. I can see that,' said the Captain, in a levelvoice. She was shifting position slightly now, movingaway from the humans.

'A ScreeWee dies fighting or not at all!' shouted theGunnery Officer.

The Captain's scales had faded to the colour of oldpaper.

'Yes, I understand, I understand,' she said. 'And thehumans understand too, don't you.'

The Gunnery Officer turned his head. The Captainspread her arms, opened her mouth and leapt. The malemust have sensed her; he turned, claws whirringthrough the air.

Johnny reached out and caught Kirsty's gun as sheraised it.

'No! You might hit her!'

'Why'd she do that? I could easily have shot him! Socould the guards! Why just jump at him like that?'

The fighters were a whirling ball of claws and tails.'It's personal. I think she hates him too much,' hesaid. 'But look at the screen!'

There were more green dots. Red figures that mighthave meant something to a ScreeWee were scrolling upon one side too fast for a human to read.

He looked down at the controls.

'They're getting closer! We've got to do something.'Kirsty stared at the controls too. The seats weremade to fit a ScreeWee. So were the controlsthemselves.

'Well, do you know what a V 4-f T ~ means?' shesaid. 'Fast? Slow? Fire? The cigarette lighter?'

The fighters had broken apart and were circling eachother, hissing. The green and red light from the screenthrew unpleasant shadows.

Neither ScreeWee was paying the humans the leastattention. They couldn't afford to. ScreeWee walkedlike ducks and looked like a cartoon of a crocodile, butthey fought like cats - it was mainly watching andsnarling with short, terrible blurs of attack and defence.

A light started to flash on the panel and an alarmrang. It rang in ScreeWee, but it was still pretty urgenteven in Human.