fired, Morn 2 leaped in front of his friend, taking the beam
meant for him. A dozen daggers found their mark. The woman disappeared
in a fiery flash and, most of the console she had dove behind.
32 North 2 knelt by his dead friend, and North felt his grief in his
own mind. It was as if he had just seen Morn die for him. One of the
women left her console and came over, knelt by the body, and began to
weep.
33 "Get those swords!" ordered North.
34 "Sir!" cried the Officer on the weapon's console, "The battleship is
already coming up on our stern. There's also several other warships
closing in on us. It looks like they're boxing us in. There's a fleet
of buses making for our hatches."
35 "Activate all hatch docks," ordered North.
36 The women looked at North in disbelief. "We disconnected your
implant," she gasped, "you couldn't have called for help! How could
they know?"
37 "There are a few secrets about me," answered North, "you have never
learned! Order your crew to surrender. I promise you good treatment."
38 The woman looked angry, but North knew she understood full well that
resistance was useless. She went to the communications console and
ordered her crew not to resist the boarding parties.
39 A few minutes later the Priest and North's ship's Officers entered
the command deck, weapons at
the ready. They all stopped in their tracks when they saw the two
identical Norths. "He's the real North," explained North 2. "His
implant's been turned off. Follow his orders."
40 The ship's Officers looked at the Priest who nodded.
41 "Secure these prisoners," ordered North. "Keep this quiet. What
you've seen here is secret. Tell anyone else involved that the owner of
the ship permitted us to use his vessel for an unscheduled tactical
exercise.