He screamed and screamed.

The fin reappeared.

COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER

Li couldn't believe her eyes. In a matter of seconds chaos had erupted on the well deck. She watched Peak sprint along the jetty. Soldiers were firing blindly into the water, and Roscovitz's mangled body dangled from above. 'Get me some sound,' she demanded.

The next moment gunshots and screams echoed through the room. Everyone started talking at once, as the chaos on the well deck found its echo in the CIC. Feverishly Li considered what should be done. She'd send reinforcements, of course. This time with explosive projectiles. Why were the idiots firing standard ammunition?

They had to wrest back control.

She'd go down in person.

Without a word she went into the adjacent room. The LFOC was the command centre for amphibious operations. From there they could flood the ballast tanks, pump out the water, and open the stern gate, in the event that the control desk in the well deck failed. Only the steel flaps couldn't be operated from the LFOC – another stupid oversight.

'OK,' she said, to the shocked crew members in front of the screens. 'I want the ballast tanks in the stern pumped dry.' She thought for a moment. Was the sluice in the well deck open or closed? Would the water be able to run out? It was impossible to tell from the confusion on the monitors. Usually it was enough to raise the stern of the vessel and the artificial harbour would drain automatically, either through the open sluice or out of the stern gate into the sea. There was an emergency pump system, in case both were blocked. It took a little longer, but served the same purpose.

Li gave the order for the pump to be activated, and ran back to the CIC.

WELL DECK

The steel flaps weren't responding. He didn't have time to wonder why. Breathing heavily Peak ran to one of the armaments lockers and pulled out a harpoon gun with an explosive charge. His men were firing indiscriminately into the water, while an enormous squid-like creature seemed to be forcing itself through the open sluice, writhing and snaking beneath the surface of the pool.

From the corner of his eye Peak spotted Rubin hauling himself out of the water. He felt disgusted and relieved. He detested the man, but that was no excuse for knocking him into the water. Rubin's life had to be protected He still had a job to do.

The fin moved away from the jetty. Anawak and Greywolf were some distance away, swimming towards the other side of the pool. Glowing tentacles seemed to pursue them, but the jelly was everywhere, stretching out in all directions. The orca was definitely on their tail.

He had to dispatch the beast before it killed anyone else.

Suddenly Peak felt calm. Everything else could wait. The key thing was to finish off the lethal mass of flesh and teeth. He raised the harpoon gun and took aim.

ANAWAK SAW THE Orca approaching. The water in the basin foamed and splashed – it seemed to have come alive, a moving, shimmering mass of blue, through which the orca swam purposefully towards him and Grey-wolf It rose to expel a jet of misty air, and its black head loomed into view. It was only metres away now. They'd never make it to the jetty; that much was clear. But they had to do something. When the orcas had attacked in Clayoquot Sound, Greywolf had arrived in the nick of time and saved them. Right now, their only chance was to out manoeuvre it.

The orca dived.

'Let it through!' he screamed at Greywolf.

Not a very clear instruction, he thought. God knows if Jack will understand. But it was too late for explanations.

Anawak took a gulp of air and sank beneath the surface.

PEAK CURSED. The whale was gone and there was no sign of Greywolf or Anawak. He ran along the jetty, searching for the enormous body, but the basin had turned into a surreal underwater inferno, in which flashes of light, blurred shapes and jets of water blocked his view. Ahead one of the soldiers was firing at the serpentine creature in the pool, which was clearly having no effect.

'Stop that!' Peak pushed the man in the direction of the console. 'Sound the alarm. Get the flaps open and get rid of the Deepflight.' His eyes scanned the water. 'Then close the goddamned sluice.'

The soldier ran off.

Peak walked up to the edge of the jetty and peered into the basin, the harpoon gun in his hands.

AS SOON AS Anawak had ducked under water, the harsh noises of the deck had yielded to low hissings and rumblings. Greywolf was alongside him, treading water, bubbles streaming from his mouth. Anawak hadn't let go of his arm since he'd jerked him under water. He didn't know if his idea would work.

Something surged towards them. It looked like a huge headless snake. Lines of light pulsated over the semi-transparent shimmering blue tissue. Hundreds of thin, whip-like tendrils extended from its body, sweeping over the floor of the pool. Suddenly Anawak realised that the creature was scanning its surroundings. The whips were registering every detail of the deck. As he watched, in horror and fascination, a fresh set grew out from the body and wriggled towards him.

The open mouth of the orca loomed between them.

Anawak felt a change come over him. One part of him shut itself off and calmly asked questions. How much of the aggressor was whale and how much was jelly? How would an orca behave, if it wasn't following its instincts but was in the grip of an alien consciousness? He had to see the orca as part of the luminescent jelly, not as an orca with normal orca reflexes. But maybe that was where their advantage lay. Perhaps they could confuse it.

The orca shot towards them.

Anawak dodged to one side, pushing Greywolf in the opposite direction. He saw Greywolf swim off- good, he'd understood the plan. The whale hurtled between them, startled by the sudden division of its prey.

They'd gained a few seconds.

Without stopping to look for the orca, Anawak swam into the forest of tentacles.

RUBIN WAS CRAWLING along the jetty on all fours, gasping for breath. The soldier leaped over him and hurried to the control desk. He glanced at the display panels, got his bearings, and pressed the button to open the steel hatch.

The system was jammed.

Like all the other members of his squad, the soldier had been trained to operate the control systems on the vessel, and knew exactly how they worked. An image of Browning, body sprawled over the panel, was etched in his mind. He bent down and peered at the button. It was stuck, pushed down to one side. It wouldn't take much to fix. He jabbed at it with his gun.

ANAWAK WAS FLOATING through an alien world.

Veils of tendrils surrounded him. He wasn't sure whether it had been a good idea to swim into the living jungle, but there was no point in worrying about it now. The jelly might react aggressively, or it might not. It might be toxic – in which case it would kill them all anyway.

The glowing tendrils arced in his direction. The whole basin seemed to be moving. Anawak was tossed from side to side. The web tightened, and he felt one of the whips stroking his face. He pushed it away. More twisted towards him, feeling their way over his head and body. Throbbing, buzzing noises filled his ears, and his lungs ached. If he didn't make it to the surface soon, his attempts to fend off the jelly would be in vain.

He reached into the tendrils with both hands and tore them apart. The organism was like a strong, highly flexible muscle, and it never stopped moving or changing shape. Tentacles that had wrapped themselves round him fell away, withdrawing and merging with the main trunk, which immediately started budding new ones.