'You're starting to get on my nerves, Sal.' Li headed for the nearest companionway. They climbed in single file to the level above, where a passageway took them to the restricted area. From the bowels of the vessel came the sounds of destruction. There was another explosion. The floor shook and tilted, forcing them to pause. The bulkheads must be giving way to the pressure. Now the Independence was at a noticeable angle. The passageway became an uphill slope. Men and women streamed out of the control room, running towards them. They looked at Li expectantly, awaiting her orders. Their commander strode past.

'On your nerves?' Peak blocked her path. His horror was turning into blind rage. 'You can't just go around shooting people or having them killed. For Christ's sake, Li, it's uncalled for. We never planned it this way. No one agreed to this.'

Li's face was calm, but her blue eyes were flicking back and forth. Peak had never noticed that before. Suddenly he knew that this highly intelligent, well-educated, distinguished general was mad.

'Vanderbilt knows,' she said.

'You cleared it with the CIA?'

'With Vanderbilt of the CIA.'

'So you and that scumbag agreed to this lunacy?' Peak's lips curled in disgust. 'Well, it makes me sick. Right now we should be helping to evacuate this vessel.'

'We've got presidential approval,' Li added.

'Yeah, right.'

'Or as good as.'

'Not for this. I don't believe you.'

'Well, I know he'd approve it.' She pushed past him. 'Now, get out of my way. We're running out of time.'

Peak rushed after her. 'But these people have done nothing wrong. They risked their lives by joining this mission. They're our allies. Arrest them if you have to, but don't kill them.'

'They're either with me or against me. Can't you see that, Sal?'

'Johanson wasn't against you.'

'He was against me from the start.' She spun round, glaring up at him. 'Are you blind or just stupid? Don't you understand what will happen if America doesn't win this war? Another state's victory is America's defeat.'

'But this isn't about America! It's about the world.'

'America is the world.'

Peak stared at her. 'You're crazy,' he whispered.

'No, just realistic. And it's about time you did as you were told. You're under my command.' Li walked off 'Come on. We've got a job to do. I need to be in that submersible before this ship is blown to pieces. Help me find Rubin's radioactive torpedoes. Then you can do as you like.'

VEHICLE RAMP

Weaver couldn't make up her mind which way to run until she heard voices coming from the ramp. Li and Peak had vanished. They were probably on their way to Rubin's lab to fetch the contaminated pheromone. She ran to the next bend in the tunnel and saw Anawak and Johanson at the entrance to the hangar deck, each propping up the other, about to head down.

'Leon!' she cried. 'Sigur!'

She ran forward and threw her arms round them. It meant a pretty big-stretch but she needed to hold them both. One especially. Johanson grunted in pain. She jerked away. 'Oh, I'm sorry, I-'

'It's OK.' He wiped the blood off his beard. 'The spirit is willing but… Anyway, what's going on?'

'Whatever happened to you?

The deck rumbled beneath their feet. The Independence's hull gave a drawn-out squeal. The hangar bay tilted another degree towards the bow.

Hurriedly they swapped accounts, Anawak still in shock from Greywolf's death. 'Does either of you know what's happening to the ship?' he asked.

'No, but I don't think we've time to worry about it.' Weaver glanced round. 'I'd say we've got two urgent jobs to deal with: stopping Li getting into that sub, and somehow getting out of here alive.'

'You think she'll stick to her plan?'

'Of course she will,' Johanson growled.

Noises were coming from the flight deck above them. They heard the thump of rotors. 'Do you hear that? The rats are deserting the ship.'

'But what's come over her?' Anawak shook his head uncomprehendingly. 'Why would Li kill Sue?'

'She did her best to kill me too. She'd shoot anyone who stands in her way. She never intended to negotiate peacefully.'

'But what's she trying to achieve?'

'It doesn't matter now,' said Johanson. 'Her schedule will have moved forward dramatically. Someone's got to stop her. We can't let her take that stuff down there.'

'No,' said Weaver. 'We need to take this stuff down there instead.'

For the first time Johanson noticed the case in Weaver's hand. His eyes widened. 'Is that the new batch of pheromone?'

'Sue's legacy.'

'But how's that going to help us?'

'I've had an idea.' She hesitated. 'God knows if it'll work, though. I thought of it yesterday, but somehow it didn't seem viable. I guess things have changed.' She summarised.

'Sounds promising,' said Anawak. 'But we must act fast. We may have only minutes. We need to be out of here before the ship sinks.'

'But I don't know how we can do it in practice.'

'Well, I do.' Anawak pointed down the ramp. 'We need a dozen hypodermic syringes. I'll fetch them. You two go down and take care of the submersible.' He thought for a moment. 'And we'll need… Do you think you'll find someone in the lab?'

'Sure. No problem. But where are you going to get syringes?'

'The infirmary.'

Above them the noise intensified. Through the opening to the port-side elevator they saw a helicopter rise up and wheel round, flying close to the waves. The steel girders of the hangar deck groaned. The ship was warping.

'Be quick,' said Weaver.

Anawak met her gaze. Their eyes lingered. 'You can depend on it,' he said.

Evacuation

Unlike most people on the Independence, Crowe knew almost exactly what had happened. Footage of the glowing sphere had been relayed via the cameras on the hull to the monitors above. From what she could tell, the ball had been made of jelly, and there'd been gas inside, which had expanded when it burst. Probably methane, thought Crowe. Amid the swirling bubbles she'd caught sight of something familiar: the outline of a submersible racing towards the ship.

A Deepflight armed with torpedoes.

In the seconds that followed the explosion all hell had broken loose. Shankar's head had cracked down on the desk and was bleeding profusely. Crowe had helped him to his feet, before soldiers and technicians stormed into the CIC and hustled them outside. The repeated buzz of the alarm kept them moving. People were crowding into the companionways, but the crew seemed on top of the situation. An officer was there to help them out. He guided them aft to a companion-way that led upwards.

'Straight through the island and on to the flight deck,' he said. 'Don't stop for anything. You'll get further instructions at the top.'

Crowe pushed the dazed Shankar up the ladder. She was small and dainty, and Shankar was big and heavy. She had to summon all her strength. 'Come on, Murray,' she gasped.

Shankar's hands trembled as he reached for the rungs. He pulled himself up with difficulty. 'I never thought making contact would end like this,' he gasped.

'You must have seen the wrong movies.'

Ruefully she thought of the cigarette she'd lit only seconds before the explosion. It was still smouldering in the CIC What a waste. She'd have given anything for a cigarette now. Just one before she died. Instinct told her that no one on the ship was likely to survive.

But no, she thought suddenly. Of course. They weren't reliant on lifeboats. They had helicopters.

Relief flooded through her. Shankar had reached the top of the companionway. Hands stretched down to haul him out. As Crowe followed, it struck her that what they were experiencing might be the kind of contact humans knew best – aggressive, ruthless and murderous.