"It's no use," Will said despairingly. "How can we escape? We're on a space station in we don't know what sector of space, we're heavily guarded by astroninjas, we don't even know if our ship's still here or has been destroyed. What chance do we have?" He turned away and walked off.
"Will!" Zoe said angrily.
"He's had a shock," Emma said. "You both have, I guess. Give him some time."
"He's right though," Ernest said. "You've got to admit, we haven't got a chance of getting out of here."
"This wasn't all Portoran's mission," said Zoe. "He was coming also to warn us about the coup. But he was too late, of course. But now at least we know who's behind it."
"Someone you know?" Ernest asked.
"Our uncle," Zoe said. "Well, uncle by marriage. I should have guessed, really. He's...well he's always been nice to us, but since we grew up it never felt very genuine. He's- he was one of the king's councillors and has quite a following, and he's wealthy- he'd have to be to hire astroninjas, although I expect he's promised them some share in the profits of the coup. Our home, plundered to pay mercenaries! The policies he advocated in council were always opposed to our father's, advocating a strong hand to suppress opposition and oppressive taxes. The people of Bognor will suffer if he is allowed to rule unchallenged."
And yet, as Ernest had said, there seemed to be no way of escape. Hard as they thought and looked, there was no way out of the rooms where they were held, let alone of getting off the space station. Another day passed before there seemed to be any hope.
At first it didn't seem like hope, but if anything a worsening of their situation. There was a speaker in the main room which was tuned in to the station's intercom, allowing the prisoners to hear something of what was going on. Suddenly an alarm siren started blaring.
"What's that?" Tom asked in alarm.
"Some kind of emergency- a fire?" Zoe said. Platorza Portoran, who it appeared could speak English almost as well as Will and Zoe, shook his head.
"It is the alarm to say they are under attack," he said.
"The astroninjas are being attacked?" Zoe said. "Somebody's either very brave or very stupid."
"It's not likely to be your forces, is it?" Emma asked, but Portoran shook his head.
"The space fleet was first to fall to the usurper," he said. "It is not rescue."
"But the confusion might give us a chance to escape!" Zoe said.
"What's the point?" Will said.
"We can at least try," she said.
"This isn't some kind of story," Will said. "That door's locked. Even if the guards went away we wouldn't be able to get out."
"There's often...another way..." Zoe replied, pulling her hair loose and pulling her skirt up to shorten it.
"And the guards aren't going to be seduced, either," Will said.
They listened to the shouts and orders coming over the intercom, as the astroninjas prepared to open fire on the attacking ship.
"Sounds like they're putting up quite a fight, whoever they are," Ernest commented.
Unexpectedly they heard the door being unlocked. A guard of astroninjas floated there, armed as usual with both swords and energy guns, which they directed towards the prisoners.
"Come," one of the ninjas said. "Quickly!" The prisoners grabbed such of their possessions as they had been able to bring with them- in weightless conditions you couldn't just put things down and expect to find them next time you wanted them, so even the least tidy of the travellers had been forced to keep things in a bag- and followed the guard down the corridor. Other guards closed in behind them. Eventually they came out on to the station control room, where the chief ninja was standing at a desk giving orders to the defenders. Every now and then shocks could be felt as the attacking ship's sonic cannons struck home.
The chief ninja came over to the prisoners as they were ushered into a corner, like frightened sheep, and ordered their wrists to be bound.
"If these attackers, whoever they are, think they're going to rescue you they're wrong," he said. "If they set foot in this room, you will die." He spoke to the guards in their own language, and they trained their weapons on the prisoners.
"And I'd recommend you think twice before trying to sabotage any of our equipment, with some idea of helping these assailants," the chief said, turning back to them. "I have instructed the guards to shoot first, and ask questions afterwards. If there is anything left to ask." He went back to the control desk.
"He means it," Will said quietly. "There's no way they'll risk us escaping. If we're dead, they can't use us to bargain with, but that's better than us being at liberty." He looked at the floor. "Maybe it would be better if I was dead, so they couldn't use me to bargain with."
Now, at least, the prisoners could see what was going on. There was a screen in front of them which was showing the attacking ship. It was coming closer.
"They're going to try and board," Zoe said, watching carefully.
"Surely the ninjas can jam the hatchways or something?" Tom said.
"Yes, but there are ways of overriding the controls so they revert to manual, and then a good shove will open it," Zoe replied.
They could see the ship approaching the docking bay.
"Look, the Hilarity's still there!" Agnes said. "Not that it's much good to us."
The attacking ship was large, but sleek and speedy. It was almost touching the space station now. Ruth looked at it, and thought that it seemed familiar. But no, surely not...it was just her inexperience of spaceships, right? But...
"Uh oh," Ernest said.
"What?" Tom asked.
"You know the old question, who would win out of pirates versus ninjas?"
"Yes?"
"I think we might be about to find out."
Ernest was right. It was the Amazon, Queen Argent's ship. The pirates were back, and they weren't happy.
The story continues...
Hurrah!
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