"We're in trouble now," Adam said.
"And we weren't before?" Agnes replied.
"Strange as it sounds, I guess we have to hope the ninjas win," Ernest said. "Otherwise we don't stand a chance."
"They're the best fighters in the galaxy," Zoe said. "The pirates can't defeat them."
Yet, amazingly, the pirates seemed to have docked and boarded the space station. Reports came through that they were fiercely fighting their way right into the heart of the station, to the control room itself. The astroninjas who had been scattered throughout the ship began to congregate there, ready to defend their chief and to prevent the pirates getting through to the prisoners.
But the two foes seemed to be equally matched. Neither seemed to have any advantage over the other. After some time a message came through. "They're calling for a parley," Zoe said incredulously. Even more surprisingly, the chief ninja agreed, and an armed escort was sent to bring Queen Argent to the control room.
In the bustle that this created, Will, who was standing at the back of the group by the wall suddenly touched those nearest him on the shoulder and began whispering to them. Those on the outskirts of the group, seeing that he had some kind of plan, tried to stand in front of the conspirators and to look natural, as if they weren't hiding anyone.
Ruth, on the edge of the group, saw Will edging towards her. Tom was next to her.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"Gklhsdafh," Will whispered. "Hypnotism, you call it. Like I did to all of you at first."
"On so many of them at once?" Ruth whispered. "Will it work?"
"What have we got to loose?" he asked. "When the lights go off, shut your eyes. Tell the others."
The part of the wall against which the prisoners were stood included the light switch, and it was this that had given Will his idea. He was cautiously edging towards it, unseen by the dozen or so astroninjas currently in the control room. He reached it, and stood by it, waiting.
Queen Argent and her escort of three pirates were ushered into the control room. The chief ninja strode towards her, and bowed. She in turn swept off her hat and bowed to him.
"May I ask the reason for this parley?" he said. "And indeed, why you choose to come here and attack our base?"
"There is the reason," the Pirate Queen said, pointing towards the prisoners.
"Are you in the employ of the soon-to-be-former royal house of Bognor?" the chief requested.
"No! I be havin' nay dealings wi' politics," the Pirate Queen said. "But they- they escaped from me clutches, an' stole away me lass an' our apprentice! An' then they helped get us arrested an' jailed, an' our ship
confiscated, an' a deal o' a job we had t' break free an' get aft t' th' ship. We`ve tracked them here fer revenge- an' we will be havin' 't! I called fer th' parley on accoun' o' I thought ye might nay be averse t' killin' them yourselves, an' I wanted t' make sure they weren`t already dead." She glanced around. "Perhaps we could come t' an alliance?"
"And why should we feel the need to do that?" the chief ninja said.
"Because from what I see, we're both on the same side, and even if you can beat us, it'll take you time and effort you'd be better using elsewhere."
"But our mission is not to kill these vagrants, or we should have done it by now. We intend to hold them here until our client's business is completed, and then to return them to the planet whence they came."
"But who would know?" said Queen Argent. "Hold them a few days longer, aye, but when th' time comes hand them o'er t' us! 't`ll save ye th' time an' th' journey. Ye can be sure that nay word o' 't will reach yer client, an' nobody will go t' that forsaken wee planet t' check."
The chief ninja looked at her consideringly. "That does seem to be a possible solution," he said to the prisoners' horror. "Once the business is completed, I do not expect our client will be particularly bothered what becomes of the prisoners, so long as they are out of his way and cannot interfere with his plans. But perhaps we should talk a little more about terms."
At that moment the room was plunged into darkness, apart from the flickering lights of the computer screens. The astroninjas and pirates cried out and began to make towards the prisoners. Fortunatly, none dared fire a weapon for fear of hitting their friends in the darkness. But Will flashed the light quickly a couple of times and spoke a couple of unknown words in a commanding manner. Both the astroninjas and the pirates stood motionless, their arms falling to their sides, watching as Will flashed the light again and again and their bodies began to relax.
Not that the prisoners could see this. They had their eyes tightly closed with their hands in front of them. Now they knew what he was doing, and as his will was not bent on subduing them, they found that they were able to resist falling under the spell.
"You can look now," Will said after a while. Looking up, they saw that all the ninjas and pirates in the room were lying on the floor between the banks of screens and controls, seemingly asleep.
"When they wake they will be under my control," Will said. "But there are still many more of them outside this room, between us and freedom."
"But we've got to escape!" Zoe exclaimed. "Otherwise we're going to be dead!"
"Even if we could get to the ship they'd outrun us for sure, unless we can get some kind of head start on them," Nick said.
Will was thinking. "Zoe, can you still make that oxy-hydra sleeping draught that you used to make at?" he asked.
"Yes, if I have the right ingredients," she said. "But how's that going to help when I haven't got any?"
"That one's waking up," Emma said, pointing to one of the ninjas who had been stationed in the control room.
"Quick," Will said to Zoe. "Grab that pirate's coat and put it on. Try to look piratical." She looked at him questioningly, but did as he said. Will helped the wakening ninja upright, looking closely at his eyes.
"What happened?" the ninja said.
"There was a brief systems failure, and everyone was knocked out by lack of oxygen," Will said. "You'll be all right in a minute. Go with this lady to the kitchens to make us all a reviving drink." The ninja, still blinking and confused, nodded and left the room, accompanied by Zoe in her pirate garb.
"Well, the hypnosis has worked on him," Nick said. But what about the others?"
"I'm pretty good at it," Will said. "It always has before."
"Except for us four," Tom said.
"I was in a hurry then. But that was the first time I'd failed. Let's hope this isn't the second."
The story continues...
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