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The Crystal Demon: 29/?
by Nancy Smith and Linda Garrick

After the Shirva had gone, Kaley surveyed his subordinates thoughtfully. "How much do you think we can trust what they say?" he inquired.

Alan frowned. "What do you mean?"

Kaley leaned forward, tapping one finger on the desk. "I'm certain the young fellow believes he is telling the truth, but let's be practical. There's undoubtedly a good deal of folklore entwined with the story. His mention of the Droma --" He glanced at the little rock that Mark wore. "It sounds like something the medicine man might use to drive away evil spirits."

Alan felt himself bristle. "They're a psychic race, sir -- at least some of them are. We Terrans have our share of magical folk who can do things that ordinary people scoff at, and yet we've learned that many of those things are manifestations of psychic ability. I believe the Droma to be such a phenomenon. It certainly does something. It isn't just a piece of rock."

Kaley rested his elbows on the desk. "Explain."

Alan did, giving the whole story from the time they landed on Kasal to their escape in Halthzor's yacht. Kaley listened without interruption.

"This globe," he said, at last, "seems to have a very strong effect on psychics, but it seems that the effects on nons might not be so immediately apparent, but are far more devastating. And you say this little rock -- droma, you call it -- offers protection against it. Very interesting. I should like this investigated at once." He paused, and Alan saw that Mark's hands had closed protectively around the stone. "If," Kaley added dryly, "Major Linley can bring himself to part with it."

He turned to Lyn. "On a more cheerful note, I am most happy to welcome you to the Terran Underground, Miss Parnell."

Lyn gave an embarrassed smile. "Thank you, sir. I'm sorry I was so rude before."

"Consider it forgotten. As a psychic, you will be commissioned at once as a second lieutenant, and begin training as soon as you are settled."

"Thank you, sir. And thank you for rescuing my father."

Kaley smiled politely. "Our pleasure. Now, no doubt you would like to freshen up." He touched a button on his desk's control panel, and a moment later the door to his office opened, revealing a woman wearing the uniform of the Underground's enlisted personnel. "Escort Miss Parnell to her assigned quarters, please, and provide her with whatever she needs for her comfort."

"Yes, sir." The woman saluted. "This way, Miss Parnell. We've bunked you with Lieutenant Austell."

Lyn glanced at Alan and then followed her guide from Kaley's office. Mark and Alan were left with their commanding officer and Halthzor's former body servant. Kaley turned to the young man.

"I understand that you decided to throw in your lot with us, Mr. Finley."

The man gulped, started to kneel and then stiffened his knees. "Yes, sir."

"I trust," Kaley said gravely, "that Colonel Westover explained the policy regarding kneeling?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Very good. Now, although you were a Jilectan's body servant, you will find that here you have a wide choice of occupations. If you so choose, you may join the Valet Corps and be assigned to the commanding officer of a station, however the scope of such a position is somewhat different than that of a Jilectan servant. On the other hand, if you wish to take some other position, after you have completed the standard instruction given to all new recruits, you may do so, and will be given the necessary training. In the meantime, we'll assign you to a training unit, and you'll bunk with the other members of your unit. I trust that will be satisfactory."

"Yes, sir!"

"Very good. If you'll step back outside, my secretary will take care of the details."

"Thank you, sir!" Finley's Adam's apple bobbed nervously. "I'll do my best not to disappoint you, sir!"

"Excellent attitude," Kaley said mildly. "That's all we expect of any of our members. Welcome to the Terran Underground."

"Thank you, sir," Finley said. "I'm very glad to be here, sir!"

When the man had departed, the General smiled in faint amusement. "That's one thing about recruits from the Jilectan service," he said. "They're always respectful of authority." He cleared his throat. "Colonel Westover."

"Yes, sir?"

Acute discomfort radiated from Kaley's mind, in spite of his shielding, although their commanding officer showed no sign of it in his demeanor. "You disobeyed a direct order when you went after Major Linley."

Alan forcibly quelled the flash of anger, and answered as emotionlessly as possible. "That's correct, sir."

There was a silence. Kaley cleared his throat again. "Colonel Westover, I'm very sorry for the remark I made to you. Under no circumstances would I forcibly prevent you from aiding Major Linley. Do you believe that?'"

Alan didn't reply for a minute, and the silence lengthened between them. Kaley's discomfort increased. Finally, Alan spoke. "I believe you, sir."

Kaley gave a muffled sigh of relief. "Dammit, Alan!" He spoke suddenly in an undertone. "You make it awfully hard to run a station sometimes. I aged twenty years when I realized you'd taken off with Lieutenant Austell, and young Vogleman figured out what had happened. I think the boy was on the edge of mutiny!"

Alan stared at his commanding officer in astonishment. Kaley *never* addressed his junior officers by their first names, nor did he speak to them in such a familiar manner.

"I had to go after him, sir," he said stiffly. "I knew Mark was walking into a trap."

"I wish you'd come to me," Kaley said.

"I *couldn't*!"

"You thought I wouldn't let you go. Very understandable after my unfortunate remark." Kaley sighed. "Very well, Colonel, we'll say no more about it. I'm sorry to have shaken your trust in me again, and I hope you'll find it in your heart to let the error pass."

Alan considered. Finally, he nodded. "Very well, sir."

"Thank you." Kaley nodded. "I appreciate that, Colonel. There is one more thing." He paused for an instant. "I have been reconsidering the wisdom of certain policies of our organization concerning your safety, and there will be a change announced shortly. It occurs to me that you have more than once demonstrated your competence as a member of a psychic Team. The policy up until now, has been to protect you at all costs. I am aware that you have frequently found it to be -- shall we say -- oppressive, and in many cases, it has proven more trouble than it was worth. I'm quite sure that I have no need to order Major Linley to protect you, anymore than I need to order you to protect him." He smiled dryly. "The order has been rescinded. Henceforth you will be treated with the same confidence as any other member of the Terran Underground. I trust you will not abuse the privilege."

"Of course not, sir," Alan said, sounding a little outraged even to himself.

Kaley smiled a little. "Major, since you apparently are resistant to the globe's detrimental effects, I'd like you to take it to the lab. I'll inform Colonel Burke so he can be there when it arrives."

"Yes, sir," Mark said.

"You both did an excellent job," Kaley said. "You may go, now."

"Thank you, sir," Alan said.

Moments later, they were crossing the compound toward the long, grey buildings that housed the labs. Mark held the globe, wrapped in its metallic cloth, and Alan hurried along beside him, taking long strides to keep up with his tall partner. Linley was grinning slightly.

"Poor ol' Kaley," he remarked suddenly. "I'm just as glad that you let him off easy."

Alan shrugged. "I could tell he was really sorry."

"Yeah. I sure didn't want a big to do to start up. We don't need that kinda ruckus again."

"There wasn't any need for it," Alan said. "If I'd thought he was just giving the Partner Clause lip service, I would have, but he wasn't."

Mark shrugged. "Everybody sticks his foot in his mouth sometimes, an' generals are no exception."

"I know," Alan said.

Linley slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Let's hope Lee can figure out what this thing is pretty quick. This has been one hell of an assignment."

"No kidding," Alan said.

**********

XXXIII

"They've got it!" Alan burst into the quarters he shared with Mark. "And you'll never guess what it is!"

Linley blinked sleepily at him from his bunk. "What the hell are you doin' up at this hour? Kaley told us to sleep in!"

"Early?" Alan said. "It's half past seven! Listen, though, they've got it!"

"Who's got what?" Linley yawned and pulled the pillow over his face.

"The techs. Le'Frin's found out what it is that the Shirva need."

"Oh yeah?" Mark lifted one corner of the pillow and peered from beneath it. "That was fast." He yawned again. "What is it?"

"Remember that they were eating apples on the ship?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, they were also eating oranges, strawberries, grapes, peaberries, calanfruit -- all of Halthzor's private stock of produce."

"Yeah. Don't tell me all they gotta do is eat fruit to stay healthy."

"That's about all," Alan told him triumphantly. "The stuff they need is a trace amino acid found in most Terran fruits. We need it too, by the way. Le'Frin tells me that without it, we'd fall apart, too. It just takes us a little longer than it does the Shirva. Terrans have the ability to store it and the Shirva don't. Also, we don't metabolize it as quickly as they do."

"Oh. Well, what is it?"

"Let me see if I remember what Le'Frin said. Uh, I think it was ... d-hexylditriptamino-gamma-diphosphatase-b."

"Oh, is that all?" Mark pulled the pillow over his head again. "We shoulda thought of it our ownselves."

"It's really pretty simple when you think about it." Alan seated himself on Mark's bunk and pulled gently at the pillow with telekinesis. Linley grabbed it and covered his eyes again.

"An' Lemke's got the stuff in it?"

"Yes, it does." Alan tugged at the pillow again. "And that's sort of funny, too, because Lemke isn't a particularly rich source. Few green vegetables have any d-hexyl --"

"Don't!" Mark protested. "I can't stand it!"

Alan grinned. He was feeling fine. Their part in the whole saga of the globe was finished. The techs could handle the blasted thing. It had nothing to do with them anymore.

Linley grabbed for the pillow again and threw it at him. Alan ducked and the object missed. "So anyway, Miki and Jeel are feeling better than they've ever felt. Julia was right. They had improved and are doing a lot better than they ever did on Kasal. Too bad we didn't have any emergency rations left by the time they contacted us. Emergency rations have the stuff in it -- but we couldn't have known that. Come to think of it, I remember now that Jeel and I took some rations from a 'trol while we were on our way back to get the Lemke. Jeel ate some, and it picked him up for a while."

"Interestin'." Mark sat up, yawning and running a hand through his hair, standing it on end. "Got any coffee over there?"

"Sure." Alan went to their coffeepot that sat perpetually on the bathroom sinkboard, and poured him a cup. "Anyway, Le'Frin says we can put the Shirva just about anywhere, as long as the climate permits and there's plenty of fruit. He says any planet with a yellow sun should produce the right stuff, so it looks like we have our choice."

Mark took a swig of coffee. "Kasal's sun is yellow."

"Yes, it is," Alan agreed. "And Le'Frin thinks that a few thousand years ago they probably had lots of fruit growing there."

"Maybe, but there sure ain't any now. I ain't never seen such a planet."

"I know, but think about it. There must have been the right kind of stuff in the beginning, or the Shirva race would never have developed there -- at least if they had, they wouldn't be dependent on fruit to survive. Chances are that the Patrol isn't all that's caused their numbers to dwindle. I'll bet if we did a little archeological survey of the planet, we'd find that the Shirva's ancestors were once all over the place. But something happened -- maybe some kind of climactic change or something -- that caused all the fruit-bearing plants to die. All that was left for survival was the Lemke."

Mark gulped from his coffee mug. "The rings, maybe? A big meteor?"

"Sensible, huh? Le'Frin thinks they were probably a by-product of the catastrophe, like they think might have happened to the dinosaurs, you know? Whatever it was, it must have created a terrible dust cloud that blocked out the sunlight and caused the climactic changes, besides forming that glorious set of rings."

"Yeah." Mark finished his coffee and set the mug on the nightstand. "An' maybe some o' the dust cloud is still there. That planet sure has more meteoric activity than any other one I know." He paused, scratching his chin with one forefinger. "I wonder why the Lemke grows there, though -- ah, hell! If we knew why Lemke grows anywhere, we'd be rich. Where are the kids, now?"

"Miki and Jeel? They're still in the lab. The techs still have a few tests to run." He smiled. "As expected, they've captured every heart on the staff."

"That's what I figured. Nothin' like havin' big, meltin' brown eyes an bein' less'n a meter tall. Arouses the maternal instinct in everybody. Any news on when we're headin' back, by the way?"

"You mean to Kasal?"

"Sure. Kaley's gotta send you. You're an emissary. You speak the lingo."

Alan shrugged. "We're leaving this afternoon, I think."

"Good. I want to get this mess over with."

Alan did, too. He was also worrying about the Shirva who remained on the planet. Halthzor's interest in the Droma bothered him. Julia had said he had spoken of hunting down the natives who made them or knew how they were made. Alan didn't like to think of one of the little Shirva people in the hands of a Jilectan -- especially Halthzor.

Mark was pouring another cup of coffee. "You hear anythin' about the globe?"

"Huh? No." Alan had barely thought about the thing since they had turned it over to the lab boys. "Have you?"

"Nope. The techs got hold of it and I ain't heard nothin' since." Linley set down his coffee cup and burrowed through his dresser drawer. "Man, whatta mess!" He extracted underwear from the jumble of clothing and tossed it to the bed. He began to rummage in the next drawer down for socks. Eventually he found a matching pair and started to dress.

Alan had been looking idly out the window as he sipped his coffee, but he straightened up suddenly at the voice that rang in his head. "Something's wrong!"

"Huh?" Mark turned quickly. "What?"

"It's Dr. Kazuki. He wants us to come to the lab right away."

Mark stuffed his shirt into his waistband and grabbed his uniform jacket. "What's the matter?"

"I'm not sure. He's pretty upset. Do you have the Droma?"

"Yeah. Still around my neck." Mark jammed his feet into his boots and ran out, yanking on the jacket as he went. Alan was on his heels.

They left the barracks at a run and sprinted across the wide lawn toward the labs. Dr. Kazuki had broken contact now, but a sense of urgency remained.

They found the doctor in the lab, bending over the prostrate form of his Procyon assistant. The tall alien lay very still, his eyes wide open. Mirrored on the alien features was a look of horror that Alan would never forget.

"What happened?" Mark demanded.

"I don't know." Kazuki looked glanced up at him from his examination of his coworker. "I was only gone a minute. I came back and found him here like this. And the thing was gone."

"Is he dead?" Alan knelt beside the Procyon, sensing almost at once the dimly flickering life force. The Procyon was still alive, but in deep shock. Round, dark eyes stared upward.

"Call Dr. Philips," Mark ordered. "Kid, we gotta find that thing!"

"Matt's on his way." Kazuki got to his feet, wringing his hands. "It's my fault! I should have known better than to leave something that dangerous unquarded!"

"Knock it off!" Mark's voice was sharp and commanding, and the former Strike Commander was obviously in full control, despite the gravity of the situation. "Blubberin' about it won't help. Let's find the condemned thing!" He glanced up as Philips entered the room. "We got a patient for you, Matt. Kazuki, you notify Kaley. He'll want every tracer we got huntin', an' remember, once it's found, get your shields up. They'll protect you to some extent. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." Kazuki ran for the videophone on his desk.

Alan glanced around and reached out to grasp Mark's wrist. "Let me borrow you for a moment, Mark."

Linley didn't answer. Alan concentrated. More people had entered the lab, but he hardly noticed. He envisioned the cloth-wrapped globe, aware of the energy that flowed freely from his human power pack.

Halthzor had been searching for the globe when Julia had hidden it at their campsite, but he had apparently been unable to find it -- Halthzor, the most psychically powerful Jilectan known to the Underground. But he had not had Alan's advantage of a living power pack to draw from at will. Alan saw the thing immediately and felt its unshielded power drawing nearer as he moved forward. It was not covered by its protecting cloth, and the knowledge sent a thrill of terror through him.

"This way." He heard his own voice, remote and far away. Mark accompanied him as he entered the next room. To one side was a row of shelves, enclosed by sliding doors. The thing was there, all right. He could see it in his mind.

It was dangerous to open the doors, he told himself, and yet something spoke wordlessly to him, assuring him that there *was* no danger. He was protected.

Alan paused, trying to ascertain where that reassurance came from. He felt it everywhere. All through him.

Mark. The feeling was coming from Mark. Somehow the Droma, that protected Mark, was also protecting him through their mind link.

He strode forward and yanked open the doors.

The globe was on the third shelf, against the rear wall, motionless and glowing whitely luminescent. Mark cursed fluently, trying to pull him back.

"No, it's all right!" Alan had felt the flow of energy increase with the appearance of the globe. "It isn't hurting me. It can't -- so long as you're touching me."

"Huh?" Linley's puzzlement was clear, but at the moment, Alan was too busy to explain. He reached toward the globe with his mind, peering into the depths of the thing. For a moment, he seemed to see a tiny red spark that seemed somehow very far away. Then it was growing, expanding into a glowing white light. It seemed to beckon him with its beauty. The light grew and took shape into the face of a beautiful woman. She smiled, fluttering golden eyelashes at him. Clear and sweet, he heard her voice calling to him, pleading with him in a soft, compelling whisper, to let go of Mark's arm.

Alan clutched Linley's wrist like a life preserver. The woman was still there, and more beautiful than anything he had ever imagined, pleading with him to let go ...

But she wasn't real. The gentle, protective sensation surrounded him, warned him. She wasn't there. Her image was an illusion, brought from the depths of his own mind, perhaps detected there during his previous violent, unshielded contact with the globe thing. He braced himself, forced himself to look past the woman's shimmering beauty and see ...

Again, that tiny red spark, and then another sensation. Fear! Terror! There was something inside the globe -- an entity that was destructive and malevolent, but it was also afraid. Afraid of *him*.

"Easy, kid," Mark whispered. "Don't listen to it."

"I'm okay," Alan hardly heard his own whisper. "I see it."

"What is it?"

"A being of some sort -- psychic ... wait ..." Again, he reached toward it. He had to destroy this thing before it destroyed anyone else. The creature retreated from him, and he sensed black hatred mixed with the fear. Then it lashed out at him, and even through the protecting energy of the Droma he sensed the impact of the psychic blow. Mark gave a startled grunt.

"Hey! Take it easy!"

"I've got to kill it, Mark." He struck back at the thing, and felt it's sudden pain. The fear increased to sheer terror.

Someone spoke in the background, and a hand on Alan's shoulder yanked him back. Another hand moved into his range of vision, dropping a protecting cloth over the globe.

The room was full of people. Eric Vogleman and Ruthy Channing were there, as well as Lyn, and Julia. Miki and Jeel stood close behind him, and two large Security men stood beside Mark and Alan. It was one of them that had pulled him back.

"Get the doctor!" It was Kaley, his face white with fear and anger. "Go, Mavito!"

One of the Security men ran out. Kaley faced Alan and Mark, and it was obvious that the General was furious.

Matt Philips ran in. "What is it, sir?"

"Westover looked at the globe. Check him out!"

"Yessir. Sit him down." Philips knelt as the Security men forced Alan onto the floor. "Alan, do you hear me?"

"Matt, I'm fine!" Alan said, feeling a little embarrassed at all the fuss. "It didn't hurt me."

Kaley turned on Mark. "Major Linley, I consider your conduct disgraceful! It's your job to protect your partner, and yet you stood by and --"

Alan got to his feet, ignoring the fact that he was shaking. "General, I'm fine! He *was* protecting me! There's a very dangerous, destructive being in there. I was trying to destroy it!"

"And get yourself killed in the attempt!"

"No, sir." Alan made his voice level. "There's a psychic entity inside the globe, but it was afraid of me. It knew I could kill it."

"That's enough, Colonel." Kaley didn't raise his voice, but Alan obeyed the command. "We don't know enough about this thing, yet, but we do know it kills non-psychics and damages the minds of psychics. Eric here tells me that your shields were down just now."

"The Droma was shielding both of us," Alan said. "I could feel it protecting us. It defends its owner against enemy psychic energy."

"The Droma," Kaley said, obviously controlling his anger, "is another mystery of which, so far, we know very little. You will not attempt such a thing again."

Alan opened his mouth to protest and then closed it again. There was a painful silence, broken at last by Matt Philips.

"He seems a bit drained, but otherwise unhurt, sir. All my scans read normal."

"Good." Kaley turned to the assembled beings. "All right, back to your stations. Kazuki --" He spoke to the doctor again. "Take that thing away and don't let it out of your sight."

"Yes sir." The doctor spoke in a low voice. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Continue your work on it." Again Kaley addressed Alan and Mark as the others began to leave the room. "You two, the Shirva and Lieutenant Parnell will leave for Kasal in two hours. The transport is ready, and you will be accompanied by four fighters. Contact the natives and explain the situation. The transport can accommodate two thousand Terrans, and should have no difficulty with as many as six thousand Shirva, which, if their representative's estimate was correct, should be more than adequate. Try to attract as little attention as possible."

"Yes, sir," Alan said. "We'll do our best."

"Where are we takin' 'em?" Mark asked.

"They will be brought here," Kaley said. "Without, of course, allowing them to learn the name of their destination. From here, they will be transported to their new home, with all the necessary supplies to see them through the transition."

"We'll handle it, sir," Mark said.

"And," Kaley said, "if you see any Patrol cruisers, you are not to attempt to fight. Let your escort handle it. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Alan said.

**********

The colony transport blasted off for Kasal two hours later. Alan sat back in one of the passenger seats, feeling himself begin to relax at last. Mark frowned at him.

"You okay, kid?"

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You look kinda pale."

"I'm fine," he repeated. "Wrestling the globe thing took a lot of energy, that's all. I'll be back to par in a couple more hours."

"Look, forget about the damned thing," Mark advised. "I don't think you should be messin' with it."

Alan shook his head. "Kaley shouldn't have stopped me. I'm better qualified than anyone else to handle it. The creature tried to attack me, but it couldn't hurt me. It was afraid of me, too. I could sense it."

Mark looked dubious. "A creature, kid? You keep sayin' that, but it looks like a lump o' glass. I know you was seein' things while you were fightin' it, but there's other things that can cause that. Is there really somethin' alive inside it?"

Alan nodded. "For sure."

"What's it look like? Could you see it?"

Alan shook his head. "No. It was formless, shapeless, but it was very powerful. A psychic being ..." He paused, uneasiness crawling over him.

Lyn and the Shirva were watching him, and she shifted uncomfortably. "I feel funny," she said.

"Me too." Alan glanced around, his skin crawling. "Mark, I'm getting a warning."

Linley swore under his breath. The two Shirva glanced at one another.

One of the pilots appeared suddenly in the entrance to the big cabin. "Colonel Westover?"

Alan jerked off his webbing and stood up. "Kaley's calling?"

The man looked disconcerted and then grinned. "Yes sir. He wants to talk to you."

Alan ran down the short corridor to the control room. Walter Kaley's face was framed in the big viewscreen, his heavy brows drawn together in concern. Alan saluted instinctively. "General?"

"Colonel Westover, the globe is missing."

Alan had to consciously remember to breathe. Mark appeared behind him and they looked at each other in dismay. Kaley continued speaking. "We found Dr. Kazuki tied up in his laboratory not five minutes ago. He reports that someone stunned him. He didn't see his assailant."

Alan swallowed. "Lieutenant Vogleman should be able to find it."

"He's looking now and I've got three other tracers on it as well. Do you have any idea who would do this, Colonel?"

Alan frowned, wracking his brains. "No sir," he said, at last. "It might not be a bad idea to check out Julia. She's a non, and had the thing on her for some time. It might have gotten a hold on her."

Kaley issued the order to someone Alan couldn't see.

"Do you want us to come back, General?" Mark asked. "Alan could probably find it."

Kaley shook his head. "No, go on with your assignment. I have excellent tracers here. Lieutenant Vogleman will find it."

"Yes, sir."

The screen went blank. Alan glanced uncertainly at Mark. "I don't know why, but I have the feeling he won't find it. Darn it! This is crazy! The thing's a regular monkey's paw!"

"A what?"

"Terran story," Alan said. "The monkey's paw was supposed to spell disaster to whoever possessed it, but people were always hurting and killing other people to get hold of it."

"What the devil for?"

"It was supposed to be powerful as well as deadly."

"I get it. Damn! Whatcha suppose has happened to it?"

Alan shrugged.

One of the pilots spoke. "Better go strap in. We're about to go into hyperspace."

They went back into the officer's lounge. Three pairs of questioning eyes met them.

"What did the General want?" Lyn asked.

He told her. "Do any of you have any idea what could have happened to it? Miki? You seem to know a lot about it. What do you think?"

Miki had gone pale. "The damn thing's taken somebody!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"The globe critter -- the thing inside. It has taken a slave."

There was a jolt as the ship converted to hyperspace.

"What does it do when it takes a slave?" Alan asked.

"Is hard to explain," Miki said. "The globe -- it will take a -- a person who does not resist. Someone who is vulnerable to its power. It will make him do as it says."

"Who would it take?" Mark asked. "What kind of person would it choose?"

Miki shrugged. "I dunno. Someone who did not expect it."

"How does it make a person obey it?" Lyn asked.

Alan could answer that. "It must use psychic energy -- mind control energy. A few psychics can do it -- mostly Jils, I think. I can't do it, that's for sure."

"Yes, you can," Mark said. "You tell one helluva bedtime story, remember?"

"What?" Lyn asked.

"A bedtime story." Mark grinned. "Alan has a talent for puttin' you to sleep if he wants to, and if you're tryin' t'go t'sleep an' can't. He's done it to me a few times. Lee Burke says it's a form of hypnosis."

"Oh that; sure." Alan shrugged. "I don't even know how I do that. It's kind of instinctive. But the Jils who mind control can do other things -- get people to act in certain ways and things like that. Of course, they can't really make a person do something against their will. Nobody can do that."

"Except maybe the globe critter," Mark said. "Does it really have that much power, Mik?"

The Shirva shook his head. "I don't know."

"We should warn Kaley," Alan said.

"Yeah." Mark stood up. "I'll have 'em bring us outta hyperspace an' send a coded message. They'll pick it up." He left the officer's lounge abruptly. A few moments later there was a jolt as the ship converted to sublight.

"I don't understand," Lyn said slowly. "How could this happen again? Someone who is possessed by the thing should show up like a fly on a plate, shouldn't he?"

"Mark said Danoole acted strange," Alan said. "Like he wasn't all there. People would spot that."

"Maybe the person who took the globe is hidin'?" Miki suggested.

"Maybe," Alan said. "You saw someone possessed by a globe, didn't you, Miki?"

"Yes," Miki said, "but that was a long time ago, and it wasn't the same globe. The guy I saw was kickin' an' screamin', but maybe different globes make people act different. I don't know."

"I sure hope they find it," Lyn said.

There was another jolt as the ship converted to hyperspace again. Mark reappeared a few moments later.

"Well, the message is out. We've done all we can."

Alan shifted uncomfortably. Fear was crawling over him along with the feeling that they were neglecting something important, but try as he might, he couldn't pinpoint the source.

Mark stretched. "Well, folks, we got a few hours to kill. What say we teach Mik and Jeel how t'play chess?"

Miki didn't reply, but Jeel stood up expectantly. "What the hell's chess?"

"A game," Mark said. "C'mon an' I'll show you the moves."

**********

tbc