Knowing which door the big man would come through made it easier. Val and Peter posted themselves on each side of the opening, their backs against the wall, and waited.

It didn’t take long for them to hear the heavy footsteps of the giant.

Warthol burst into the docking bay howling like a madman, holding his arms spread apart in the air.

Val shot him.

The man screamed in pain. He spun around and rushed toward her.

She jumped out of the way and Warthol hit his head hard against the wall. At the same time, Peter shot him with his phaser set to stun.

The big man straightened, shook his head, stumbled back, wavered for a moment, then crashed to the floor.

They both put their phasers away.

“So, what are we going to do with him?” asked Peter.

“Hell if I know. We could lock him up in another room, but that didn’t work out too well last time.”

“I wonder, though. Maybe if we held them in different cabins? Correct me if I’m wrong, but Juden couldn’t have escaped without Warthol’s strength. And Warthol is not smart enough to figure out how to get out on his own.”

“That’s a good point,” said Val thoughtfully. She looked down. “You know, it’s funny, we keep calling this one a big guy, but he’s actually shorter than Juden. That one’s tall but thin, though.”

“So I suppose stocky would be a more fitting description for him.” Peter pointed at the fallen Warthol.

Val chuckled. “That sounds about right. Well, I suppose we should move him.”

The man was too heavy to carry, so they had to drag him down the hall—each grabbing and pulling on one massive arm.

“Uh, Val. I don’t know where Juden is.”

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“Say that again?”

“He’s no longer on the bridge,” said Nim. “I was distracted and didn’t notice when he left. The reset has messed with my access to the system, so I can’t see everywhere anymore.”

“Oh, great! Just great.”

“How much further is the closest cabin?” asked Peter.

“Probably too far, since we have no idea where Juden is.”

“So... if he’s no longer on the bridge, who’s piloting the ship?”

“We are no longer moving,” said Nim. “We are currently floating in space.”

They both let go of the stocky man and looked around.

“We should go find him.”

Val frowned. “What? And leave this one here?”

Peter shrugged. “If Juden is as crafty as you say he is, I’d rather take him out as soon as possible. We can always deal with his friend later.”

“Fair enough. But I don’t like leaving him out in the open like this.” She looked around and pointed at a nearby door. “Let’s stick him in there.”

“What’s that?”

Val walked over and opened it. Inside was a small compartment used for storing equipment.

“You think he’ll fit?” asked a dubious Peter.

His sister leaned to push everything to the side, piling whatever material she could to make room.

“He’ll have to,” she answered as she came back. “Come on, help me heave him.”

“You realize we won’t be able to lock it?”

As he spoke, they reached down to grab the man’s arms, and a phaser shot barely missed them.

“Damn!”

They let go of Warthol and ran to the cabinet’s open door, hiding behind the panel as they brought out their weapons.

“Give it up!” called out Val. “You can’t win this.”

“On the contrary,” came Juden’s voice. “I believe I have the upper hand here.”

“How do you figure?”

“I have you cornered in that ridiculous closet. Now I just have to wait for my friend to wake up. By the way, who’s yours? I’m hurt you haven’t introduced us.”

“Go burn in hell.”

Juden laughed. “As charming as ever. I do like you, you know. Pity it’s come to this. You should have left well enough alone.”

“We could just shoot your friend,” said Peter. “We have a clear aim at him from here. Then what would you do if he was dead?”

A second of silence.

“I think you’re bluffing. You wouldn’t kill him in cold blood.”

“Val wouldn’t. But me? How can you be sure when you don’t even know who I am?”

He pointed his phaser at Warthol.

“What are you doing?” whispered Val.

“Wait and see,” he said with a wink.

Juden remained quiet for a moment.

“Fine. I will let you go if you leave Warthol where he is.”

Peter laughed. “Right. For all I know, you’ll shoot us in the back as soon as you get a clear shot.”

“I would never!” The man sounded hurt. “I am not a killer, sir, and I resent that. We came here for the ship, nothing else.”

“Well, you can’t have it!” shouted Val.

“I made you an offer,” said Juden. “You chose to turn it down. So we are back to a standstill.”

Val’s eyes widened. “Not quite.”

Peter glanced at her.

She smiled as she moved her hand to her wristpad.

“I have an ace up my sleeve,” she whispered to him.

Then she activated the transpin.