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.‟„If that is what you wish.‟ He seemed unconcerned, which only made Peri more angry.„It certainly is, buster.‟„I think you‟re being rather foolish, over nothing.‟ He flashed her a smile which made her flesh creep.„Perhaps the Doctor neglected to inform you of our customs.I‟ve bonded with all the women back at the party - Seryn, Yuasa, Taiana, even the Vehlinann woman.It‟s just something we do, for fun.‟„Yeah, well, where I come from we have customs as well.Not treating women like lumps of meat is one of them.‟„Well, I‟m sorry you don‟t understand.‟He sounded totally insincere but at least he was doing what she‟d asked.They were banking in a wide arc.Suddenly there was a low beeping sound from the dashboard.Athon frowned.„We seem to have visitors.‟Wary in case this was a ploy to give him another chance to feel her up, Peri craned round.Above the silver tailfin of the skyboat the pink-white sky rippled in an exhaust haze through which Peri could make out the omnipresent peaks of the mountains.And something else.A dark shape, about level with them, approaching fast.Its angular outline reminded her of the spy-planes she‟d seen on TV.Those things had always given her the creeps.Ships of silent death.She turned back to Athon.Maybe there was a simple explanation.„More party guests?‟„Maybe.Don‟t recognise the vessel.Could be Orchios, he loves big ships and things.‟ Athon frowned.„Thought he was away strato-surfing on Voriakaan, though.‟Peri turned round again.The thing was nearer now, its central mass spanning the tailfin, its presence accompanied by a low rumble of powerful engines.„Shouldn‟t you try hailing them, or something?‟Athon shrugged.„Already tried.Whoever they are, they want to play.‟ To Peri‟s alarm he turned round, taking both hands off the wheel, waving his arms at their pursuers.„So you want to race, friend?‟Peri leaned over and steadied the steering wheel.Not that they could bump into anything several hundred feet above ground, but It made her feel more secure.As Athon clambered back into position her hand accidentally brushed his buttocks.He grinned.„Seems like they‟re not the only ones who want to play.‟Peri shrank away from him.Hadn‟t he got the message?„Hell will freeze over first.‟Athon hunched over the wheel.„Let‟s give them a run for their money.‟If Peri had thought they were going fast before, now they were practically supersonic.She yelled as the small skyboat leapt forwards in a crushing blast of acceleration which seemed to leave her guts way behind.It had stopped being fun.Something told her they were rushing headlong into danger.Athon, slow down!‟Athon‟s wild laughter merged with the shrieking whine of the engine.The view ahead was a streak of white and pink.The wind screamed in her face.Suddenly Peri‟s shades were snatched from her head, gone for ever.„Great,‟ she muttered, squinting in the suddenly-bright desert light.And then they were in shadow.Peri looked up and saw a scarred rustred underbelly so near she thought she could touch it.„Come on!‟ cried Athon, though whether he was urging on his skyboat or taunting the dark shape which bore down on them Peri couldn‟t tell.This was no game, she knew it.„Get us out of here!‟ she screamed, not caring any more how fast they were going, her voice subsumed in the shrieking of engines and buffeting roar of the wind.Suddenly there was a crack like a gunshot and the skyboat began to plummet like an out-of-control lift.Peri gripped on to the sides of her seat as she felt herself being yanked bodily upwards.Her stomach turned over again and she retched, bringing a sour taste of bile into her mouth.Athon was wrestling with the steering wheel, his eyes at last showing some trace of fear, though his mouth was twisted in a grimace of concentration.The engines were cutting in and out, there one second, gone the next.Ahead, an endless white sheet of sand rushed up to meet them.Peri wiped her mouth and filled her lungs, ready to scream again.An image of the eyeless teddy bear popped into her mind, then the Doctor‟s face, then her room in the TARDIS.Certain she was going to die, she struggled to think of something profound, make peace with the universe, but they were going too damn fast Maul the air was tearing at her clothes and oh God she was gonna barf again and -They hit the ground with a bump that jolted all the breath out of Peri and made her bite her tongue.The taste of blood mingled with bile and made her feel even more sick.They bounced into the air a few times.Hot stinging sand dashed into Peri‟s face and she covered her eyes with her hands.Now everything was a red blur.She felt herself thrown violently from side to side as the skyboat skidded and swerved over the rippling sand.She could hear Athon laughing - did the guy have no concept of danger? -and the swish and bump of the desert beneath them.Blinking rapidly, she cleared the gritty sand out of her eyes at the same time that Athon let out a full-throated yell.She saw something looming directly ahead of them - a fang-like rock.There was no way they were going to avoid it.Athon spun the steering wheel and grabbed Peri, forcing her across his lap.Hey!‟ she cried, her voice muffled against his tight stomach.Then she realised what he was trying to do - use their weight to swing them round the rock.Suddenly there was a jarring impact and the vehicle flipped away from under Peri, sending her flying through the air, arms and legs windmilling.She hit the ground face down, stunned, eyes gummed shut with tears and sand, body numb with shock, no sound in her ears but the roaring of her own blood.She lay immobile for a few moments, and then rolled over on her back in her self-made trough of sand, feeling the heat of the sun press down on her with almost physical weight.She felt weak and woozy.Was anything broken? Where was Athon?Peri sat up and wiped the sand out of her eyes, wincing in the desert glare.The first things she saw were her knees, blooded an grazed by her fall.Beyond them, the ground levelled away into the heat-haze.Through which a line of tall figures were marching, shimmering black phantoms.Another line of figures seemed to be drifting above them.Peri squinted.Was it an illusion caused by the heat-haze?Or was she concussed? She could hear a mechanical chattering that sounded somehow familiar.She scrambled to her feet, trying to get a grip on things.This could still be a jape by Athon and his pals - or it could be trouble.What did she have to lose by assuming the latter? Only her dignity, and by the state of her that was already pretty well shot.She backed away from the advancing figures, still trying to make them out.They were tall, with long muscular legs and elongated bodies.Humanoid, not human; their V-shaped heads had pointed ears and long snouts
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