the reactors.
- I doubt if they thought of that.
- I doubt it, too.
That's an impossible swim, Hunda.
Fifty metres underwater in almost total blackness.
- You'll never make it.
- I think I can.
There are two places along that cooling system
where it's possible to surface,
and as long as I keep my face to the current,
I should be heading in the right direction.
All right, Hask, you take over now.
Get the column moving.
And if all goes well, I'll be back tomorrow night.
Good luck, Hunda.
This is the high chamber, Excellency.
It's still furnished to the taste
of your predecessor, but that's easily changed.
- Who are you?
- My name is Leitz, General.
Commissioner Sleer sent me to act
as His Excellency, President-elect Practor's
liaison officer.
Good.
Remarkable person, Sleer. Thinks of everything.
They think highly of Sleer
at Federation headquarters.
So they should. So they should.
If it wasn't for Commissioner Sleer's
pacification programme,
my task force would still be bogged down
five star systems back.
Adaptation programme, General.
Tell me about it. How is it done?
- Some new wonder drug, isn't it, Leitz?
- Yes, sir.
The Commissioner controls its manufacture.
It's injected by medical laser,
acts immediately and has no side effects.
- It changes the personality, I believe?
- Not to any great extent, Excellency.
It simply blocks the production of adrenalin.
The result is that adapted natives
no longer resist us.
- They continue to work normally?
- Completely.
- In fact, the work ethic is often reinforced.
- Really?
Industrial production on Tarsius
has risen 19% since the natives were adapted.
That's very impressive.
How many Helots have been adapted so far?
Do sit down, General.
The majority, I should think.
Commissioner Sleer doesn't waste time.
It's simply that,
as my craft came over this afternoon,
I saw some explosions out to the east.
It seemed that fighting was still going on.
Isolated pockets of resistance.
They're being mopped up rapidly now.
You actually saw the destruction of a rebel unit.
Strange that I didn't see any sign of life.
They're very skilled at using cover.
So it would seem.
We employed a live target
for that particular strike.
A live target, General?
Sleer's people picked up a rebel
who'd been sent on an intelligence mission.
He was adapted, given a tracer to swallow
and sent back to rejoin his friends.
When he reached their base,
my missile commander just pressed the button.
- That's very ingenious, General.
- And very effective.
Well, Excellency, I'll leave you now.
We'll meet tomorrow at the swearing-in ceremony.
Thank you, General. I'm grateful to you.
We are now holding station
40 miles from the surface.
I do hope this is satisfactory, Master.
So, Tarrant, this is your big moment.
- If the teleport works...
- It's working perfectly now, I checked it myself.
Yes, but would you use it yourself, Vila?
That's the real test.
Oh, get in there and disappear.
Remember, Tarrant,
we are only interested in whether or not
the Federation have some new weapon.
Whatever else is happening down there,
even if they are executing the entire population,
you are not to get involved.
- All right?
- You know me, Avon.
Report when you contact surface.
Tarrant to Scorpio. We're on surface.
Scorpio to Tarrant.
Message clear, report again in one hour.
- Why aren't they answering?
- I don't know.
Tarrant to Scorpio, are you receiving us?
He didn't hear.
I fear that sensors indicate audio malfunction.
Tell us something we don't know, Slave.
I do apologise most profoundly
if I have given offence.
- I assure you that...
- All right, Slave, be quiet.
You'd better check the audio beam.
It looks as if we're stuck here, Tarrant.
I knew I should have brought my night clothes.
Hmm.
Well, they'll obviously be working on the fault.
Nothing we can do about it.
Let's go.
Then from your private suite
back into the reception