"Come forward." Everyone in the reactor room heard him. Eve's heart jumped in her bosom: Jay's voice was deep and dark, rich and soothing like good brandy. G-8 shivered. JS's chilly, ominous voice pierced her ears like an ice-pick: it was unnerving as if the darkness it came from had come to life. The flash of anger gone, she was standing in the open, alone in the line of fire. 3TC shuffled his feet uncomfortably, JS's voice was like the knell of a passing bell. "The bastard is still alive and kicking, dammit!" G-8 advanced. In truth, she could have kicked herself for this situation: the prospect of achieving their millennia old quest had indented her secular aloofness. Sensing their quest over, the 104s had underestimated the danger of consorting with lesser and emotional beings such as the Humans, despite the previous disappointments had warned them about possible failures. She herself had been infected by this disconcerting feeling of excitement. She came almost at the outer door, here G-8 saw him and Eve through her mind. Surrounded by Wabi bodies, covered with blood, a machine gun in his hand, his face devoid of any emotion except perhaps a wry grin, JS stood dominating the scene with his commanding presence. JS was not much higher than average, but ... "Magnificent! You look like a war god!" Eve thought. "Thanks!" JS replied. His lips twitched and a spark of amusement lighted his eyes. G-8 caught it and hoped. "Sea, I ask for your help. One of our ..." "Acolytes?" JS suggested. G-8 wavered her hand as if to ward off an annoying fly. "A slimy merc has betrayed our trust. If you kill him, we'll pay the job handsomely." "And the woman?" "She's no longer with us, maybe she's dead." G-8 lied. "Bullocks! 3TC is holding her hostage, that's why you want him offed!" JS retorted. "Kill 3TC and let us go. In addition to the reward no Gray in the Galaxy will hunt you down." G-8 bargained thinking about the size of the price on JS's head, the bastard had to die in turn. "Just 3 billions? My head is worth more!" JS grinned. "Moreover be certain no Gray will go after me since I have offered them immortality." "Immortality? how?" "In the old way, by making healthy sex!" "How do you know ..." The truth dawned in G-8's minds. "You are a telepath!" She shouted accusingly. "What the hell are they saying?" 3TC asked Eve. From his hiding place 3TC couldn't hear anything and this worried him, G-8 was plotting something for sure. The excruciating metallic noise and his passengers' delay had distressed the pilot, so he ran outside screaming: "Move or we'll fail to take off! Those damn space cruisers are above us!" Bang! Bang! Taking advantage of the diversion JS darted to a better spot and popped the pilot. The pilot's loss sparked a hysterical barrage fire by the Grays. Caught in the crossfire G-8 stood frozen with horror before being sliced open by her panic-stricken mates. "You shit-scared chickens, stop the fucking fire! Jelani dispatch Sea!" 3TC yelled, pressing his gun against Eve's head. Eve felt JS's wrath and pain. The drug effect was gone and his wounds, old and new, were burning like hell. Jelani gestured to 3TC his intention to crawl under the bridge to where JS was hiding and throw a grenade. "Cover fire, now!" he shouted to the Grays. The Grays pumped the door full of lead. "Predictable even if I weren't a telepath!" JS grinned. Bang! Bang! Bang! JS knew exactly when every Gray was exposed to his lethal fire, and hit them one by one as he had done with the Wabis. Silent like a panther Jelani approached the door. Eve felt 3TC hold his breath expectantly. A hand popped out and threw two grenades linked together over the rail. Boom! Screaming Jelani's mangled body fell into the abyss. JS stepped on the bridge, keeping his gun trained on 3TC. "You're buggered!" Eve spat at 3TC. "Fuck you, baby!" 3TC snarled and threw her into the void.