Made up of various moons orbiting various uninhabitable planets, the Veloron system streams with asteroid belts. A thieves paradise. A villain nirvana of opportunity, where one can get lost in the asteroids or like Dobrovowski, hide stolen goods or whatever.

They enter an asteroid field. The ex-sarge negotiates the Illustrious into a large mass of rock that slowly turns before them. Dexter is nervous.

The craft enters the cragged valleys, a chasm below opening up before them.

"Don't worry kid been here a thousand times."

She swivels her chair around to face main viewer. His eyes are now set on the screen, showing a black emptiness. A blip sounds at a constant, becoming more rapid when getting too close to wrecking points. The bridge is alive with the hum of activity. The tracking computer relays data to them and Reed issues forth trajectories and mumbo-jumbo (to the reporter it's gobbledygook). Walker punches in data to another console that swings their arc in a more steady form, engines controlled in percentages of power.

Walker clicks computer to automatic. The initial entry done, the hardest part complete. He closes his eyes in meditative contemplation, considering the problems at hand. It has been some while since the team has been together.

"What do you think Walker?" Dexter is naturally flippant, the great ground-breaking story that could have been reads only as some sad, loner story of a mercenary who is ugly through his violent life. She hates him. There is no compassion within him. Through immortality she thought he may have given her some insight, an inclination of answers to great questions that trouble all humans; especially in the years he has been alone on his planet, the opposite of human desire; contrary to the pack animal mentality. The reporter observes for the umpteenth time Cutter driveling through some great long pause, like his every word should mean something.

"I presume that Dobrovowski is within this asteroid belt in some hidden location?" Walker addresses Reed.

'Christ he doesn't even answer me now. What a bastard!' Dexter's thinks, as Reed answers his colleague.

Now she feels as though she's said the thoughts out loud. Walker fixes the reporter with steely eyes, yet a concern is within there somewhere.

"Ms. Dexter.......have I harmed you?" Walker speaks softly.

"Forget it private, just.." she turns away from him.
*
"In position sir, awaiting your order," the sergeant's face looks ridiculously small on the screen. In the Veloron system it's a wonder anything can work at all with cornmunications owing to the huge masses and forces that control the asteroid belt.

"Do so sergeant. Remember that if they start firing then set phasers to heavy stun as planned. Especially on Dobrovowski."

"Yes sir," the tiny face blinks off as the screen goes blank.

Ball wears his captain's uniform with pride, his years back on Earth have been most beneficial. The police chief slowly underlines Dobrovowski's name or his own arrest plan.
*
The men sit around a table. Dobrovowski sits at the head of it, staser strapped in holster to his chest, like the others around him. The meeting has not been going well. He always did have the feeling that he should have stuck to what he knew best. To venture into narcotics was foolish. Why did he listen to Frost? He checks another vicious glance at his blonde-haired counter part. "There'll be bucks galore in this trade.. trust me," Frost had said. 'Fuck me Frost, if I had trusted you I wouldn't have some one wrapped in a cloaking device up on that balcony above us..you dumb son-of-a-bitch. These clowns are taking the piss out of us.'

"I mean what the fuck are we doing here? It's all there you fuckin' cunt! Wha' do you want? What am I doin'? Pulling my fuckin' dick or wha'?" The little shite has been chattering on in that manner for the last half hour while Dobrovowski and his associate (Frost), have sat there, just listening, calmly examining a sample.

'They are the ones who only delivered half,' thinks Frost, 'it's gonna get messy. They can't rip off the Polish like this.' Micheal Frost doesn't like the situation at all, his thoughts are racing to keep up, his hand nervously brushes his leg where a small staser is hidden.

"You people didn't deliver..what more do you want me to say? What the fuck are we here? Some fucking gangster movie or what? Look at it from my angle," Dobrovowski spits the words, he's getting annoyed and can take no more badgering from the punk, "let's cut the crap!"

"What did I say to you Trev'?" The mouthy gent asks his gaunt colleague who shrugs his shoulders, "I told you the Polish would be like this. Didn't I? I told Mr. Bartlett."

The Polish (Dobrovowski) casts a disapproving look at Trev'. Kelso returns from the toilet smoking a cigar that wafts heavy smoke in peels behind him. The mouthy one turns to him, asking rhetorically what they should do.

Kelso returns to his seat. Bored by the whole proceedings. Scratching the back of his neck, he appears unfazed about everything. Being the supplier, he has the advantage of just taking his produce elsewhere. He takes an apple from his pocket, withdrawing a throwing blade, the whole table of men tense for a second but then he begins to peel the fruit, smiling at Dobrovowski.

Directly behind Kelso a slight movement of the cloaked guard gets picked up by the his ears. Earlier, in the bog, he had scanned the area, finding the hidden protection for Dobrovowski. Something bothers Kelso though. It isn't what is in the room, it's a gut feeling.

Kelso suddenly stands up. He withdraws a staser and blasts Frost.

Frost hits the floor, he was the first to reach for his weapon.

Trev' is blown off chair by a shot from the balcony, Dobrovowski's cloaked guard.

The mouthy guy blasts away with high powered phaser that showers the grid iron area, completely taking out gangway which cloaked character is on.

Dobrovowski has dropped to the floor, withdrawing weapon but has a knife stuck in his wrist, Kelso's dagger. His weapon falls to the floor and the Polish screams out. Kelso notices that the little gob shite has taken care of cloaked man.
The firing stops.

Kelso smiles at his counter part. He removes his dagger from Dobrovowski's wrist and smashes him across the face with a right hook. Blood spurts in great jets from Chris.

"Smart move," Walker steps through only entrance to building.

The gob shite spins around letting weapon talk as the warehouse explodes in sound and light.

Cutter knows the bog standard sweep of a phaser, he is already across floor, evading; only taking a few minor brushes of energy. He fires his staser, which rips apart table, taking out the gobshite and Kelso.

Dobrovowski lies on floor, shaking in shock. Walker anaesthetizes his comrade. He can't figure why Kelso didn't just shoot him, maybe he knew of Chris's Univarian gift.

From everywhere police spring onto the scene.

"DROP THE WEAPON AND LIE ON THE FLOOR, HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD!"

Walker pauses a moment.
*
"So let me get a casualty count here," Commissioner Treaves (Ball) starts slowly addressing the young officer in charge of the ship which would have picked up Dobrovowski, Frost, etc; the one who discovered carnage, fears for his job abound as the chief continues, "everyone..am I correct?"

"No sir, I haven't as yet discovered the body of Dobrovowski. On first analysis we believe to have found some of his blood. He must have been injured..sir."

Ball is seething. The officer on the communication screen lowers his head for a moment.

"I want a full report on the whole matter. No one leaves this sector. All vessels blocked from entering this system..understood?"

"But sir...we...even...we haven't..." BalI leers at the officer, who tries to make the point on their lack of resources.

"Call in the forces..I shall inform our host government to the situ' and hope they join us and don't run us out of their system!!"
*
"Facking Christ..." Walker applies another anaesthetic shot to Dobrovowski. He falls again into disturbed rest. Human drugs have only a slight affect on them. An advantage sometimes, a disadvantage at such a time as this. The wound is healing well, clotting fine but treatment under pro' conditions would be better. The Earth police will not rest after what he has done. Killing so many officers is going to make the hoped for low-key operation into something blunderingly different and difficult.

"Walker to Reed, over."

"Go ahead," Reed responds on the end of channel.

"Dobrovowski immobilized. Stab wound to left wrist. Punctured veins, maybe severed tendons."

"Acknowledged, medic droids on standby."

"Another problem," Walker feels an idiot admitting to the goof.

"What?"

"I believe Ball to be here. I had to take care of some of his men."

"Shit. You didn't..."

"I did."

"Ooh fucking great!"
*
Ball skirts through the pathology reports. He visited the scene and instantly knew. It's all there in black and white. The staser wounds. The knife wounds. The actual physical blows which took out his men. 'Walker!' The commissioner throws the files on his desk.
*
"He will need to have blood replaced," the droid examines the patient, Dobrovowski connected to various monitoring equipment.

Reed and Walker know that it would be wiser to get their fallen chum to a hospital. The transference of blood isn't easy; especially for men such as them. How do they get past the blockades?

Reed leads Cutter to the bridge. Dexter glances at the supine figure of Dobrovowski, she feels sorry for him.

"So Al'? You started this fucking mess..what are we going to do about it?" Reed cannot contain his annoyance: his downright anger at his mate.

Walker considers the situation. The others that are still alive are in even more danger. The assassination campaign will be stepped up.

"Tell me Andy..what do you know of Ball's connections with the Universal Council? Do you think he could actually be behind the assassinations? I know you maintain that but why would he go to all the trouble of trying to capture Dobrovowski in a criminal act? Why not just kill him?"

The once-sergeant breathes heavy, "well..to be made to the rank of commissioner, given that he has been permitted to work out of his jurisdiction, it is likely that the Velex are with him. But if there is someone else behind this..and not Ball. The Velex?"

"Yes I wondered why there were Velex with Earth police," Walker says matter-of-factly.

"You didn't take care of..?"

"I did."

"How long have you been on that damned planet of yours?"

Walker doesn't answer Reed's question. Dexter watches on with amusement.

"Well the Velex don't take kindly to being slaughtered-"

"Nobody does."

"Listen kid..the Velex aren't the once-peaceful race they used to be. They have learnt a thing or two from humans. They are in league with the Universal Council all the way, but still all the same they'll kill you as soon as."

"Which means?" Walker is off hand about the whole thing, his concern lies with getting the team back together.

"'WHICH MEANS'....that.." Reed calms himself knowing that his buddy can be exasperating sometimes, "which means that the whole fucking federation will be looking for you, knowing Ball to be Ball, he will probably give them all the information they need, so, if it wasn't the good commissioner behind your assassination attempt, you can bet that the Velex will put up another bounty."

Walker knows what Reed is suggesting: the situation is a no win one.

"We would need a vessel which could put us in front of the enemy. A vessel, which could cope with such situations as the blockade in this lovely system," Cutter says finally, after a pause.

Reed looks at him.

Walker goes over to the communications channel.

The older man gets up quickly from seated position, "what are you doing? As soon as you open that up..they'll be on top of us in-"

Cutter motions for his remonstrating chum to be quiet. He sends a signal before the stocky gentleman can do a thing. The coded signal goes out.
*
Aboard a Velex patrol ship they pick up the message, in another sweep of the asteroid field, on the outskirts of it. It is bright and clear above the general confusion of space noise, air wave traffic. With great excitement the alien reports to his superior, who reports to his superior, etc, etc. The location is deep within a lump of matter and it would be difficult to get through but not impossible for native breeds such as they.

The Velex forces converge to prepare for a mounted attack on their high commands signal. They assume it must be where Walker must be. Dobrovowski must need attention, hence the desperate measure of using unprotected channel. Commissioner Treaves can be told later. After they have captured Dobrovowski and this Walker fellow who killed their best officers.
*
Back on Walker's domain the castle stands alone. Cold winds have descended again on the world, like a living being needing company. Darkness ensues and the whole organism of world waits for him to return or someone suitable to occupy it. Only the castle remains. The dead have been digested into its bosom.

Within the castle, the many halls, empty walkways, etc, are silent but for sound from outside momentarily murmuring. The androids stand stock still, frozen in acts which they were halfway through when Walker left.

From deep within the heart of the castle, something stirs. Suddenly an alarm issues all over the huge structure. Throughout halls, passages, rooms, quarters, etc it screams. Then...silence once more.

A large rectangle forms in the heart of the castle, shinning, shimmering different depths of blue. Then androids spring into life with new orders, ignoring what they were doing before and setting about new task.

Outside it is a cold configuration of what once it may have looked like at one time, before Walker was there. The whole planet looks like some primeval reference to a planet young. The castle walls do not yield to the harsh conditions, they stand firm against them.

Within an instant the castle crumbles. Like it were suddenly smashed by God's hand, the entire structure descends into a heap of rubble. A great booming of falling masonry sounds, but something is amiss with it all, like it fell on itself, too slow, fractional. Instead of dust and commotion settling, the structure reforms into itself. Coming from the ground and widening in a great spectacle of sight as from rubble the vessel emerges, rising up. Stone changing back into original form, all part of the vessel- absorbed.

Deep within the craft, on the bridge, the last of the castle's furniture falls away. Dexter's recorder lies on the floor of the bridge, along with a few of her possessions. Androids take their places on seats that the team used to occupy; when the vessel was used against the U.F or whoever. The silver human-shaped figures shut down until they are needed.

One android is left in operation for a moment, whilst it picks up Dexter's things, putting them into waste disposal. The vessel sets course for the Veloron system, engaging Relative Space Time Compression.
*
Reed observes the Velex craft closing in on the entrance to asteroid. The craft have their shields fully charged to their bows. They circle tighter around asteroid's mouth. The scanner starts to flash on Reed's console- the Velex preparing to drop depth charges.

Cutter watches on calmly.
*
The vessel arrives in the Veloron system, cloaked. Aboard it takes in data. The Velex craft surround asteroid where the message came from. Time is limited. Set course, max' navigation ability set. Arrival: thirteen seconds.
*
The Velex are about to discharge depth charges. Suddenly from behind them the vessel appears. The main gunners have barely time to acknowledge its presence before the white light of obliteration consumes them.

The implosions within space make no sound. They are in radio contact one moment and gone the next. All is empty as Reed's craft rises from inside asteroid.
*
Reed cannot believe it. He would cry if it were in him to do so. He guides his craft into the main centre of huge vessel. It brings back memories of the Univarians.

Walker feels like he is being reunited with a beloved, only a brief stay away from his castle that is his home.

Dexter gasps in awe.