He thought: _It would have been better if Wassreck had let me die on Horla._ Then, at last, he reached Ylana's room. It came to him as a shock when there was no guard. Silently, he opened the door; stepped swiftly in, gun up and ready. The bed, the room, were empty. * * * * * In a sort of frenzy, he ran through the rest of the suite; jerked open the neutron-bath and closets. But the girl was gone. He spun about, for a wild moment ready to race on through the rambling building, searching further. But that was madness, and in his heart he knew it. Not even a clue as to Ylana's whereabouts had been left behind. He might hunt for hours to no avail. And time was running short ... the seconds ticking by. Jarl sagged back numbly. The fire went out of him. A dinning echo drummed within his brain. _I've failed ... I've failed ... I've failed...._ Wassreck had gone through Horla's holocaust for nothing. Sais would weep and turn away. As for Ceresta. But there was still Ungo to think of ... Ungo, and the five dauntless, swaggering raider crewmen who'd come here with him. He owed it to them at least to try to get away. Leaden-footed, he stumbled back through the maze of halls and ramps again. Then he was back in the corridor of the cells. Ungo lumbered up beside him, eyes alight with a lust for battle. "Jarl! We knocked us off a guard station--!" The five crewmen crowded around--grinning wolfishly, displaying weapons. Jarl said dully, "Ungo, she was gone." The Jovian shrugged his massive shoulders. "It goes that way sometimes." And then: "We can't wait, Jarl. The far sky's getting grey already." "All right." "We've found a gate to the court...." "Let's go, then." Woodenly, Jarl walked with them to the heavy door and peered through a crevice into the courtyard. The personal carrier of _rey_ Gundre, high commissioner of all the asteroids, rose stark and sleek, a shining silver lance against the darkness of the sky. Blue-uniformed Federation guards patrolled in pairs or stood their posts around it, weapons dully gleaming. The sight of the ship, the fighters, somehow lifted Jarl. Of a sudden he knew that now, of all times, he needed a foe that he could see and strike. He clipped curt orders: "We'll come out fast and trust to shock to get us through. The first man aboard grabs the controls. The last racks shut the hatch. Blast as soon as the bell rings!" The raiders drew close, weapons ready. Jarl cut through the bolt on the door. "Now?" whispered Ungo. "Now!" * * * * * Ungo's bulk struck the gate with a splintering crash. The raiders charged for the ship like ravening _zanths_ that race to reach their prey. Knife ready, ray-gun ablaze, Jarl Corvett leaped forward in his crewmen's van. Guards spun about. Desperately, the nearest tried to form to meet the rush.