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finished, he sat back in his chair, lost in thought. Finally, he turned to Jeremiah. "What do you think we should do?"
    Jeremiah shook his head slowly. "I don't know, Captain. We can tell the Bakians we know their ruse and force them to stick to the terms of the deal."
    "Captain?" I ventured.
    "What, Simmons?" He turned to me with his brows furrowed.
    "If I may, sir. The prince seems like an honest man. Could I suggest that we simply make the deal with the Lisellians and leave the Bakians out of it? They aren't really bringing anything to the table except for their negotiation and translation services, but now that you have me you can deal with the Lisellians directly."
    The captain sat back in his chair again , deep in thought. Finally, he nodded.
    "All right, Simmons, I agree. But this is a dangerous play - the Bakians aren't going to be happy about losing all that money. When we go back in, I want you to tell the Lisellians exactly what I tell you to, but leave the Bakians to me. And whatever you do, stay behind me."
    "Yes, sir."
     
    We walked back in, and I made sure to stay behind the captain. The other two groups had already returned. The captain remained standing and turned to Angorak.
    " Angorak, thank you for your time, but I would rather deal directly with the Lisellians in this matter."
    The reptile blinked his eyes in surprise. "How will you do that, Morsse? We are your translatorss."
    "My son here happens to speak Lisellian. He will deal with this matter for me."
    The slitted eyes flicked to me and narrowed. "I ssee," he said, standing. "You deliberately did not reveal thiss information to uss."
    The captain shrugged. "I figured it was on a need-to-know basis."
    The expression on the reptilian's face might have been comical under different circumstances. His narrowed eyes blinked rapidly and his tail swished back and forth behind him.
    When he leaned over the table, the captain swiftly put his hands on the table and leaned into him until they were eye to eye. "Your business here is finished, Angorak. You'll be compensated for your time."
    "I don't think sso, Captain. We had a deal." His voice was loud and angry.
    " That deal didn't include you lying to us." He pointed at the door and his voice thundered. "Now get out!"
    The reptilian stood up and took a step back. "You have made an enemy here today, Morsse," he warned, motioning his two colleagues to the door.
    "Get in line," the captain dismiss ed him and Angorak's eyes narrowed even more.
    " Ssimmonss," the Bakian hissed, giving me one last look of pure hatred. I shivered. I did not like the way that reptile said my name. With one last hiss, he sauntered out the door.
    Negotiations proceeded swiftly after that, and even though they couldn't speak the same language, I could tell that the Lisellian prince and the captain had an affinity for one another. They thought very similarly and their characters were almost alike. I had a feeling that they would be doing business long into the future, and I was happy when they shook hands warmly before the prince took his leave.
     
    As we walked back to the shuttle, the captain slung his arm around my shoulders. "You never cease to amaze me, Simmons. You were great in there."
    "Thank you, sir," I kept my voice calm, but inside I rejoiced. The captain was proud of me!
    "I mean it," he continued warmly. "Your service is going to be invaluable."
    Just then, a blaster shot flew past us. The captain drew his own blaster and turned around. He shot and I turned in time to see one of the Bakians go down.
    "Run, dammit!" The captain hauled me by the arm and started running down the hall to where we were docked. But his legs were faster than mine and I felt myself falling behind. When he reached the door, he keyed in the code and looked back at me.
    "Come on, Simmons," he shouted, but then I heard another blaster shot from behind me and felt a sharp pain in my thigh. My steps faltered and I saw his look of horror as I fell