and tried not tO meet my gaze. Mugi iS a survlvor Of a near-extinct race. They were discovered on Planet What's-its-name where they'd been laboratory animals in some an- cient civilization. They have a big head similar tO those Of cat critters frOI れ Earth, but their jet black bOdies are twice again as large as 1 れ e. Their thick legs end in paws with razor-like claws, and from their shoulders grow two long feelers like the one that had tapped my shoulder. Since the feelers end in suction cups, they can dO just about any kind Of work that we humans can dO with our hands. Of course, that requires quite a bit of intelligence as well, but they come equipped with that, t00. They're believed to be as intelligent, and maybe even more SO, than we are. They also boast another special talent. This rests in the curly tendril-like long hairs that take the place of ears. By vibrating these tendrils they can manipu- late electromagnetic waves electric currents way they please. み e two mechanical dunces leave all the repairs and remodeling work on Lovely Angel completely to Mugi. On the verge of extinction, there's only a hand- ful left, so of course they've been designated a pro- tected species. lt was just by chance that Yuri and I got Mugi. I could tell you all about it, but let's 14

"But we didn't consider invisible ink," Meruto- nan concluded. "There are certain kinds of mag- netic ink that can be read only by computer. "SO there's a chance? ” "Probably, if your clairvoyance is on target. "Where's the bible? ” "lt's being kept at headquarters. " "Then let's go! Right now!" Yuri and I lent Merutonan our shoulders. Already showing some middle-aged paunch, the executive was simply t00 heavy for words. Huffing and puff- ing, we carried him tO the aircar. I got intO the driver s seat, and flew us back to the headquarters building at lunatic speed. We only crashed into the woods twice along the way. 79

Without thinking, I vented my anger out loud. You'd think Yuri would be surprised to have me suddenly start shouting like that, but she didn't give 1 れ e a second glance. I guess She'S used tO it. lnstead, there was a whine from behind me. I felt something lightly poke my shoulder. "ls that you, Mugi?" I turned around. lt was, just as l'd expected— Mugi. He was sitting all of a heap in one 0f the two back-up seats behind us. Lovely Angel is a small, 80-meter-class starship. Actually, her combat capability and performance have been upgraded t0 make her a match for a 200-meter destroyer. But she still has only four seats in the bridge, and two of those are just for backup. Aaa-ah. Just once l'd like to flop a handsome hunk into one of those seats and go flying about the Galaxy.. I drew my eyebrows together , and gl ared at Mugi. He was supposed to stay in the R &. R room one level down when we were at the controls. Proba- bly he'd snuck upstairs because he was worried about me having hysterics (again!). But rules are rules. Mugi gave me a mournful 100k , and curled up. The whip-like feeler with the suction-cup tip that he'd laid on my shoulder a moment before drooped away. He lowered his round black eyes 13

men tumbled intO the control r00n1. "Wh-what is this?! ” Teppeus' face twitched with surprise. Take that' buddy! Shoutingv and screaming, the wall 0f people around the door broke apart. They poured like an avalanche toward the far wall. They were fleeing IIÄ terror. From out Of their midst, an immense black shadow danced intO the air. A cat-like body with thick feelers extending from its shoulders like whips. Hairlike tendrils in place Of ears. "Mugi! ” We called him to us. Mugi slaughtered the dozen men between us in a festival of b100d , and bound- ed tO our side. "Mugi! Release our handcuffs! " No sooner had I spoken than the handcuffs clicked open. To Mugi, who was able t0 manipu- late electromagnetic waves and electric currents at will, releasing magnetic handcuffs didn't require a moment's thought. "Listen to me, Mugi," I yelled. "Tear this room ap art. Whichever way you want , however much you want! Rout anyone WhO gets in your way! Turn this r001 1ntO junk! ” 110

meters across. lt was enormous, all the 1 れ SO for just a research station. ln fact, it fell just a little short of the largest class of military space sta- tions. If the whole thing was under enemy control, it would be all but impossible to capture it short of calling in a major battle group of the United Galactica Space Force. Lovely Angel entered an orbit that would inter- sect with VuIcan in 3 , 420 seconds. "lt certainly is a tough nut to crack," said Yuri suddenly. "DO you see any chance of success? ” To tell the truth, I saw none at all. My pride wasn't about to let me tell Yuri that, though. "There is one way," I said nonchalantly. "We call them up, ask for landing clearance, and dock. " "Yikes!" Yuri made a show of astonishment. "Why don't you go take a spacewalk in the nude, now?" "Lay off! " "DO you seriously mean to try that? ” ' 1 . senous. "WeII, can't be helped," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "lt's not such an absolutely wacko idea. A frontal attack might actually work better than you'd think. ” "Right! Absolutely right! " I wiped an imaginary brow in relief at having fooled her so well, and nodded extravagantly.

them unusable. N0t just that. If we were lucky, it might even polish 0 任 Dr. Teppeus for us. Yuri quickly read my intentions. She t00k the Bloody Card from her pocket and threw it with all her strength. lt flew into the hanger just seconds after Teppeus vanished inside. lt must have been twenty or thirty seconds later, I followed them in. Teppeus was standing ramrod straight at the far end Of the vast hanger, utterly stunned. There were three spaceboats in the hanger and all of them had been mortally damaged by the Bloody Card. Tep- peus had apparently tried a11 three. His splendid sil- ver mane was in disarray, and hiS shoulders heaved with his gasping breath. "This is your work! ” he snarled when he saw me. "You made your bed, now sleep in it! ” I shot back. I strode toward h ⅱれ . "Why don't you give up now?" I said, urging him tO surrender. “ょ A. real man knows When he's beaten. Teppeus suddenly burst out laughing. His head thrown back, he roared with mirth. For a moment I thought he'd gone mad, but I was wrong. I sup- pose he was laughing in contempt at his own failure. The laughter stopped abruptly. 114

Mugi spun around, and hurtled 0 仟 on his mis- sion Of slaughter and destruction. His fury was hor- rendous, and with good reason. He still hadn't had his daily kalium capsule. NO matter how much you alter them tO get along with humans, at times Of hunger it is harder tO control them than the wild- est of beasts. A blow from their front legs pulver- izes stone; their sharp fangs shred through steel. Moreover, the feelers on their shoulders can han- dle any and every kind 0f weapon. Mugi had endured. Until he'd been summoned by the emergency sig- nal broadcast by my ring, he had waited and wait- ed in Lovely Angel's R & R room, enduring his empty stomach. NO doubt he exploded int0 action the moment he picked up our signal. Using all his powers to the full, he had opened the door, opened the airlock, opened the hatch, crashed through the partitions, and massacred anyone WhO tried tO stop hiS advance J11St tO save us. The countdown on the console had stopped at 32 seconds. The control r001 れ was no longer func- tional. "Kay! ” Yuri ran tO me with an armload of rayguns. "Dr. Teppeus iS missing. "Blast! ” I spat. "He's run away.

ideal proportions, l'll have you know. My hair's red, and just a bit frizzy. But since I wear it in a stylish wolf cut, it's really quite becoming. My eyes are brown, and my skin's a creamy gold. Maybe I shoudn't say SO myself, but I happen t0 be a cute, maybe just a smidgin boyish, beauty. Now Yuri. Yuri, on the other hand, is 168 cen- timeters tall and weighs 51 kilograms. She measures 88-54-90. She's built a tad lighter than I am, but she's a beautiful girl with that lacquer black hair of hers hanging straight down to her shoulders. For a bonus, her skin is a contrasting lily-white. She's just like a little Japanese do Ⅱ . There are times when I stop short just looking at her, and we're the same Then there are , you know , our clothes? They m ay have collars, but these skin-tight tops leave our midriffs bare. Add in our V-cut shorts and calf- hugging b00ts and we glitter in silver from head t0 foot, irresistibly sexy. You could search the wh01e Milky y , but you wouldn't come up with a more tantalizing duo. But that little brat of a traffic controller! Foam- ing at the mouth! LOSing it the 1 れ 01 れ ent he heard we were the Dirty Pair! People like that should be thrown out with the garbage. "That's right! He's a total idiot! ” 12

f001 ! " I shrieked. "Why don't you watch where you put your stupid feet! ” I squatted down and grabbed Yuri's shoulder with my h ands , still locked behind me in magnetic h and- cuffs. Pretending to be helped to her feet, Yuri non- chalantly stretched out her neck and bit the ring on my right ring finger so loudly you could hear the click. She struggled to her feet. "Do it again and see if I help you! ” I shouted. By now, though, nobody was watching us anymore. We'd done everything that we could do. There was nothing left now but tO wait. But the waiting was agony. On the main screen the police ships were being swatted down one by one. And all the while the numbers on the con- SOle counted down ceaselessly, remorselessly toward zero hour for Lucifer's plot. lt was intolerable. The ace up our sleeve still showed signs Of moving. Just 4 IO seconds to go. Just 400 seconds to go ・ Just.. The door suddenly burst open. And 伝 om beyond it, a bloodcurdling scream, mixed with a familiar roar. "He's here! ” cried Yuri, her face lighting up ・ Shrieking and wailing, a knot of blood-smeared 109

。。 th に、 and ⅲ。、 0 ~ 、、市 ly 、 " 、。か 0 残忍きわまりな 0 、 もの 22 enshroud まんべんなくう 26 ln effect い わば 26 a chemical lobotomy 化学的脳手術 26 con- taminated 侵された p. 107 1 lethargic 無気力 3 take over 乗っとる 7 would put up the slightest resistance 反対なんぞしない 12 mis- 13 grumbled ばやくように言った calculations 計算ちがい 19 ground-based command center 18 grievious 重大な 21 exposing 暴く 22 treason 反逆 地上の指令センター 23 been stymied 挫折させられる 25 fine-tune . きめ細か くコントロールする 27 after a fashion 一応 p. 108 1 any trouble spots 不備な個所 10 sniffing around 嗅ぎ つける 12 to drag on つづく 25 swung in our direction 集中した p. 109 8 a click カチリという音 14 agony 苦痛 15 were being 17 ceaselessly 止ま swatted down はたき落とされていった ることなく 17 remorselessly 無情にも 19 lt was intolera- ble 気が気ではなかった 19 The ace up our sleeve 私達 の切り札 24 bloodcurdling 凄ましい p. 110 1 tumbled 転げこんできた 3 twitched ひきつった 7 avalanche なだれ 18 Release はすす 21 atwill 自由に 26 Rout 蹴散らす 27 junk ガラクタ p. 112 1 hurtledoff 突進した 2 His fury was horrendous 恐る 5 alter 再改造する 7 pulverizes べき凶暴さであった 砕く 8 fangs 牙 19 massacred 虐殺した 22 no longer functional もう機能しない 25 an armload 両手い つばいの p. 1 13 4 vacated 外へ出た 8 spotted 見つけた 10 the retreat- ing form うしろ姿 13 hanger 格納庫 15 make his geta- way 脱出する 15 dump 見捨てる 16 he wasn't cut out [ 0 be a leader 幹部の風上にもおけないやつだ p. 114 10 was standing ramrod straight つっ立っていた 13 mor- tally 致命的な 15 mane 頭髪 15 in disarray 乱れて 15 shoulders heaved with his gasping breath 肩でハアハア 153