The light from the corridor forms a road way revealing the debris of the room.
"Shit, Silvia?" Ryan's voice. He steps through, briefly blocking the light.
Fear still makes her unable to cry out. She whimpers softly.
Ryan hears it.
"Silvia?"
He pulls a light from his pocket and shines it round, catching her feet, and running up her body, blinding her as it comes to rest on her face. She closes her eyes against the light.
Suddenly Ryan's arms are around her, lifting her up and hugging her close.
"Christine." His cry seems to echo in his chest as she hugs close to him. As he carries her into the corridor Christine appears round the corner, out of breath from running. She is followed by the woman Silvia saw on the stairs before all this started.
"She Ok?" Rae asks.
Christine drops to her knees next to Silvia. "It's Ok. It's all over they've gone." She whispers reaching for her.
"Yeah, She's just shook up." Ryan carefully passes Silvia over to Christine.
The girl buries her face into Christines chest, the horror gone all she can do is cry.
Ryan stands up wincing he looks at his office and sighs. "No I don't want to know." He declares.
Suddenly Rae is next to her, stroking her hair. "What happened love." She asks, there is a gently concern in her voice.
Silvia just clutches Christine crying and shaking. "Two things." she stutters, "they walked out of the wall and grabbed me."
"Did they say anything?" Rae asks.
Silvia just shakes.
The woman looks up at Christine. "I need to know." She states simply
Christine just nods. "Silvia, don't worry Rae isn't going to hurt you."
The woman takes off her black leather glove and rests her palm against Silvia's head.

Suddenly Silvia is back in the room. The events of the attack repeat themselves rapidly. As she pulls back to the wall the images fade to reveal Christines hair and the slight pressure of Rae's hand on her head. She shivers, but feels herself calming. Some how reliving the experience has made it seem less scary. She looks up at the woman in amazement.
She smiles, pulling the glove back on.
"It's ok." She smiles. Then she looks up at Christine. "They came here looking for a man called Stonehouse, or something like that. They expected to find him in that room. They were a little annoyed just to find your friend there. But I don't think they'll be coming back here soon."
"Who sent them?" Ryan asks carefully
Rae shakes her head turning to him. "They didn't say."
Silvia finds herself staring at the woman in awe. How did she do that? How could she know what she had seen? She looks up at Christine.
"How did....?" Silvia asks.
"It's magic Silvia." Ray smiles at her.
"Magic?" She looks at her confused.
"Don't worry about it." Rae winks. She stands up.
Silvia suddenly realises that she can stand, the shaking has gone. With Christine's help she gets to her feet.
"I'll go and see what I can find out." Rae states. "They didn't find what they came for, but they seem pretty convinced it isn't here. You should be ok, but I'd up your security just in case."
"You sure about that stone house?" Ryan asks carefully, we don't have any one on the staff by that name.
"Bulmäs pretty rough and ready, The name at least means that." She explains. She reaches down to gently strokes Silvia's aching wrists. "No serious damage." She assures her. A warmth spreads out from the woman's hands easing the stiffness.
Silvia stares a her hands in amazement. "Who are you?" She asks.
Rae looks up at Christine briefly before replying. "Apparently I am your cousin." She states flatly.
Silvia looks up in surprise. "I didn't know dad had other brothers or sisters. But then there were lots of things dad didn't tell me." She reflects.
"Yes." Rae responds cryptically. "I got to go. I'll let you know what I find out." She comments to Ryan.
Then she turns and jogs down the corridor.
 +*+
After five long minutes of silence Silas hears. “Sorry.”
“No you are right. I don’t have any idea what I’m dealing with here.” Silas responds.
“Well I’ll fess up. I’m scared. I hate those things. I got caught by one once. I was bloody lucky because I had a passenger on board who knew a few tricks. There is not a time I go deep in U-space without thinking about that one, or feel relief at seeing the stars when I get out.”
“You still go though.” Silas comments softly.
Andi laughs. “Yeah funny that.” He takes a deep breath. “It’s off port. Do you want to see it?”
Silas shakes his head.
“There wont be any survivors to worry about.” Andi informs him. “The things are just sweeping up now. Looks like the initial attack was pretty quick and decisive, the main super structure of the ship is bent in half.”
Silas swallows. Part of him wants to tell his pilot to shut up, that he really doesn’t want to know, and then it becomes irrelevant.
“Shit. Full up Mags.” Andi commands
Suddenly the ship jumps into life. U-space and the over lay comes back into view. Despite himself Silas glances to the left as the ship whips round, giving him just a glimpse of the red converging lines and the rapidly growing dark shapes.
“They’ve seen us. Crap.”
The ship lurches violently as it cuts across the current; Something bounces off the side, and Silas gets a brief view of a black fragment of rock and metal as it slides over his head. He twists in his seat to try to see what is chasing them, but Andi is whipping the ship round so fast it’s hard for him to focus, or indeed for the over lay to keep up.
“Oh come on.” He urges the ship faster. “Down Down Down Down Down.”
Suddenly it twists again and Silas senses something passing close underneath them. He gets a view of something black and shiny with long sucker covered tentacles.
“Fecking U-squid.” Andi Swears at their attackers
The ship lurches again and twists to prevent the tentacle locking on.
“Shelf it.”
The ship pulls up sharply and climbs before twisting round again. Silas feels his shoulder impact against the bulkhead that he can not see.
“Oh there are just too many of the bloody things.” Andi complains as another dark shape forms in the fluid a head of him. “Give me a reality point.”
A female voice sounds in the speaker. “4.683 SE0014”
“That’ll have to do.”
The ship spins again and cuts back across the current. Silas sees another of the U-squid drop down the front of the ship, It seems to grip onto air as the suckers attaches to the invisible surface. The sucker works on the nothing and Silas is sure he can see it cutting into the invisible bulk head. He begins to wonder how armoured the ship it, but this doesn’t seem like a good time to ask..
“Bastard. You’ll regret that.” Andi screams at the squid as another tentacle climbs up into view.
“0.500 to reality point.” The female voice says in a smooth calm voice.
“Well either he gets off or his coming with us. It’s not my choice.” Andi responds.
“Brace for reality break.” The female voice warns.
And then the amber fluid seems to fracture around them like they have driven through a glass projection plate

And there are only stars and the remains of the U-Squid boiling off