The thick padding was the last thing he felt before he blacked out.

The pain of awakening was worse than the pain of the blow. Jim's head throbbed as though there were a motorcycle engine inside it.

When he opened his eyes, the pain became worse. A brilliant light was shining directly into his eyes. He winced and closed them again.

"Dim the light," said a softly slurred voice.

Jim opened his eyes again. This time, he saw what was standing over him, and he recoiled in horror.

The being looked vaguely reptilian, but there was a touch of the insect about it, too. It was green in color and covered with scales, like a fish. It stood on two legs, towering above him and gazing at him with bulging, faceted, insect-like eyes.

After the initial reaction of disgust came another thought: I've got to get out of here!

He rose to a sitting position, swung out with a fist. But the creature ducked lithely away from the blow. Cold hands on his shoulders pressed him down again, and he knew it was futile to attempt to fight his way out. He closed his eyes again—hard.

"You are afraid of us," said the soft voice. "You fear me because of my appearance. Please do not. I—we—mean you no harm, Dr. Lawrence."

The thing was calling him by his own name. Lawrence shook his head to get the cobwebs out of it. What was going on?

It had been an ordinary, peaceful day. Then, five hoodlums kidnapping Bette Bauer, and that blow on the head—

And now this. Reptilian creatures with glittering eyes. Lawrence opened his eyes again. The scene remained the same—but this time he could see three similar creatures in the background.

"Who—what are you?"

And then, as he saw more of his surroundings, he asked, "Where is this?"

The alien said: "You are aboard our spaceship, Dr. Lawrence. We are following the Vegan ship."

In spite of the alien's terrifying appearance, Jim sensed a curious friendliness in its voice. "I'm—I'm afraid I don't understand. Those men—"

The lizard-like being with the insect eyes sat down on a chair near the bunk. "Dr. Lawrence, I am Nestiv Illon. I am the captain of this ship, which is a war vessel in the 

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