Awake.
The thin Vegan whirled in astonishment as Lawrence entered. He was at the back of the room, bending over the nude form of Bette Bauer. Lawrence noticed a strange odor in the room, even through his improvised face-mask—and it wasn't the odor of the drug he'd slipped into the air system.
Angrily, Andsu Meero ripped out a barking sentence in Vegan. Then his eyes narrowed. "Oh, the Earthman? How did you get in here?"
Lawrence's pistol rose. "Get away from that girl, Meero. Get away or I'll shoot you."
"Just try," Meero chuckled. He calmly drew his own gun from its holster, and Lawrence realized with a shock that he was as good as unarmed, because he did not know how to use the Vegan gun!
He hurled the useless gun at Meero and dove behind a chair just as the Vegan's pistol fired. A section of the wall caved in. Lawrence peered out, then ducked back as he saw Meero looking for him.
Cautiously, he began to thread his way along the side of the room toward Meero.