He was still bothered by the other, huge impulse which throbbed against his pattern; it seemed strangely adamant and.... But he couldn't find the exact word for what repelled him.
He pushed the pattern aside. Enough time to worry about that after he had absorbed the fifth branch of impulse of the alien being nearby.
Again, Rahll's thoughts turned to a method of operation. What illusion to form now...?
Brenner sat in the nose section of the ship, his head throbbing. The alien's visions of power were now perfectly clear in his mind, but for some reason they did not bother him any more. He had been tricked by that thing outside; he had to fight back somehow. That and that alone mattered now.
And a way to fight back was slowly creeping into his thoughts; some formless fear the being had of the impulses formed by the electric generator. Perhaps if he could trick the alien into....
Whang! A loud noise cut through his mind.
He jumped up and turned toward the back of the compartment; just in time to see a shadow flick through and close the door there.
He ran to the back, turned the wheel in the center of the door, pulled the door open, and staggered into the second compartment. Whang! Something hit him across the back of his neck. He jerked and crashed to the floor, fighting to maintain consciousness.
With a desperate lunge, he grabbed at the wall and pulled himself to his feet. Then he looked to the back of the second compartment, just in time to see the shadow flick through the door.