Yalp and his two technicians were trying to figure out how to shield the engine from the Gpez weapon. They had come up with numerous ideas and discarded each one in turn. They were getting a little frustrated when one of them said,

"In the past they used lead to protect from radiation. It might just work in this case because it is not radiation specific."

The other two looked at him and Yalp said,

"It is so simple, it just might work." Then the three of them went their separate ways looking for anything lead they could use.

Yalp made his way into a storage area and started to look around. Lead is not used very often now since it is too heavy and hard to find. Yalp thought of all the things he might find lead in. After about five minutes it came to him. He got on the Intercom to talk to Denise.

"I have a need for lead. Do we have a mobile lead lined safe in the ship to carry passenger's valuables?"

She did not answer for a second as if deep in thought.

"Yes", she replied, "It is in Pogo's state room somewhere. I will have him come down to Engineering and help you out with it."

"That would be great." Yalp then made his way back to Engineering since he was going to need an antigrav unit anyway. He had just got the antigrav out of storage when Pogo walked in.

"It is good to see you", the Fraal said. "How can I be of assistance to you?"

"I need a safe out of your room."

The Fraal raised an eyebrow as if to say how interesting.

They left Engineering and made their way to the first class state rooms. There Pogo opened one and then walked in.

"Could you open it and take out all of your valuables?" Yalp asked.

Pogo did as he was asked and then asked,

"May I ask what you are doing?"

"I need a shield to protect against Beta Radiation. The only thing we could come up with was a lead shield. I have never heard of lead being used to shield against Beta Rays so I hope they do not react in any way."

At Yalp saying that a stray thought crossed Pogo's mind but he did not get it. It was a movie image of a nuclear bomb explosion. The cloud pattern was the distinct mushroom shape. But what did that have to do with lead shielding he did not quite understand. Well, maybe it would come to him - maybe not.

They hooked the antigrav unit up to the safe and Yalp took it away. Making his way back to Engineering he ran into one of the technicians on the way. They walked in with the safe in tow and found the third man already there clearing out an area to put the safe in. Yalp maneuvered the safe into the now open area and set it down. He set it up in such a way that the open doorway would let the ray inside. Then hopefully it would not be able to flow around it. After it was in place he did some readings with his gauntlet and found it was indeed working. The power flow was reaching the engines again. He stood up and smiled at the two technicians and said,

"I think we have done it. Get back to your stations and see how things look."

The two men then hurried off.
 

After a couple of minutes to check everything out he used the Intercom to contact Denise.

"We have blocked the rays. It will take about half an hour and we should be ready to lift off."

Denise could not believe her ears. "It will be just in time", she replied.

"Yalp, you are the best!" The little lizard smiled from one side of his head to the other. He went back to his shield and took some more readings. He was very happy with himself so he almost missed it. He was getting unusual energy readings from the safe. He changed his gauntlet settings and checked the readings again. The lead in the safe was breaking down and the reaction was increasing exponentially. Yalp had never seen anything like it. It was like a nuclear explosion in slow motion. He took some more readings and figured at the rate it was going the explosion would destroy the Empress in about an hour and a half. He quickly switched on the antigrav unit and pulled the safe out from the Beta Radiation bombardment. He then frantically took more readings. The reaction had not stopped; it would still blow but it would take longer now. The engines were also off line again.

Yalp called Denise on the Intercom and asked her to come to Engineering right away.

When she walked in he explained what was happening to the best of his abilities. When he was finished, she summed it up,

"So let me get this straight. The ship is going to blow up."

He nodded yes. She continued,

"And if we want the engines it will blow up sooner."

He nodded again.

"OK. Get the engines up and maybe we can get away from the bomb you made."

He nodded again and moved the safe back in front of the beam.

Denise went back to Auxiliary Control and got on the Comlink to the Warbird. She explained to Huntly what was going on. She said,

"When the ship is ready, we will come up quick. Unload as many people as possible and then get it as far away as possible before it explodes."

Huntly replied.

"That sounds good. I am also bringing the Warbird down to get a load of people. Then I will transport them to the Birmingham a Union of Sol Cruiser that is almost here. I can get the last of the group and you can it on automatic pilot and we will all be out of here."

Denise smiled. This plan should work.