The Quantum Connection

touch it.

'Don't do that!' I tried to stop her but I was too late and her hand freeze-dried and stuck to the ship's skin. It must have been on the dark side of the ship.

'Yiiiikes, goddamnit . . .' She jerked her hand from the ship ripping skin from her hand and continued to curse in Russian. Blood ran profusely down her arm for a split second before Mikhail took over and shut off her pain and healed her hand.

'Are you okay?' I grabbed her arm and looked at the palm of her hand as it went from bloody to fuzzy to healed.

'That was dumb, huh?'

Mike, how long until the ship's hull reaches equilibrium with the room? I noticed moisture collecting and forming ice crystals on the surface of the ship.

About fifteen minutes. 

Can we speed that up somehow? 

Not any way that I know of. 

All right, thanks. 

Mike, open me a comm. Link to this ship. 

Okay. 

'Lieutenant Ames, we are here outside your ship. The air is at one atmosphere and is breathable.' I shouted for some odd reason.

'We will be out momentarily. Stand with your backs to the wall and keep your hands where we can see them,' Lieutenant Ames's voice boomed in our heads.

Steven, I'm not sure I like this. Tatiana grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

Relax. We will be okay. I assured her as if I knew.

Mike, they can't move this ship without you or Mikhail, right? Mikhail ran the warp system.

Well, they cannot fly it, but they could bump it or drag it or carry it with their own means of propulsion. But they could not access its functions without your permission. 

Thanks. 

The ramp of the USS Starbuck lowered in front of us. Tatiana and I stood deathly still and didn't make a sound or move a muscle. Then Tatiana started reciting something in her mind.

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that . . . 

What are you doing? I thought to her.

Uh, reciting the Bene Gesserit fear litany. 

The Bene whatsit? 

It's from Dune. You should read it, she said, and went back to reciting the thing.

Mike, download Dune for me.

There are many books in the Dune series, Steven. Which one?

Uh, all of them I guess. 

Okay, Steven. 

Then I realized what Tatiana was doing. The first was the best I thought, although the Prince Leto transformation really struck home with what had happened to Tatiana and myself. If you don't understand what I mean, go get a copy and download it for yourself. I joined in the litany with Tatiana.

A few seconds passed and four soldiers took flanking positions on each side of the ramp and trained firearms on us. 'Don't move!' one of them said.

Lieutenant Ames and another female that I didn't recognize seemed to appear at the top of the ramp. Tatiana and I looked at each other—puzzled.

Did you see that? 

Did you see that? We both thought at the same time. We weren't sure if we were seeing things or not. But if we were, we both were. Perhaps it was a trick of the lighting? I thought.

Steven! We have been engulfed in a warp bubble from one of the outside ships! It would appear we are being dragged down into the interior of the lunar crust! Mike warned me. He never sounded alarmed before. He must be experimenting with voice inflections.

Keep me posted, Mike. Unless you think it's necessary, talk to me on the open channel where Tatiana can hear it. Repeat what you just said on the open channel. 

Okay, Steven. 

Steven! We have been engulfed in a warp bubble from one of the outside ships! It would appear we are being dragged down into the interior of the lunar crust! Mike warned us and I tried to act surprised again. He used the same voice tones this time, also. Tatiana's eyes grew wide and bulged.

Steven! She called to me.