Tsoravitch grabbed Parvi’s arm and shouted, “Yes! Yes!”
“Can we magnify this at all?” Mosasa asked.
“Sure,” Wahid said, and the image zoomed in on the two vessels. One was clearly a drop-ship with a smooth skin and the profile of a lifting body that could provide some sort of maneuvering capability in an atmosphere. The other had the spidery appearance of a vessel never meant to descend into a gravity well.
Parvi could also now see the green-and-white crescent markings of the Caliphate.
“Apparently,” Wahid said, “we didn’t beat them here.”
“Do we have any of our communications array up?” Parvi asked.
“Not yet,” Tsoravitch whispered. Parvi could tell that she was remembering the holo of the attack on Mosasa’s salvage yard.
Parvi hugged her shoulder. “Don’t worry. If they had evil intent, we’d know by now. We’re well within range of that ship’s missile battery.”
Mosasa shook his head. “It’s wrong . . .”
“What’s wrong?” Wahid asked. “You said yourself that they were going—”
Mosasa slammed his hand against the console. “They didn’t have the
“Uh, should I point out the obvious,” Wahid said. “They
Mosasa looked at Wahid, and all the expression drained from his face. “Perhaps it is over,” he whispered.
The flat way he said it chilled Parvi. It was as if he had given up.
“Are you still there, Bill?”
“They will probably come through the cargo bay. Prepare to greet our visitors.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Descent
Know when to hang on, when to let go, and when not to get on the ride.
On the road to hell, seat belts are optional.
Hours after they took Nickolai away, Mallory prayed for the wisdom to know what his purpose in this debacle was. Even as they approached a planet and relative safety, Nickolai’s words still burned in his ears, his accusations about Mosasa and his fatalistic belief that the
Half of him wasn’t even surprised when the cabin started shaking.
The klaxons and emergency lights announced a hull breach and Parvi’s panicked voice burst though the PA, “Everyone to the nearest lifeboat/cabin now! We’ve had a critical overlo—”
A massive explosion threw Mallory out of his cot. When he pushed himself off the floor, he found himself floating upward. Something jerked, and the lights went out.
After several moments, a dull red light came on above the doorway and began flashing rhythmically.
