The earsplitting alarm continued to rise and fall as they quickened their pace. The central agora had all but emptied except for a few stragglers whose stubby legs could only bear them along so fast. “The wardengate’s overrun!” one shouted. “How many?” Denk asked, but didn’t receive an answer. The sound of blaster fire echoed […]

Including the smallish Durandian freighter on level three, Geddy counted just seven ships in all of Wuntara Station. Maximum capacity was maybe thirty, thirty-five. Stepping out onto the stone floor, it was quiet enough to hear workers talking from clear across the wide, fairly shallow space. Specifically, talking about them. “Fresh meat, you think?” asked

The cave-in wasn’t as bad as Geddy feared. The blaster fire had dislodged a chunk of the tunnel’s roof but it hadn’t collapsed completely. Though it did completely fill the tunnel, Denk’s light poked back at them through a tiny slit near the top of the rubble. Relief flooded his body. “Ingo? Oz? Boy, am

The cave-in wasn’t as bad as Geddy feared. The blaster fire had dislodged a chunk of the tunnel’s roof but it hadn’t collapsed completely. Though it did completely fill the tunnel, Denk’s light poked back at them through a tiny slit near the top of the rubble. Relief flooded his body. “Ingo? Oz? Boy, am

It happened so fast. No more than five seconds passed between Jel spotting the light to Denk’s screen filling with debris. Everyone in the gatehouse froze, and for a time, nobody spoke. “Voprot go.” “Denk, do you read me? What just happened?” Ingo asked, holding up his open palms. “The Nads brought it down on

Anyway,” Geddy finished, “that’s how we found you.” Denk had led them on a slow walking tour of the city while Geddy brought everyone up to speed on Verdithea, Verveik, the new Alliance, and Oz’s and Krezek’s abduction. He shook his head in disbelief. “Man, that’s wild. I don’t think I would’ve liked those skysnakes.”