Comm-Link:Instrument of Surrender (Part 4)/es

Part 4

“Concentrate fire; too many shots are missing the stern,” Commander Wallace barked as she looked out to survey the battle. Hypnotic waves of laser fire flew between the two ships. For a brief moment, she forgot about the death represented by each streak and was lost in its strange beauty.

This was it. Crescent’s chance to stop the Tevarin capital ship from attacking Crion. The Tevs were trapped between them and a swathe of anti-ship mines. Since its powerful phalanx shield could only defend one side at a time, it was deployed between their bow and the minefield, exposing the ship’s stern for attack.

“Signature spike. . . starboard side, main cannon,” cried Starman Daughtry.

The warning returned Commander Wallace to reality. She checked their angle then made a quick calculation, “Forward another 1,000 meters, adjusting yaw plus ten. Full strength to bow shields.”

The massive ship lurched forward and turned just as the Tevs took their shot. The blast sailed narrowly passed their starboard side. The crackle of shield energy showed just how close the barrage had been.

Coburn bellowed from his terminal, “Tev shields have swung again. We’ve got an angle on their starboard side thruster.”

Commander Wallace looked to the hologlobe. Coburn was right.

“Reduce bow shields to 50% and divert to the railgun. I want that starboard side thruster non-existent, clear?”

“Railgun’s up!”

Coburn looked to Commander Wallace. She’d let him have this one.

“Call it.”

Coburn grinned. “Fire!”

Wallace watched the railgun shot sail through space and punch through the thruster. Multiple internal explosions detonated inside the gaping hole until the whole thing finally went up.

The bridge exploded into cheers as Wallace sank against the railing, breathing a sigh of relief. The Tevs would have a tough time navigating out of this asteroid belt without that thruster. Let alone executing their intended attack on Crion.

“They’re launching ships, sir!” called Starman Tillman.

Tevarin fighters and boarding vessels poured into space and then scattered. A few disappeared on the far side of the Tevarin ship to disarm the anti-ship mines. Meanwhile, the majority of the ships set their sights on Crescent.

“Coburn, lock us down. We can’t let any —”

But Coburn cut her off. “Got a report from Hernandez in sector six. They already caught a Tev.”

''That must have been our saboteur,she thought. Who knows how many have already infiltrated.''

“Seal all bulkheads and get Marines to search every inch of this ship, starting with sectors housing major components or connected to the bridge.”

Suddenly, the phalanx shield materialized between Crescent and the Tevarin ship. Doing further damage to them just got a lot more difficult.

Then the realization struck Commander Wallace. While crippling the Tevarin ship might mean Crion was safe, it also ensured the Tevs would bring to bear everything they had against Crescent.

''With what that boarder did to our power and their blown thruster, neither of us are leaving this area anytime soon,she thought. At least not both of us.''

* * *

“Paredes! Stand the hell down.”

Drahk remained motionless on the floor as the Marine with the black eye trained his gun barrel at Drahk’s head. He had just seen the Marine knock the other Human unconscious and the anger in his fleshy expression showed that it wouldn’t take much for him to snap again. Although it seemed another younger Marine was trying to talk him down.

An older Marine pushed his way to the front, “Paredes! What the hell you doing?”

The one known as Paredes slowly lowered the weapon. The older Marine looked over the scene.

“On your feet, now!” the older Marine yelled, but Drahk stayed on the floor. Command training taught those whose spoke Human to keep it a secret. It might be the only advantage he had in this entire situation.

“He said get up,” Paredes jammed the butt of his rifle into Drahk’s back. “Get up!”

Paredes hit him harder. Drahk slowly eased himself up, making sure his hands were visible the entire time. Paredes pushed him against the corridor wall.

Meanwhile, the older Marine checked the unconscious Human. “Hope it was worth it, Paredes. Now someone’s gotta carry him back to the brig. Wanna guess who that’s gonna be?”

Paredes opened his mouth, then thought better of it, “Yes, sir.”

“Let’s go. We’ve already wasted enough time.”

Paredes slowly stepped away from Drahk, slung his gun behind his back and lifted the unconscious Human.

“Come on, move,” said the older Marine.

Drahk stepped forward then caught himself. The older Marine eyed him — did this Tev just understand me?

Klaxons erupted up and down the halls.

“Hold up, people.” The group turned towards the older Marine, checking his personal data device. “Change of plans. Anti-boarding protocol is in effect. We need to sweep this sector immediately.”

Drahk was glad his helmet’s visor was so dark. It helped hide his smile. This had to mean the warriors of Rijora were coming.

“Sir,” said Paredes, “the hell we supposed to do with these two? The brig’s no where near our sector.”

The older Marine shot him a look. “Shut up and follow me.”

* * *

A rumbling roused Hickory. He regained consciousness face down on a cold floor, his head throbbing and full of fog. He rolled onto his back and then sat up, blinking rapidly to bring his eyes into focus.

Well, one thing was certain, he wasn’t in the brig. Through metal latticework, the ship’s half-filled cargo bay came into focus. As he scanned his surroundings, the intensity of the light forced him to close his eyes again.

A cage. They put him in a cage.

Hickory’s hands gently probed the side of his head, wincing when he found the spot where he’d been struck. Guess it could be worse. Nothing was broken, and he remembered everything up until the kid cracked him across the head.

Once the wave of pain passed, he spotted a strange form through the latticework on his left.

It was the Tevarin, sitting there serenely. Helmet in its lap. Eyes closed. Meditating or praying or whatever it is they do.

He grabbed the cargo cage door and shook it. It barely gave. Minimal movement meant it was well built with a strong lock. Luckily, his hand could fit between the slats in the latticework. So he reached through and felt the front of the metal case housing the lock. Then breathed a sigh of relief. There was a keyhole.

Hickory pulled his hand inside the cage. Then sat with his back to the door. That’s when he saw the Tevarin eyeing him suspiciously. Hickory didn’t trust the Tev either, but knew he could be helpful. Especially since he spoke Human.

“Seen any guards around?”

The Tev shook his head.

“Keep an eye out for me,” he reached into the right sleeve of his spacesuit. “Any idea why they threw us in here? I missed that part.”

After a few moments of silence, the Tev decided to respond, “They were called into battle. Brig was too far away.”

Hickory pulled the multitool from the hidden pocket in his sleeve. Then thumbed through various tools, “Gotta say. Your accent’s interesting.”

“Not Human enough for you?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just, I’ve only heard it one other place. . . Olympus. You spend much time there?”

The Tevarin opened his eyes and looked at Hickory for a moment before going back to meditating, “My youth.”

“Lived there myself for a few years while I was, well. . . it’s a good place to go unnoticed.”

“Yes.”

Hickory had seen plenty of Tevs on Olympus. He’d seen how horribly most of them were treated, but also how they acted when the tables were turned. He found the rake on his multitool and locked it into place, “I’m Hickory, by the way.”

“Drahk.”

Hickory carefully slid his hand between the cage’s chainlink. Then angled the multitool back towards the keyhole. Suddenly, the ship shook. The multitool slipped from his hand. A metallic thud from the hull echoed across the cargo bay. He glanced through the cage’s slats to see it tumble well out of reach.

A string of expletives poured from his mouth. Hickory turned to see Drahk drop to the floor, and use his long, lean arms to grab the multitool. “You’re a lifesaver, Drahk.”

He extended his hand only to realize Drahk wasn’t giving it back. Instead, he flipped through the various tools. “Am I?”

Hickory felt a lump in his throat. He watched as Drahk returned to the rake and examined the series of bumps on its end. Then slipped his arm through the latticework.

What was he doing? The Tevarin had obviously never picked one of these locks before.

Then he began to worry. How strong were Tevs? What if he severely bent the tool? It would destroy any chance of either of them escaping. Hickory couldn’t take it anymore. “Careful, you can’t force it. It’s a touch thing, more slow and steady.”

Drahk glared at Hickory while continuing to work the lock.

“What? I’m trying to help. See, it’s just. . . I need to get out of here. I can’t die like this.”

“Death is not to be feared; it is but a truth. The Rijora has guided me from its grasps many times today. Now it’s brought me the tool needed, so I can escape and help destroy this ship.”

Hickory wasn’t sure what expression was on his face, but Drahk read it plain as day. “Maybe you’d understand if you had faith in anything but yourself.”

“Fat lot of good your Rijora’s done for you. Put you on the losing end of two wars.”

“Two wars?”

Drahk eyed him with a mix of interest and suspicion. It took Hickory a second to realize.

That’s right, how could he know?

“The war. . . it’s over.”

* * *

The bridge swayed slightly. Another blast from the Tevarin cannon had caught Crescent’s starboard side flush.

“How are the shields holding up?” asked Commander Wallace.

“Down to 43% effective.”

“We need that battery bay back online.”

Coburn checked his personal data pad. “Everybody in that sector who can fix it is fixing it. Marines are still completing their searches. Until we’re certain no other Tevs are on board, it’d be risky to open bulkheads so others could help.”

Commander Wallace consulted the terminal before her, comparing their accumulated damage to the Tevs. “Fine, but the second we’re clear get some help there immediately.”

“Switch up your flight path, Ayers!” bellowed Coburn. “You’re falling into a pattern even I can crack.”

Crescent had to duck and dodge fire from the Tevarin ship, while also trying to outmaneuver the phalanx shield so it could deliver damage of its own. Ayers had done an acceptable job of randomly moving the ship so far, but it was clear he was growing weary. According to the data, Crescent was starting to take more hits than it delivered.

Suddenly, alarms screamed. No, it couldn’t be. ..

“Got a breach! Multiple contacts in Sector Six. . .”

Commander Wallace and Coburn locked eyes. So much for restoring the battery bay there. Wallace didn’t need to do any calculations to know their chances of surviving had just dropped dramatically.

She did everything she could do suppress that numbing fear that was growing before speaking, “I want fighters and any turrets to protect that sector from more boarders. If that’s their foothold, I want to cut it off. We’ll never survive if they overrun this ship.”

* * *

Cargo crates rattled around them, a sign the battle was intensifying. Drahk had been silent since the Human told him the war was over. He just couldn’t shake the feeling that it was true. He couldn’t remember a time where they’d gone so long without receiving a transmission from Corath’Thal.

Of course, he would be foolish to just take the Human’s word. He looked to Hickory, who was nervously drumming his fingers against the cage. The human seemed unreliable at best.

“How would you know the war is over?”

“I found the Instrument of Surrender while salvaging a military wreck in system. Ship must’ve gotten fried by an electrical storm before broadcasting the news.”

The Instrument of Surrender was the sacred Rijoran text used to end conflict. Still, having it meant nothing unless signed by their holy leader. So he kept pressing, “Really? Authorized by who?”

“Pakal’Dor.”

A sense of relief swept through Drahk, “What you saw was a fake. Only Corath’Thal can validate the Instrument of Surrender.”

“That’d be tough, I think.” Hickory said as he shifted and stretched out his back, “Corath’Thal’s atomized. Supposedly, he planned some big attack and got tuned up. Apparently he didn’t take it so well, so he led the few survivors to your homeworld and rammed their ships into the ground.”

Hickory glanced at Drahk, who was completely immobile. Inscrutable too.

“So I don’t know, I guess Pakal’Dor was next in line for command? Tevarin military’s more your thing, so you tell me.”

It all made sense now. The truth was staring him in the face but he didn’t want to accept it. If true, Corath’Thal had brought immense dishonor to himself and the Tevarin people.

The Rijora strictly forbids suicide in battle. It decreed — Honorable surrender, over all, when one’s back is against the wall.

As the reality set in, Drahk realized it was more important than ever to escape this cage. Only he could save his fellow fighters from the disgrace of fighting for a dishonorable leader.

“Do you have it? The Instrument of Surrender.”

“On my ship.”

“Here?”

Hickory shook his head then pointed to a data pad build into his suit, “But I know exactly where it is.”

Drahk held up the multitool and Hickory’s eyes went wide.

“I’ll help you off this ship, if you get me that Instrument of Surrender.”

Hickory nodded, “Sure.”

Drahk extended the multitool. Hickory took it and went to work on the locked cage door.

* * *

Wallace watched Crescent’s shield ripple as it absorbed another blast. The shield’s overall efficiency ticked down another percent. She knew this firing back and forth was unsustainable. They were going to lose.

Coburn hurried to her side, which wasn’t a good sign.

“Report from Sector Six. Hernandez lost three, forcing him to fall back to the main hangar. His team’s working with the flight crew to secure the area, but it’s only a matter of time before the Tevs attempt to breach it.”

The terminal before Commander Wallace beeped. She looked down and scanned the results. Earlier, she had noticed something about the phalanx shield. Every time it absorbed a blast a stream of energy from the ship swiftly repaired the damage and returned the shield to full health. So she stitched together a series of scans. Together they traced those energy streams back to specific areas of the ship. Maybe if they attacked those locations, they could take down the shield.

“Commander, did you hear what I said?”

“These points. You see them?” Coburn nodded in response. “That’s where the power to the phalanx shield is coming from.”

“Incoming!”

Wallace and Coburn looked up to see a Jackal on a strafing run to attack the bridge. Barely above Crescent’s surface, it fired from both barrels while expertly swinging its small phalanx shield from side to side to deflect incoming attacks.

“Focus fire. Take that thing out, now!” cried Coburn.

Shots from the Jackal tore into the ship before the bridge, only for it to enter a sudden and dramatic spin. A shot had clipped its wing. The Jackal desperately tried to stay on course, but instead corkscrewed down, crashing into Crescent just before the bridge.

The blast shook the ship. A cloud of debris plumed up and blocked the bridge’s view of the battle. Coburn got back to his feet, “We need to do something or we won’t last much longer.”

Commander Wallace nodded, “Get Villar these coordinates. Let’s take out that shield.”

“Are we looking at the same shield?” Wallace nodded. “Ayers, turn to heading 273. Redirect shields fore. . .”

Everyone on the bridge paused. A few exchanged baffled glances.

“Confirm. . . 2-7-3, sir?” Ayers said, his voice faltering.

“That’s heading right at it,” Coburn said. Wallace turned to him expectantly. He finally mustered a “Sir.”

“Confirm.” Wallace said loudly while staring down Coburn. “Like you said, we have to do something.”

“Killing ourselves wasn’t what I had in mind.”

"Empujemos el escudo, golpeemos esos puntos, y tal vez podamos comenzar a hacer un daño real".

"A menos que nos mastiquen primero".

"Bueno, asegúrate de que eso no suceda". Wallace miró a su alrededor. Todos todavía estaban congelados.

"Tienen órdenes, señores. Actúen en consecuencia", gritó. Coburn se separó y regresó a su terminal.

"Villar, voy a necesitar todas las armas para tener esa solución de focalización actualizada lista para disparar a mi orden".

* * *

Drahk logró mantenerse en pie. Hickory no tuvo tanta suerte. Momentos antes, una enorme explosión había sacudido la nave, haciéndole volar de la pared y al piso. Afortunadamente, el humano había encontrado un casco en la bodega de carga para ayudar a amortiguar el golpe.

Se apresuró y ayudó a Hickory a ponerse de pie. Juntos continuaron hacia su única esperanza: el hangar. Aunque estaría repleto de personal, era su única oportunidad de bajarse de esta nave. Mientras se movían, Hickory seguía jugueteando con los ajustes en el casco.

“A la derecha”, indicó Hickory.

Drahk dobló la esquina y disminuyó la velocidad. Al final del pasillo había una puerta de mamparo con las cicatrices de una brecha. Los dos se acercaron lentamente al enorme agujero en la puerta. Gritos y disparos de armas dispersas resonaron desde adentro.

"Mi gente ha entrado en el hangar".

Se coló hasta el agujero y escaneó el hangar. Cuerpos humanos y Tevarin ensuciaban el piso, dejando un rastro de cadáveres que contaban el cuento del Attle. Una serie de barricadas improvisadas habían sido coinstruidas pero invadidas. Los pocos sobrevivientes humanos estaban agachados solos o en pequeños grupos, disparando desesperadamente a todo lo que se movía. Drahk vio guerreros Tevarin correr entre puntos de cobertura, trabajando para flanquear las bolsas restantes de resistencia.

“¿Alguna nave?”

"Uno, en el lado opuesto. Nunca he visto uno así antes ".

Hickory se asomó al hangar. "Maldita sea. Es solo un vehículo utilitario ".

“¿Puedes hacer que vuele?”

“Por supuesto. Ese no es el problema.”

“¿Qué es?”

"Está desarmado. Los escudos son mínimos, en el mejor de los casos ".

“¿Sí?”

"Sabes que hay combates fuera". Hickory miró nervioso a Drahk, "¿Cómo estamos haciendo esto?"

"Tan rápido como sea posible. Agacha y sígueme".

Drahk atravesó la brecha y corrió a una improvisada barricada que se apresuró a armar para proteger esta puerta. Momentos después, Hickory se unió a él.

La nave se sentó directamente al otro lado del hangar, pero había una gran área abierta entre ellos. No había forma de que pudieran cruzar sin ser notados.

De repente, un chillido agudo llenó el hangar. Un guerrero Tevarin cargó contra una barricada, atrayendo el fuego del humano detrás de él. Mientras tanto, otro Tevarin se arrastró desde el otro lado. El humano de repente se dio cuenta de su error y giró su arma, pero ya era demasiado tarde. El guerrero Tevarin tomó su propia arma y le disparó.

"Movimiento. Ahora", dijo Drahk. Se fue hacia la barricada más cercana a la nave. Sonaron disparos en su dirección. Cuando la barricada se acercó, se deslizó por el piso hasta que estuvo detrás de la cubierta, con el corazón palpitando, eufórico sin poder creerlo.

Rodó para ver a Hickory corriendo hacia él, pero el humano ni siquiera se molestó con la barricada, sino que corrió directamente hacia la nave. Hickory saltó dentro y comenzó la secuencia de iniciación. La nave rugió a la vida, atrayendo la atención de todos.

Drahk corrió hacia la parte de atrás, abrió la bodega de carga y entró. Se giró para ver a un guerrero Tevarin subir por la rampa con el arma levantada. Cuando vio que Drahk era un Tevarin, se detuvo y lo miró con curiosidad. De repente, la nave se tambaleó hacia adelante, causando que el guerrero se cayera. Drahk apretó el botón y observó cómo se cerraba la puerta de carga.

"Salgamos de aquí", llamó a Hickory.

"Ahora, la parte fácil." Con eso, Hickory aceleró la nave fuera del hangar. Irrumpieron a través del escudo aéreo en una vorágine de combate. Gruesos campos de escombros dispersos de naves muertas ocupaban el espacio entre las grandes naves capitales.

Los combatientes, tanto humanos como Tevarin, ondearon en el espacio, persiguiendo objetivos bloqueados y lanzando fuego de armas. Fue un puro infierno.

Hickory evadió lo mejor que pudo a través de la red de fuego de armas entrecruzadas. Mientras lograba liberarse de la intensa lucha, Drahk tuvo su primera buena mirada en el campo de batalla. El Crescent parecía que intentaba embestir a los Tevarins. En base a los eventos de los últimos tiempos, parece que atacar tu nave en lugar de correr fue la estrategia elegida.

* * *

Minutos después, Hickory aún sentía que su corazón latía fuera de su pecho. De alguna manera, había pilotado la nave a través del caos de la guerra total y sobrevivió. Ahora la serenidad del espacio abierto era un extraño contrapunto a lo que acababan de experimentar.

"¿Cuánto más lejos?", Preguntó Drahk desde la bodega de carga.

"Casi allí", respondió Hickory sin perder de vista el escáner.

Drahk se había puesto cada vez más nervioso a medida que se alejaban más del cinturón de asteroides. Instó a Hickory a volar más rápido. Aunque esta nave fue construida para muchas cosas, la velocidad no era una de ellas.

Un pitido sutil salió del traje de Hickory. Estaban cerca. A medida que aumentaba el alcance de los escaneos de la nave, un blip golpeó el radar.

Momentos después, su nave, Dolos, apareció a la vista. Una parte de él había creído que él nunca la volvería a ver. Hickory detuvo el barco y luego se volvió hacia Drahk. "Entonces, ¿cómo va a funcionar esto?"

"Si el Instrumento es auténtico, incluirá una serie de códigos que mi gente puede usar para verificar".

"Todo bien. Me ocuparé de eso", Hickory golpeó a Drahk en el hombro en su camino hacia la escotilla. "Buena suerte y gracias por tu ayuda".

“Voy contigo.”

"Nada personal, pero no dejo a nadie más en mi nave".

"Perdóname si no te tomo en cuenta tu palabra". Mi gente y la tuya seguirán muriendo hasta que sepan la verdad. Estoy obligado a asegurarme de que ese mensaje salga ".

El silencio se instaló entre ellos por unos segundos. Hickory no podía recordar la última vez que alguien más que él había estado a bordo de su nave.

"Podemos pelear sobre eso si quieres".

"Bien, bien. Vámonos entonces ".

Los dos saieron fuera de la nave e hicieron una EVA a la Dolos. Con suerte la transmisión no saldría demasiado tarde.

* * *

El comandante Wallace vio como el arco de la Crescent pasaba a través del escudo de la falange. Inmediatamente se encontró con un aluvión de disparos desde el Tevarin. Una vez que la señal de saludo inicial pasó, Coburn llamó, "¡Armas! Fuego."

Crescent respondió con una descarga propia. Los disparos masivos perforaron el casco de la nave Tevarin. Wallace miró la terminal frente a ella.

“Phalanx está abajo de diez, no un veinte por ciento. ¡Funcionó!", gritó Daughtry desde la estación de exploración.

"Potencia a los escudos", ordenó Coburn. "Danos un ángulo en el próximo lugar y rápido, Ayers".

Coburn miró al comandante Wallace. El fuego en sus ojos lo decía todo: esto podría funcionar.

Un contraataque de Tevarin provocó que los escudos estallaran violentamente. Algunos disparos atravesaron y expulsaron partes de la nave capital masiva, pero la Crescent se mantuvo.

“¡Armas lista en diez!”

"¡Esperándote!", gritó Wallace.

De repente, el escudo de la falange desapareció por completo. Una ovación subió alrededor del puente. Wallace estudió su pantalla. Algo iba mal allí.

"Volvamos fuera del alcance de esos cañones próximos", ordenó Coburn. "Entonces golpéalos hasta que no quede nada".

"Tenemos un mensaje que se acerca al canal de emergencia", llamó Darsha desde la estación de comunicaciones. El comandante Wallace echó un vistazo a su terminal para leer el mensaje entrante.

“¡Estamos en posición, señor!”

"Listo el cañón de riel y -"

"¡Alto el fuego!"

"¡Comandante!", Llamó Coburn. "Ahora es nuestra oportunidad de terminar esto".

"Ellos simplemente transmiten su rendición. Dejaron caer el escudo de la falange para mostrar que van en serio. Espere . . . también están diciendo que la guerra ha terminado".

"¿Qué? ¿Ellos saben y de alguna manera nosotros no? Es mentira. No puedes confiar en estos Tevs".

“Cuide su tono de voz, XO.”

"Verifica los escaneos. Apuesto a que más merodeadores están escabulléndose en esa brecha mientras hablamos", gritó Coburn, volviéndose más maníaco por segundos. "Tenemos que terminar con ellos ahora mientras tenemos la oportunidad. ¡Villar, dispara ese maldito cañón de riel!

Por una vez, Villar no respondió a la orden de Coburn. Miró a Wallace.

“¿Cuáles son sus órdene, señor?”

Wallace miró alrededor del puente. La estaban mirando a ella, no a Coburn, por primera vez.

"Retírate. Abre canales. Wallace se volvió hacia Coburn, que aún temblaba de ira. "¿Vamos a tener un problema, XO?"

Coburn sostuvo la mirada de Wallace. Parecía que lo que se apoderó de él se estaba desvaneciendo. "No señor."

"Bien", Wallace se acercó al hologlobo. "Ahora, veamos qué tienen que decir".

* * *

Drahk escuchó la transmisión militar de la UEE desde el vehículo utilitario mientras Hickory lo usaba para reparar su nave. El mensaje había llegado justo a tiempo. La nave Tevarin fue salvada. Había sufrido un gran daño, pero una buena parte de su tripulación todavía estaba viva.

La tripulación de "Crescent" no sabía qué hacer con todos los sobrevivientes. La nave Tevarin estaba demasiado estropeada para salir del cinturón de asteroides. Luego escucharon por casualidad la llamada para que los transportes trajeran a los sobrevivientes.

"Parece que he terminado", dijo Hickory desde el asiento del piloto.

"Probablemente sea mejor no estar cerca si Crescent llega en esta dirección. Puede que ya no seas su enemigo, pero dudo que pueda decir lo mismo ".

"La mejor de las suertes para ti. Espero que haya mejores días para ti ", dijo Drahk y luego inclinó la cabeza en señal de deferencia.

“¿Qué vas a hacer ahora?”

Drahk meditó durante unos instantes.

“No lo sé.”

Hickory sonrió y abrió la escotilla. Luego se detuvo y miró hacia atrás, "Tengo esto en espacio Banu, tengo que encargarme, pero, um, hay muchos lugares para aterrizar de aquí para allá. Puedo dejarte en algún lado si quieres ".

Drahk lo miró y asintió. "Sí". Hickory le devolvió la sonrisa. Silenciosamente, salieron del vehículo utilitario e hicieron una EVA a su nave. Mientras Hickory preparaba a Dolos para el despegue, Drahk se dirigió a la parte trasera. Se acostó en la cama y se durmió al instante, sin saber a dónde iba o dónde estaría cuando despertara.

Por primera vez, él estaba de acuerdo con eso.

El final