Twilight

“Yes?” Vaughn said, looking first at Pry

“I can keep us low and take the shuttle between them at our current altitude,” Pry

“Why would we fly higher if we didn’t have to?” Vaughn wanted to know.

“Because if we go in low,” Pry

Vaughn slowly nodded his head. Traveling at speed through such a narrow cha

“Yes,” she said seriously. Then, as though remembering that she wished to conduct all contact with him in an exclusively official ma

“Then do it, Ensign,” he told her, careful to keep the pain he felt from sounding in his voice, instead treating her as she obviously wanted to be treated. I can’t fault her for that,Vaughn realized; Pry

“Yes, sir,” she said, and she turned her attention back to her panel. She tapped at various touchpads on her console, her movements fluid and unrushed, as though she were playing a delicate instrument. The beeps and chirps from her console sounded almost like a melody. Vaughn could feel no changes in the shuttle’s flight, but when he consulted his panel, he could see them on the sensor displays.

As Chaffeeneared the two mountains, Vaughn looked up through the windows. The two peaks seemed to rise above the shuttle like twin giants. The sharp, severe appearances of crags and tors loomed above the shuttle like unspoken threats, promising an unforgiving reception in the event of a piloting mistake. Chaffeeraced toward the area where the two mountains came together, and for just a moment, Vaughn reconsidered his decision and thought about ordering Pry

But then it was too late. Chaffeeroared into the chasm between the two huge masses. The sheer rock walls on either side of the shuttle rocketed past, their surfaces a blur. Vaughn heard more electronic tones as Pry

But Pry

Gradually, the shuttle began to shimmy. As the trembling increased, Vaughn examined the sensor displays for the reason. Had an energy discharge from the clouds struck them, as one had struck Defiant,or had Chaffeesuffered some system problem? Vaughn grabbed the edge of his console with both hands, steadying his gaze and allowing him to see the readouts. A strong wind fu

And then, in an instant, the shuttle steadied. On either side of Chaffee,the chasm walls fell away, and the shuttle flew out into open air. Below, several smaller peaks rose up, but they were set widely apart, allowing the shuttle to skim through them with ease.

Vaughn peered over at Pry

“You’re an excellent pilot,” he told her quietly.

She looked over at him, and for one brief moment, Vaughn felt a sense of co

But in the next instant, Pry

As Chaffeeeventually neared the end of the mountain range, scans indicated a city ahead. The shuttle had passed several already along its route, all of them devoid of life. Most of the cities had revealed the ma

The shuttle cleared the last of the mountains and flew in over foothills. The city spread out on the plain beyond, a large, modern collection of buildings that stretched for kilometers. Vaughn consulted the sensors and read no life signs. “Can you bring us in lower?” he asked Pry

“Yes, sir,” she said. She nosed Chaffeedownward, leveling off as the shuttle cleared the edge of the city.

Vaughn peered through the windows and saw only stillness. As with the other cities they had passed, scans put the age of this one at hundreds of years, but unlike the others, there were no indications of what had happened to the people who had dwelled there. The buildings looked worn by time and wind, but stood relatively intact. The city appeared untouched by any sort of destruction, and unaffected by any mass exodus. Vaughn could easily visualize entering any of the buildings below to find it looking as though somebody still lived there. Would there be any indications that the inhabitants had abandoned their homes, or that they had been driven out? Or would they appear to have been there one moment, and then unaccountably gone the next? Or would we find the remnants of bodies?Vaughn asked himself, his thoughts ru

Vaughn gripped the side of his console and took a deep breath. He had to get hold of himself; such thoughts did not serve him or the mission. He looked over at Pry

“Yes, sir,” Pry