Summon the Thunder

“What are you doing?” Armnoj asked, his voice now reaching a level of nasally buzzing that Pe

“Shut up,” Qui

From where he stood near the top of the boarding ramp, Pe

“Now what?” Pe

“Calling for help,” Qui

An energy burst struck the left support strut for the landing ramp and Pe

Using the antigrav unit to move the sensor probe toward the hatch, Qui

“Are you going to explain what that was about?” Armnoj asked as he followed after the pilot.

“Sit down and stay quiet,” Qui

Dropping into the copilot’s chair, Pe

The rumble of the Rocinante’s engines shook the deck beneath Pe

“Working on it, newsboy,” Qui

Pe

“Get on the sensors,” Qui

Leaning forward in his seat, Pe

“I’m plotting our course for warp speed now,” Qui

Pe

“I activated its transceiver relay,” Qui

Despite himself, Pe

“I thought so,” Qui

“No charge, mate,” the reporter replied, taken somewhat off guard by Qui

Their sense of amused self-satisfaction was short-lived, however, as Armnoj rose from his seat and stuck his head into the cockpit.

“Is this how you protect Mr. Ganz’s valuable property?” the Zakdorn opined, looming over Qui

“You can die right here, if you don’t shut up,” Qui

Sniffing the air in his usual self-aggrandizing ma

Pe

“Thanks. Now I owe you two,” Qui

37

Sitting in the center seat on the bridge of the Endeavour, Atish Khatami once more was gripped by the nagging sensation that the chair and the responsibilities which came with it were too much for her to bear.

“Detecting seven power sources coming online, Captain,” Ensign Klisiewicz reported from the science station. “Same locations as before, including the one directly beneath the site where the landing party and research teams are working.”

Khatami noted the nervousness in the young man’s voice, certain that everyone around them shared his anxiety. The memories from the Endeavour’s last visit here—and what it had cost them—still were fresh, though her people of course were ma

Maybe Leone’s cure for that particular malady is starting to spread.

Emboldened by that thought—as juvenile as it might seem—and despite the tension she knew permeated the bridge, Khatami felt herself sit up just a bit straighter in the command chair.

“Captain,” Klisiewicz called out, turning in his seat, “temperatures at those locations are rising, but they’re doing so faster than before.”

“What?” Mog said, looking up from the engineering station. “Faster?”

Klisiewicz nodded. “Yes, sir. The rate of increase is almost double what we experienced…the last time.”

“Somebody’s been busy while we were away,” Khatami said. Faster temperature increase meant that the lag between attacks from the planetary defense system they had faced during their last encounter would be cut almost in half, and said nothing about any increase in accuracy or power that the massive weapons may have received. “Red alert, all hands to battle stations,” she ordered before glancing over her shoulder to the officer seated at the communications station. “Ensign, get me Captain Okagawa on the Lovell.”

It took only a moment for the frequency to be set up, and the image on the main viewer shifted to display the anxious face of the other ship’s commanding officer, his face creased with worry lines as he sat on the somewhat smaller yet still vibrant bridge of his own vessel.

“ I take it you’ve picked up the power readings?”Okagawa asked by way of introduction.

Khatami nodded. “Yes. Their rate of increase is faster this time around. Captain, I don’t think your shields will be enough to protect you. We had enough trouble ourselves during our first run-in. I suggest you orbit out to maximum transporter range and wait.”