Epilogue

From the Personal Journal of Kai-Lee Symon Five years.  Has it really been that long since we escaped from the Janus? At times, I still can’t believe we got away with it.  Marisol’s last-minute, armed-and-dangerous appearance was the final ironic twist in a story knotted with them.  She and I laugh about it now, but [...]

Chapter Forty-seven

I almost jumped out of my skin when the portal opened. Looking more shadow than man, Rune jerked his head toward the forward cabin. “Go on, get buckled in.  And move it!”  He spun to his left and strode down the corridor toward Liriene’s quarters, leaving the five of us to scurry off in the [...]

Chapter Forty-six

Time passes very slowly in closets.  At least, that was how it seemed to me.  Rune had given each of us a state-of-the-art chronometer—a flat, razor-thin wraparound that could easily pass for a fashion accessory-type wristband.   All fourteen devices had been programmed with voice recognition software and synchronized to keep everyone on schedule. “Why can’t [...]

Chapter Forty-five

“Keep moving!  Keep moving, people!”  Bill Stallings stood, legs braced apart, hands on hips, his expression a mix of boredom and professional frustration.  The look said it all.  These exercises were a pain, but they were necessary.  They were also timed, and Stallings was responsible for getting this particular group on that particular life craft [...]

Chapter Forty-four

I was afraid. Get a grip, I ordered myself.  Rune, Eran, Etsuo, and Gregor know what they’re doing; if they think we can get away with this, we can. It was meant to be a bracing reminder.  Unfortunately, it didn’t help much.  I lay in bed, my eyes trying to pierce the darkness that seemed [...]

Chapter Forty-three

Three hours after Rune’s two-hour briefing I was curled up against Eran’s side, my head on his shoulder and my stocking feet tucked under the back cushions of Rune’s sofa.  I should have been exhausted, but my adrenaline output was still off the chart, my emotions seesawing between speechless awe and outright disbelief. “I’ll say [...]

Chapter Forty-two

The stunned silence lasted maybe half a minute, then several people tried to talk at once. Eran whistled softly.  “Bloody hell!” “No longer exists?” sputtered Jordi.  “Our course no longer exists? How is that possible?” Etsuo grunted. Lexi asked, “Have you told the Council?  What are they going to do about it?” “Explain please,” protested [...]

Chapter Forty-one

Two days later we got a cryptic message from Rune.  He contacted Eran and with terse instructions to, “Get everyone together at nineteen hundred hours on Tuesday and make sure you come up with a good cover story.”  Something was obviously up, but Gaspar being Gaspar, he didn’t elaborate on why he suddenly wanted to [...]

Chapter Forty

“He thought he could put one over on them,” Rune snarled as Eran, Ziv, and I watched from the twin divans.  Prowling back and forth across my salon, the black-clad Gaspar reminded me of an ancient video I had once seen of a panther restlessly pacing its cage.  He stopped abruptly, facing us as he [...]

Chapter Thirty-nine

“Nooooooooooooo!” The anguished roar froze us in our tracks, our faces snapshots of blank incomprehension. No one on board the Janus had ever heard a cry like it. A heartbeat later, the tableau in the corridor splintered as everyone present turned abruptly, heads whipping toward the sound of running feet. Hugo Matheson tore into view, [...]