one of the others. Perhaps she simply knew too little to fully appreciate her plight, I thought to myself. Drowning in self-pity and horrified at the thought of revealing that fact to mere humans, I resolved to ignore them.
“Can you tell us where we are?” she said again. “Can you help us?”
I emitted one sharp laugh before rolling onto my side, my back to them.
“Hey!” shouted the rougher voice. “What’s that all about? You can understand us—why don’t you answer the captain’s questions?”
Seconds ticked by. I was in no hurry. Where else would any of us go? But they were all standing there, waiting, hoping I could tell them something that would explain their bizarre predicament. At last, I turned back to them.
“Who,” I asked, “are you?”
They all seemed shocked that I had actually spoken.
Regaining her composure quickly, the woman said, “I’m Captain Evelyn Colicos. Terran Alliance Navy.”
The Terran Alliance. So it was true. Only a day earlier, still powerless and trapped in exile, I had believed the Alliance represented my mortal enemy—mortal in every sense of the word. Now, a god again and removed entirely from that existence, I cared nothing for that government or its people, save a lingering sense of resentment and animosity.
The woman gestured at the two men, gruff one first.
“Lieutenants Frank Cassidy and Tony Kim. And we…” Her voice lowered, and she all but whispered, “…We would appreciate your help.”
I took a deep breath, pursed my lips, and looked them over carefully, taking the opportunity to appraise them. All three were what one would expect of naval officers. They were fit to the point of being athletic. The captain had short but full blonde hair and piercing blue eyes so vivid they struck me as belonging more on one of my kind than hers. Behind her, the rough-sounding guy, Cassidy, was tall, though not so much as me, and an imposing specimen, blunt of nose and ruddy of cheeks. He kept his head shaved and his muscles filled out his flight suit. The other man, Kim, possessed hair even darker than mine, worn in a crew cut, and was the shortest of the three, though wiry.
Perhaps realizing after a few moments that I was in no hurry to speak, the captain addressed me again.
“We—” She hesitated, frowning, then, “I’m sorry if this doesn’t make sense to you, but it doesn’t to me, either. We were aboard a long-range spacecraft, and something happened—”
“The Copernicus ,” I said. I remembered hearing about its disappearance on the news, days ago, just before I’d taken my leave of Mysentia and started for home.
“Yes! Yes, that’s right.”
Emboldened perhaps that she had gotten a word or two out of me, she pressed on.
“We had just jumped, and something must have gone wrong. When we emerged into what should have been subspace, the engines shut down…”
“Yours was an experimental ship,” I said.
“How did you know that?” the smaller man, Kim, demanded. It seemed to me he hovered perpetually on the verge of hysteria.
“I think I know,” Cassidy said. “I think he’s from the Outer Worlds.”
“A spy, maybe?” Kim asked, looking from Cassidy back to me.
“He does look familiar, now that I think about it.”
The captain silenced them both with a look, then turned back to me, her brow furrowed.
“What else do you know about our situation?”
“You sought to improve jump technology. You jumped farther than you know.” I grinned. “Much farther.”
“The stars disappeared,” Kim said quietly, his voice shaking.
Ignoring him, the captain continued.
“The next thing we knew, we were attacked by these bright lights.”
“The Hosts of Baranak.”
“I—all right, sure. And they nearly tore our ship apart before bringing us here. Wherever here is. And a man—a huge man, in gold armor—threw us into this—” she looked around at the infinite-seeming depths of blackness around us, “—this place , whatever
“Can you tell us where we are?” she said again. “Can you help us?”
I emitted one sharp laugh before rolling onto my side, my back to them.
“Hey!” shouted the rougher voice. “What’s that all about? You can understand us—why don’t you answer the captain’s questions?”
Seconds ticked by. I was in no hurry. Where else would any of us go? But they were all standing there, waiting, hoping I could tell them something that would explain their bizarre predicament. At last, I turned back to them.
“Who,” I asked, “are you?”
They all seemed shocked that I had actually spoken.
Regaining her composure quickly, the woman said, “I’m Captain Evelyn Colicos. Terran Alliance Navy.”
The Terran Alliance. So it was true. Only a day earlier, still powerless and trapped in exile, I had believed the Alliance represented my mortal enemy—mortal in every sense of the word. Now, a god again and removed entirely from that existence, I cared nothing for that government or its people, save a lingering sense of resentment and animosity.
The woman gestured at the two men, gruff one first.
“Lieutenants Frank Cassidy and Tony Kim. And we…” Her voice lowered, and she all but whispered, “…We would appreciate your help.”
I took a deep breath, pursed my lips, and looked them over carefully, taking the opportunity to appraise them. All three were what one would expect of naval officers. They were fit to the point of being athletic. The captain had short but full blonde hair and piercing blue eyes so vivid they struck me as belonging more on one of my kind than hers. Behind her, the rough-sounding guy, Cassidy, was tall, though not so much as me, and an imposing specimen, blunt of nose and ruddy of cheeks. He kept his head shaved and his muscles filled out his flight suit. The other man, Kim, possessed hair even darker than mine, worn in a crew cut, and was the shortest of the three, though wiry.
Perhaps realizing after a few moments that I was in no hurry to speak, the captain addressed me again.
“We—” She hesitated, frowning, then, “I’m sorry if this doesn’t make sense to you, but it doesn’t to me, either. We were aboard a long-range spacecraft, and something happened—”
“The Copernicus ,” I said. I remembered hearing about its disappearance on the news, days ago, just before I’d taken my leave of Mysentia and started for home.
“Yes! Yes, that’s right.”
Emboldened perhaps that she had gotten a word or two out of me, she pressed on.
“We had just jumped, and something must have gone wrong. When we emerged into what should have been subspace, the engines shut down…”
“Yours was an experimental ship,” I said.
“How did you know that?” the smaller man, Kim, demanded. It seemed to me he hovered perpetually on the verge of hysteria.
“I think I know,” Cassidy said. “I think he’s from the Outer Worlds.”
“A spy, maybe?” Kim asked, looking from Cassidy back to me.
“He does look familiar, now that I think about it.”
The captain silenced them both with a look, then turned back to me, her brow furrowed.
“What else do you know about our situation?”
“You sought to improve jump technology. You jumped farther than you know.” I grinned. “Much farther.”
“The stars disappeared,” Kim said quietly, his voice shaking.
Ignoring him, the captain continued.
“The next thing we knew, we were attacked by these bright lights.”
“The Hosts of Baranak.”
“I—all right, sure. And they nearly tore our ship apart before bringing us here. Wherever here is. And a man—a huge man, in gold armor—threw us into this—” she looked around at the infinite-seeming depths of blackness around us, “—this place , whatever
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