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Cole nodded

"Good," Mortimor said "I’m sorry you had to clean up one of reed"

Cole bobbed his head again, unsure of what to say

"So, you never made it to Lok, and you don’t know if Molly did"

Cole shook his head "Do you think she’s okay?"

"I don’t know," Mortimor told him "I’m worried about all of us, to be honest"

"So what’s the plan?"

"For you? Some rehab with that new hand and some rest What’s done is done But first, there’s so to meet you"

Cole looked out across the rooftop The sideways rain lued to a wall and the water was falling straight down "Who would want to meet me?" he asked

"I want you to listen and listen carefully, okay? This person’s name isn’t to be spoken where anyone can overhear"

"Who is it?"

"As far as anyone knows, she works more for the enemy than us, okay?"

Cole sed "Who wants to see me?" he asked

Arthur squeezed his shoulder and leaned in close

"Have you ever heard of the Bern Seer?"

32

Parsona wasn’t the only ship leaving the stables in a hurry, or Bekkie, for that matter Dozens of craft lifted up from all around town as crewet back to their ships Through the carboglass, Molly could hear i starships lifted off cold In the distance, a Navy cruiser fell through the atn of breached reentry panels It disappeared over the horizon, followed by a flash of light

"Why’re they in atmo?" Cat asked She leaned forward from the nav chair while Scottie hovered behind, his hands on the backs of their seats

"I don’t know," Molly ad"

"A cruiser?" Cat asked incredulously

"They don’t want debris," Scottie said "That explains the shuttles"

Molly avoided the crush of departing traffic and fle, skirting the prairie as she headed out of town There weren’tones were still in orbit

"No debris?" Cat asked, turning to Scottie

"For the rift They’re shooting theht," Molly said "They’re so the it look easy"

"Poor Ryn," Scottie said

"I’m sure he’s fine Probably just as safe wherever he is"

Scottie didn’t say anything Behind the about which dishes here

"Where should we go?" Molly asked She looked at their current course and realized she had subconsciously begun flying back toward her hoe and the rift--the very last place they needed to be

"Mount Jeffers?" Cat asked Scottie

"Probably what everyone else is thinking So, no"

"We could hide out in the woods beyond Ashron," Cat said "There’s tons of clearings big enough to set down in Maybe we should wait there and see if things cal to the others

Cat pointed through the carboglass, her face rigid Molly followed her tre course to esture for an answer to her question

"What the flank?" Scottieforward between the two seats

Ahead of theh the atmosphere nose-down like a dropped dart, was a Navy StarCarrier

"Holy shit," Cat whispered

Molly pulled back into a hover, sinking doard the grasses

Cowering

The alreatest class of starship ever built was descending froravity warranted--the thing seeainst the inevitable, its forward thrusters raging to slow its ireat ship’s nose disappeared over the horizon, and then the rest of thehalt

They all waited, breathless, for some cataclysmic noise to accompany the horrific fall They watched for the ship to crumble, tip over, or s

Ireat StarCarrier remained in the sa up to the sky from which it had plummeted