Infinite Day by Chris Walley

Author:Chris Walley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Christian / Futuristic, FICTION / Fantasy / Contemporary
ISBN: 9781414329352
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2008-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

20

Merral ran up to the bridge. As he pounded along the corridor, he realized that he felt exhausted by the events of the past hour—had it been merely that? I want to get out of this armor. I want, too, to know that everyone else is safe and that Slee was the only fatality. I want . . .

But then he was at the bridge, and the image through the glass port told its own story. It should have been sky and stars; instead, it was something large, gray, and metallic and made up of turrets, missile bays, and weapons ports.

“That’s incredibly close,” he said, transfixed by the sight.

“It’s barely two kilometers away,” Laura said. She gestured to a screen, and Merral was suddenly aware of the sound of a statement, in slow Communal, coming from a speaker.

“Do not move, go to offensive mode, or begin preparations for Nether-Realm insertion. We will be boarding you shortly. Resistance will bring retribution. We repeat: Do not move, go to offensive mode, or begin preparations . . .”

Some sort of destroyer. On the ship, he saw bay doors slide open and smaller ships emerge.

“Tethercraft.” It was a familiar voice, and Merral turned round.

“Luke!” He was still in armor, and Merral noticed that it was smeared with drying blood. “Are you okay?” He saw there were others in the room.

The sad face looked down. “I’m fine. I’m afraid . . . Ilyas was killed.”

“No!”

“Another guard was hiding at the end. As he walked past . . .” He gave a weary shrug.

That was the later shooting I heard.

Luke gazed at the port. “We thought we might be able to save him, but he died as we got him on board. And Slee, too?”

“Yes. Is that it? Two dead?”

“And some wounds. Not life threatening, I gather. The hostages—”

“Do we have them all?”

“Yes. The hostages need checkups but seem to be okay. A certain very scared lady made it through just before the air lock door closed. She—”

“Commander, can you give me some advice?” Laura interrupted, her voice agitated. “That ship is the Twisted Spear. It’s an older ship than this, but it is fully crewed and armed. Those tethercraft will be on the hull in ten minutes.”

“Can we outrun it?”

“No. Betafor says their weapons systems are online.” Merral saw Betafor staring at him, but as ever, he found it impossible to read any expression in her face.

“So can we drop into Below-Space?”

“It would take five minutes. They’d spot it.”

“Not good.” Merral gave a sigh. “Just after we escaped a baziliarch, too. Luke, do me a favor. Can you break a rule and pray for us?”

Luke did just that.

“Amen,” said Merral, and as he looked up, it came to him with some force how much he needed Luke. He stared out the window. “Well, it’s still there, Luke. I was hoping it might have just vanished.”

The dark eyes flashed, but not in an unkindly way. “Sometimes, Commander, I think you don’t just want me to be your tame prophet and priest, you also want me to be your magician.

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