Of course I'll take the assignment, she thought as she hurried down the corridor toward her quarters. There had never been any question of that. This was the chance she had been waiting ten years for-a way back into deep space-and there was no way she could possibly turn it down.
But Hyatt wasn't telling her the entire story. For some reason-probably something to do with retaining General Fund money-he was feeding her information only a little at a time. She did know that there was a sister ship, and that it hadn't been heard from in nearly a year. She assumed her assignment would be to rescue Tachyon, but she didn't know the mission's destination.
She forced those thoughts down as she approached her quarters, and a sudden anxiety filled her mind. Someone waited in her rooms; her strange ability subtly told her as much.
Stopping just beyond the spore-lock's sensor range, she listened intently for the sound of breathing or a muffled thump, but there was nothing quite so obvious. Only the vague mental hint that someone waited on the other side of the door.
Could she trust that feeling? The last time she had been in danger-in the corridor outside the curio shop on Fleet Base-the ability had not worked for her. It had not warned her of the attack. Could it be working opposite now, telling her there was someone there when there was not?
She had no choice; she had to act as if there was someone in her rooms. She knew she should turn around, go find a member of the Luna City police force. Yet, by the time she returned with help, her unseen assailant would surely be gone. Whoever was in her rooms could simply wait for another opportunity to catch her alone. If she went in now, at least she would know what to expect.
Besides, she was certain she knew who it was: that all too seedy-looking civilian who had been watching her on the floater out from Fleet Base. And no matter how good he might be, she was certain she was better. This was something she should be able to handle.
The spore-lock responded to her presence as she stepped within its sensor field, and the door irised open. She entered and stepped quickly to her left, out of the shaft of light stabbing into the room. Flattening herself against the wall beside the door, she scanned the narrow slice of room bathed in light before the door irised closed and the room fell into total darkness.
The light should have fallen on the chair that had sat in the center of the room when she'd left for the briefing, but the chair was gone. Whoever waited for her had moved it from where the light would fall on it, and into the shadows. Even now he might be sitting there, holding a weapon on her.
She doubted sufficient light had entered the room to spoil the other's dark- adapted vision. The light had not fallen on him directly, so in the dark his eyes had to be better off than her own. Her best chance lay in having the lights on; he would be partially blinded for at least a few seconds.
But to get to the light switch she would have to step in front of the door, crossing into its sensing field. It would iris open and she would be silhouetted for an instant in the glare from the corridor before the apartment's lights came on. For that brief instant, she would be an easy target.
Still, it was her only chance. Taking a deep breath, she held it, then tensed to spring.