"Alert! Alert! Alert!"
The voice pricked her mind, rousing her from the coils of a gray-white sleep.
"Alert! Alert! Alert!"
Zahava sat up.
"Your urgent attention is directed to the tacscan," said the voice. Computer, she thought. The universe was a blur, half-visible through tearing eyes. Rubbing the tears away, Zahava saw she was in the center flight chair of the lifepod's command tier. Above her the main screen held a tri-dee tactical scan: asteroid-ringed moon circling a green planet, the planet itself orbited by eleven silver blips. As she watched, two of the blips detached themselves and began closing on a single yellow dot that sped toward the planet. A tactical summary flowed across the bottom of the screen. It would have meant something to a K'Ronarin Fleet officer.
"Those silver blips-are they ships?" asked Zahava. She was shocked at how dry and hoarse she sounded.
"Yes," said the asexual voice. "Identified as deep-space exploration vessels of a K'Ronarin industrial combine."
"Which combine?"
"Combine T'Lan," said the computer.
"Armed?"
"Heavily armed. They have answered our automatic distress signal. We are instructed to dock with the lead ship now approaching."
The silver blips were halfway to the lifepod.
"Disregard," said Zahava. "Vessels are hostile. Take evasive action."
"Evading. We will have to land on the planet. It would be impossible to escape both the hostile vessels and the planet's gravitational field."
"What planet is that?" she asked, dialing up a cup of water from the chairarm.
"It is the planet D'Lin," said the computer. "Former capital of Imperial Quadrant Blue Nine. Charts and all other regional data have not been updated since the Fall."
On the screen the yellow blip of the lifepod was now accelerating away from the combine ships-and away from D'Lin. "You're going to miss the planet!" said Zahava.
"No," said the computer. "We'll draw them off, loop back, land on the nightside."
"Can we outdistance them?" she asked, dubiously eyeing the tacscan. The lead combine ships were turning in pursuit, with three more breaking orbit to join the chase.
"Long enough. But there will be a missile salvo."
"Can you show me D'Lin?" she asked.
Shrinking, the tacscan moved screen-right. Screen-left now showed a world of green-blue oceans and swirling clouds. A string of brown spread north and south from the equator.
"Archipelago," said Zahava.
"Yes. D'Lin's mostly water," said the computer. "I'll put the stats on your comm screen."
"Don't bother," she said, looking at the screen-left. "I won't have time to read them."
Silver needles were spanning the gap between the lifepod and the combine ships.
Faster than the machine spoke them, Zahava read the flame-red letters beneath the tacscan: