“You seem unusually concerned about that noise.”

Commander Jayce Hunter stood with her arms folded. The look on her face told the prisoner she was likely in no mood for games. The look on the prisoner’s face was that of a man realizing he was rapidly running out of time.

“Why don’t you tell us what it is?”

The man’s eyes darted back and forth, as if he expected something to burst into the room at any moment. The incinerated remains of the Alaska Base on Hallows Moon were not much comfort. If someone or something wanted in, what was left of the reinforced Skywatch operations facility wasn’t likely to offer much resistance. Jayce didn’t have to look at the medical scanner in her beltpack. She knew the man’s pulse was easily pushing 170.

Behind the commander’s prisoner stood Lieutenant Commander Rebecca Islington, captain of the starship Minstrel. Her hand rested on her holstered TK-12 sidearm. She wasn’t expecting to have to use it, considering the prisoner was rather heavily restrained. But like all the captains from the Perseus Task Force, she had learned to avoid unnecessary risks.

Jayce was tired of waiting. This man had already infiltrated a Skywatch destroyer by impersonating one of its bridge officers. Hunter didn’t know how or why he was able to utilize such an effective disguise for as long as he had, but she was also fortunate enough to employ a number of highly trained and observant officers, including the head of her flagship’s mobile security detail. There were three things Jayce knew about this prisoner. One was obvious. He was working for Colonel Atwell. Two, there was a very high likelihood he knew the whereabouts of Lieutenant Ria Cooper, Ray Flynn’s tactical officer. Hunter was about to test the third. She stepped around the burned control console in the dim light of the operations bay and grabbed a metal chair. She set it down and took a seat, leaning forward to make certain the man paid attention.

“I think there’s something underground on this moon that has you terribly worried, mister. And I think if we just left you here, it might find its way in here so you can get re-acquainted with it.”

The man swallowed, desperately trying to overcome the dehydration and the rapid half-breaths. He closed his eyes tightly, as if trying to block out a sound only he could hear. His feet were arched up on his toes and the muscles in his arms were strained and trembling.

Jayce cocked her head, leaning down to try and make eye contact. “How close am I?”

“You wouldn’t let that happen. Even Skywatch has rules.” His words sounded as if he needed every ounce of willpower to utter them.

“The ranking officer on the scene makes the rules,” Rebecca said in a deadpan tone. Both she and Jayce were dressed in black on black officer’s gear. Short of full sets of assault armor they looked about as intimidating as two officers could.

“The commander and I are departing Hallows Moon in two minutes. Whether or not you depart Hallows Moon with us is another matter,” Hunter said. “I know what’s happening underground here. We’ve been after Atwell for some time. We know all about the seethe, and you and I both know it’s coming this way.”

Finally, as if something just snapped, the man’s attempts to fight the strain subsided. It was as if he had passed out, but his eyes stared, pupils dilated. His mouth hung open.

“You can’t leave me here. You can’t understand what they do. It’s like drowning in solitude.”

Hunter’s visage darkened. “We know exactly what they do, and we know exactly why you and Atwell and whomever else is in on this little operation of yours are so obsessed with making contact.” Jayce leaned closer. “You tried to kill my brother. You murdered a flag officer. You almost killed four of my starship commanders and left a fifth in a coma. Now I’m going to give you thirty seconds to tell me what I want to know or so help me I will make certain nobody ever learns what became of you.”

The man looked back at Islington. It was clear he would get no sympathy from her either.

“The crews were taken to Jenner’s Star.”

Jayce felt a twinge of anticipation. Perhaps now they would finally get some answers.

“Go on.”

“Something about living tissue. It wouldn’t work with the conduction fields. The ships could pass but the crews couldn’t. When we sent the freighter through, the ship arrived on the other side, but it was twisted and fused.”

“Fused?”

“Pieces of the ship interpenetrated with the bodies of the crew. They merged in the same physical space when the dampeners malfunctioned. We couldn’t predict the power surges.”

Jayce closed her eyes and silently mouthed a curse.

“The rest were transported to some other place.”

“What other place?”

“There’s no way to know. The wormholes collapsed moments after they disrupted the fields. We were trying to avoid what happened to the Dunkerque. None of the technicians had any idea what would happen.”

Hunter and Rebecca both recognized some of the details of the prisoner’s story. The two officers shared a glance.

“So Atwell evacuated the crews and put them in stasis. We sent ship after ship through on automated navicomp settings. Most never came back. We have no idea what happened on the other side. The ships that did come back were altered on an atomic level. They were transported to the stasis field under the base. Only one ship survived intact.”

“Orca.”

The man nodded. “Atwell realized it was the only vessel that could survive the stresses of the Inversion.”

“Where.”

The man hesitated. Jayce leaned forward, using the last of her intimidation tactics to push the prisoner for just one more answer. “Where!”

“Dante’s Twins. The inversion caused some kind of anomaly in its structure. The only explanation Atwell could get out of the scientist we abducted from Core Five was that Orca was attuned to Ithis space. It can’t exist in our space, at least not normally. It will twist reality until it crosses over again, and her crew will end up where no human mind can survive.”

“What the hell are you saying?”

The man’s whisper was as cold and lifeless as his face. “Their very beings will be taken from their bodies and their minds will drift forever in eternal darkness.”

Jayce desperately wanted to take out her anger and frustration on this man. Atwell had already cost so many lives, and now he was telling stories about more of her fellow officers and crew in danger!

The prisoner moved so quickly Rebecca was almost caught off guard. Jayce was shoved back. The man whirled. Islington drew as he lunged. She fired a single shot. The prisoner abruptly pitched back and landed hard on his shoulders. His feet clattered against the metal deck.

Hunter got back to her feet and went to his side. The wound in his chest sizzled. His dead eyes stared at the scorched ceiling.

Rebecca holstered her TK-12.

“Sonofabitch,” Hunter said. “I can’t believe these people would experiment with technology nobody understands.”

“I can’t believe they would experiment on human beings.”

“We’ve got to find Orca, commander. It’s the key to this whole mystery. If we find out what’s going on aboard that ship, maybe we can come up with a way to stop it.”

“You think there’s enough time to save the crews at Jenner’s Star?”

“We’re going to save them and Lieutenant Ria Cooper.”