Page 148 of Homebound
Suddenly, the running board lit up and a series of signs flashed in front of their eyes. After a pause, Simon typed up a brief response. Although his face registered nothing, Gemma sensed that whatever he’d just read, he didn’t like.
More communication came back in the form of flashing hieroglyphs. Simon hesitated for a long time… and finally responded with what Gemma understood to mean ‘yes.’
As if by magic, the ‘asteroid’ shed its shadow screen, and the space station’s magnificent muscled shape appeared in all its powerful illuminated glory. It hovered in front of Butan like a fantastic beast. Gemma gaped at the breathtaking view, taking in the massive gunmetal starboard with a series of tiny windows recessed in the grooved slope, the stumpy turrets housing sensors that rose organically from the body, and dark, barely visible shooting portholes dotting the slick surface - so many of them.
But the most startling aspect of the vessel was a gossamer multicolored veil that surrounded it. The strands of energy shimmered as they shifted, fine and flowing like silk, like Simon’s hair, their translucent glow creating an ever-changing pattern of a pulsating spider web. Mesmerizing and hypnotic.
“This is actually… pretty. Like Christmas lights.” Gemma heard her voice as if it came from afar.
“The laser shield is for protection, not decoration. It incinerates anything that tries to get too close. It is very effective.” Simon’s voice was grim.
He was keeping a close eye on the pirate projectile that seemed to be charting off-center now that they’d moved. Coincidentally, it was flying accurate in the direction of the Rix station that, after the concealment was dropped, was now dominating their navigation screen.
The station made no move to dodge.
The torpedo kept coming, closing in fast, shrinking the distance between it and its unintended target. Gemma watched with helpless curiosity how it was hurtling toward the laser-shrouded beast’s side.
It struck the shimmering shield, gave off a short powerful flare, and disintegrated. Poof. The neat cloud of dark exhaust spread and drifted away.
The pirate cruiser had seen the spectacle too, and was now lurking a good distance away as if in indecision.
The thinning air and permeating deep freeze brought Gemma to the present.
“Simon, what did the space station say? We have to hurry. The air is almost gone.”
Simon showed no sign that he heard her. He was poised over the controls making no move to act.
“Simon? Are we okay to approach?”
“I don’t know.”
Coming from him, the simple words forced the sickly haze in her brain to retreat and brought the world into sharp focus. His stark dear face became the sole point of her concentration.
His expression was bleak, hopeless.
“I don’t understand. Did you give them your name?”
“Yes.”
“They don’t know who you are,” Gemma finished for him.
Simon growled deep in his throat. “They do. They know my name. And they think I died.”
She was afraid to ask but did anyway, “They won’t allow us to dock?”
He shifted his huge eyes to her. They were more than dull; they were filmed over with a dirty gray film, a sign of distress and low spirits.
“Only if I can make it through the laser shield.”
Gemma started, the failed pirate missile fresh in her mind. “This is suicide.”
“It’s a test,” he corrected.
“It can’t be done.”
“It can. The laser shield has a pattern. You can approach the station if you know how to navigate the pattern.”
“Do you? Know the pattern, I mean.”
