Nigel Findley - The Broken Sphere

He craned his neck to look all around. The mini-suns orbited at different altitudes-which was why they never collided, he guessed-spread out over a range of more than a hundred leagues. The squid ship was already in the midst of that "danger band," closer to the planet than some of the fire bodies, but higher than others. For the next couple of minutes, they'd theoretically still be at risk.

"Steady as she goes," Djan said again. Then he asked the observers, "Everything still on track?"

"Still on track," Julia confirmed.

Then, suddenly, "No!" She pointed up and back, over the ship's stern. "Port astern, high. One's off track!"

Teldin felt tension grip his chest. His fingernails bit into his palms as he clenched his fists. He looked back, following the direction of Julia's arm.

He could immediately see the mini-sun she meant, about fifteen degrees above the stern rail and an equal angle to port of the squid ship's track. It was still a good distance away, not a direct threat to the ship… yet.

"Observation error?" Djan queried. "Check it again."

The two observers raised their instruments, confirming the bearing of the speeding object. "It's off projected course," Julia answered after a few moments. "Ten degrees off." Then, a couple of heartbeats later, "No, more. Fifteen degrees and increasing."

"What in Paladine's name is happening?" the Cloakmaster demanded. He felt suddenly, sickeningly powerless. For an instant he felt an almost uncontrollable urge to use the ultimate helm, to speed the Boundless on its way. But he couldn't, he recognized at once. His crew had computed this "window" based on a certain ship speed. If he changed that speed, or the ship's course, he ran a very real risk of driving the vessel into the path of another mini-sun.

"Mini-sun increasing speed!" For the first time ever, he heard real panic in Julia's voice. "Twenty-five degrees off projected course, deviation increasing!"

In a hushed voice, Lucinus echoed the realization that had, an instant before, struck Teldin. "It's coming after us!"

"Helm," Djan yelled down the speaking tube, "full speed! Now!"

"What about the atmosphere?" Lucinus cried. "If we hit the atmosphere at full speed…"

"By the mind of Marrak!" Djan snarled. "If we don't get out of the way now, we'll never get that far."

Teldin felt the motion of the Boundless change as Blossom poured on the power. He could see the mini-sun changing course, curving from its previous trajectory to follow the speeding ship down.

How's this possible? The question hammered in Teldin's brain.

Nex, part of his mind answered. Nex-violent death. Now you know why it has that name….

"It's gaining!" Lucinus called.

"More speed!" Djan barked down the speaking tube. "Give it everything you've got!"

The deck vibrated under Teldin's feet as Blossom pushed the helm-and herself-to the limit. His ears were filled with the thrum of the rigging's vibrations.

"Still gaining!" Lucinus's voice was a wail that easily carried over the background din.

Teldin could see that he was right. The mini-sun was dead astern now, swelling ominously with every passing moment. He could feel heat like midsummer sun on his face. From the ship's movement he knew Blossom had reached the maximum speed she could manage, and still the mini-sun closed the gap. The heat falling on Teldin's skin continued to increase.

Before he even knew he'd made the decision, he felt the cloak flare with power and felt his awareness expand to include the entire squid ship. He could feel the mini-sun's burning heat on the ship's stern, the strain the speed was putting on the rigging.

"Get Blossom off the helm." His voice sounded calm, emotionless, in his own ears. Djan relayed the order.

As the woman released her control over the major helm, the Cloakmaster felt his command of the vessel become total. He almost lost his footing as the squid ship leaped forward, doubling, then tripling its speed in only a few seconds.

But, in his wraparound view, he could see the mini-sun still closing. He saw, as well as felt, the paint on the stern flukes and spanker sails start to bubble with the heat. He gritted his teeth and drove the full force of his will into the cloak. Still the Boundless accelerated.

"Still pursuing!" Julia called out; Teldin could clearly see the burning sphere on their tail.

But it's not closing! he told himself exultantly. The gap between mini-sun and squid ship was remaining constant. No, it was starting to open up again. The heat on the stern was diminishing. I'm pulling away!

"Still pursuing!" Julia repeated. Then, "No!" she shouted. "It's changing course again."

Teldin was tempted to slow the ship down-the planet below was looming up awfully quickly-but he kept the power on. It could be a trick, he told himself. If a gods-damned burning rock can give chase, it might have more tricks in its repertoire.

But then even he, without the benefit of a sextant or astrolabe, could see that the mini-sun had broken off the pursuit and was climbing again, back toward its normal orbit.

He gasped as Djan grabbed his arm in a grip like a vise. "Pull up, Teldin!" the half-elf almost screamed into his ear. "Pull up!"

Nex was much closer now-no longer so much a planet as a landscape, with the world's curvature more inferred than directly visible. He could feel the rigging straining as the ship entered the outer wisps of the planet's atmosphere. Normally a ship's own air envelope would protect it from turbulence and from the effects of entering a planetary atmosphere, he knew, but not at speeds like this. He closed his eyes, focusing every fiber of his being on bringing the Boundless out of its lethal dive.

Pain racked him; he clenched his teeth, trying to hold back a scream. The strain on the squid ship's keel burned up and down his own spine. He felt as though he were being torn in two. His skin crawled as he heard the keening of wind through the vessel's lines, the musket-shot cracking of the sails' canvas. We're not going to make it, he told himself.

But that thought was the spur he needed. He forced himself to dissociate from the ship's pain, concentrated the last iota of his will on bringing the bow up, up, away from the planet.

The strain lessened-imperceptibly at first, then with growing rapidity. As the ship's speed decreased, and its nose-down attitude changed, the stress on the hull and rigging diminished. I'm doing it! he thought, with a flash of triumph. He brought the bow up even farther…

And it was over. Back out of the atmosphere, back in the vacuum for which it had been built, the Boundless was back under control.

Teldin released the force of his will; the sense of internal relaxation was directly analogous to easing tension in a strained muscle. He felt the breath hiss from between his teeth, felt his shoulders sag. He opened his eyes again.

The Boundless was hurtling in a low orbit, maybe twenty leagues above ground level. It was still traveling abnormally fast, but the danger seemed over. He let the speed bleed away.

We're safe, he thought as he climbed up to the deck.

Djan, Julia, and Lucinus were clinging to the rails, their faces paste-white, their wide eyes staring at him, He forced a smile, saw their answering relief. "We've made it," he whispered. Their exhausted smiles mirrored his.

He wouldn't have seen it if his sphere of attention didn't still surround the entire ship. A sudden fire-red glow bloomed on the planet's surface. Another mini-dawn, he thought.

But no, the light wasn't on the horizon, it was directly beneath the squid ship.

Before he could react in any way, a titanic burst of searing energy arced from the ground twenty leagues below, flashing past the Boundless like an oversize lightning bolt. Concussion like a dozen thunderclaps pummeled him as the bolt superheated the outer edge of the ship's air envelope. Screams echoed around him, audible even over the ringing in his ears.