Long John shivered at the memory, one he’d just as soon forget. He was about to doze off, when he heard a small familiar voice coming from below his knee.

  “Hey, Cap’n!”

  He looked down and saw Limpet, huddled in a ball as if trying to be inconspicuous. “Limpet!” He kept his voice low. “What’re you doing here?”

  “Got key.” The spider held up a key card, which Long John took.

  “Will they miss it?”

  “Don’t think so. Guard drink knockout drink, fall down sleep. Sad.”

  “I guess.” The sight of the small spider pirate raised his spirits considerably. “What’s the plan?”

  “Everybody sleeping, you get out. We go.”

  “Captain Aris had something to do with this, I assume.”

  “Her idea. She go other ship. Go now.”

  Long John got up, glanced around to make sure he wasn’t forgetting anything, and followed Limpet to the door.

  Limpet peeked outside, looking in both directions, then slipped through the bars. Long John used the keycard to unlock the door and shut it behind him. Limpet skittered ahead down the hallway, passing a guard who lay unconscious in a chair, his cup fallen on the floor. They passed four more guards farther down the halls, all asleep, some snoring.

  The halls were deserted, as it was alterday and most people were asleep, the lights dimmed. Limpet led him by back routes to the ship bay, also unguarded. When he entered the airlock of the Don Quixote, he was greeted by a cheer from the spiders.

  “Keep it down,” he said, a finger to his lips. “Let’s go.”

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  * * *

  In the first hour of mainday, Crystal found herself summoned to the office of the station’s Commander, Winston Madison. She entered and gave him a salute.

  “Have a seat, Captain.” He frowned at her, his voice gruff.

  She sat gingerly across from his desk. “Is the ship ready?”

  “Yes, everything is in order. But I asked you here because Captain Queeg has escaped.”

  “Really!” She raised her chin. “How shocking.”

  He leaned forward. “Did you facilitate his escape?”

  “Me! No, I did not.”

  “His guards were given sleeping pills by some means; none of them saw how it was done.”

  “It was not me. Probably his crew helped him.”

  “No one has seen his crew! How could they have done this? We have cameras, but there’s been no sign of them.”

  She thought of how quickly the spiders could move. A small smile touched her lips, which she suppressed immediately. “They’re aliens, capable of a great deal.”

  He slammed his fist on the desk in frustration. “He’ll be back in the space lanes, of course, trolling for more victims. We’ll recapture him before long.”

  “Perhaps. Or maybe he’ll show up and help us investigate the unknown entity. He’s the only one who seemed to really grasp the danger confronting us.”

  “Be that as it may, the general has assigned Colonel James Dandridge to command the ship you’ll be on. The Victorious is scheduled to depart at ten hundred hours. I wish you good luck.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice was cool. She rose, saluted, and left, shaking her head once she reached the hallway.

  The Victorious was a larger Explorer class ship. Colonel Dandridge greeted her outside the airlock. He wore an arrogant mustache, was a head taller than she, and his uniform was pressed within an inch of its life. “Welcome aboard, Captain Aris. I’m sure we’ll have a fruitful voyage together.”

  “I hope so. To be honest, I’m not optimistic. We should have a fleet with us.”

  “If the entity is as all-powerful as you suggest, I don’t see how a fleet would help us.”

  She nodded. “You have a point. Perhaps we should get on board.”

  Even using the space folds, the Victorious’ pilot estimated two weeks to the Danje system. Crystal felt her tension increase as the days passed. They had attempted to contact her home planet without success. She refused to believe that the encroaching entity could have devoured her system. Even if that had happened, their miniscule space fleet would have escaped to return her attempts to communicate. No, it must be just that they were too far away still, or the communications on the Victorious were not as advanced as Colonel Dandridge believed.

  In addition to her worry for her planet, in the back of her mind she missed Long John. Sure, he was self-centered, morally ambiguous, and had a twisted sense of humor, but somehow, she had felt safe with him. And she had thought he would make some effort to keep in touch.