Thick silence filled the enclosed space after his pronouncement. Finally, Wood spoke again. “Well, you haven’t lost the knack for commanding attention in a crowd,” he said. “Tell us everything you can.”
As quickly as he could, Art laid out the situation: revolution below, ships launching, Captain Nikos prepared to destroy the planet if it meant saving his ship, the likelihood that both might destroy the other. “So the fact you’ve exposed your hand up here and begun a shooting revolution doesn’t matter,” Art said. “It’s all or nothing, right here, right now. There won’t be another chance. Down on the planet Avara—Commander Morali—is throwing away her career, maybe her life, to get the message out. She’s telling everyone on her planet of our presence in the system and her government’s plans
