CHAPTER 9
“Fire the engines,” Tarkos radioed.
He watched as the robots around him sank to the floor. One green bot, a centipede of gleaming iridescent segments, landed on its back and twisted, righting itself.
Tarkos could not help but wait for the creaks and complaints of the giant weapon, but of course none came. They stood in vacuum, and his suit resisted any vibration transmission through its own structure.
“Full power and maximum acceleration achieved” Tiklik sent.
“Not much, by the feel of it,” Tarkos said.
“Equivalent to one tenth of a gravity of your planet.”
“We’re stable?”
Tiklik waved an arm. “The engines were unharmed. They can continue this thrust indefinitely.”
The floor seemed to jerk upward.
“That’s the tow line?” Tarkos asked.
“The Zoroastrian is applying th
