7
The warrior ships of the Zachary Empire covered the space around the conference ship like a swarm of wasps. The ships’ gray exteriors shone in the darkness, and so did the guns attached to their hulls. In the presence of the fleet, the corporate cruiser that Annaliese and team came from looked like a speck of dust.
The warrior ships moved slowly across the field, blocking access to the cruiser.
“What do we do?” Annaliese asked. “We won’t be able to make it past those ships to get back.”
“I do not recommend that we stay here,” Chief Counsel said. “We need to leave before they make contact. If we need to enter hyperspace and then reconnect with the cruiser, we can do that. But we have to leave now.”
“What’s going to happen?” Florian asked. “Are they going to kill us?”
“Yep,” Benito s
