INTERLUDE
Through the shuttle's canopy window, he watched a single point of light pulsate in the distance. A few taps at the control console brought them out of warp, and the single point collapsed into a billion stars that spread out all around them.
Slade pressed his lips together, staring through the window. He blinked a few times. “I remember the first time I saw the stars,” he said. “As a boy, I thought it impossible that I would one day walk among them.”
He swiveled around.
At the back of the cockpit, Breslan stood with his arms folded, frowning down at the floor. The man's golden hair was cut short to match the square goatee that he'd recently started. “Are you sure it's wise to stop?” he asked. “Won't they track our travel time?”
Slade grinned, shutting his eyes tight. He let
