27
“Get down!”
Holly and Simon instinctively threw themselves to the ground, not questioning Paul’s order. The ground began to tremble violently and anything below the complex that hadn’t already been displaced shook violently. The two humans could hear falling masonry all around them and were awaiting the aftershock’s inevitable coup de grace when all suddenly went silent. Amazed to be still alive, they went to stand up but found they couldn’t – something prevented them from doing so.
As soon as Holly and Simon had hit the deck, all four androids had arched their bodies over them to protect them from danger.
Standing up and releasing their grateful captives, the sophonts scanned the area for new structural damage; the environment hadn’t changed much – the new debris wasn’t sufficientl
