CHAPTER 10It was a flash, gone as soon as seen, an impression of shimmering gold without real shape or form. Something limned against the mist wreathing the planet as if it had just arrived or left.
“Koslenko?”
“An object. Mass about equal to our own. High density. Moving fast.”
“Direction?” Varl bared his teeth as the officer shrugged. “What the hell’s the matter with you? Which way did it go?”
“Away.” Koslenko gestured at his panel. “As if it shrank.”
An illusion; massive acceleration would have produced a similar effect or the sudden enveloping of mist and cloud.
Either way they had no choice; if the alien had left on another raid they had time to find its base and prepare a trap against its return. If it had just arrived they had to hit fast before its scanners could warn of impe
