Excerpt from the First Chapter of
THE STARCHILD COMPACT
by
Robert G. Williscroft
Cassini II in the Asteroid Belt
Saeed Esmail prostrated himself toward Earth, nearly 400 million kilometers back in the direction of the Sun. He felt his stomach heave, and vomited blood on his prayer mat, and wondered aloud why Allah had abandoned him. At that moment he was hit with massive weight, several gees at least, and a twisting, wrenching, totally disorienting surge that made no mental or physical sense. In his weakened state, all Saeed could do was let his body be tossed from wall to wall inside his tent, and hope that he would not tear the airtight fabric. He heard somebody screaming, and then his stomach heaved again, and bloody vomit filled the space around him, flying this way and that, fina
