“Where is everybody else?”

    “Separate compartments.”

    Her dismay increased. She should’ve just been relieved that she didn’t have to deal with her crewmates at the moment, but it was no comfort to be taking off in an alien craft, without any protective gear, alone. He straightened. “We’ll be taking off in a few minutes. Don’t remove the safety harnesses until we break free of the planet.”

    Feeling a little faint, Sybil nodded wordlessly, lifting her hands to grip the restrains. He studied her for a long moment, looked like he might say something and then turned abruptly and left, sealing the door behind him.

    Alone with her thoughts, Sybil considered giving in to her emotions for a while, but she was just angry enough, and just worried enough that she might be under observation, to hold it back. She thought it might have made her feel better if she’d indulged, but she had no idea how long the trip would take-not as long as their trip out had, she was sure.

    She hadn’t realized she might not get another chance to speak to Powell! It occurred to her forcefully now, which meant they were probably going to be separated before they had time to get their stories straight!

    Damn it!

    She sighed. Well, she’d told Powell she wasn’t going to lie and she’d also promised to ‘watch herself’. He would be expecting, or should be, that she’d told them he’d had an argument with Spencer that had resulted in the fight. If he hadn’t already thought up a reasonable lie to explain it, he would surely be thinking long and hard on the trip home. In any case, she’d told the truth. She hadn’t heard the argument, just the loud voices. She didn’t know what it was about. She thought she did, but she didn’t have to lie about that.

    They were going to ask her what she thought had started it, though, she realized. She thought she would stick to the night before when Spencer had behaved so badly he’d been removed. It was the truth and it was enough to have spawned the argument, particularly when Powell had threatened to bring charges against him in front of all of them.

    She would’ve felt a lot better, however, if she could have discussed the matter with the entire group-everyone except Spencer, anyway. Neither Dr. Kushbu or Dr. Rains were military personnel, but they’d been attached to a military operation. They’d be questioned, too.

    She was so busy worrying with her thoughts that it was several moments before she realized the faint vibrations she could feel beneath her feet must mean that the ship was preparing for launch. Her belly tightened. Closing her eyes, she focused on breathing slowly and deeply to ease the tension trying to take hold of her. The vibrations increased steadily and then, so abruptly she didn’t have time to brace herself, she felt her stomach drop as the ship shot skyward. A wave of nausea washed over her, but she realized the pull of G’s wasn’t even close to what she’d expected. Surprise flickered through her. Venus’ gravity wasn’t quite the equal of Earth’s but it should still have produced a hell of a force against her.

    Either they hadn’t taken off at the speeds she was used to in a launch, or the ship had some technology that prevented the occupants from feeling the effects as they should have.

    She wasn’t likely to find out which, and realized abruptly why she’d been taken immediately to the small compartment. They weren’t taking any chances that she might see anything she could report-which was also why she would be confined for the duration. Opening her eyes, she looked around the tiny compartment, wondering just how long she could expect to be confined in it. Days? Weeks?

    She shook that thought. If there was anything at all to the old UFO reports, they had the capability of exceeding the speed of light. They surely wouldn’t use that kind of speed within a solar system, though, especially if it included folding space-which everyone had always assumed it must. So… would they make light speed? Or would they be traveling at sub-light? It only took the sun’s light eight minutes to reach earth, so half the speed of light from Venus to Earth

    “This is Commander l’Kartay speaking. Please return to your seats and fasten your safety harnesses. We will be landing at moon base in five minutes.”

    Having located the speaker by the time he’d finished his announcement, Sybil glared at it. She hadn’t even taken her damned harness off!

    Maybe it was his idea of a joke?

    He hadn’t seemed in the mood for humor.

    She was still convinced it was an exaggeration until she felt the ship settle with a definite thump against something solid.

    The door opened while she was still trying to figure out how to unfasten the harness. Anka approached her and crouched in front of her, pushing her hands away. It took an effort to resist the urge to ask him if they had arrived, but she managed it. She wasn’t about to let on how impressed she was if it killed her!

    “There is no docking facility here to accommodate our ship. You’ll need a suit for the trip to the airlock.”

    Rising, he moved across the room and opened a locker. The suit he removed was much like the one he was wearing-very much like the suits they all wore in their Venus base. It hadn’t occurred to her that they were protective gear. They didn’t look anything like the clumsy suits they had to use for protection on the moon-because of the lack of atmospheric pressure.

    “Aren’t these for the conditions on Venus?” she asked doubtfully.

    He shrugged. “They are for any conditions not conducive to life. It will protect you,” he said, extending it toward her.

    Still doubtful and uneasy, she took it. She paused in the act of pulling it on, however, and decided to discard the clothing he’d provided. Not only did she not relish the thought of being seen in it when she went in to decontamination, she also didn’t want it around as a reminder. Anka, who’d been occupied with searching for gauntlets, boots, and a helmet, did a double take when he glanced at her.

    She ignored the look, removing both the skirt and the top, although she was actually a little reluctant to discard the latter. She also didn’t like the idea of having nothing but her panties beneath the suit, but the thought of having the top around as a reminder was enough to bolster her decision.

    The suit was far too big. It didn’t surprise her. The ferils were a tall race. Anka was no more than average among his own people even if he was damned tall next to humans. “I hope the fit isn’t going to be a problem.”

    “It won’t be,” he said grimly, holding out the rest of the gear she needed.

    She took them and pulled the boots on, taking care to seal them with the suit and then took the helmet and fastened it, leaving the gauntlets for last. Anka checked the fittings behind her. She resented it in a way, but she wasn’t certain enough she’d done it right to bet her life on it.

    “Wait here.”

    Sighing, she sat down on the chair. He returned a few minutes later wearing his helmet and gauntlets and her belly clenched. “You’re going to escort us inside?”

    “I am.”

    Sybil felt her throat close. “Do really think that’s a good idea?”

    He sent her a piercing look. “Perhaps not the best, but I intend to hand you over personally.”

    “Why don’t send some of your men?” she asked plaintively.

    “I never ask my men to do anything I wouldn’t do myself,” he said tightly.

    “But… you’re the commander!” she said, distressed.

    “Exactly!”

    Sybil bit her lip. “Damn it, Anka! You’re more of a target and you know it!”

    “You believe I’ll be a target?”

    She swallowed with an effort against the knot in her throat. “I don’t know. I just… I just don’t want you to risk it. Please don’t! It isn’t worth taking a chance. You said you were trying to prevent a war. If anything was to happen to you…”