said Nagogg from his captain’s chair. The Bakma chieftain’s raspy voice split through what for some time now had been an eerie silence. Affirming in action only, the Noboat’s pilot, Nik-nish, decelerated the spacecraft until it had come to a full stop—discernable only by the quieting of the Noboat’s engines. Rising slowly from his chair, Nagogg’s sunken eyes narrowed. From her vantage point on the floor against Nagogg’s chair, Svetlana could only partially make out the actions of the Bakma leader and his crew. Though she knew he had risen, the object of his attention was unknown to her. Straining to turn her head to the side as much as she was able, she tried with little success to see anything on the view screen beyond the blackness of space. Lowering her forehead again, she surrendered to her limited state. Whatever was going on around her, she would have to decipher with her ears. “Pi’vash targ-nassa!” Nagogg said, excitement pulsating in his voice.
