Captain John Raines Johnson said, as the attack wing gathered to support the Lightning. “What do you think of that? “I don’t believe it,” Andrew said, shaking his head. If he hadn’t been on the priority list for any updated intelligence regarding the Killers, or their technology, he wouldn’t have heard about it for a few more days, or hours. The civilian scientists at Star’s End – those who had survived – would probably be clogging the communication channels to report to their universities about the missing starship. Hardly anyone would believe it at first. Starships didn’t simply operate on their own – well, human starships didn’t. Perhaps the Killers operated by different rules. He pushed the matter out of his mind. “Leave it for the moment,” he said. Whatever happened, the attack wing had its own mission to complete. “Start the countdown; thirty seconds and counting.” “Counting,”
