CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

There was no one at hand to see the great gust of power that rose from Mike’s outstretched hands. The storm of lightning he called upon shot back up into the sky, rising higher and higher into the atmosphere.

Mike fell to his knees. Rocks tore from the mountain’s sides.

Miles away and far below, Joe stood a few feet outside the entrance to the colony. He saw the great blinding light that lit up the sky. That the aura existed showed him that Mike was alive. At least up to the moment when that aura showed up. A few moments later a great blast of sound knocked him down followed by an explosion of wind. After a few seconds, he staggered to his feet, put his hand against the nearest wall to steady himself, then rushed inside to the communication center.

Brux and Rix sat mouths agape.

Joe hurried over. “What?”

Brux said, “A huge energy charge just shot up from the surface. Ah…” He moved his head closer to the main screen. His hands flew over the controls. “This can’t be right.”

“What?”

“I’m still checking.”

“Just tell me.”

“The command star ship, the largest and strongest, and most powerful ship in the fleet is gone.”

“They left?”

“No. It’s gone. It was there one second. It was gone the second after the energy surge.”

Cem leaned forward. “I’ve double-checked all the monitors. It’s gone. Along with the five ships closest to the one Bex was on.” He checked his monitor again. He waited a few moments.

“The fleet is moving away.” He paused again. “Fast.”

The surface-to-space speaker came to life. They heard shouts and screams. The men in the communication center looked at each other in consternation. They realized they were listening to the chaos in the home fleet.

Someone was saying, “Bex is dead. The largest ship. The most modern ship. The most powerful ship is just gone.”

Another voice said, “It can’t be.”

The first voice said, “You think it’s there. Fine, you find it.”

The chatter between ships overwhelmed the technology. The only thing that got through were the words, “Retreat. Run.”