Tom and I had a few hours to ourselves, our first in days. The only question is, can we get our repairs finished in time, and get away from here before the Galactics come for us?

There were only a few inter-spatial paths Streaker could have taken without using a transfer point. Tom smiled and said nothing, humoring my bout of wishful thinking. I told Tom that I was sure no one would follow us here - pronouncing the prediction confidently, and fooling nobody. The night side was lit in patches by dimly glowing volcanoes and flickering lightning. It's a deceptively lovely blue globe, swathed in bands of white clouds. I said as much to Tom last night, as he and I held hands and watched the planet's disc grow larger in one of the lounge ports. Maybe the Galactics won't think to look for us here. The Library says it's been fallow for a very long time. It also has the virtue of being seldom visited. Kithrup is rich in heavy metals, and should have the raw materials we need. In the end, Creideiki decided to bring us here.Īs a physician, I dread landing on a planet as insidiously dangerous as this one, but Kithrup is a water world, and our mostly-dolphin crew needs water to be able to move about and repair the ship. Tom, Hikahi, and I spent hours with the captain, looking for alternatives. When I say 'habitable,' it's with charity. The Library lists one habitable world in orbit, the planet Kithrup. The one probability coil that had survived the Morgran battle groaned and complained, but finally delivered us here, to the shallow gravity of a small population-II dwarf star named Kthsemenee.

We took a chancy jump through overdrive yesterday, a step ahead of the Galactics who are chasing us. Streaker is limping like a dog on three legs.

Star tide rising