CAPTAIN TO THE BRIDGE!
RED ALERT!
ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!
THIS IS NOT A DRILL!
CAPTAIN TO THE BRI—
The first impact was felt more than heard, a booming, shaking roar that knocked them off their feet. The lights died, and, through the bulkhead that led to Hangar One, they heard the horrible sound of air whistling away into space, of screams and cries and alarm bells dying off when the air that carried them had vanished into space.
"Oh my God, they've hulled Hangar One," Sir George said, his voice deep with shock. "They're all dead in there. My God."
Joslyn climbed to her feet. The gloomy red of the emergency lighting system flickered on, and she saw Sir George striding purposefully across the deck, toward the airlock at the aft end and the nearest way to the bridge.
ROGUE POWERS
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 1986 by Roger MacBride Allen
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises 260 Fifth Avenue New York, N.Y. 10001
First printing, September 1986
ISBN: 0-671-65584-1
Cover art by Alan Gutierrez
Printed in the United States of America
Distributed by SIMON & SCHUSTER TRADE PUBLISHING GROUP 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, N.Y. 10020
Scanned and proofed by eBookMan version 1.0
Dedication
For Mom, who shared her love, taught me self-confidence, and gave me the world's greatest middle name.
CHAPTER ONE
January, 2115
A
board LPS
Venera
CHAPTER TWO
Aboard G.O.S.
Ariadne
Ariadne
On Approach to Outpost's Surface
CHAPTER FOUR
March, 2116
Navy Castle On The Planet Kennedy
CHAPTER FIVE
March, 2116
Guardian Contact Base on Surface of Outpost
CHAPTER SIX
April, 2116
The Planet Bandwidth
CHAPTER SEVEN
Chralray Village: the Current Nihilist Camp
CHAPTER EIGHT
Guardian Contact Base, Outpost
CHAPTER NINE
Guardian Contact Base, Outpost
CHAPTER TEN
The Planet Bandwidth
CHAPTER TWELVE
Aboard HMS
Impervious,
in Orbit of Britannica
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Aboard
Impervious
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Deep Space, Britannic Star System
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Survey Service HQ on Columbia, Kennedy's Natural Satellite.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Survey Service Base, Columbia
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Guardian Contact Base, Outpost
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Survey Service Base, Columbia
Aboard
Far Shore,
En Route to Columbia
Survey Service Base Comm Center
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
On Outpost, Eight Hundred Kilometers North of Guardian Contact Camp
Nova Sol System Barycenter
Aboard G.O.S.
Ariadne