“RIGHT! Go right!”
Most guys would have hesitated while they evaluated my urgent yell, but Zyair just reacted, yanking the ship to the right. Just as he did so, the rock bounced off the asteroid and blasted right through where we would have been.
Another glimpse?—
“Drop!” I yelled.
Again, he didn’t question, just reacted. The ship dropped, and the asteroid I’d glimpsed passed right over us.
“Drop again!”
He did so, but this time he cast a rapid glance to me. “How are you?—”
“LEFT!”
He jerked the ship left. A millisecond later, a rock spun by where we’d been.
Another quick glance at me. “You know things before they happen.”
No way.He had to be wrong. But then I shouted, “Climb!” And the asteroid crashed by below us.
Dammit. He wasright.My first reaction was denial. “I’m not—DROP!”
The rock barely missed us, this time. Too close. That was too close. TheStardrifter’sshields could handle smaller debris, but not these monsters. If they hit us?—
“Left!”
Another close call. The next few minutes had me sweating, as I called each one, and Zyair responded just fast enough to save us.
As he dove into the shadow of a massive rock, I hit the quick release on my harness. “Let me pilot.”
His brows dropped. “No. Buckle that restraint back up.”
“Dammit—CLIMB!”
He did, but the rock clipped our aft shields. The ship shuddered.
“Getting hammered here,” Xandros complained over the comm.
“You can’t react fast enough with me shouting at you.” I rose from my seat just as Zyair swerved into a canyon on the big asteroid, seeking shelter. But the Nirzk ships came after us…
“You are not a combat pilot,” he insisted through gritted teeth.
He spun theStardrifter, and I had to grab hold of the arm of his pilot’s seat. I had precisely zero experience in combat. But the asteroids were as big, or bigger, a risk?—
“Left!”
He was just banking right and had to yank hard on the controls. Something deep within the ship whined ominously, but theStardrifterslewed around to the left. The rock hurtling toward us took out a Nirzk ship instead.
The look Zyair shot me was frantic with calculation. He took one hand off the column to hit the quick release on his harness.
“Sit on me,” he said. “We do this together.”
Sit onwhat? “Go right!” I shouted.
He leaned right, and I lost my balance. Somehow his left arm snagged me, and pulled me into his lap.
“Strap in,” he ordered.
