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didn’t know this Zak at all, and here she was, splayed against him like syrup on a pancake. Yet, the embrace was something to lock onto in a world full of chaos. Everything around her was surreal—but the heart that beat against hers was something tangible. The warmth of another body and the comfort of the embrace, as unintended as it may be, represented the first sense of stability she had experienced since this whole nightmare began.
    “Hang on,” Zak’s voice was as steady as his body. “You’ll be safe in the Bio Ward. I have to go.”
    “Where are you going?” She hated the desperation in that question.
    “I have to go out there.” He nodded at the fireworks display. “Don’t worry. Our warriors will get this under control.”
    Another shudder shook the Horus, and in the glow of a nearby explosion she saw the focus on Zak’s face. He was indeed a warrior. Prepared to go to battle to protect his own . In his eyes she saw the flares of lasers and the starburst of ensuing flames, and she also saw worlds she could never imagine. In those eyes she saw determination. At that moment he looked as she would have expected Hercules or Alexander the Great to look before embarking on a battle.
    “You said I could go back to Er—home soon, right?”
    His nod was automatic. “We’ll be back there as soon as the next Lifequest is complete…that is, as long as the Korons don’t succeed here.”
    Now released from his arms, Aimee felt dizzy and splayed her palms flat on the glass panel, absorbing the bedlam around her. The hulking silhouette of the Koron’s ship was barely discernible, obscured by a host of small crafts that darted about like lasers themselves. Shark-shaped vehicles emitting a green glow from their aft-ends drew brilliant wakes like neon markers. She tried to trace them, but they transformed into hyper-blurs, barely differentiated from the beams firing on the Horus. Every now and then one of the streamlined sharks would zoom by close enough that she could distinguish a solitary figure at the helm.
    Aimee swallowed. “How long does a Lifequest take?”
    Zak waved his hand and halted the horizontal motion, disabling her equilibrium as she collided into him. He set her back and considered the question. “Not long. I think in your terms it’s only about five rotations of your planet.”
    Five years.
    Aimee closed her eyes.
    And she prayed.

CHAPTER THREE
    "Alright. We're here." Zak announced.
    Aimee cast one final look at the Koron's ship and hastened after Zak as he exited the elevator. His wide shoulders eclipsed the view of the stark white corridor. Before a bare wall, his hand jerked impatiently, causing the barrier to dissolve under his command.
    How the heck did these people find their way around here? Nothing was labeled. Would it be so tough to throw in a few mundane doorknobs? Instead, everyone just waved their hands and doorways suddenly appeared. How did they even know where the doors were?
    "How—" She started to ask, but Zak's hand lifted again to enter another chamber.
    This one looked remarkably similar to a travel show she had seen on TV. It was a special about exotic hotels, and the featured location was a resort in Finland built entirely of ice. A bar sculpted from ice. Beds carved from ice. Tables made of ice. That's what this room looked like. There were glass beds lined up row after row in barracks style. Some were occupied. Banks of glass cabinets were filled with intricate colored flasks that resembled Genie bottles. Glass tables and chairs sat occupied by chatting personnel. They paused in mid-sentence to glance at the ceiling as the distant sound of thunder marked another strike by the Koron’s ship.
    A young woman stepped up before them and asked Zak, "Is she injured?"
    Zak let go of Aimee's arm. Aimee wasn't even conscious he had been holding it until the warmth disappeared. "No. Vodu just wants her safe."
    The woman nodded and offered her a sympathetic smile. She possessed