The red alert alarm blared through the ancient habitat, a frantic, screaming pulse that resound the frantic, terrified beating of Ryan's own heart.
Outside, the Void Marauder fleet had formed a ring of death around the small, fragile Enclave. They were like a pack of colossal, metal sharks circling a single, wounded swimmer.
"They're hailing us," Zara said, her voice tight as she sprinted back onto the "Odyssey's" bridge. A face appeared on the main viewscreen. It was a creature that was half-reptilian, half-machine, its lips curled back in a cruel sneer that showed off rows of sharp, metallic teeth.
"You have something that belongs to us, little mice," the Marauder captain hissed, its voice a gravelly distortion. "The shining bauble. Give it to us, and we might let you live as our slaves. Resist, and we will peel this little tin can open and take it from your cooling corpses."
