“Kenzie!” Cage roared. I turned toward him, but the ship pitched, and it took all my energy to hold Rune. “What’s happening?”

“She’s okay!” I called. “Are you?”

“Hanging on! Are we going to make it?”

I shook my head, knowing he couldn’t see me. I didn’t have the time or focus to interpret the alien language right now. Rune was too far immersed in the system to answer questions, and we had no windows to see outside. I had exactly as much information as Cage.

The ship’s spin increased in speed, giving me the sense of being on a sickening VR carnival ride. I tightened my grip on Rune as the centrifugal force threatened to tear us apart. At least she wasn’t in danger of hitting her face again, but the combined force of the ship’s spiral and my hold might dislocate her shoulders. I managed to shift my grip to her middle. I wasn’t even protecting her anymore, merely holding on for dear life, because at this point, if I let go, I would smash headfirst into a wall.

As suddenly as it had started, the ship ground to a halt. Rune flew forward and took me with her. Just in time, I jerked my hands around her so her head collided with my palms instead of the console. Pain shot through me at the impact, and the recoil threw me to my knees.

I braced for the next assault, but we weren’t moving.

And neither was Rune.

FOUR

“RUNE!” I SHOUTED. CAGE WAS at my side in an instant. Rune slumped over the console. Together, Cage and I half lifted her, but her arms remained embedded in the circuitry. I pulled on her waist, but I didn’t see any give, and I was afraid I’d hurt her if I kept tugging. She threw her head back against my shoulder and moaned around a mouthful of blood.

“Rune,” I repeated, this time in relief. She was alive. “Can you hear me?”

“Meimei.” Cage caught her chin and gently turned her face, examining her for injuries. “Open your eyes.”

She groaned, louder this time, and shifted, taking her own weight. As her eyes fluttered open, a familiar voice crackled over the comms, that obnoxious sarcastic inflection back in place: “That was quite the landing.”

Lord, give me strength. “Strangely enough, our alien ship didn’t come with an instruction manual. Our deal still in place?”

“Affirmative. You surrender yourselves and we destroy your ship. I’m sending an armed contingent to meet you now. I don’t suppose I have to tell you they’re prepared to use lethal force if you deviate from our arrangement?”

“I assumed as much.” The other corporations might not have Omnistellar’s total dedication to the idea of anomalies as monsters, but no one in the solar system viewed us with much trust.