The icekelp burst into flame, crackling with black smoke around the effigy of Ross. Bram untied the rope from an anchor pin on the ice shelf and used a pole to thrust the funeral raft out into the water. As the flames rose higher, the raft drifted into the current and was gradually carried out into the flat dark sea.

Jess divided his attention between the pyre and his father, wishing he could help more. Despite their feud, the old man had been proud of his eldest son, impressed by how much Ross had accomplished.

The pyre grew brighter as the blazing raft passed farther out onto the cold sea. The low ice sky reflected the orange flames.

Drawn by the light, large primitive nematodes rose from the undersea depths, poking their smooth, eyeless heads into the pocket of air. The nematodes were thick scarlet things with round mouths and tiny diamondlike teeth that were probably used for scouring holes through the walls of ice.

The Roamer observers gasped in surprise at seeing the rare creatures. Cesca moved closer to Jess. He could feel her presence, but could not tear his gaze from the waving forms that loomed around the glowing funeral raft.

Surrounding the now-dwindling pyre as the wooden raft began to break apart into charred timbers, the nematodes made weird hooting sounds, an eerie yet beautiful chorus that boomed off the vaulted frozen ceiling.

The alien grief expressed in the nematodes’ song was more than Jess could bear. He felt Cesca’s loving grip on his arm and was startled when he turned to look at his father and saw tears streaming down his seamed face.

47: GENERAL KURT LANYAN

47GENERAL KURT LANYAN

The ruins of the Oncier system contained no survivors, no bodies, very little wreckage—and no clues about what had happened to Dr. Serizawa’s research team. The four moons were nothing more than flash-cooled rubble dispersed in a widening ring around the hot new starplanet.

General Lanyan had not flown his fast reconnaissance outrigger here to mourn. He had no idea who, or what, the enemy might be. Whatever force had attacked here had the strength to disintegrate entire moons. Chairman Wenceslas had dispatched him to find answers with the specific objective of learning how the Earth Defense Forces might defend themselves and the colony worlds against the threat, whatever it might be.

As the reconnaissance outrigger cruised around the ignited gas giant, the survey crew imaged the residue. Lanyan had staffed the ship with his best technicians and communications experts. It would take a detailed analysis of the orbiting junk just to determine which debris had been part of the melting moons and which had been components of the observation platform.