Book 1: Three Words From Oblivion

Chapter 1

TECHNICIAN'S UNBIASED REPORT:

"Oh, look at the pretty blue light."

I looked past Commander Video and into the star cruiser's viewing mist.

"Dimwit, that's no pretty blue light," I said.

The Neophyte's dark features frowned in concentration. "Okay. Maybe it's more a cosmic purple."

"No." I increased the mist's resolution as Synners Petra and Solomon joined us at the nav console. I could feel perfumed sweat formulating underneath my brainteaser skullcap. Crap. "It's a comet as big as a city. And it's headed straight for us!"

"What's a comet?" A question truly worthy of this pleather-clad bimbo Synner.

"Think of it as something much worse than your bad perm," I said-- and found myself looking up at the control suite's spiral ceiling, with Video and Solomon looking down at me, the first perplexed, the second amused.

"Petra," Video's voice remained disgustingly warm, "will you please stop playing with Techie, so he can steer us clear of the comet? TRIC, star cruiser status please."

Giant, runaway comet headed straight for us.

"That's it?" Solomon, lips fat and ugly, focused his frown on me, like I re-stated the obvious instead of the cruiser's stupid computer.

"TRIC?" Video prompted.

Oh. And we're about to be smashed into tiny, little atoms.