By the time she returned to Darcy's quarters, undressed, and slipped beneath the comforter, her wrist chronometer read 0407. She set its alarm for 0700, then lay on her back in the dark, unable to sleep, staring up at the invisible ceiling as if she could make out something there that would answer all her questions. She had come up against too much in the past hour and a half, facts and concepts she had not been able to absorb at the time. Now they bubbled up in her mind, jostling for prominence.

Foremost among them was the thought that Karl would accompany her on her mission to the Crab Nebula. He would join her on an assignment in search of a lost Survey ship, a ship that had been missing for nearly a full year.

She didn't want Karl along, but there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Hyatt had made it clear that if she wished to pilot his ship, it would be on his terms. It was either take Karl along, or not go herself. And that was no choice at all.

Again she would be responsible for his life. And again she thought of that strange vision.

It always came down to being responsible for the lives of others. And if it happened again as it had in Aldebaran system…

A shiver rattled up her spine and she pulled the comforter snugly around her neck. There was nothing she could do about any of it. She could chase the questions around in her mind all night, and by morning be no nearer a solution than she was now. She needed sleep-in only a few hours she would have to be alert, ready to absorb what little ship's familiarization Hyatt would permit.

Closing her eyes, she pushed the thoughts from her mind and forced her breathing into a regular pattern, then concentrated on relaxing her tense muscles.

Again the nightmare came, the dream/memories knifing into her sleeping thoughts. She was again in Aldebaran system, onboard the Fleet cruiser Defiant, and Karl's body worked gently against her own as she held him in her arms…

"Incoming call for Captain Susan Tanner," said the phone's soft monotone.

Susan woke with a start, her body bathed in perspiration. Although she was not cold, she trembled uncontrollably beneath the comforter.

"Incoming call for Captain Susan Tanner."

She stood and went to the phone. Slapping at both the signal off and audio only buttons, she stepped into the lens cluster's field.

"Who is it?" she asked, glancing at her wrist chronometer glowing in the dark. It read 0532.

"Put this on secure." She recognized Hyatt's voice and instantly came awake, then pressed the appropriate button glowing on the wall.

"I'm on secure. What is it?"

"Something has happened. We will lift in less than two hours."

Susan shook her head to clear it. There was something wrong with what Hyatt had just said. We. And there was something else…

"What about the familiarization session you promised?"

"It won't be necessary. Besides, there is no longer time for that."

"Why? What happened?"

Hyatt hesitated an instant, then said, "I've just talked to Commander Alterman. We are in agreement that I should leave Luna at once, under both yours and his protection. My impostor has been spotted on Luna within the hour, and Alterman believes the attempts on your life are somehow connected to him."

"You told Karl about the attacks?" Then it struck her-Hyatt should know about only one attack. He shouldn't know about the one in the exchange area.

"I had to. There has been another attempt on your life within the past hour."

"What are you talking about?"

"The technician who was working on your LIN/C has been murdered."

Sudden fear filled Susan's thoughts. That's what he had meant. They had tried to trace her through her LIN/C. "When did it happen?"

"Her body was found less than half an hour ago. But we don't have time for this. We must get off Luna-now."

Perhaps Karl was right. Maybe the attacks did have something to do with Hyatt's impostor.

"As we speak, Photon is being moved to my private launch site," Hyatt continued. "Report to my office immediately, and you will be escorted out to her." He clicked off.

Susan stood in the dark for several seconds, unmoving before the phone's lens cluster, her mind numb with shock. Karl finally knew about the attempts on her life.

But the fact that they had tried to trace her through her LIN/C meant access to the Fleet computer on a top security level. And that could only mean someone high up in Fleet.

Someone like an admiral?

She forced her legs to move. Going to the far side of the room, she slapped at the light switch beside the door, then blinked for several seconds in the sudden glare. She shuffled to the closet and took out a uniform jumpsuit and boots, and began to dress.

One thing was certain: Renford hadn't killed that technician himself. He would have known it wasn't Susan. It had been someone who didn't know her, someone who'd never before seen her.

But that certainly didn't rule out Renford as the one behind those attacks.

She tucked the pendant into her jumpsuit, then fastened the uniform up the front. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she slipped into her boots.

What about Clayton? Should she let him know she was leaving Luna earlier than either of them had anticipated?

No. Even if she wanted to tell him, she didn't know how to reach him. And she did not want to tell him, anyway. If he knew about the technician's death, he might somehow delay her departure. He would find out soon enough what was happening-hopefully too late to do anything about it.

And should she tell Bill Darcy? Darcy had been good to her. He had given her help when she needed it, and had let her keep her secrets. She owed him the truth now, and the knowledge that she was leaving Luna. She didn't want him to worry.

But there wasn't time. She fastened her boots and stood, then went to the door.

"Incoming call for Captain Susan Tanner," the phone began again.

For an instant she considered ignoring it. If it was Clayton, that one call could end her chance to pilot Photon into deep space.

But it could just as easily be Darcy. Or even Karl…

"Incoming call for-" She stepped into the sensing field and the phone's drone ceased. Hyatt's image appeared on the screen.

"Meet me at the mining camp," he said without preamble. "I have someone waiting for you outside Darcy's quarters to escort you there."

"You're there now?"

"I will be by the time you arrive."

"What about Photon?"

He hesitated a beat, then said, "It will be there when we return. Right now, I want you to meet me in the mining camp's living quarters." He clicked off.

Susan's thoughts were suddenly filled with apprehension. Something wasn't right, but she couldn't pin it down.

Still, Hyatt was in charge. And he was in contact with Karl.

She turned and went to the door. It irised open and she stepped out into the corridor.