"What? What the hell are you suggesting?" Nahara's face was pale. His upper lip oily with sweat.

A lot of fear and mistrust on this ship, Ruth thought.

"Someone sent that damn message pod from inside the terminal."

"It wasn't me." Nahara looked furious.

Ruth watched the passengers as they looked around suspiciously at one another.

All of them, jumping to conclusions, making judgments. Calculations.

Paranoia.

Now, turning on one another.

"How about you, Doc?" Nahara leaned one arm on the seatback and stared directly at Rodriguez. Challenging him. "We still aren't clear why you're headed out to Omega Nine. What's the big secret, hmm?"

Rodriguez tightened his mouth and shook his head.

"If it was any of your business, you would know."

Then Sinjira got up and walked over to Ivan. A smile lit her face as she knelt down in front of him, Ruth inches away, taking it all in.

Leaning close, pressing her breasts against his arm, she whispered loud enough for Ruth and everyone else in the cabin to hear: "We should talk, Ivan. Perhaps when we get to Omega Nine"-she paused-"when they take off this stupid collar. We could license your life story for ... millions. The stuff you've done, the things you've seen."

Ruth looked back to Ivan, a line of drool and blood running down his chin from the corner of his mouth. Like he was crazy, demented, looking so vulnerable ... so harmless.

How the hell can this be Ivan Delgato, the notorious rebel? she thought.

He's not a cold-blooded killer ...

"You should go back to your seat and strap in," Ruth said. Sinjira rolled her eyes and then stood up. She delicately traced the edge of Ivan's jawline with the tip of her forefinger.

"Are you his nursemaid?" she said, glowering at Ruth. "Or maybe ... you're interested in the Runner for other reasons." The Chippie was grinning wickedly now. "Can't say I blame you."

Then, a sudden lurch of the vehicle threw her off balance and almost onto the floor.

The captain's voice came over the speaker.

"Please-everyone remain seated and strapped in."

Ruth checked Ivan's straps, and then sat down and buckled in as the Chippie made her way back to her seat.

And then SRV-66 started moving on the ramp leading to the Portal.

Fast.

Something, Ruth thought, is going on....

As soon as she powered up and started rolling, Annie saw the incoming vehicles on the screen.

She watched as they split up and took different ramps.

Different vectors.

Circling like vultures ...

Surrounding us ...

"Looks bad, Jordan," she said into the commlink.

"Go as fast as you can, Annie," Jordan said over the headset. "I'll keep them busy."

"Okay."

The SRV picked up speed as she moved it away from the demolished terminal building.

Fast, Annie trying to gauge how much speed she could muster as she hit the curved, fun-house ramp to the portal ... just how much she could push it.

Zigzagging to avoid the still-smoldering rubble and scattered body parts.

Her breath froze in her throat when she brought up the rearview screen with a swipe of her hand.

A vehicle suddenly appeared behind them, and it was huge.

Almost as large as a WC troop ship.

And then she realized that's exactly what it was-a decommissioned troop ship that had been modified, almost unrecognizable. Its hull was scored with numerous pulse blasts and dents. Gun turrets bristling everywhere.

Even as she watched, the forward portals opened, and several small, bullet-shaped speeders shot out, heading toward her.

"Jordan, they're coming in fast. Speeders all over the place," she said.

"They have to stick to the Road like we do."

As if in response, a white spike of fire shot from the rear of the SRV. The shields on one of the speeders exploded in a shower of orange sparks and bubbling hot metal.

What was left of the speeder stopped dead on the road-a twisted wreck.

Annie's options of which ramp to take were numerous ... and confusing.

The map configuration on her HUD displayed dozens of interlacing ramps and roadways, all curving around wildly and converging in gigantic Gordian knotlike intersections.

The entire interchange was supported by hundreds of massive pylons that faded away into the distance. Below the ramps, the oceans churned, hurling huge waves up to the sky.

The oncoming vehicles skillfully navigated the winding intersections.

How the fuck do we get out of here?

Even as she thought that, a group of speeders started to close the distance, speeding up behind them.

So far, they were holding their fire.

Why?

Annie had to make a decision. Moving to full power, she saw four good options immediately up ahead.

They must want to take us alive.

The speeders-still far enough away ...

Maybe she could shake them off, get to the portal, get back onto the Star Road.

Get the hell out of here.

Maybe.

She decided not to take the obvious route-the most direct route to the portal.

That's exactly what the Runners would be expecting; so before she got to the junction, she cut the SRV hard to the left and onto a ramp that dropped down ... toward the ocean.

Has to be rocking the passengers ... and if they see the speeders?

They'd be getting the Road trip of a lifetime. She wondered briefly if the Chippie was recording all of this. No doubt.

Checking a screen, she saw that the maneuver had worked.

For now.

One of the speeders tried to take the unanticipated turn but, moving so fast, it flew off the edge of the ramp. It dropped in a lazy, dizzying spiral and then flared in a silent explosion when it hit the edge of another ramp thirty meters below. Still spinning like a whirligig, it plunged another hundred meters until it splashed into the raging ocean.

And disappeared.

Nothing left but a large, iridescent oil slick on the surging waves and bubbles rising to the surface, marking where it had gone under.

"Two down," she said into the commlink.

"Make that three," Jordan said.

Annie watched as a pulse cannon took out one of the two speeders that had successfully negotiated the hairpin turn, coming up fast behind them.

The other had forward shields up; but each turn exposed its flank ... at least for a moment.

She watched as her gunner took full advantage and fired short, sharp blasts.

The speeder exploded in a glorious shower of sparks and twisted metal.

That leaves two more left that we know of, Annie thought.

And then she wondered: Why aren't they shooting at us?

She had no idea how many more speeders might come after them. There could be dozens more still inside the troop ship ... or circling around out of scanner range or hidden behind the massive pylons to head them off.

Eventually, with planning, every section of ramp could be a trap for the SRV, and these guys looked like they knew what they were doing.

Frantic, she scanned the various screens, looking for more signs of enemy pursuit.

When her gaze flicked back to the rearview, she groaned.

"Shit..."

A speeder close on their tail ... and all she could think of to say to Jordan, shouting into her headset, was: "Why aren't you taking that son of a bitch out?"

"Easy there, Annie. I can't get a bearing. He's too close, and this ramp is anything but straight."

Even in this situation, Jordan sounded calm ... collected.

No pressure.

Wish I could say the same.

Annie took a quick turn and dropped down to another, lower level, as if she might be doubling back to the station, in exactly the wrong direction if she wanted to access the portal.

The SRV skimmed along the undamaged ramp surface, shifting from side to side as she adjusted for its winding curves.

She kept an eye on the speeder on her tail, but she had to focus on the path ahead. Its twists and turns made her stomach roil.

Who the hell designed this? she wondered.

Her passengers below had to be losing it.

"Okay. This ... is going to be crazy," she said, as much to herself as to Jordan.

With a sudden jerk of the controls, she took a sharp turn onto an even lower level, one that nearly skimmed the surface of the sea. Foaming waves towered against the sky.

The SRV sped along the ramp at nearly sea level.

Massive tongues of water splashed across the ramp's surface and pulled away, leaving behind thick tangles of a strange kelplike substance that gave off an eerie red luminescence.

Stuff looks slippery. Hit some of that on a sharp turn and ... good-bye.

In spite of a few reckless turns, the single speeder behind them kept up and now was gradually shortening the distance. Annie had no doubt that the driver was in communication with the troop ship, giving his exact location so they could send out more speeders and intercept her.

Only a matter of time ...

"Still can't get a clear shot," Jordan said over the headset. "If you got to a straight section. Even for a few seconds..."