Jordan sniffed.

"I already wish we had never found that crystal," Annie said.

Then, all was quiet.

And with the Road suddenly gone from an endless flat ribbon to something filled with twists and bumps, navigating unknown and unseen distortions of space and time, Ivan left the cockpit.

And Annie told herself: Whatever's waiting for us on Omega Nine, we'll find out soon enough.

"Just have to get us there in one piece," she whispered.

"You say something?" Jordan didn't look away from his screens.

Annie shook her head and held the wheel tightly as the Road became even more ragged.

"Nope."

33.

OMEGA NINE.

Time to sleep.

Annie hadn't had even a nap in almost forty-eight hours.

Forty-eight hours? Feels more like a week.

"You got the stick?" she asked Jordan as she pulled the lever to lower her seat back. The footrest kicked up, and she was prone. The foam-filled cushion adjusted to her weight and position, surrounding her in comfort.

Jordan grunted, then said, "Yeah. Took a som-tab a couple of hours ago. I'm good."

"You sure?"

"I said I'm good."

Annie rolled her head up and down but still felt too wired to fall asleep quickly. Maybe a som-tab was the answer.

A lot to think about-transporting a thief with World Council materials, harboring and even abetting a supposedly convicted felon.

And a load of materials and passengers that she needed to deliver safely to their destination.

"Do you think the passengers are-"

"They're fine. Everyone's fine. Now get some rest. I got this."

Annie grunted and nestled her head into the seatback.

It did feel good to rest ... to let her mind and body go.

And soon enough, she was in a deep asleep, so deep, she didn't even dream.

Sinjira-about to sleep-knew she would dream.

Chip enough, and dreams became a constant, merging with reality.

After helping Rodriguez-who didn't seem like such a bad guy, after all-she settled down to sleep.

The tension of the Road trip so far had weighed on her.

It was one thing to put on a front and live the life of an adrenaline-crazed Chippie, providing "experiences" for other people.

But now, out here, on the far edges of the Road, where shit got real very fast?

She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing ... slow ... steady ... in ... out ...

She drifted in a warm, comfortable place. The white noise of the SRV lulled her deeper ... deeper ... until- A face suddenly loomed up in front of her.

"McGowan!"

The image of the dead man's face resolved more clearly, and she saw not flesh and blood, but gears and flywheels and blinking lights, all merging to form the man's features.

Not the real man!

She sat up suddenly, a ragged intake of breath. The dream image vanishing.

Momentarily disoriented, she didn't know where she was. The light in the passengers' cabin had been dimmed, and everyone-everyone, that is, except that Seeker-was sound asleep.

Even her outcry hadn't awakened them.

"You all right?" the Seeker asked.

It won't hurt you to be nice to her. She's just showing concern.

Sinjira licked her lips, feeling their dry texture.

"Yeah," she said, her voice a froglike croak. "Just a..."

"Bad dream?"

The image of McGowan's face lingered in her memory, filling her with a feeling of dread.

It was all but impossible to describe, but she had the feeling it hadn't been a dream.

No. It had been a vision ... or something.

Somehow she had experienced a kind of connection with the man she knew, for a fact, was dead.

"We all have ghosts inside us," Ruth said.

Sinjira nodded.

A ghost. A phantom.

Or ... something else?

A warning?

One thing for sure, though-she wasn't going to get to sleep now.

So she popped a stim-cap.

The view out in front of SRV-66 suddenly changed.

The shimmering, rotating lights of the portal appeared in the distance. Jordan, starting to feel the strain of sleep deprivation himself, nudged Annie's shoulder.

"Hey. Captain. Time to wake up."

He watched Annie's eyes open, crusty with sleep and cloudy.

She could have used more sleep. But running the Road, you got used to grabbing a few winks when you could.

She looked confused for a moment. Then-in a flash-she was awake.

"How long was I out?"

"Few hours."

"Everything okay?"

"Couldn't be better."

He reached down and made slight adjustments in preparation for the jump through the portal.

"Passengers quiet?"

"Not a peep."

He nodded at the display showing the immobilized Nahara. His eyes were closed, but Jordan doubted he was asleep.

"But we're coming up on Omega Nine."

"Okay," Annie said, a chill hitting her gut. Then: "I'll take over from here."

Jordan nodded. The captain was back in charge.

Annie pressed a button on the side of her chair, and with a faint hum, the back and footrest retracted, shifting her to a sitting position.

Jordan, like Annie, wanted to drop their passengers and supplies, deal with Nahara as quickly as possible, and get the hell back on the Road to home.

Maybe getting too old for this, wanting to get back to Earth.

Maybe this Road trip was just a bit too much fun.

A fleeting thought. He knew well enough that he'd never settle down. Maybe he was feeling low because-after the mad race out of Hydra Salim-now there wasn't enough going on.

Annie took over the controls, and he settled back in his chair.

"You strapped in?" Annie asked.

Jordan nodded, then watched as Annie flipped the button for the intercom.

"Attention passengers. We're approaching our final destination, Omega Nine. Please make sure your harnesses are secure. We'll be landing soon."

She keyed off the intercom.

Then Jordan saw something on the security screen.

A face had appeared at the cockpit door.

Ivan.

Eyebrows raised-a silent question-Jordan glanced at Annie and pointed at the screen.

"Let him in. Let's hear what he has to say."

"You like getting banged around on takeoffs and landings?" Annie asked, looking at him. "You heard my announcement. Take your-"

"I'm fine where I am," Ivan replied.

Up ahead, the spinning light of the approaching portal grew closer, filling the screens. Jordan ran through automatic readouts.

Annie stayed focused on piloting her SRV, adjusting speed and vector to make as smooth a landing as possible.

There was a moment where everything felt like it was shrinking ... contracting into an infinitely small point, and then-like that-they were through the portal and on the runway.

A glance at Ivan, who was tightening his grip to keep from swaying around too much.