Tonight the Light
an excerpt

Lt. Maxwell steps into the room. He starts to salute.

Darien frowns.

Lt. Maxwell's arm snaps to his side. With his tousled blond hair and fresh American complexion, he looks like a dressup doll playing soldier.

Darien presses his fingers to his eyebrows, trying not to laugh. Laughing hurts.

"Sorry, sir. Habit. But I'm afraid Colonel Jusha is off limits for conversation."

Nixie says, "It's sad that they crashed, but it's slick that you can go through a black hole and come out someplace else on the other side of the galaxy."

Mya replies, "We don't know that. Maybe they blew up because you can't come back."

"They went out the other side," Nixie points out.

"We don't know that, either. We know we couldn't see them for a while, that's all. Maybe it just got around to spitting them out."

Lt. Maxwell says, "Sir. I'm very sorry, but I was explicitly told -- "

Darien decides words will be necessary. "Girls. That's enough."

Nixie pouts. Mya closes her eyes, patiently suffering.

Lt. Maxwell says, "It should only be another day or two before the trial's over. You'll be able to talk then."

The most interesting question of all. Will they keep him in the hospital for months, healing him, so he can walk to his execution healthy, or will they bring the lethal injection to his bedside?

"Do you think it will be that soon?" Mya asks the lieutenant.