Chispa

Chispa was so close to the comet that the filmy double tail could not been seen.

Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998

We were about halfway to Chispa when a tremendous burst of white light came from somewhere behind me.

Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998

Instead I had set a reciprocal course taking Chispa in the exact opposite direction.

Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998

I thanked him, pulled the data out of the ship's computer — unlike the lost saucy Chispa, El Plomazo communicated in stern masculine accents — and made a hard copy.

Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998

Chispa was still there but the starry sky behind her was obliterated by a massive shape that my ship-sensor feed pegged at over eleven kilometers overall length.

Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998

Since the tender was not a starship, it would have to travel home to its mommy using conventional sublight iner-tialess drive, while Chispa, with ultraluminal capability, had zippier options.

Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998

Chispa was actually traveling at over a billion kilometers an hour.

Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998

I exited Chispa, towing the other suit of armor behind me, and soared across the void to the homely red ship with the stylized galactic-spiral G logo on its flank.

Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998

Even though Chispa had superior subliminal drive capability and armament, the last thing I wanted was a running battle with the tender.

Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998

The odds were good that Zl's electromagnetic hyperactivity would conceal whatever small-scale maneuvering Chispa now did within the inner coma.

Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998