The waves rose hundreds of feet from the surface. The gravity intensified, sucking at the bucking ship. Drake felt the ship straining, and he held his breath. “The wormhole is not far. Just this planet and three more and none of the others have quite the same pull.”
“Maybe it is the tide that makes it so strong,” Blade said as he peered down at the pulsing liquid fanning upward toward the ship. “Maybe if we waited?”
Talon said, “There’s no waiting for the tides to lessen. For all we know, they will just get stronger and this is the weakest that they ever are.”
Drake said, “They were stronger before. We need the thrusters.”
Talon considered that. “We may need them more later. We may need to use them for weapon fire if we find ourselves fighting.”
Drake wanted to shout to use the goddamn thrusters. He didn’t. Talon had a point. He had no idea what was behind that door; none of them did. If they had to use the thrusters to escape, it was far better to actually have them on hand.
They flew onward, past the grav pull, the ship trying its best to turn toward the planet, and all three of them fighting to keep it in line. Sweat broke out over Drake’s body and face. His breath got faster as they went sidling to the far right, nearly colliding with a flaming asteroid that hit the waters below and sent steam billowing up in a thick veiling curtain.
Then the gravity lessened. The sucking sensation slowed and then dropped away. Talon took a long breath and looked at Drake. “You did this twice? You must be out of your mind.”
Drake found he could breathe again, but Talon’s words gave him pause. Was this insanity brought on by his father’s insistence that Drake be a man whose name would be remembered?
Probably, but the door was real, and it was not far now.
Not far at all.
