*   *   *

“He’s right behind us, Commander.”

Sonya glanced at the screen—half of it showed Cardienne’s sun, whose outer edge they had almost reached, while the other half showed the view behind them. Two of the Androssi ships had moved to flank them, while the third traced their own path behind them. He thinks he’s got us trapped, she thought. Well, he’s in for a surprise.

“Distance to the sun,” she called out, and Tev answered quickly.

“Ten minutes, Commander.”

“All right—everybody get ready.” She tapped her combadge. “Captain, we’re entering the sun in ten minutes.”

“Roger that, Gomez,” came Gold’s reply. “We’ve got the marshmallows and hot dogs ready.”

“Don’t forget the sunscreen,” she said, then switched off and returned her attention to the screen. The sun filled the forward view completely, and a few minutes later it swallowed them up. The screen went white for a moment, then shifted into grays.

“What just happened?”

“The monitors operate on infrared,” Soloman explained from his computer console. “Within the sun, that’s useless—it’s all hot. The systems have shunted to a different viewing method as a result. It’s standard protocol for the ship.”

“Ah. Okay.” She forced her hands to release the armrests, and tried to convince herself that she was only sweating from anxiety and not from actual heat. She prided herself on being able to face any situation, but was willing to admit that deliberately diving into a sun wasn’t the safest thing they’d ever done.

“What’s our status, Tev?” she asked, and was pleased to see her second standing as calmly as ever. If something had been wrong, she had no doubt he’d be the first to tell her.

“All systems operating normally, Commander,” he said instead. “Internal temperature has risen one-point-two degrees, and is holding steady. Hull intact, with no signs of damage.” He frowned. “The tractor beam, however, has been demolished.”

Sonya laughed. “Well, I did warn Captain Gold about that. Guess we’ll have to put in at a starbase for a new one, once we get out of this. Which reminds me”—she glanced at the other half of the viewscreen again—“I wonder what our new friends think of our immolation?”