Raven all but flapped wings, and true to her
name, took off. To the hundreds who watched
from the station's portholes, the escape was
real. The cover might hold.

The alarms went out from the Guardian Station to
Sector Space Guard, and from there to a patroller
conveniently distant.

Messages spunneled throughout the sector and
to Earth and Luna: "Escape of dangerous felons,",
"Sabotage of station surveillance system,",
"Station 15 unable to respond in time," or
"Immediate pursuit and capture essential" with
abundant 'Expedites' and 'ASAPs' scattered
throughout the text.

The scenario was exquisite. The word was out,
and within hours, had spread system-wide.

##

A couple of million kay out, Ram's men boarded
a well-stocked lifeboat and headed back to a
prearranged pick-up. The Raven settled into
outbound, Brad aware of an opportunity to merge
with traffic at a not too distant spunnel gate.

##

Brad brought his mind back to the present as
the flitter settled on the landing pad near air lock
22. Entering the pressure compartment and attaining
atmospheric balance the Sentinels removed their
suits and sealed them in wall lockers. The switch
of weapons and holsters to clips on their inner
coveralls completed, they strolled out of the
storage room and mingled with a throng of citizen
commuters. Moments later they were on a moving
transit strip on their way to beautiful downtown
Coldfield.

The strip cut across and through narrow streets
and alleys lined with huts fused from the gray
detritus of the planet.

Occasionally, a mall or square appeared along the
transit route, lined with workshops, playgrounds,
and colorful private houses or apartment complexes.
Occasionally, they passed a dwarf tree or a
flowering shrub in an earth-filled container.

Running and leaping alongside the moving strip as
it passed slowly through stations, hawkers waved
and shouted at the commuters and passers-by,
inviting them to examine and purchase the novelties
and artefacts they waved about or in nearby open
air stalls. From above, lighted globes, strung close
beneath the dome, cast a harsh, grotesque glare
across the city.

People swarmed, and a raucous clamor shrilled along
the tightly packed streets and alleys. Men, women
and children in all shapes and sizes: tall, short,
stocky, slender, organic, bionic, robotic, and
combinations thereof. Hairstyles ranged from
totally shaved skulls to elaborate hair-puffs, an