Just then the chief astrogator burst upon them, running from inside the cantonment. His strides were labored, his breath wheezing in his chest. He saw Gavin and shouted: "The ship's being attacked! They've radioed the cantonment for help!"
"Who by?"
"X's men!" The chief astrogator began to run down the paved highway toward the Nova and was swallowed by the fog.
Gavin heard something whine through the air. He flung himself flat on his face, shouting at Nadia, "Down! They're shelling the cantonment!"
The shell burst out of sight in the fog. A blast of air hit him like a wall of water.
Nadia sat up, her face smudged where she'd groveled in the dirt. She was cursing like a spaceman.
Gavin yanked her to her feet. "Clear out!" He began to haul her away from the doomed cantonment.
Another shell lobbed over their heads to explode directly behind them. Gavin's hands were torn from the girl. He was blown a dozen feet by the blast.
He lay where he lit, knowing nothing, feeling nothing.