They set down their cups and waited as Kingsley went to answer it. They heard his roar of excitement and quick fire of rumbling questions. Then he was striding back into the room.
"My assistant, Jensen, was up in the observatory just now," he shouted at them. "He spotted five ships coming in, only a few hours out. Police ships!”
Herb had lifted his cup and now with a clatter it fell to the table, breaking. The liquor dripped to the floor.
Gary flared at him. "What's the matter with you?" he asked. "You get the shakes every time you get anywhere near a drink.”
"That message Gary got," Tommy was saying. "There must have been something wrong. Maybe the ships were out near Neptune when they were ordered out here.”
"What would they be doing out near Neptune?" snapped Herb.
Tommy shrugged. "Police ships are always snooping around," he said. "You find them everywhere.”
They stared at one another in a deathly silence.
"They can't stop us now," whispered Caroline. "They just can't.”
"There's still a couple of hours before the space warp contact with the Engineers would be broken if we set it up now," said Tommy. "Maybe we could make it. The ship is ready.”