Greg sat down in a chair, gazed solemnly at Russ.
"Just what was our top speed?’ he demanded.
Russ grinned. “Ten thousand times the speed of light,” he said.
Greg whistled soundlessly. “A long way from home."
* * *
Far away, the stars were tiny pinpoints, like little crystals shining by the reflection of a light. Pinpoints of light and shimmering masses of lacy silver… star dust that seemed ghostly and strange, but was, in reality, the massing of many million mighty stars. And great empty black spaces where there was not a single light, where the dark went on and on and did not stop.
Greg exhaled his breath softly. “Well, were here."
"Wherever that might be,” amended Russ.
There were no familiar constellations, not a single familiar star. Every sign post of the space they had known was wiped out. “There really aren't any brilliant stars,” said Russ, “None at all. We must be in a sort of hole in space, a place that's relatively empty of any stars."
Greg nodded soberly. “Good thing we have those mechanical shadows. Without them we'd never find our way back home. But we have several that will lead us back."