"Yuri," came a startled radio voice, "what in hell is going on! You can't—"
"Portside cluster, outboard. Rpm up," he continued in Russian, his voice halting. "We have P-O ignition."
"Yuri, you can't—?"
"Starboard cluster, inboard. Bringing up. Portside cluster, inboard—"
"Androv, for godsake, have you gone mad?"
"Sergei, I told them to clear the hangar. I'm taking her to full power."
"The liquid hydrogen tanks are in there. You could blow the whole hangar to hell if you use afterburners. You must be crazy!"
"The bastards gunned him down, Sergei." He caught a sob. "It was my fault. I should have warned—"
"What are you talking about? Gunned who down?"
But Yuri Androv's mind was already elsewhere, drifting into a grief-obsessed dream state.