Chapter 27: Belly of the Beast

Sneaking up to an unsuspecting craft, latching on, and unleashing a raiding party was the exact sort of thing Red Myra was built to do.

Red Myra's crew, however, wasn't used to descending into the gaping exit wound of a dead planet.

Etzli watched as the pirates, each and every one, held their breath as the ship began to creep into that dreadful carcass.

One pirate crossed her fingers and arms for luck. Another tossed salt. A third turned his heels and uttered some childhood rhymes, as if innocence from long ago might provide some sort of shield against lurking horrors.

Malcolm sighed. “Guys, stop. You’re embarrassing me.”

But Etzli had the feeling he was waiting to make his own good-luck gesture when no one was looking.

It was impossible for anyone to look at the cosmically gruesome sight before them and think they wouldn’t need all the help they could get.