Free The Escape by Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch

jumping in. They may have sensors, so stay out of phase." Drickel nodded. "Well then, it's time I go scare them away." He tossed his bag on the orange chair, then sat beside it. He grinned at Noughi. "Anything else I should know?" "Just my Real Time address," she said. "I'll code it into your files." "If it's anywhere crowded, you'll have to visit him," Red said. Her smile was warm. "All he has to do is ask." Drickel smiled in return. He would ask-after he checked her files. The open collar was intriguing but the shoes hinted at some values he didn't hold. He waved his hand. She nodded and pressed a panel on her board. The next thing he knew he was in blackness.
    He swore softly to himself as he fumbled around on his belt. After so many years in the business, it was amazing that he never remembered to turn on a lamp before he jumped.
    Kjanders attached himself to three different family groups near the old shuttle, trying to pretend as if he belonged. If one of the parents looked at him, he would move on. The key was to look involved, but not too involved. He managed to keep himself near the shuttle and no orange suit had even noticed him.
    Not yet anyway.
    He wa only about ten meters away from the shuttle when he heard it whir. A burst of excitement ran 72 through him. He sprinted across the pavement and managed to get up the ramp as it was rising.
    He slipped into one of the seats as the door snapped shut. The lights went on, and the whirring continued. This old thing sounded as if it would fall apart at any second.
    He clung to the seat edge, the thick old padding separating under the pressure of his fingers.
    The hardest part was over. He was jumping three hundred thousand years to where a PlanetHopper ship was waiting. He'd get lost in the crowds and then figure out a way onto the PlanetHopper ship. The old ship lifted, then settled back down with a soft thump. He got out of his seat, picking bits of stuffing from his nails. If he got away from this ship, Control would never find him. He would be completely free. He stood beside the door ready to amble slowly down the ramp as if he belonged there. The door opened and the blast of cold, dry air hit him. He pulled his collar shut and moved forward.
    The howl of a wind greeted him, blowing dust and sand into his eyes. He wiped his face, unease settling in his stomach. Normally, he heard the whir of ships, the dull murmur of conversation even before he stepped out the door.
    Here only the wind greeted him.
    They must have found a way to dampen sound. He walked down the ramp, and stopped halfway.
    There were no people.
    The transport buildings were nothing more than piles of rubble. 70 All the shuttles were parked in place.
    And most of them were obviously too broken-down to ever be used. He was trapped in a future he didn't recognize. He glanced up, looking for the PlanetHoppers' ship, but he saw nothing above him except the gray overcast sky.
    CAPTAIN JANEWAY CIRCLED AROUND THE BRIDGE ONCE, wishing she had more room to walk, to think. When she reached the captain's chair, she sat down and turned her own armchair console toward her.
    "Mr. Tuvok," she said, "I want you to maintain a lock on that humanoid. I want to know each time he takes a breath. Mr. Paris, I want you to scan for any anomalies in the area.
    Chakotay, see if you can find our away team underground, aboveground, or floating in the atmosphere. I want answers, people." She manipulated her console for answers on her own. The short flight of the ship disturbed her. She suspected that the ship was a mask for some other kind of transportation. Perhaps its small motion triggered a transporter or opened a hole underground. ell "Captain," Thkov said, "the humanoid has left the ship and is standing on the ramp. I do not know what its intentions are, nor do I know what kind of creature it is. It appears to be male: six feet, four inches tall, and not that significantly different from other humanoids. It does have eight