บท 18: Chapter 18

The strident sirens snapped her awake, but not in a bed or wrapped around Joe's naked body like she expected. She stared blankly at the console in front of her. The screen blinked and displayed several message boxes.

Warning! Security system deactivated.

Warning! Unidentified vessels approaching.

Warning! Missile impact in thirteen seconds.

Stunned, Chloe looked down to see her hands on the keyboard as if she'd just finished typing.

But typing what?

And where am I? In front of her was a bank of monitors, some scrolling numbers, others flashing warnings. A glance to her left and right showed more screens and control panels, along with glimpses of rock. So she was still on the asteroid, but where? She didn't recall coming to the room. Hell, she didn't even know what the room was, although she could wager a guess. But knowing the space she sat in acted as some kind of control center didn't answer the question of how she got there and what she'd just done.