VOR 03 Island of Power Read online

  “So how do I get that island to leave my head?” Stephanie asked.

  “You don’t,” he said. “You just leave it there, work around it, live with it.”

  “Like a tumor that isn’t growing, but isn’t shrinking,” Stephanie said.

  “Yeah,” he said, not liking the image at all. But he supposed it was accurate.

  They stared in silence out over the black ocean as the waves pounded the beach in front of them. Then, finally, Stephanie took his arm and turned them both back toward home. Then, just before they took the path toward the facility, Stephanie stopped and turned to look out over the ocean one more time.

  “It’s gone.”

  Hank knew it wasn’t a question. It was just a statement.

  “It’s gone,” he said.

  But the memory, the data gleaned from its short presence on Earth, would live on in the Union. As would the memory of those who’d died to bring that treasure home.

  It was the way of war. Hank knew that. He didn’t like it, but he knew it.

  “Let’s go,” Stephanie said, turning away from the ocean. “I’ve got some work to do tomorrow.”

  “So do I.”

  He gave her a hug as they walked up the sandy trail, the ocean, the cold wind, and the memory of the island at their backs.

  About the Author

  Dean Wesley Smith

  is the best-selling author of over forty novels and hundreds of short stories. He’s written novels in the gaming world including Shadow Warrior and Unreal. He did the original script for the live action game Star Trek: Klingon, as well as the novelization. His most recent novel is Men in Black: The Green Saliva Blues. Dean has also been a publisher and editor and is currently editing a Star Trek anthology called Strange New Worlds for Pocket Books. His work has been nominated for every major award in science fiction and fantasy, including the World Fantasy Award, Nebula Award, Stoker Award, Locus Award, and four times for the Hugo Award. He has won both the Locus Award and a World Fantasy Award.