* * *
Back to present
I pivoted back to face Cernan, standing beside Platov as Speransky moved up to my left, while the entire conflict seemed to close in from my right.
Speransky arrived beside me, clutching a short, hefty blade stained with red. I looked at him; his eyes sparkled, and a grin stretched across his face.
I introduced, "Speransky, this is Platov. Platov, meet Speransky. And over there is Count Cernan. Anyone got some snacks? Maybe a drink?"
The trio assigned to keep an eye on us didn't find my humor amusing, but they also didn't find it threatening enough to attack us. "Hand over your weapons," one of them ordered.
"Platov, any chance you can dismantle the barrier and get us out?"
"No," he said softly. "They've reinforced it since I last broke through."
"Too bad," I replied.
"If I had about thirty minutes—"
He might as well have asked for a lifetime. "I'll keep that in mind."
