"Impossible," Raphael said. "Even if the Prince of Tyre traveled here with her interstellar warp drives pushed to their limits, there's no way they could have gotten here in seven days."
"Nine," Glicki corrected. "According to the date the base commander wrote in his journal, whoever they rendezvoused with, they met with them nine days after Lucifer was reported dead."
Raphael stared at the images of the handwritten journal. Nine days. It would take two weeks to travel that distance for any known ship except a living needle-ship to make that journey. Whoever had rendezvoused with the Free Marid smugglers, not only had they bamboozled them out of their trade goods, but then they had likely doubled back to kill them.
"What did the Alliance Phoenix do with the bodies," Raphael asked.
"We
