Tears of Jet

"She ambled into her cabin just as the landline vidphone chimed an incoming call. Nemara's left hand drew the glove from off her right, the hot, sticky plant sap blending with the sweat of her palm.

"Her right hand reached out to tap the answer button on the phone, but never got there.

"All sense of controlled motion in her body failed her. She slid into a drifting freefall that terminated sharply on the cold terrazzo floor."

Dr. Nemara Mervyn had much to learn about Nineball, a distant planet...