'TWO! I CAN SEE TWO ships!'

Lieutenant Patel looked up from the spread of maps across the table to see the Rodhite lookout officer galloping down from the cliff edge that hung over the shore meters below.

'Are they ours?' he demanded, moving a paperweight on top of the maps before ducking out of the tent and walking toward the centaur.

'They look right.' The officer offered an arm to Patel who seized it, swinging up onto the centaur's broad back. Around them the ...