Tallyn glared at the holograms scrolling up from Marcon’s console, his eyes narrowed and brow furrowed. Vengeance had dropped out of the Net only to find the slaver station abandoned and no ships in sight. They had been forced to wait for a signal to reach them from Rayne’s beacon, a tense few minutes during which many feared the worst. Then the welcome flash of the signal appeared on Marcon’s console, and a new course was set. The destination puzzled Tallyn, and he tried to discern the Shrike’s actions.
“Perhaps only a crew and Rayne are on the ship,” he said. “We don’t know if that bastard is on it. I don’t see him putting himself in such danger. For what?”
“Maybe he still doesn’t know about the beacon,” Rawn suggested. “He might be simply fleeing.”
“Towards an Atlantean outpost?”
“An unguarded outpost. Perhaps he thinks it’s the last place you’d look for him.”
“No, I doubt that. He could have gone in any number of directions and ended up deeper inside his territory, with his ships to protect him. Instead he’s heading away from it. I might be tempted to think it’s a decoy, except she’s on that ship.” Tallyn made a tired gesture. “And he can’t know about the beacon, or he’d have jettisoned her already.”
“How can it be detected?”
“With a body scan. Any medical scanner that registers metal or microwaves will pick it up, but he won’t know it’s a beacon unless he detects its pulses, which he can’t unless he knows the frequency. Since most of the advanced races use cyber implants, there’s nothing unusual about it.”
Rawn gave a soft snort. “He might think it strange that she doesn’t know she has it, and therefore can’t possibly use it. You don’t think that might make him a little bit suspicious?”
“Why would he discuss it with her? I don’t think he talks to her at all. She’s just a commodity to him.”
“I hope you’re right, but it’ll be hard to keep Rayne quiet.”
Tallyn frowned at him. “Let’s hope she doesn’t annoy him too much. He’s a killer.”