Dragonback 06 Dragon and Liberator

  The lieutenant's eyes nicked to Frost. "There's not much to tell, sir," he said. His voice, if anything, had gone a little stiffer.

  "Really?" Neverlin asked, looking at Frost again. "I understand he was off his post in the starboard weapons bay when Morgan and the K'da killed everyone else in there. Coincidence?"

  "He'd left his post to try to contact the control complex," the lieutenant said. "He thought the one in the weapons bay had failed. He was on the intercom in fire control when the attack took place."

  "Lucky for him," Neverlin said. "I also understand he walked right past Morgan when he first sneaked aboard without recognizing him. Was he looking for a working intercom then, too?"

  "I've read that report," Frost spoke up before the lieutenant could answer. "It looks like he was simply preoccupied with other matters and never actually focused on Morgan."

  "He didn't focus on him?"

  "Morgan's KK-29 had already been cleared," Frost said. "There was no reason—"

  "Cleared by your men."

  "No reason for him to expect an enemy to pop out of the thing," Frost finished stubbornly. "And bear in mind a couple of dozen Brummgas passed him, too, and didn't think anything of it."

  "Brummgas are incompetents," Neverlin growled. "I expect something more from Malison Ring mercenaries."

  "We have Langston under confinement while we investigate his performance," Frost said. "If it turns out he's acted improperly, we'll deal with him."

  "And if it turns out he's acting with Morgan?"

  Frost's face darkened. "Then we'll definitely deal with him."

  "Very commendable of you," Neverlin said acidly "Considering it was you who brought him aboard in the first place."

  "And it was Harper's friend the Patri Chookoock who brought the Brummgas aboard," Frost countered. "And you who brought the Valahgua aboard. If we're going to start passing out blame for this fiasco, I think there's more than enough to go around."

  Neverlin's eyes flicked to the lieutenant, as if he suddenly realized their quarrel had an audience. "You're dismissed, Lieutenant," he growled. "Return to the Foxwolf. And find Morgan and the K'da!"

  "Yes, sir." Turning to Frost, the lieutenant threw him a crisp salute. Then he turned and strode out of the office.

  The door closed behind him, and for a moment there was silence. "Well, gentlemen," Neverlin said, sitting down at last in his desk chair. "Suggestions?"

  "Obviously, the first thing we need to do is get the rotten apples out of there," Frost said. "Starting with Morgan and his friend."

  "And how exactly do you intend to do that?" Harper asked. "Lieutenant Pickering's already tried the sensor route without getting anywhere. You really want to send your men into that hull-gap area to hunt for them?"

  "I was thinking more of sending in some serious firepower," Frost countered. "If it didn't kill them it would at least keep them pinned down."

  "I understand Pickering and the Brummgas tried that, too," Harper said. "The problem is that the K'da knows the ship far better than we do."

  "So what do you suggest?" Neverlin asked him.

  "Maybe we can draw them out some other way," Harper said. "I could try my Virgil Morgan impression, see if I can get Jack to show himself. At least maneuver him into a trap where we can grab him."

  "Grab?" Neverlin asked, raising his eyebrows. "Not kill?"

  "Grab," Harper said firmly. "If the K'da's not with him, we'll need a live hostage to draw him out." He smiled tightly. "Besides, the Patri Chookoock still wants to talk to Jack about his friend Alison Kayna."

  "Does he, now," Neverlin said, his voice suddenly thoughtful. "Did I ever mention that I called the Patri a few days ago, after we went on ECHO?"

  Harper shrugged. "You'd said you were going to."

  "And I did," Neverlin said. "Would you like to know what he told me?"

  It seemed to Taneem that a hint of a frown crossed Harper's face. "I assume he confirmed my story."

  "Actually, I never talked to him," Neverlin said. "Somehow, the communications to the Chookoock family estate were always out."

  Harper grunted. "That's Brummgan efficiency for you."

  "Perhaps." Neverlin lifted a finger.

  And suddenly there was a gun in Frost's hand.

  Pointed squarely at Harper.

  "Or perhaps it was someone else's efficiency," Neverlin went on quietly. "Someone with the resources of, say, Braxton Universis. So Braxton sent you to track me down, did he?"

  For a moment Harper studied Neverlin's face, as if he was trying to decide what to say. Then, he gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "Actually, my job was to locate Alison Kayna. He has a whole army of other people working on you."

  "I'm flattered," Neverlin said. "What's Alison Kayna to him?"

  "A corporate thief," Harper said. "She stole an especially important trade secret. He wants it back."

  "Of course he does," Neverlin said, in a tone that suggested that he didn't believe a word of it. "Well, we'll see. Colonel?"

  Keeping his eyes and gun on Harper, Frost reached over to Neverlin's desk and touched a button on the intercom. "This is Frost," he said. "Close and drop ship."

  "Wait a minute," Harper said, the first signs of concern or uncertainty crossing his face. "What are you doing?"

  "If you're fronting for Braxton, he must have a way of tracking you," Neverlin said. "That's why we just spent six days chasing our tails through hyperspace, actually. Now we say good-bye to your ship and head for the rendezvous point."

  "This isn't it?" Harper asked. This time, there was no doubt about the concern in his face.

  "You didn't really think I'd take you anywhere important on nothing but your word, did you?" Neverlin asked scornfully. "I hope Braxton's people bring enough supplies to have themselves a party. That's all they're going to get here."

  "Essenay closed," a voice came from the intercom. "Confirm drop."

  "Drop confirmed," Frost said.

  Taneem didn't hear anything, but she felt the duct around her give a slight lurch. "Essenay away," the intercom said. "Drifting free and clear."

  "Acknowledged," Frost said. He touched another intercom button. "All ships: you're cleared to proceed to rendezvous point. Repeat: all ships to rendezvous point. Go on ECHO when ready."

  There were a dozen acknowledgments from a dozen different voices. "May I ask what you intend to do with me?" Harper asked as Frost shut down the intercom.

  "That's entirely up to you," Neverlin said. "If you behave yourself, you might even live through all this."

  Harper lifted his eyebrows. "Really."

  "Really," Neverlin assured him. "You know a great deal about Braxton's security setup, knowledge that could come in handy when I'm ready to make my move against him."

  "You really think I'll give any of that up?"

  "I'm sure you will," Neverlin said casually. "With the proper persuasion, of course."

  There was a beep from the intercom. "Mr. Neverlin, all ships except our fighter escort have gone on ECHO," the Advocatus Diaboli's captain reported.

  "Thank you, Captain," Neverlin said. "Signal the escort to follow, and take us out."

  He clicked off the intercom. "And now it's time for you to go back into storage," he added, gesturing to Harper. "The guards outside will escort you to your stateroom."

  "As you wish," Harper said, standing up. "You realize, of course, that this little maneuver has just given Morgan and Draycos more time to sabotage the Foxwolf."

  "Hardly," Neverlin said. "It's only another two hours from here to the rendezvous point. I doubt even they can do much damage in that short a time."

  "Not to mention that they've already done as much as they can," Frost said. He smiled. "Though not nearly as much as they think they have."

  "But that's not your concern," Neverlin said. "Good-bye, Mr. Harper."

  "Good-bye, Mr. Neverlin," Harper said. Inclining his head briefly to both Neverlin and Frost, he turned to the door and keyed it op
en. Peering through the grille, Taneem caught a glimpse of several armed humans waiting outside in the corridor.

  The door closed behind him. "You think he'll behave?" Frost asked, putting away his gun.

  "I doubt it," Neverlin said. "But he hasn't got the time or resources to make the kind of trouble he'd like to."

  "You should let me kill him now."

  "We'll wait," Neverlin said firmly. "An interrogation would be useful, and it might provide us an opportunity of seeing how the Valahgua handle such matters."

  "As you wish." Frost made a face. "In the meantime, we still have Morgan and his K'da to worry about."

  "Yes," Neverlin said, stroking his cheek. "A shame we didn't bring one of the other K'da/Shontine ships along. We could have transferred the Foxwolf's personnel to it and then given our new ships some target practice."

  "That would have been nice," Frost agreed. "But we can still have half of it. Once we're at the rendezvous, we could transfer everyone to the troop carrier and then open the Foxwolf to vacuum. That should do the trick."

  "Eventually," Neverlin said, a bit doubtfully. "Remember that the K'da knows the ship. If there are vac suits or safe rooms anywhere aboard, he'll know where to find them."

  "A temporary fix only," Frost assured him. "We've already removed all the Foxwolf's lifepods, and any other oxygen supply they find isn't likely to last more than a few hours."

  "Will that give us time for the refitting?" Neverlin asked.

  "If necessary, the Brummgas can start the job in vac suits," Frost said.

  "Assuming we want the Brummgas handling that job."

  "What, Harper's story about traitors in the ranks?" Frost scoffed.

  "Someone did apparently try to get into my office," Neverlin reminded him. "Mrishpaw or someone else."

  "Fine—my men can do it," Frost said, starting for the door. "I'll go clear the plan change with the Lordhighest."

  "But don't tell him why," Neverlin said. "We don't want our guests thinking we're not all friendly trusting allies together."

  "Right." With a tight smile, Frost left the room.

  Taneem waited another minute, wondering if Neverlin would use the intercom to give any more orders. But he merely pulled out some papers and began to study them. Backing away from the grille, she found a place where it was safe to talk. "Alison?" she whispered.

  "Yes, I heard," Alison said. "Get back here as quickly as you can. We need to get ready."

  Taneem felt her muscles tense up. "We're going to battle to save Jack and Draycos?"

  "We're going to save them," Alison said. "Hopefully, without a battle."

  "How?"

  "You'll see," Alison said. "Trust me." She paused. "Trust me," she said again, very softly.

  CHAPTER 21

  Two hours later, the Advocatus Diaboli came off ECHO in the midst of the rest of the fleet waiting at the rendezvous point.

  And Alison was ready.

  "We'll be leaving?" Taneem asked timidly from inside Alison's shirt.

  "Yes," Alison said, sparing a moment from the lifepod's controls to glance down at the flat dragon head gazing up at her through her collar. Despite Alison's explanation, the K'da probably didn't really grasp what it was they were about to do.

  Or else she knew full well what they were about to do and was wondering how they were going to live through it. "You'll leave before I will, though," Alison added. "In about a minute, you're going back into the ducts and getting as far away from this side of the ship as you can."

  "Because when the lifepod leaves the ship, the ducts here will be closed off," Taneem said.

  At least she'd gotten that part clear. "Because of the hole we melted in the duct, yes," Alison confirmed. "Popping the lifepod will open the duct to vacuum, and the system will react by isolating this area."

  "But then how will you escape?"

  "I'll already be out in the corridor," Alison said, feeling a flicker of impatience. They'd already been over this part of the plan twice. "There will still be air out there."

  "But you'll also be isolated from the rest of the ship," Taneem said. "You'll be trapped here."

  Alison grimaced. So Taneem did understand what they were going to do. "You have to trust me, Taneem," she said. "You just concentrate on getting yourself to safety."

  "And then find you afterward?"

  "Yes, but don't push your luck on that," Alison said. "You've got six hours—plenty of time for us to touch base again. You get yourself safe, and leave everything else to me."

  She felt Taneem's tail flick against her leg. "I have been honored to be your friend, Alison," the K'da said quietly. "If we don't survive . . ."

  "We'll survive, Taneem," Alison assured her.

  Alison looked back at the lifepod's navigational display. The troop carrier was maneuvering close to the Foxwolf now, getting ready for Neverlin's planned transfer of the K'da/Shontine ship's crew and passengers. The Advocatus Diaboli itself was moving into the third point of the triangle, driven no doubt by Neverlin's usual desire to supervise everything.

  Alison smiled to herself. Frost probably figured that removing the Foxwolf 's lifepods had eliminated the last obstacle to his plan for asphyxiating Jack and Draycos.

  He was about to find out otherwise.

  "Here we go," she said, lifting her hand to the hole in the duct.

  With a surge of weight on her hand, Taneem slid off into the duct. "Hang on," Alison said, crossing to the packet she'd made of her comm clip and the equipment they'd borrowed from inside Harper's ventilation grille. Heading back to the duct, she maneuvered it through the hole. "Remember, as far across the ship as you can get," she reminded the K'da. "All the way on the far side would be best. And don't stop by any of the red-edged sections of duct—those are the emergency seals."

  "Which could cut me in half," Taneem said. "Yes, I remember. Alison—"

  "Be careful, and I'll see you soon," Alison cut her off. "Now scoot."

  For a moment Alison could see a hint of gray scales in the gloom. Then, the scales stirred and were gone.

  Alison returned to the lifepod's helm and sat down, giving her program one last check. All was ready. She counted out ninety seconds to let Taneem get some distance, then flipped up the protective cover on the drive control. "Incoming," she muttered, and threw the switch.

  Instantly, the raucous clamoring of the separation alarm filled the lifepod. Getting up, she crossed to the door and slapped the release. It slid open, and she ducked out into the corridor.

  The door slid closed. Three seconds later there was the multiple thud of explosive bolts as the lifepod blew free of the hull.

  The decompression alarm hooted, and from all directions came the sound of multiple thuds as emergency seals slid into place across the various corridors around her. Over the alarm's bellowing Alison could hear the sudden hiss as her section was flooded with oxygen.

  The hissing ended quickly as the damaged duct was sealed off and the sensors realized the corridor itself wasn't leaking air. Alison thought about sitting down, decided she'd rather meet Frost's men on her feet, and settled in to wait.

  She didn't have to wait very long. Three minutes later, with another set of somewhat softer thuds, the emergency seals slid back into their slots.

  And waiting behind them, their weapons drawn and ready, were a half-dozen men in Malison Ring uniforms. They spotted her, and at least three jaws dropped in expressions of stunned disbelief.

  "Hello, Dumbarton," Alison said, nodding to the owner of one of those jaws. "Come on; come on. Frisk me or whatever you have to do, and then take me to Frost and Neverlin. They'll want to see me."

  "Oh yes," Dumbarton said. His look of astonishment, she noted uneasily, was rapidly turning into one of malicious anticipation. "I'm sure they will."

  She had thought they might take her to Neverlin's office for a more private chat. Instead, Dumbarton and his team escorted her to the Advocatus Diaboli's bridge.

  After frisking her fo
r weapons, of course, rather more roughly than they really had to.

  They reached the bridge to find Neverlin and Frost with their angry faces already in place. Alison expected Frost to get in the first word, and she wasn't disappointed. "Well, well," he said, his voice darkly sarcastic. "Why am I not surprised to see you?"

  "Oh, come on, now—be honest," Alison chided him. "There's no way you aren't surprised to find me on your ship."

  "Fine. I'm surprised." Frost nodded his head toward Neverlin. "Shall we just kill her now?"

  "She certainly deserves it," Neverlin agreed. His voice, unlike Frost's, was utterly calm and cool.

  Alison focused past Neverlin's shoulder on the main ship's display. He was right, she had to admit. By his and Frost's standards, she probably did deserve to die.

  The troop carrier was a mess. The deep dent her lifepod had made when it rammed into the ship's side was trailing tendrils of smoke and debris from a dozen different cracks in the hull. Through some of those cracks she could see a fiery glow, showing that some of the interior oxygen seals hadn't quite done their job.

  "What I actually deserve is thanks," she said, looking back at Neverlin. "If I'd let you continue with this bonehead plan to kill Morgan's pet K'da, both of you would have ended up roasting over a slow fire."

  "Really," Neverlin said. "And who, pray tell, was going to set up this roasting pit?"

  "Don't tell us—let me guess," Frost said sarcastically. "You're working for the Patri Chookoock, right?"

  "Hardly," Alison said, putting as much contempt into her voice as she could. "You know, you two are incredibly dense. Especially you, Colonel. You at least knew I'd been poking around one of the Malison Ring training centers."

  "Is that what you call it?" Frost countered. "Poking around?"

  "Also known as gathering evidence of misconduct by the base's commandant," Alison said. "But even without that, my name should have been enough for you. Alison? Malison?"

  "Lock her up," Neverlin said, signaling to Dumbarton. We'll decide what to do with her after—"

  "You blithering fools," Alison cut him off, glaring back and forth between them. "You still don't understand, do you? The Malison Ring was named for me."