Dragonback 04 Dragon and Herdsman (7 page)

"I'll take your word for it," Jack said, still pretending he
couldn't quite focus on his tattoo. "Huh. That's funny."

"More than just funny," Alison said. "Where did you say you got
that done?"

"I didn't say," Jack said. "If you must know, it was in a little
shop in New Paris on Gaullia."

"Mm," Alison said, looking again at the dancing K'da. "I wonder
how the artist could have known about Phookas."

"Maybe he knows some Erassvas," Jack said. This really wasn't a
topic he wanted to get into. "Or maybe he just had a good book about
dragons. So where are your friends?"

"My friends?"

"The people you said you'd be rendezvousing with."

"Oh. Them." Alison peered up at the small patches of sky that
could be seen through the tangle of tree branches. "Not here,
obviously."

"No kidding," Jack said. "You sure you've got the right place?"

"This is definitely it," she assured him. "They could just be
late." She made a face. "Or
they
could have gone to the wrong
spot."

"I don't suppose you thought to bring a comm clip."

"Actually, I did," she said, a little coolly. "And I've already
tried. If they're here, they must be out of range."

"How about we run it through the
Essenay
's comm?" Jack
suggested. "It's got a lot more range. In fact, why don't we just go
ahead and pop the ship into orbit? That way we can cover half the
planet at a single gulp "

"Worth a try," Alison agreed, getting to her feet and brushing
some stray leaves off her jeans. "Is there any trick to starting up the
engines?"

"There's no trick," Jack said. "There's also no need." He tapped
his comm clip. "Unc—computer?"

"Computer," Uncle Virge's voice came back instantly.

"I need you to take the ship into low orbit and do an ID
broadcast," Jack said. "Alison's comm clip frequency is—" He looked up
at her and raised his eyebrows.

"Why don't I just go aboard and plug it in?" she suggested. "I
don't like giving comm clip info to strangers."

"And
I
don't like strangers alone in my ship." Jack
countered. "Just give me the frequency, okay?"

"Fine," she said crossly, digging a comm clip from inside her
shirt and tossing it to him. "Whatever."

Jack caught it and peered at the markings on the back. "Okay, here
it is." He read off the frequency and pattern specs. "Start with a
parabolic upper-atmosphere dip," he went on, tossing the clip back to
Alison. "If you don't get an answer, expand it to a complete orbit."

"Acknowledged," Uncle Virge said hesitantly. "With all due
respect, Master Jack—"

"Carry out your instructions," Jack cut him off. Normal P/S
computers never argued with their owners. Uncle Virge, in contrast,
never seemed to do anything but. Even if Alison hadn't been standing
right there listening, Jack was in no mood to listen to the computer
personality's objections. "Alison, what message should he send?"

"Just the word 'winderlake,' " she said. "If he hears the response
'harborlight,' mark the location and let me know."

"You get that?" Jack asked Uncle Virge.

"Acknowledged."

"Then get going." Jack tapped off the comm clip and gestured to
the ground beside him. "Might as well get comfortable," he told Alison.
"This could take a while. You tried the berries yet?"

"No, and I don't think you should, either," she said, reluctantly
sitting down again. "There's something about the Erassvas' eyes that
weirds me out a little."

"Yeah, I noticed that, too," Jack said. "You think there's some
kind of mild narcotic in the berries?"

"Or maybe not so mild," Alison said. "And if it's strong enough to
affect people their size, it would probably kill either of us. If
you're hungry, I've got ration bars in my bag."

"Maybe later." Beyond the trees, he heard the hum as the
Essenay
lifted into the sky. "What are you going to do if they're not here?"

She shrugged. "Wait, I guess," she said. "That's why I bought all
that camping gear." She gestured at her bags. "You don't have to wait
with me if you don't want to."

"I don't, and I wasn't planning to," Jack said, feeling a twinge
of guilt. He knew how Draycos would feel about abandoning a companion
in the middle of nowhere, even a companion as loosely connected as
Alison. "But I might stick around another day or two, anyway."

"Well, don't mess up your schedule just for me," she said.
"Ah—show's over." She gestured toward the center of the clearing, where
the Phookas had finished their dance and were wandering away back into
the forest. "Let's see if the rest of the Erassvas come in for a second
performance."

"Looks to me like the cast is leaving the stage," Jack said.
"Maybe there's a dinner theater later for the—"

"Jack!" Uncle Virge's voice came suddenly from the comm clip.
"Incoming ships: one Kapstan long-range transport and two Djinn-90
pursuit fighters."

Jack's breath caught in his throat.
Djinn-90s
? "Get out of
there," he snapped. "Go to ground and hide."

"Too late—they see me," Uncle Virge said grimly. "I'm getting a
signal—"

There was the click of a relay. "Hello, Jack Morgan," a dark voice
said. "And your slippery uncle Virgil Morgan, too, I presume?"

Jack's first impulse was to lie, to use all of Uncle Virgil's
training to convince them that they had the wrong person. The
Essenay
was running under a false ID, after all. Maybe they weren't really sure
it was him.

But no. Neverlin's allies had had plenty of opportunity at
Brum-a-drum to record the
Essenay
's description and parameters.
They knew they had the right ship.

And that voice wasn't showing a single scrap of doubt. Lying about
it would just be a waste of effort. "Uncle's not here at the moment,"
Jack said instead. "Can I take a message?"

"Ah," the voice said. "So you're the boy who's been causing my
friend Mr. Neverlin such trouble."

"Mr. Neverlin hasn't exactly been giving me a free ride, either,"
Jack countered. "And you are . . .?"

"Colonel Maximus Frost of the Malison Rang," the voice said. "And
I'm very much looking forward to meeting you."

The comm clip went silent. Jack found himself staring down at
nothing, his throat tight, his stomach twisting into a knot of fear and
anger.

It couldn't be. How could the mercenaries possibly have tracked
the
Essenay
across the Orion Arm to this fifth-rate planet? How
could they possibly have known where to find him and Alison?

Alison.

Alison, who'd been so conveniently on the scene to spring him from
their trap. Alison, who'd noted and even commented on the
Essenay
's
InterWorld transmitter.

Alison, who'd talked him into coming to this nice little
out-of-the-way system in the first place. A place where he and Draycos
and the
Essenay
could quietly disappear.

Jack turned to look at her, expecting to see her Corvine pistol
leveled at his stomach, a triumphant smile on her face.

But the gun wasn't pointed at him. And her face was as taut and
horrified as he'd ever seen it. "Alison?" he asked carefully.

She twitched; and as if a mask had suddenly dropped into place,
the fear vanished from her expression. "I think we've got trouble," she
said.

"No kidding," Jack growled, scrambling to his feet. Dodging
between and around the strolling Erassvas, he sprinted back down the
path to the edge of the forest.

It was as bad as he'd expected. In the distance over the mountains
he could see the
Essenay
swooping and dodging through groups of
wispy clouds. The two Djinn-90s were right on its tail, their lasers
flashing as they tried to bring it down. "Uncle Virge?" he called. "How
are you doing?"

"I'm open to suggestions," the computer's voice came back.

"Try a
mirm preah
maneuver," Draycos said, his head rising
from Jack's skin and pressing against his shirt as the dragon gazed out
at the distant battle. "Break to your right. . .
now
."

The
Essenay
twisted sideways, dipping lower toward the
mountains below. The two pursuit fighters shifted course to stay on it,
and then suddenly the
Essenay
's nose dropped and the ship dived
straight down.

Jack caught his breath. But even as the Djinn-90s dived after him,
Uncle Virge brought the nose sharply up again and spun the ship nearly
a hundred eighty degrees around to point straight back at his attackers.

They reacted instantly, wrenching away to either side to avoid
ramming at full speed into the larger ship. But for one of them it was
too late. A double burst from the
Essenay
's meteor-defense
lasers caught it squarely in the nose as it maneuvered, shattering it
into a ball of flame. The other fighter was luckier, managing to dodge
away from the short-range missile Uncle Virge fired at it. The
Essenay
's
lasers flashed at it as it fled, but before they could get a good
target-lock the Djinn-90 vanished out of sight behind one of the
mountain peaks.

"One down," Uncle Virge said as the
Essenay
's path curved
around toward the forest. "Let's see if I can get back there and pick
you up before he comes around the other side."

"We're ready," Jack said. There was the rustling of bushes behind
him, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Alison jog into view.
"Make it fast."

But Uncle Virge didn't make it fast. In fact, he didn't make it at
all.

It happened all at once, with perfect timing and coordination.
From high in the sky the Kapstan transport Uncle Virge had mentioned
earlier suddenly dropped into view through the clouds, the sun glinting
off its stubby wings, its belly weapons raining laser and particle-beam
fire down on the
Essenay
At the same time, the remaining
Djinn-90 reappeared from behind the mountains, zigzagging through the
peaks as it charged toward the
Essenay
's right flank.

Two armed ships. . . and the
Essenay
was caught between
them.

Jack clenched his hands into fists, vaguely aware of Draycos's
claws tightening reflexively against his skin. Uncle Virge was trapped
like a rat in a cage. If he didn't surrender, and fast, the two
attackers would cut the ship in half.

"The Saga of Fristra," Draycos said suddenly, his head melting
back onto Jack's skin. "
Min kly
, then the Saga of Fristra."

Jack blinked. "What—?"

"Jack?" Alison demanded as she came up beside him. She peered up
at the mountains, shading her eyes with her hand. "Uh-oh."

"
Min kly
, then Fristra," Uncle Virge acknowledged, his
voice tight. "See you, Jack lad."

"What's a
min kly
?" Alison asked, throwing a frown at
Jack's comm clip.

Jack was still trying to think up a good answer to that when the
Essenay
twisted suddenly like a hooked fish, spun to the side, and raked the
incoming Djinn-90 with a full salvo from its lasers. Half-hidden by the
brilliant flashes, a pair of missiles arrowed out in a one-two punch.

The first missile exploded against the side of the mountain as the
fighter passed, blanketing the attacker in a flow of shattered ice and
rock. The second arced straight into the middle of the avalanche. There
was another ball of flame, and now only the Kapstan was left.

But the maneuver had cost the
Essenay
dearly. Its sideways
skid had robbed it of most of its forward momentum, and Jack could see
Uncle Virge fighting for stability in the churning mountain winds. Even
as the transport dropped lower, its attack intensifying, the
Essenay
rolled over and plummeted toward the cliffs below. It disappeared
behind a peak—

And there was one final violent explosion. The Kapstan veered
sharply away, bouncing as it was buffeted by the blast.

Jack stared at the fading light and smoke, his pulse pounding in
his ears. "Uncle Virge?" he whispered toward his comm clip. "Uncle
Virge?"

There was no answer. In the distance, the Kapstan's pilot had
gotten the transport back under control and returned to the area above
the final explosion's fading glow. Slowly, it circled the area, its
weapons silent.

Which could only mean that Colonel Frost no longer had anything to
shoot at.

Dimly, Jack felt his muscles starring to shake, his vision
blurring with tears. Uncle Virge, the
Essenay
, everything he'd
known since he was three years old—it couldn't all be gone. Not here.
Not now.

He jerked violently as a hand suddenly touched his shoulder. He
turned, trying to see through the tears. "Come on," Alison said quietly.

"Where?" Jack asked, his voice quavering. It was a sign of
weakness Uncle Virgil had always hated, but Jack no longer cared.

"Into the forest," Alison said. "We have to get under cover."

"Why?"

"Because they'll be coming here next," she said patiently. Her
face was tight, and he could see an edge of fear lurking at the corners
of her eyes. But her voice was calm and determined. "They'll have
tracked the transmission from your comm clip."

"So what?" Jack demanded bitterly.

"So I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to give up just
yet," she countered, some of her control starting to crack.

Jack shook his head. "It's finished, Alison," he said quietly.
More finished than she would ever know, in fact. Jack, Draycos, the
K'da and Shontine—they were all dead.

"Snap out of it," Alison ordered tardy, slapping him none too
lightly across the back of his head. "Okay your ship's gone. I'm sorry.
But it's a long way from being finished. My friends—remember? My
friends are coming to get me."

Jack swiped at his eyes with his sleeve, a cautious flicker of
hope stirring inside him. "Okay," he said, taking a deep breath. "I'm
all right."