Dragonback 06 Dragon and Liberator (37 page)

Weight came onto his shoulder as Draycos raised his head for a
look. "What do you think?" Jack asked. "Mechanical trouble?"

"I'm not reading anything obvious," Uncle Virge said. "But those
five Djinn-90s that used to be riding wide cover have also turned
around. Maybe they're all heading back to deal with the Malison Ring
and Braxton Universis ships coming up behind us."

"The
what
?" Jack demanded, looking at the aft display and
keying for a tactical overlay. There were new drive glows back there,
all right, coming up fast behind them.

He looked back at the
Advocatus Diaboli
. It was halfway
through its curve, still looking like it wasn't in any particular hurry
to take the Death to the incoming ships.

He probably
isn't
in a hurry
, Draycos pointed out.
He'll
want to make sure the Djinn-90s are in position to give him cover
before he gets within range of the attackers' weapons
.

That sounds like Neverlin
, Jack thought back. On the other
hand, the
Advocatus Diaboli
's leisurely turn, coupled with the
Essenay
's
own drifting course . . .

"Okay," he said aloud. "Here's what we do. Uncle Virge, plot me an
intercept course with the
Advocatus Diaboli
—minimum time,
maximum surprise, and I want to end up running parallel along its
flank."

"Jack lad, this is insane," Uncle Virge protested. "As soon as
Neverlin sees you moving, he'll fire the Death at us again. You and
Draycos were lucky once. You can't count on being lucky again."

"It wasn't luck," Jack insisted. "I don't know what it was, but it
wasn't luck."

"But how will this gain us anything?"

"I'm going to try for a crash-dock," Jack said. "Hopefully, before
they can figure out what we're doing and get the hatchway blocked. If
we can get inside and stop the jamming, we can finally warn everyone
about the Death weapons."

"
If
you survive," Uncle Virge said stiffly. "You may be
somehow immune to the Death, but I doubt that'll carry over to
old-fashioned gunfire."

"Probably not," Jack agreed. "If we don't make it,
you'll
have to warn them. Draycos?"

"I'm with you, Jack," the K'da said.

As if Jack had had any doubts on that score. "Okay, Uncle Virge,
ball's in your court."

The computer speaker gave a long, pained sigh. "Course plotted and
ready, Jack lad. But even minimum-time approach will take you a few
minutes to get there."

"Good enough." Jack got a grip on the control yoke, glancing over
the course details as Uncle Virge scrolled them across the navigational
display. "Okay, Neverlin. Here we come, ready or not."

". . . so Frost knows about everything you had in that big walk-in
safe," Alison concluded. "I know he found out about the KK-29 patrol
ships from the information in your office safe. I'm sure the papers in
the big one were even more interesting."

The wary anticipation in Neverlin's eyes darkened into anger.
"That's it?" he demanded. "
That's
your big impressive secret?"

"Not all of it, no," Alison stalled. Out of the corner of her eye
she could see Frost and the
Advocatus Diaboli
's captain
conferring behind the helmsman. Still too close to the communications
section of the board. "I also know Braxton has been monitoring Jack
Morgan's movements, including his little side trips to Rho Scorvi and
Semaline. How could he have done that without someone in Frost's group
feeding him information?"

"With Braxton's resources?" Neverlin said with a snort. "He could
have found Morgan in any of a dozen ways."

"I'm just saying there are things going on under the radar,"
Alison said. Across the bridge, Frost and the captain moved a few feet
over to study the sensor station's tactical displays.

And it was time.

Alison braced herself for action. She was probably about to die,
she knew. Chances were she would die without even accomplishing her
goal.

But she had to try. She could only hope Taneem would understand
why she'd done it.

"This is nonsense," Neverlin declared. "And you're wasting my
time." Lifting his eyes, he beckoned her guards forward again.

And as he did, Alison ducked down, rammed her shoulder into his
chest as hard as she could, and charged toward the communications board.

But she'd only gone two steps before a hand grabbed her forearm
from behind. She tried to twist away, but the grip was solid, bringing
her desperate rush to a sudden halt. The hand yanked at her, spinning
her around again.

"You little fool," Neverlin said, his free hand pressed against
his chest where her shoulder had rammed him. "Did you think I wasn't
expecting something like that?"

He let go as her two Malison Ring guards caught up and locked
their own massive hands around her upper arms. "What happened?" Frost
demanded, hurrying up to them.

"She tried to get to the jamming control," Neverlin told him.
"Probably figured that the
Essenay
's computer would spot that
the bubble was down and send out a warning."

Frost glowered at Alison. "With your permission, sir, I think
we've had enough of Alison Kayna for one day."

"Agreed," Neverlin said. "Take her to her stateroom—"

With a horrible screech of shredded metal, the ventilation duct
across the bridge disintegrated.

And a black-scaled fury hurled herself into the room.

The bridge exploded in pandemonium. Neverlin shouted something
incomprehensible, practically falling over as he backed hurriedly away.
The hands gripping Alison's arms were suddenly gone as the soldiers
went for their guns. Frost had the presence of mind to grab Alison's
shirt collar with his left hand as he went for his own gun with his
right.

But Taneem hadn't come for vengeance or war. That single leap
landed her on the deck beside the communications board.

And with three slashes of her claws she disintegrated the section
that controlled the radio bubble.

"You got it!" Alison called to her, twisting around in Frost's
grip and kicking hard into the side of his knee. He spun halfway
around, grunting in pain as his shot buried itself in the bridge
ceiling instead of Taneem. "Now get out of here!" Alison shouted as she
bounced her shoulders sideways off her two Malison Ring guards, trying
to wreck their aims, too. "Go somewhere safe and hide.
Go
!"

Taneem's silver eyes flicked once to her. Then, to Alison's
relief, the K'da bounded back up through the shredded grille and
disappeared down the duct.

"Hold your fire," Frost snapped as the mercenaries finally got
their guns lined up again. His own weapon, Alison noted uneasily, was
pointed at her. "No point. It's gone."

The Valahgua stepped toward Frost, his tentacles writhing like
twin snakes caught in an electric fence. "How a K'da here aboard?" he
demanded. "How a K'da here
aboard
?"

"I don't know," Frost said, his eyes steady on Alison over the
barrel of his gun. "But I can guess."

"Alert the crew and soldiers," Neverlin ordered, his breath coming
quick and shallow. "If they see it, they're to shoot to kill."

Across the room, an alarm warbled. "Proximity warning," the
helmsman called tensely. "It's the
Essenay
, coming in fast."

"Evasive," Frost ordered. "Morgan must have left a last-ditch
ramming order on the computer before he died. Keep us away from the
ship. And get that jamming bubble back up."

"Too late," the captain said. "The
Essenay
's transmitting."

He hit a switch. Alison held her breath. . . .

"Attention, K'da and Shontine," a familiar voice boomed.
"Attention, Braxton Universis ships."

And Alison felt her heart surge, the ashes of defeat blazing again
with sudden fire.

It was Jack.

"Attention, Braxton Universis ships," Jack called, watching the
Advocates
Diaboli
. The bigger ship had finally noticed the
Essenay
bearing down on it and was trying to veer away. Turning the control
yoke, he swung back toward them. "The ships heading your way are
carrying your enemies. For you Braxton people, that includes Arthur
Neverlin and Colonel Maximus Frost of the Malison Ring. For you K'da
and Shontine, it also includes a group of Valahgua.

"Most important, for all of you, the ships are carrying three
Death weapons."

"Identify yourself," a voice demanded, his English carrying an
accent Jack didn't recognize.

Draycos lifted his snout from Jack's shoulder and poured out some
more of his alien speech. The voice answered back in the same language,
and for a few seconds they conversed in short sentences.

Midway through the discussion the violet beam of the Death again
swept through the
Essenay
's cockpit. Again, Jack felt nothing
but an unpleasant tingle.

The conversation ended.
They're convinced
, Draycos said,
going flat onto Jack's skin again.

Good
, Jack answered.
Let's just hope we can convince
Braxton's people, too
. "Braxton Universis ships—"

"Hello, Jack," a voice cut him off. "Where are you?"

Jack stared at the bridge speaker. "Mr.
Braxton
?"

"Yes indeed," Braxton confirmed. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the
Essenay
," Jack said, his mind flashing back to
what Harper had said about Alison's thefts from his company. Braxton
must want her
really
badly to have come all this way personally
to get her. "Currently working my way toward the
Advocatus Diaboli
."

"You mean you're in the ship that was just hit with the Death?"
Braxton asked.

Jack blinked. "You know about the Death?"

"I know everything," Braxton said. "But if the Death hit you, why
are you still alive? Doesn't it work against humans?"

"Oh, it works just fine against humans," Jack said grimly. "And as
you saw, Neverlin's got one of them aboard the
Advocatus Diaboli
.
You and your people need to back away before he gets it into range."

"Understood," Braxton said. "But you haven't answered my question."

"I don't know why we're alive," Jack said. "Somehow, a human/K'da
combination seems to be immune." He grimaced, belatedly remembering
that Braxton didn't know what a K'da was. "A K'da is a sort of—"

"That doesn't make sense," Braxton interrupted. "The Death has no
trouble killing K'da/Shontine combinations."

Jack blinked.
How in blazes does he know all this
?

I don't know
, Draycos said.
But I have had a sudden
thought. With your permission
. . .?

Go for it, buddy
.

Draycos lifted his head off Jack's shoulder. "Mr. Braxton, this is
Draycos," he said.

"The K'da who saved my life on the
Star of Wonder
,"
Braxton said. "I hadn't had a chance yet to thank you for that."

He
does
know a lot, doesn't he
? Draycos thought
toward Jack. "You're welcome," he said aloud. "There is an analogy I've
used regarding the Death. If you wished to destroy the core of a
planet, a normal weapon would have to first blast through the crust and
mantle to reach it. The Death instead seeks out that core directly,
without needing to expend energy on the destruction of its victim's
flesh and blood and bone."

"All right," Braxton said. "And?"

"Perhaps a K'da/human combination acts like a double planet,"
Draycos said. "As the Death seeks out the center of that combination—"

"It seeks out the center of mass," Braxton said, a sudden interest
in his voice. "And the center of mass of a double planet is halfway
between them.
In empty space
."

"Exactly," Draycos said. "Again, I don't know how accurate the
analogy is. But the fact remains that a human/K'da combination appears
to be safe from the Death."

"Interesting," Braxton said softly. "Very interesting indeed."

"Turn it off," Neverlin said quietly.

Like a man awakening from a strange dream, the captain stirred and
touched the radio control. The voices cut off.

A deathly silence settled onto the bridge. Alison looked around
the room: at Neverlin, at Frost, at the other Malison Ring soldiers.
All looked stunned, or worried, or quietly but helplessly furious.

And finally, she turned to the Valahgua. "So that's the secret,"
she said. "That's the reason you came all the way across the galaxy to
the Orion Arm just to kill the K'da. You knew, maybe from the
beginning. You knew the K'da originally came from Earth."

"They came from
Earth
?" Frost echoed.

"That is only a theory," the Valahgua rumbled. "It has not been
proven."

"Oh, it has now," Alison told him. "That's why Draycos has been
picking up new abilities over the past six months. With Jack as his
host, he's found a part of himself he hadn't even realized was missing."

More and more of those on the bridge, she noticed, were starting
to transfer their attention from the silenced radio speaker to the
Valahgua.

And some of those stunned expressions were starting to give way to
anger. The Valahgua had kept a vital secret from them, and all of them
knew how disastrous that could be in the middle of a battle.

"You didn't dare take the risk that the K'da would find us and
figure this out for themselves," Alison continued. "So you came to
Neverlin and dangled big rewards in his face and got him to—"

"Enough," Neverlin said.

Alison stopped, a sudden chill running up her back. There was
nothing of the growing sense of outrage or betrayal in Neverlin's own
voice or expression. There was nothing there but a dark and deadly
determination. "This is all very interesting," he said quietly. "But it
changes nothing. There's only one human/K'da combination in the galaxy,
and it won't be around much longer."