Slave Empire - The Crystal Ship by T C Southwell

confronted them. They are
communicating.”
    “ Tap it.”
    “ They are enquiring as to their affiliations.”
    “ And?”
    Scimarin
paused. “Two ships are of the Gorder Bonn Priesthood, same as
Norvar. The other two are from the Merval Agben Priesthood, which
is a rival.”
    “ Well, this should be interesting. The Merval won’t help us,
but they might decide to try to snatch the Golden Child for
themselves, which would put them in conflict with the rest of the
Draycons.”
    “ Shadowen informs me that the girl’s biorhythms have become
erratic.”
    “ Hit that Net link, Scimarin.”
    “ That won’t be necessary. The shells are coming into
synchronisation... now.”
    The four
shells, each bordered by brilliant, rippling energy, melted into
one. The ships now shared a single shell, an even more dangerous
situation. If Norvar tried to move now, the stress would tear all
four apart. The three cruisers moved closer to their prey, their
powerful attractors overcoming Norvar’s repellers. The battle of
super magnets was not without its toll, and parts of Norvar’s hull
bulged, pulled out by the cruisers’ attractors. The cruisers’ hulls
also suffered, pitting and sagging under the massive power of
Norvar’s repellers.
    No ship was
built to withstand such immense strain, but the Shrike’s were
better than most, since this was a tactic he used on slavers. No
slaver he had ever tackled was a big as Norvar, however, and all
three of his cruisers sustained serious structural damage. At the
same time, they were tearing Norvar apart. If her captain admitted
defeat and deactivated his repellers, he could save himself, but
Draycons never surrendered, and this one was no exception.
    A boarding
tube protruded from one of the Shrike’s cruisers, spanning the gap.
When it reached Norvar’s hull, his men would have to burn their way
through it, which would take several minutes. Once a boarding tube
was in place, his men would pour into the enemy ship. It was a
swifter method than transferring, which limited the numbers to less
than a dozen per energy shell. Under normal circumstances, this
tactic was useful, but time was something he did not have.
    “ Get the waveform and synchronise our shell, then transfer me
as close to the girl’s location as you can. Tell the carrier to
send its men to the same location, but not too many.” He studied
Norvar. “That ship’s not going to last long. There won’t be much
time to get them out, and they’ll be a long way from the boarding
tube.”
    “ An Atlantean ship is approaching, and the four Draycons are
now engaged in battle with the Atlantean ships and each
other.”
    “ Send a couple of mine to join in the fun, but tell them only
to fire on the Draycons unless the Atlanteans start something, in
which case they should withdraw. If the ship that’s approaching
fires on you, fight back, and tell Shadowen to help you. The two of
you can manage Vengeance easily.”
    “ What if they wish to communicate?”
    “ They won’t.”

 
     
    Chapter Four
     
    Rayne beat the
little monster that clung to her so tenaciously, hammering it with
her fists in hysterical desperation. In her mind, she screamed at
Shadowen to help her, but he remained silent, probably because he
could do nothing. Grabbing the mariner’s legs, she tried to pull it
away so it could not bite her. The thing was immensely strong,
however, and she might as well have tried to prise a barnacle off a
rock. Never had she longed so much to be parted from her leg, but
at that moment she would have gladly chopped it off.
    Evidently the
beast did not feel her leg was the optimum place to inject its
paralysing fluid, for it moved up it, keeping a firm hold on her,
the tri-tail still wrapped around her ankle. Rayne’s fists bounced
off its carapace, bruising her leg and hands. Her suit’s thin
material would not impede its jaws, and even if she stripped off
her clothes, the beast had too firm a hold on her.
    The