wandered
to the edge of a table and fell off, shattering. When the patrolmen
passed by, Tarke re-emerged and hurried back the way he had
come.
Rayne writhed,
struggling to break the alien’s iron hold, her hands bleeding from
the scratches the horny carapace had inflicted. The creature’s jaws
were locked in her chest, clenching as it injected paralytic into
her bloodstream. Numbness spread through her, and her arms went
limp, then her legs, ending her futile struggle. She lay wedged
against the wall, her head propped up, staring at the alien that
gripped her.
Perhaps the
cruellest thing about death by mariner execution was that her mind
would remain unaffected to the end. The mariner opened its jaws and
raised itself. The two needles on its belly unsheathed, and, with
an obscene thrust, it jabbed them in, injecting the preserving
fluid that would turn her into an imperishable meal. No longer
distracted by her struggles and grunts, she became aware of distant
thuds and booms.
The scene on
Vengeance’s main screen beggared Tallyn’s ability to believe his
eyes. The four ships now shared a shell, and two smaller ones
hovered close by while the massive battleship hung overhead. None
had objected to Vengeance’s proximity, but he had the impression
the truce was a tenuous one, and a wrong move would end it. He
contemplated calling more of his ships from the other battle, but
that would only heighten the tension.
Marcon claimed
that the Shrike had now transferred to Norvar, which defied
everything Tallyn knew about the slaver. All the ships around the
Draycon vessel pounded her save Vengeance, and areas of her hull
were breaking apart under the strain of the combined firepower and
tearing force of the cruisers’ attractors. Tallyn found it hard to
believe the elusive Shrike had gone into that unstable, hostile
environment, risking life and limb for a human girl he barely knew.
He certainly did not understand it.
“ Find that shell’s waveform, so we can transfer some men in
there to find her, Marcon,” he ordered.
“ Sir, that could take hours, and we have no idea where she
is.”
Tallyn
scowled, hating to admit that a criminal had outdone him, and the
fact that it was the Shrike was even more infuriating. In this
instance, however, Rayne’s safety was paramount, and he swallowed
his pride. “I wasn’t suggesting we try to analyse it. Contact one
of those ships and ask them what it is. If they want our help,
they’ll have to tell us.”
“ Yes, sir.” Marcon touched his sensor pad, and moments later
the information flowed into one of the holograms on his console.
“They already have men aboard Norvar, and more are being
transferred from their carrier now.”
The massive
carrier was parked some distance away, an oblong ship honeycombed
with shuttle bays. “They didn’t object to giving us the
information?” Tallyn asked.
“ No, sir. They’ve been ordered to co-operate unless we take
hostile action, at which time we become the enemy. This also
applies to our boarding parties, of course. And they’ve informed us
that Rayne’s location is at the centre of Norvar.”
“ How the hell do they know that?”
“ I don’t know, sir, but they do seem positive.”
Tallyn
muttered, “It could be a ruse, to put us in the most dangerous area
while they find her.”
“ I don’t think so. I guess it’s our choice, whether we trust
them or not.”
“ I don’t trust them at all, but if it’s not a ruse, it’s
valuable information we’d be fools to ignore. If it is a ruse,
we’re not much worse off than we were to begin with, since we have
no idea where to look. That’s one hell of a big ship. If only Rayne
still had her beacon, we’d be ahead of them.”
“ So we send men to the centre?”
“ Yes. And I’m going too.”
Marcon’s jaw
dropped, and several officers turned to stare. “Sir, that’s
unheard-of.”
“ I might be able to capture that bastard; this is the
to the edge of a table and fell off, shattering. When the patrolmen
passed by, Tarke re-emerged and hurried back the way he had
come.
Rayne writhed,
struggling to break the alien’s iron hold, her hands bleeding from
the scratches the horny carapace had inflicted. The creature’s jaws
were locked in her chest, clenching as it injected paralytic into
her bloodstream. Numbness spread through her, and her arms went
limp, then her legs, ending her futile struggle. She lay wedged
against the wall, her head propped up, staring at the alien that
gripped her.
Perhaps the
cruellest thing about death by mariner execution was that her mind
would remain unaffected to the end. The mariner opened its jaws and
raised itself. The two needles on its belly unsheathed, and, with
an obscene thrust, it jabbed them in, injecting the preserving
fluid that would turn her into an imperishable meal. No longer
distracted by her struggles and grunts, she became aware of distant
thuds and booms.
The scene on
Vengeance’s main screen beggared Tallyn’s ability to believe his
eyes. The four ships now shared a shell, and two smaller ones
hovered close by while the massive battleship hung overhead. None
had objected to Vengeance’s proximity, but he had the impression
the truce was a tenuous one, and a wrong move would end it. He
contemplated calling more of his ships from the other battle, but
that would only heighten the tension.
Marcon claimed
that the Shrike had now transferred to Norvar, which defied
everything Tallyn knew about the slaver. All the ships around the
Draycon vessel pounded her save Vengeance, and areas of her hull
were breaking apart under the strain of the combined firepower and
tearing force of the cruisers’ attractors. Tallyn found it hard to
believe the elusive Shrike had gone into that unstable, hostile
environment, risking life and limb for a human girl he barely knew.
He certainly did not understand it.
“ Find that shell’s waveform, so we can transfer some men in
there to find her, Marcon,” he ordered.
“ Sir, that could take hours, and we have no idea where she
is.”
Tallyn
scowled, hating to admit that a criminal had outdone him, and the
fact that it was the Shrike was even more infuriating. In this
instance, however, Rayne’s safety was paramount, and he swallowed
his pride. “I wasn’t suggesting we try to analyse it. Contact one
of those ships and ask them what it is. If they want our help,
they’ll have to tell us.”
“ Yes, sir.” Marcon touched his sensor pad, and moments later
the information flowed into one of the holograms on his console.
“They already have men aboard Norvar, and more are being
transferred from their carrier now.”
The massive
carrier was parked some distance away, an oblong ship honeycombed
with shuttle bays. “They didn’t object to giving us the
information?” Tallyn asked.
“ No, sir. They’ve been ordered to co-operate unless we take
hostile action, at which time we become the enemy. This also
applies to our boarding parties, of course. And they’ve informed us
that Rayne’s location is at the centre of Norvar.”
“ How the hell do they know that?”
“ I don’t know, sir, but they do seem positive.”
Tallyn
muttered, “It could be a ruse, to put us in the most dangerous area
while they find her.”
“ I don’t think so. I guess it’s our choice, whether we trust
them or not.”
“ I don’t trust them at all, but if it’s not a ruse, it’s
valuable information we’d be fools to ignore. If it is a ruse,
we’re not much worse off than we were to begin with, since we have
no idea where to look. That’s one hell of a big ship. If only Rayne
still had her beacon, we’d be ahead of them.”
“ So we send men to the centre?”
“ Yes. And I’m going too.”
Marcon’s jaw
dropped, and several officers turned to stare. “Sir, that’s
unheard-of.”
“ I might be able to capture that bastard; this is the
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