dead," Chiggers said quietly from somewhere
behind him.
Jack froze. Draycos ?
He's too far back , the K'da said, his tone grim.
Just chill it, then . "I'm not moving," Jack assured the
other. "Take it easy, okay?"
"Oh, I'll take it easy," Chiggers said. "I'll take it plenty easy.
Drop the weapon and kick it down the corridor to your right."
Jack obeyed. "Now put your hands on top of your head," Chiggers
ordered. "Fingers laced together."
"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill," Jack said, again doing as he was
told. "I don't suppose we might be able to come to some agreement?"
"The only agreement I'm interested in is you dead and me rich,"
Chiggers said. "Where's that frunging dragon? Dragon? Show
yourself—right now—or I kill him."
"I'm here," Draycos said, lifting the top of his head over the
back of Jack's collar. "Don't shoot."
"I would if I had any sense," Chiggers muttered. "All right. Keep
going—straight ahead—face to the wall. Back on his skin, dragon. All the way on. I so much as see your nose and he's dead."
Move all the way to the wall , Draycos's thought whispered
into Jack's mind.
Way ahead of you, buddy , Jack assured him. He took two long
steps forward to the far side of the corridor and leaned against the
wall, pressing his chest firmly to the cold metal.
And with a flicker of sensation, Draycos leaned off his skin and
fell over the wall.
"This ought to look really good on your service record," Jack
commented, speaking loudly enough to cover any sound the K'da might
make as he landed on the concrete floor below. "Neverlin and Frost have
both tried to nail me and neither of them even came close."
"Yeah, and I'll bet you tried to talk them to death, too,"
Chiggers growled. The patrol ship vibrated slightly with the other's
footsteps as he strode the rest of the way up the ramp and stepped
through the hatchway. "What we're going to do—"
Abruptly, there was a hollow-sounding thud, followed by a sort of
crumpling sound. "All right, Jack," Draycos said.
Jack turned around. Chiggers was sprawled half inside the airlock,
unconscious. He was wearing a Malison Ring flight suit, though with the
helmet still off. A large and unpleasant-looking gun lay on the deck
near his right hand. "Nice job, symby," Jack said, stepping over and
retrieving the weapon. "Too bad, though. I was looking forward to
hearing how he thought he could put a K'da poet-warrior out of action
without killing him."
"Perhaps keeping me alive was never part of his plan," Draycos
said.
"Probably not," Jack conceded. Stuffing Chiggers's gun into his
belt, he retrieved his tangler and peered aft down the corridor. "So if
that noise isn't him working on the leak, what is it?"
"Obviously, some sort of bait," Draycos said. "Hence the unusual
rhythm I noticed earlier. He must have become suspicious of my sabotage
and decided to lie in wait to see if anyone came calling."
"And we walked right into it," Jack said, feeling his cheeks
warming. Uncle Virgil had warned him over and over about both
sloppiness and overconfidence. "If it hadn't been for your
jump-the-wall trick, we'd have been up the creek for sure."
"We wouldn't have been there for long," Draycos said, his voice
dark. "Still, without the trick I would probably have been
forced to kill him."
"Lucky Chiggers," Jack murmured. Draycos was so civilized and
pleasant most of the time that the boy sometimes forgot the sheer raw
power that lay beneath those red-edged golden scales. "Let's get to the
cockpit and see if all this was worth the effort."
It was.
"Here we go," Jack said, peering at the navigational display.
"It's even called Point Two, in fact. It's out past Trintonias, about a
two-day trip from your new home on Iota Klestis."
"If that will , in fact, be our new home," Draycos said.
Jack grimaced. Iota Klestis was probably still owned by the Triost
Mining Group, which was itself owned by Braxton Universis. If Harper's
appearance on Brum-a-dum meant that Braxton had now
behind him.
Jack froze. Draycos ?
He's too far back , the K'da said, his tone grim.
Just chill it, then . "I'm not moving," Jack assured the
other. "Take it easy, okay?"
"Oh, I'll take it easy," Chiggers said. "I'll take it plenty easy.
Drop the weapon and kick it down the corridor to your right."
Jack obeyed. "Now put your hands on top of your head," Chiggers
ordered. "Fingers laced together."
"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill," Jack said, again doing as he was
told. "I don't suppose we might be able to come to some agreement?"
"The only agreement I'm interested in is you dead and me rich,"
Chiggers said. "Where's that frunging dragon? Dragon? Show
yourself—right now—or I kill him."
"I'm here," Draycos said, lifting the top of his head over the
back of Jack's collar. "Don't shoot."
"I would if I had any sense," Chiggers muttered. "All right. Keep
going—straight ahead—face to the wall. Back on his skin, dragon. All the way on. I so much as see your nose and he's dead."
Move all the way to the wall , Draycos's thought whispered
into Jack's mind.
Way ahead of you, buddy , Jack assured him. He took two long
steps forward to the far side of the corridor and leaned against the
wall, pressing his chest firmly to the cold metal.
And with a flicker of sensation, Draycos leaned off his skin and
fell over the wall.
"This ought to look really good on your service record," Jack
commented, speaking loudly enough to cover any sound the K'da might
make as he landed on the concrete floor below. "Neverlin and Frost have
both tried to nail me and neither of them even came close."
"Yeah, and I'll bet you tried to talk them to death, too,"
Chiggers growled. The patrol ship vibrated slightly with the other's
footsteps as he strode the rest of the way up the ramp and stepped
through the hatchway. "What we're going to do—"
Abruptly, there was a hollow-sounding thud, followed by a sort of
crumpling sound. "All right, Jack," Draycos said.
Jack turned around. Chiggers was sprawled half inside the airlock,
unconscious. He was wearing a Malison Ring flight suit, though with the
helmet still off. A large and unpleasant-looking gun lay on the deck
near his right hand. "Nice job, symby," Jack said, stepping over and
retrieving the weapon. "Too bad, though. I was looking forward to
hearing how he thought he could put a K'da poet-warrior out of action
without killing him."
"Perhaps keeping me alive was never part of his plan," Draycos
said.
"Probably not," Jack conceded. Stuffing Chiggers's gun into his
belt, he retrieved his tangler and peered aft down the corridor. "So if
that noise isn't him working on the leak, what is it?"
"Obviously, some sort of bait," Draycos said. "Hence the unusual
rhythm I noticed earlier. He must have become suspicious of my sabotage
and decided to lie in wait to see if anyone came calling."
"And we walked right into it," Jack said, feeling his cheeks
warming. Uncle Virgil had warned him over and over about both
sloppiness and overconfidence. "If it hadn't been for your
jump-the-wall trick, we'd have been up the creek for sure."
"We wouldn't have been there for long," Draycos said, his voice
dark. "Still, without the trick I would probably have been
forced to kill him."
"Lucky Chiggers," Jack murmured. Draycos was so civilized and
pleasant most of the time that the boy sometimes forgot the sheer raw
power that lay beneath those red-edged golden scales. "Let's get to the
cockpit and see if all this was worth the effort."
It was.
"Here we go," Jack said, peering at the navigational display.
"It's even called Point Two, in fact. It's out past Trintonias, about a
two-day trip from your new home on Iota Klestis."
"If that will , in fact, be our new home," Draycos said.
Jack grimaced. Iota Klestis was probably still owned by the Triost
Mining Group, which was itself owned by Braxton Universis. If Harper's
appearance on Brum-a-dum meant that Braxton had now
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