he did find his way back to the prison section, the vault where he and Ling had made their getaway just a few days ago. By now the place would be triply guarded. By Jophur ring stacks, robots, and the tall human renegade.
Rann will be expecting me. He knows exactly what Iâm thinking â¦Â that I want to go charging to her rescue.
Alas, Lark was no man of action like his brother, Dwer. The odds paralyzed him. He was too good at envisioning drawbacks and potential flaws in each tentative plan.
As long as Iâm free, Ling can still hope. I have no right
to throw that away by rushing into a trap. First priority has to be a place where I can rest â¦Â maybe find something to eat â¦Â then come up with a plan.
Using the purple ring as a universal passkey, Lark inspected various rooms along his meandering path, hoping to find a tool or information he could use against the enemy. Some compartments were empty. Others were occupied by Jophur crew, but these paid little heed to the distraction of an opening or closing door. Like their traeki cousins on Jijo, Jophur tended to be task-focused, reacting slowly to interruptions.
Only once did Lark fail to duck out of sight in time.
He was poking through a laboratory filled with coiled, transparent glassy tubes that flickered and hissed with roiling vapors. Abruptly Lark found his path blocked by a massive ring stack. It had just turned away from an instrument console, and all sensor toruses were active.
Flatulent smoke bursts vented from the Jophurâs peak, indignant to spy an intruding human. Fatty toruses flickered with shadowy patterns of light and dark, expressing surprised rage.
If he had paused to think, Lark would never have had the courage to lunge toward that intimidating mass, thrusting his only weapon past a dozen reaching tentacles. Tendrils converged to surround him, slapping his shoulders.
Master rings make Jophur ambitious and decisive
, thought a bookish corner of his mind.
But thank Ifni theyâre like traeki in other ways. Their sluggish nerves were never tested by carnivores on a savannah.
But Jophur had other advantages. Throbbing feelers coiled around his neck and arms, even as soporific juices sprayed from the throbbing torus in his hands, the final gift of gentle Asx.
This time there was no reaction from the huge, tapered tower. Its grippers tightened, drawing Lark toward glistening, oily flanks.
He felt the purple ring flex and emit three more sprays, each one a different pungent fetor that made hiseyes sting and his throat gag â¦Â till constricting pressure round his chest made it impossible to breathe at all.
The trick may not work anymore. They may have spread the word. Distributed counteragents â¦
All at once, the greasy titan shivered. The nooses tensed â¦Â then slackened, going limp as the Jophur settled its great mass to the floor, discharging a low sigh and rank smells. Lark nearly strangled on his first ragged breath. Shrugging free of the horrid embrace, he stumbled away, sucking for fresh air.
Theyâre catching on. Each time the purple ring fools one of them, they share information and antidotes. Even Asx couldnât anticipate every possible scent code the Jophur might use.
The big stack seemed quiescent now, but Lark worried it might have put out an alarm. Swiftly, he scanned the rest of the chamber for co-workers. But the creature was alone.
Lark was about to head back to the corridor when he stopped, intrigued to see that the Jophurâs console was still active. Holo displays flickered, tuned to spectral bands his eyes found murky at best. Still, he approached one in curiosityâthen growing excitement.
Itâs a map!
He recognized the battle cruiserâs oblate shape, cut open to expose the shipâs mazelike interior. It turned slowly. Varied shadings changed slowly while he watched.
I wish I knew more about Galactic tech.
Before the Rothen-Danik
Rann will be expecting me. He knows exactly what Iâm thinking â¦Â that I want to go charging to her rescue.
Alas, Lark was no man of action like his brother, Dwer. The odds paralyzed him. He was too good at envisioning drawbacks and potential flaws in each tentative plan.
As long as Iâm free, Ling can still hope. I have no right
to throw that away by rushing into a trap. First priority has to be a place where I can rest â¦Â maybe find something to eat â¦Â then come up with a plan.
Using the purple ring as a universal passkey, Lark inspected various rooms along his meandering path, hoping to find a tool or information he could use against the enemy. Some compartments were empty. Others were occupied by Jophur crew, but these paid little heed to the distraction of an opening or closing door. Like their traeki cousins on Jijo, Jophur tended to be task-focused, reacting slowly to interruptions.
Only once did Lark fail to duck out of sight in time.
He was poking through a laboratory filled with coiled, transparent glassy tubes that flickered and hissed with roiling vapors. Abruptly Lark found his path blocked by a massive ring stack. It had just turned away from an instrument console, and all sensor toruses were active.
Flatulent smoke bursts vented from the Jophurâs peak, indignant to spy an intruding human. Fatty toruses flickered with shadowy patterns of light and dark, expressing surprised rage.
If he had paused to think, Lark would never have had the courage to lunge toward that intimidating mass, thrusting his only weapon past a dozen reaching tentacles. Tendrils converged to surround him, slapping his shoulders.
Master rings make Jophur ambitious and decisive
, thought a bookish corner of his mind.
But thank Ifni theyâre like traeki in other ways. Their sluggish nerves were never tested by carnivores on a savannah.
But Jophur had other advantages. Throbbing feelers coiled around his neck and arms, even as soporific juices sprayed from the throbbing torus in his hands, the final gift of gentle Asx.
This time there was no reaction from the huge, tapered tower. Its grippers tightened, drawing Lark toward glistening, oily flanks.
He felt the purple ring flex and emit three more sprays, each one a different pungent fetor that made hiseyes sting and his throat gag â¦Â till constricting pressure round his chest made it impossible to breathe at all.
The trick may not work anymore. They may have spread the word. Distributed counteragents â¦
All at once, the greasy titan shivered. The nooses tensed â¦Â then slackened, going limp as the Jophur settled its great mass to the floor, discharging a low sigh and rank smells. Lark nearly strangled on his first ragged breath. Shrugging free of the horrid embrace, he stumbled away, sucking for fresh air.
Theyâre catching on. Each time the purple ring fools one of them, they share information and antidotes. Even Asx couldnât anticipate every possible scent code the Jophur might use.
The big stack seemed quiescent now, but Lark worried it might have put out an alarm. Swiftly, he scanned the rest of the chamber for co-workers. But the creature was alone.
Lark was about to head back to the corridor when he stopped, intrigued to see that the Jophurâs console was still active. Holo displays flickered, tuned to spectral bands his eyes found murky at best. Still, he approached one in curiosityâthen growing excitement.
Itâs a map!
He recognized the battle cruiserâs oblate shape, cut open to expose the shipâs mazelike interior. It turned slowly. Varied shadings changed slowly while he watched.
I wish I knew more about Galactic tech.
Before the Rothen-Danik
Similar Books
