'I know you want this to work, Draycos,' Jack said, running his fingers through his hair again, still without improving the mess. 'But face it. This approach just isn't working.'
'I agree,' Uncle Virge said. 'And frankly, I can't see how it ever will. There are just too many Djinn-90s flying around the Orion Arm for us to hunt down the records of all of them. More to the point, there are too many that have changed hands under, shall we way, unofficial circumstances. No matter how many manufacturing records or registration listings we dig up, we still won't have them all.'
'Then we need a different approach,' Jack concluded. 'Draycos, you seem convinced they were mercenaries. How come?'
'I saw them function in battle,' Draycos reminded him, the tip of his tail making slow circles as he studied Jack's face in the dim light. The boy's expression was tense, as if he was screwing up his courage toward an unpleasant decision he didn't want to make.
But if that decision was to back away, this was an odd way of leading up to it. 'Twice, in fact, both in their attack on our ships and later during our escape from the planet,' he went on. 'Their maneuvering and tactics were quite professional.'
'Doesn't mean they're necessarily soldiers for hire,' Uncle Virge argued, his voice gone suddenly cautious. Perhaps he'd picked up on Jack's expression, too. 'Maybe they're someone's official military. Maybe some planet has made a deal with your Valahgua enemies.'
'An official military would have had backup forces ready,' Draycos pointed out. 'Our escape would have been far more difficult than it was.'
Uncle Virge sniffed. 'So maybe they're a stupid military. What's your point, Jack lad?'
'My point is that mercenary groups probably keep close tabs on each other,' Jack said slowly. 'Including what kinds of pursuit fighters all the other guys have. You think?'
'I suppose,' Uncle Virge said. 'But I can tell you right now that getting hold of encrypted mercenary files is going to be a lot trickier than pulling up Djinnrabi Aerospace Corporation manufacturing records. I thought we were trying to make this job easier, not harder.'
'We're trying to make it work any way we can,' Jack said. He paused, and Draycos could see him brace himself. 'And you're right. The only way to get mere records will be from the inside.'
'You must be joking,' Uncle Virge said, his voice sounding like he'd suddenly been hit with a small tree. 'Come on, Jack lad. Jump up and say 'surprise,' and let's get on with our plans.'
'What, you think I can't do it?' Jack snapped. 'Fourteen-year-old kids are indentured to mercenary groups all the time.'
'And you know what happens to them?' Uncle Virge countered harshly. 'They get sent off to war.'
Jack seemed to shrink a little in his nightshirt. 'I'll be all right,' he said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself of that. 'There aren't any big wars going on anywhere right now.'
'Mercenaries don't hire teenagers just to polish their boots,' Uncle Virge insisted. 'And you can get just as dead from a little war as you can from a big one.'
'I'll be all right.' Jack peered across the cabin at Draycos. 'Draycos? You're a soldier. You tell him.'
'Yes, tell him, Draycos,' Uncle Virge demanded, an almost frantic undertone to his voice now. Small wonder: as a computer, even a computer that controlled the entire ship, he had no physical power to make Jack do anything he didn't want to do. All Uncle Virge could do was persuade.
And unless Draycos was misjudging Jack's expression, the boy's mind was already made up. Not enthusiastically, but definitely made up. 'Tell him what it takes to be a soldier,' Uncle Virge went on. 'Tell him how old you were when you went into your first battle. Tell him how many friends you've seen die.'
'In many ways, Uncle Virge is right, Jack,' Draycos said. 'If it were for anything less important I would agree that this was too dangerous for you. But.'
'Don't say it,' Uncle Virge warned. 'Draycos, don't say it.'
'I am sorry, but I must,' Draycos said. 'The fate of the K'da and Shontine races hang by the edge of a single torn scale. With only five months remaining until they arrive, we have no choice but to take chances.'
'Maybe you have to take chances,' Uncle Virge snapped. 'But why does Jack have to?'
'Because I promised to help him,' Jack said.
'And I will be with him the whole way,' Draycos added.
'Wonderful,' Uncle Virge said sarcastically. 'A golden dragon plastered flat across his back. That gives me such confidence.'
'Oh, stop being melodramatic,' Jack scolded. 'It's not like I'm making a career of this. I'll get in, scam their computer and find their records on their competitors, and get back out. Piece of fudge cake.'
'Unless they catch you,' Uncle Virge said. 'You ever think of that?'
'I'll be fine,' Jack insisted. 'Anyway, like Draycos says, he'll be with me the whole way.'
Uncle Virge didn't answer. 'So that's settled,' Jack said, flopping back flat onto the cot again. 'If you want to be helpful, you can find us a good mere group to try. Something not too big, but with jobs all across the Orion Arm. We don't want someone who just works locally. And make sure it's someone who hires a lot of kids my age—'
'And isn't too fussy about who they take,' Uncle Virge cut him off grudgingly. 'Yes, yes, I know what to look for.'
'And when you find one, put us on ECHO for their nearest recruitment center,' Jack added. 'No point in wasting time.'
'No, of course not,' Uncle Virge muttered. 'Good night, Jack lad.'
Jack pushed himself up off the cot again. 'Draycos, you getting back aboard? You're going to need to do it sometime before morning anyway.'
Draycos focused on the clock built into the wall beside Jack's cot. Yes; even if he had broken contact with the boy just before his dream began, he would still come close to his limit before the sleep period was over. A K'da could only go six hours before he needed to return to two-dimensional form against a host's body. If he stayed away longer than that, he would still become two-dimensional, and ripple away into death.
But he had time. And his body always gave him plenty of warning. 'I will join you later,' he decided, standing up and stretching all four legs. 'I believe I will go watch Uncle Virge work through the mercenary information.'
