“Lord Prince,” the Sho-sa ventured. “We have stowage to take them aboard-”
“Leave them,” Xochitl growled, his command console flickering with alternate course plots at a blinding rate. At main navigation, the Thai-i sitting at the station had drawn back, finding his v-panes and control displays no longer responding to his touch. Suddenly the alternates dropped away and the Prince nodded to himself. “New course by my mark, full power. We need breathing room!”
Engines thundering, the decking vibrating with a deep basso roar, Tlemitl charged away from the wrecked Asama, all surviving launchers and gun nacelles concentrated on two Khaid heavy cruisers which had drawn the unlucky course to stand in the Prince’s way. Both broke off, trying to change vector as multiple shipkillers slammed into their deflectors, breaking through to sear armor and shatter their engine rings. Undaunted, the Firearrow accelerated towards the Pinhole.
Three-quarters of a million kilometers behind the swirling firefight around the super-dreadnaught, Kosho grasped the Prince’s intent immediately. The Naniwa was already accelerating to join him, having shrugged aside the last of the lighter ships, but now the Khaid battleships had reformed, relocking their point-defense and fire control. Swift as harriers, they came hard on the chase and stood directly between the battle-cruiser and the flagship. Thoughtful, Susan tapped up the channel to deck six.
“Anderssen- sana, can you get me better telemetry?”
There was no response, only intermittent static and then a “ cabin inhabitants are unavailable at this time ” message generated by shipboard comm. Face tight with dismay, Kosho switched channels.
“Damage Control, Medical. Get teams to cabin nine on deck six, immediately!”
In the ’well, her course and that of the Tlemitl were fast converging on the outer edge of the debris field from the Can. Beyond the wrecked station loomed the invisible passage of the Pinhole, though now Susan realized that even if the Scouts had found an opening-there was no surety it led anywhere save into a veil of threads which would gut her ship like a teppan -chef.
“Comm, any response from the Flag?”
The comm officer shook her head, eyes huge. “Nothing, Chu-sa. She’s still moving and fighting, but I’ve no response from any shipside system, not even on identicast.”
Does he even see we’re here? Kosho discarded the thought. “ Chu-i , you find me someone to talk to. If anyone can circumvent the Khaid jamming, the interference from the dust cloud, and the radiation blaze from so many wrecked ships, you can.”
“ Hai, Chu-sa, hai! ”
Then she turned to Holloway and Oc Chac, who were heads down over the navigational console.
“ Sho-sa, can we get a reading on that Barrier? Anything?”
The Mayan shook his head. “Sensors show a clear field, save for the omnipresent dust. Only empty space beckons beyond the shattered dead.”
“Not good enough.” Susan tapped her fingers rapidly on the edge of her shockchair. “Get me an update from the medical team on six. Now.”
THE WILFUL
The main hatch to Engineering cycled open with a pained groan and Hadeishi slipped through the opening. The machete was sheathed, the serrated knife tucked away in his tool belt. Two bandoliers of shipguns-in a wide variety of models-were slung over his shoulder. De Molay was leaning heavily on the console, her face tight with pain.
“You’re tracking blood on my deck, Engineer. But,” she gestured at her leg and side, “who am I to complain?”
Mitsuharu laid down the captured weapons and knelt beside her. His lips pursed, gentle fingers tightening the press-pak on her leg wound. The bandage was saturated and the status strip across the blue material had shaded to red as well. The old woman’s color had deteriorated in his absence.
“No geisha ever had a whiter brow than you, Sencho. I will carry you to the medbay.”
Moving the freighter’s captain would not improve her condition, but Hadeishi saw no other option. He was not a corpsman and there were no doctors to hand. He rigged a sling, eased her into the fabric, and then set off, his own weariness offset by a jolt of stimulant from his medband. Dead Khaid sprawled in the nonengineering corridors, their bodies chittering with shipbugs. As they moved slowly through, De Molay glanced at the tight, distorted faces, all gray with the mark of carbon monoxide poisoning. After the first dozen or so, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against his back.
“Don’t sleep yet, Sencho, you’ve landing papers to sign, manifests to review…” He hoped the medbay, if there was such a thing on the freighter, was equipped with an autobot of some kind. Aren’t all ships as well equipped as a Fleet light cruiser?
The reality was far more spartan, but the medical bay-more properly a closet with a fold-out bed-did have a diagnostic and treatment module for trauma cases. Hadeishi broke open a shock-pak and applied the first IV tabs. De Molay shivered from head to toe, and then her eyes fluttered open. She gave a short breathy laugh when she saw the image of her mashed thigh on the overhead display. “Just a flesh wound,” she gasped.
Hadeishi peeled away the press-pak from her leg. Bright red blood oozed in tiny pinpoints from an enormous bruise easily the length of his forearm.
“Severe tissue damage. No broken bones,” an androgynous voice announced from the trauma unit. “Apply anti-inflammatory agents as needed. Apply fresh press-pak. Leave on forty-eight hours. Set patient medband to dispense pain control agents as needed. Bed rest is recommended to speed recovery.”
De Molay made a face at Mitsuharu. “Give me those press-paks. Where’s the Bulldog?”
Hadeishi fished out the Webley and checked the magazine before handing the automatic over. “Full up, Sencho. But I think we’ve finished off the other gunslingers.”
De Molay shot him a pained glare. “You’re a clever engineer with the toxic air, but I’ll keep my old Humbert handy. He is very reliable. Now”-she paused, clenching her teeth and waiting for the medband to kick in-“I’m already a patient. I can be my own corpsman. You-you’re all the command crew we have.”
Hadeishi nodded, rummaging through the trauma station. He laid out the necessary medpacks, made sure her comm bracelet was responding and the overhead v-display toggled to show shipnet. “You’re the only backup I have, Sencho-sana.”
“So I’m not permitted to die, then? I’ll consider the suggestion.”
Stepping around the bodies fallen at the entryway to the bridge, Mitsuharu entered gingerly-a Khaid shipgun cradled in his hands, safety off-and checked all the corners before turning his attention to the command station.
The Khaid officer was still slumped against the console. Hadeishi grunted with effort, heaving the body onto the floor with a clatter. Then he cleared the session on the boards-the Khaid had loaded some kind of interpreter to allow them to enter transit coordinates-and authorized himself with De Molay’s codes.
Much better, he thought, seeing a whole series of v-panes unfold, all seeming very modern and closely modeled on the standard Fleet executive interface. I do believe this ship has illegal software loaded. Excellent.
For a moment he considered drilling into the ship’s manifest and construction logs, looking to see who- exactly-had updated the freighter. But then Hadeishi brushed those panes aside. His suspicions could wait, for there was far more interesting business afoot.
He shut off the transit alarm and then ran through a postgradient checklist. The hyperspace coil was still in operation, though now quiescent, and maneuver drives were primed and idling. Exterior cameras showed the Wilful drifting in a region of fantastically colored dust and gas plumes. As the little ship’s passive sensors woke one by
