difficulty keeping pace. The words were clear—but the message wasn’t. “DomaSa? Landing with a high-ranking human? Impossible! Shoot the translator.”
Mylo NorbaBa was used to such excess. His words were both patient and respectful. ‘There was no translation. War Commander DomaSa spoke directly with me. He said the matter is urgent and of the highest importance.
Their shuttle has entered the atmosphere.”
IfanaKa adjusted his leg. “All right then, if we must, we must. Pass the word... the troops will stand down. We may as well feed them. Not for long mind you . . . We march two hours from now.”
A sudden gust of high altitude wind hit the shuttle’s hull. It rocked from side to side. The cargo compartment was empty except for the Trooper n that stood at the center of it, the Hudathan who overflowed a fold-down seat, and the orange exoskeleton secured toward the stem. Admiral Kagan had elected to ride up front with his pilots.
ChienChu felt his body tug against the cargo straps and questioned his own sanity. Was the trip to Hudatha’s surface truly necessary? So he could negotiate face to face? Or driven by curiosity? The desire to see the place that had given birth to such an implacable foe? He looked at DomaSa. “So, how would you rate our chances? Who sits on the Triad? And how will they react?”
The shuttle shuddered as the hull hit the bottom of an air pocket and continued to fall. DomaSa had known that the question would arise—and spent a considerable amount of time formulating a reply. A response calculated to conceal the infighting that years of planetary confinement had caused, the sense of hopelessness that commanded his people, and the fact that one member of the ruling body was more than a little eccentric. “I can’t speak for the rest of the Triad, but I favor your proposal, depending on what your race refers to as ‘the fine print.’ “
ChienChu wondered if he had misunderstood. “You!
You belong to the Triad?”
“Of course,” DomaSa replied easily. “What could be more important than our freedom? Besides, we have no diplomatic corps. Outside of myself that is.”
ChienChu wondered how he could have missed what now appeared to be obvious. The Hudathans favored a highly vertical almost dictatorial political system. They had never negotiated for anything, not until now, a fact that should have tipped him off. No one except one of the rulers could have been entrusted with something so critical. So, while many of those on board the Friendship treated DomaSa like a low level functionary, they had actually been dealing with a head of state. ChienChu struggled to remember everything he had said or done. DomaSa, who had come to know the human pretty we!) by then, gave the Hudathan equivalent of a chuckle. It sounded a lot like a rock crusher in low gear. “No, you never said anything to offend me, not that it would make much difference, since the Victory could sterilize the surface of my planet. “Ikor IfanaKa is another matter, however. He’s a lot more emotional than I am. It would pay to be careful in his presence.”
ChienChu frowned, or tried to, but discovered that the Trooper IF wasn’t equipped for that sort of communication.
“Grand Marshall IfanaKa? The officer that our intelligence people referred to as ‘the Annihilator?’ “
DomaSa looked as surprised as he was capable of looking. “You have a remarkable memory. Yes, IfanaKa carried out his duties with what you would refer to as ‘ruthless efficiency.’ “
“Meaning that he murdered hundreds of thousands of sentient beings,” ChienChu said coldly.
“Why, yes.” the Hudathan replied calmly. “And isn’t that why you came here? To recruit some killers?”
ChienChu sought some sort of comeback and was unable to think of one. Silence filled the cargo compartment
Clouds rolled in to cover the sun, rain fell in sheets, and Captain North struggled to penetrate the gloom. He’d gone below to grab a ration bar, and now he was back The Hudathans should have arrived by then
. .. and he wondered where they were. His troops, what were left of them, were dug in and waiting. Gorwin was quick to provide an unsolicited opinion. “The infrared is clear enough, sir. It looks like the ridge heads broke for some R&R.”
North lowered the glasses. Rain peppered his face, ran down the back of his neck, and sent damp fingers into his clothing. “Okay, but why? They could take us anytime they want.”
“Maybe it has something to do with the shuttle,” the cyborg replied mysteriously. North was annoyed. Gorwin was playing some kind of game with him—and the only thing that saved her from a good ass chewing was the fact that the enemy had already blown it off. “Shuttle? What frigging shuttle?”
Gorwin, who knew when to quit, underwent a sudden change of attitude. ‘The assault boat that passed over our position a few minutes ago, circled the Hudathans, and landed over there somewhere.” The cyborg used her arm- mounted energy cannon to point toward the northwest. North felt his heart try to beat its way out of his chest.
“A human assault boat? You’re sure?”
