Norr “heard” the thought and tried to dislodge Kane but discovered that his grip on her was too strong. The sensitive’s eyes blinked, her lips moved, and a raspy voice was heard. “Greetings . . . This is Jevan Kane.”
Rebo’s eyes grew bigger. “Kane? I thought I killed you!”
“You did,” the spirit entity grated. “And I will fi?nd a way to even that score one day. . . . In the meantime I am compelled by certain agreements to help protect you and your fellow cretins. And that’s why I’m here. . . . To inform you that the person you know as the beast master intends to kill the body I occupy now. A rather shapely form with which I sense that you are well acquainted.”
The Crosser appeared as if by magic as Rebo came to his feet. Norr looked up into the gun barrel and smiled serenely. “Yes!” Kane hissed. “Shoot me! I’d like that.”
“Don’t do it!” Hoggles interjected, and had just started to rise as the Crosser was withdrawn.
“Say whatever you came here to say, and get the hell out of Lonni’s body,” Rebo said through gritted teeth.
“I already have,” Kane replied smugly.
“But how?” Hoggles demanded. “How does the beast master plan to murder Lonni?”
“I don’t know,” the spirit entity replied honestly. “A thick veil separates our worlds. But his intent is clear.”
Meanwhile, Norr struggled to reassert control over her body. Bit by bit she gathered the necessary energy, shaped it into a coherent desire, and gave the necessary order. Her physical form responded, and the unanticipated action took Kane by surprise as his/her hand jerked forward. Rebo saw the sensitive stick her hand into the lamp’s open fl?ame, and was still processing that, when Norr’s body gave a convulsive jerk, and Kane was forced to leave. Then, having regained control, the young woman removed her hand from the fi?re. The burns hurt . . . but the pain was worth it. “Lonni?” the runner inquired tentatively. “Is that you?”
“Yes,” Norr whispered hoarsely. “I’m back.”
Meanwhile, on a girder high above, the Slith snake sampled the air with its tongue, identifi?ed the scent it was searching for, and resumed its long, arduous journey. The city of New Wimmura, on the Planet Derius The suite, which was the best that the hotel had to offer, sat on the topmost level of the city and looked out over the lake that claimed one end of the kidney-shaped open-pit mine. It was a lofty perch, and as Shaz stood on his private veranda, it was like looking down on a nest of insects as thousands of people crisscrossed the plaza to the north, wound their way along the various plateaus, or climbed ladders that led from one bench to the next. A number of days had passed since the night when unit A-63127 had been terminated—and the antitechnics had launched their attack against Techno Society headquarters. During the interim it had been determined that the same explosion that caused extensive damage to the station’s fi?rst fl?oor had destroyed the facility’s power accumulators. That meant the local portal was not only out of service but would remain so until a functionary could travel to the distant city of Feda, where they could access a star gate, and travel to Anafa. Worse yet was the fact that Logos and his human companions would be unable to use the gate, thereby playing hell with Chairman Tepho’s plan, and causing even more problems. There was a solution, had to be a solution, but the operative had yet to fi?gure out what it was.
Such were the combat variant’s thoughts as a slight disturbance of the surrounding air caused him to whirl. But, rather than the antitechnic cutthroat that the operative expected to see, Du Phan emerged from behind the diaphanous curtain that separated the suite from the veranda. The assassin was naked, delightfully so, and cupped her breasts suggestively. “I’m yours,” she said. “If you’re man enough to take me.”
What ensued was more like hand-to-hand combat than an act of lovemaking, but that was what both of them wanted and unreservedly enjoyed. Finally, physically spent, and still intertwined with an exhausted Phan, Shaz discovered that his subconscious mind had been hard at work. A plan was ready and waiting. It was a good plan, no, a brilliant plan, and one so devious that even Tepho would admire it! The thought pleased him—and the combat variant drifted off to sleep.
The spaceship
The scene within the shelter was grim as Norr removed Logos from her pack and held the coat up for Rebo to slip his arms into. “What’s going on?” the computer demanded.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m getting ready to go for a little walk,” the runner replied soothingly, “and I thought you’d want to come along.”
“A walk?” Logos inquired suspiciously. “Why would I want to go for a walk? Especially on a primitive tub like this one?”
“Because,” Rebo answered patiently, “you might prove useful for once.”
“Useful?” the AI responded doubtfully. “In what way?”
“Some outlaws have taken up residence on the ship,”
Norr explained gently. “They barricaded themselves into the Security Control Center, and the right combination of numbers is required in order to enter.”
“So?” Logos said from the vicinity of Rebo’s neck. “What does that have to do with me?”
“Well,” the runner replied, as he checked to ensure that the Hogger was loaded. “If they manage to kill us, you’ll wind up as little more than a bib for one of the cannibals, or be tossed onto a rubbish heap. So, given the fact that you constitute an artifi?cial intelligence, and the ship is controlled by an artifi?cial intelligence, I fi?gured you could lend a hand. Or a sleeve as the case might be.”
The AI had been forced to enter into relationships with a wide variety of human beings over the past thousand years and felt pretty sure that he could cut some sort of deal with the outlaws if that became necessary. It didn’t serve his purposes to say so, however, so he didn’t. “Okay,” Logos agreed.
“What do you have in mind?”
The Hogger made a loud click as Rebo closed the breech and slid the weapon back into the cross-draw holster. “All you have to do,” Rebo explained soothingly, “is to make contact with the ship and request access to the Security Control Center.”
