the outskirts of town, and I'm heading back to meet you.'
'Great,' Jack said. 'Unfortunately, my plan for getting out has just gone smokers.'
'How about ramming the gate?' Uncle Virge asked. 'Give me another couple of minutes and I can be there to pick you up.'
'It's a little more complicated than that,' Jack warned. 'We've got passengers along.'
'You've got what? How many?'
'About thirty.'
There was dead silence from the other end. Apparently, none of Uncle Virge's large repertoire of curses was up to this one. 'Jack, lad, have you taken leave of your senses?' the other demanded at last. 'Where in the Orion Arm do you intend to put them all?'
'Don't worry, I've got that part covered,' Jack told him. 'The only sticking point is how we're going to get out of here.'
'Well, you'd better come up with something fast,' Uncle Virge warned. 'I've got those new Djinn-90s coming in now from the east.'
'From behind us,' Draycos murmured. 'Perhaps they think our sensors have been damaged.'
Jack frowned over at him. The dragon was using that tone again. 'Hang on,' he told Uncle Virge, clicking off the comm clip. 'You have an idea?'
'Perhaps,' Draycos said slowly. 'Tell me, how maneuverable is this craft?'
'It was better before we lost the rear lifters,' Jack said. 'Probably still pretty good, though.'
'And those landing skids are hinged to the outer sides of the hull, opening outward from the center like standard cabinet doors?' 'Right,' Jack said, frowning. 'Why?'
Draycos bounded backward out of his chair and padded to Jack's side. 'Do you have the incoming fighters on sensor yet?'
Jack checked his displays. There they were: two blips on the screen, approaching the wall on the far side of the Chookoock family grounds. 'There,' he said, pointing.
For a moment the dragon peered over his shoulder in silence. 'Here is what you must do,' he said. 'Swing around so that you are facing them. Then drive straight toward them.'
Jack blinked. 'Straight toward them?'
'I will tell you when to turn,' Draycos said, jumping up onto Jack's shoulder and melting down his shirt. A quick slither, and he was back in his usual position. 'Go now,' he ordered, the top part of his head rising up from Jack's shoulder.
'This is stupid,' Jack warned as he threw power to the drive and sent the shuttle curving around toward the approaching Djinn-90s. 'I mean, really stupid.'
'So they will think, as well,' Draycos agreed. 'Trust me.'
Jack shook his head. 'I hate it when you say that.'
He turned the shuttle's nose east and sent it speeding across the darkened landscape. Another minute, and he spotted the Djinn-90s' running lights as they flew toward him.
'They are crossing the wall,' Draycos said.
Jack glanced at the displays. 'Right,' he confirmed.
'And again no attack from the wall's defenses.'
Jack frowned. 'Is that all you wanted to know? Whether the wall would still let them through?'
'Partially,' Draycos said. 'Now; come around a quarter circle to the right and head south.'
'That'll open up our port side to attack,' Jack warned.
'They do not seek our destruction, but our capture,' Draycos assured him. 'Go now.'
'Right,' Jack said, turning the shuttle's nose to the right. He braced himself; but aside from altering their own course slightly the Djinn-90s didn't react.
'Now what?'
'Hold course until you are five seconds from the wall, then turn right again and head toward the gate,' Draycos instructed.
The wall was looming ahead. Jack took them to within three seconds, then twisted the control stick over again, turning his tail to the approaching fighters.
This time they opened fire, short pulses that burned chunks of metal and plastic off the shuttle's hull. 'Trying to take out the engines,' Jack shouted as the wail of warning alarms filled the cockpit. 'What now?'
'Keep heading for the wall,' Draycos said, his head lifting a little higher from Jack's shoulder. 'And slow down to two-ten.'
'Slow down?' Jack peered at the display. 'They're gaining fast enough as it is.'
'Slow down,' Draycos repeated, his voice making it an order. Jack clenched his teeth and complied. 'I hope you know what you're doing,' he bit out. 'The rate they're coming, they'll be on top of us in no time.'
'Again, they do not wish to destroy us,' Draycos repeated. 'Aside from your own value, we also have Gazen and Neverlin aboard. As you pointed out, they are merely trying to disable us.'
'Great,' Jack muttered. Ahead, he could see the pale white of the wall rapidly approaching. 'So what are we going to do? Spite them by getting ourselves vaporized?'
'Prepare to turn again, this time a quarter-circle to the right,' Draycos ordered, his head stretching close to the displays.
Back toward the slave areas. 'Ready,' Jack said. The wall was coming up mighty fast—
'Now.'
Jack twisted the stick again, and again the safety straps pressed into his chest as the shuttle cut hard over. He straightened out—
And ducked involuntarily as one of the Djinn-90s shot past overhead.
'Geez!' he hissed. 'When did they get that close?'
'On our last turn,' Draycos said calmly. 'They know now that you are aware you cannot fly safely over the wall. They see you as racing around inside the estate like a frightened rodent in a cage, trying to escape capture while searching hopelessly for a way out.'
'Yeah, that about sums it up,' Jack growled as the dark landscape flashed by beneath them. 'So what are we doing?'
'Lulling them into carelessness—watch out!'
Jack twisted the stick to the left as the other Djinn-90 flashed past overhead.
'Excellent,' Draycos said with grim satisfaction. 'With no further concerns that we will attempt to fly over the wall, they will now attempt to force us down.'
'They'll need more than two of them for that,' Jack said, looking cautiously up through the top of the canopy. The first fighter had returned and was pacing him directly overhead. 'They don't have nearly enough mass to push us to the ground.'
'They probably have more ships available,' Draycos pointed out. 'And time is on their side.' He shifted position, pulling his neck back so that only his eyes were poking off Jack's shoulder, and Jack felt his sleeves swell as the dragon's forelegs rose from his wrists. 'Or so they think,' he added. 'Open the landing skids.'
Jack frowned. But this was no time to argue. Reaching over, he touched the switch. 'Landing skids opening,' he reported, glancing at the indicator.
'Locked in place.'
'They see it,' Draycos murmured. Jack could feel the dragon's forelegs tensing against his skin, his claws stretching out to rest on the control board.
'They believe they have won.'
'Here he comes,' Jack warned as the Djinn-90 overhead began to drop toward them. 'Trying to make sure we don't change our minds.'
'Yes,' Draycos said. 'Brace yourself.' There was a muffled clink of metal against on metal as the fighter bumped firmly against the top of their hull.
Draycos jabbed at the controls—
And Jack gasped as the shuttle rolled a hundred eighty degrees on its long axis, flipping him over to hang upside down against his restraint straps.
'Draycos!' he yelped as the drive began to screech with the sudden strain of holding the shuttle in the air
