'Good,' Thrakhath said. 'I do not wish to further disrupt our buildup. Is there any word from the Logistics Masters on the timetable for launching the Grand Fleet?'
'Six eights of hours, Lord Prince. The bombardment missiles will be fully loaded by then, and the fleet can break orbit any time after that.'
'Excellent. Then we will soon be on our way to the Terran homeworld. This time they shall not turn us back.' Thrakhath turned his throne again, gesturing to the screen. It showed a view of Kilrah's orbital yards, with capital ships grouped around orbital depots and swarms of smaller craft moving among them, preparing the Grand Fleet for the last great campaign. 'Victory, Melek,' the prince continued. 'It smells sweet, does it not?'
'Yes, Lord Prince,' Melek replied dutifully.
'Still, there is one thing missing,' Thrakhath went on, almost to himself. 'I can only hope for one last chance to meet the Heart of the Tiger in battle. It will make our triumph all the more complete . . .'
Thrakhath continued to study the viewscreen, the light of victory in his eyes.
Jumpshock made Blair sluggish, but he forcing his body to obey his will, he switched power from the transjump drive to the cloaking device. Powering up his engines, he steered the fighter out of the jump point, setting course inward, toward the Kilrathi homeworld.
On his sensor screen, another blip flickered into existence astern, then faded a few moments later. That was Vagabond, acting as wingman on the mission. Maniac and Flint followed in succession, apparently without being noticed. There were no Kilrathi ships in the immediate area, though the escort they had trailed in the Hyperion System was at the very edge of detection range, also on course toward Kilrah. Hopefully, if they spotted anything suspicious at all they wouldn't be able to react until the cloaked Terran ships were well clear of the area.
Blair's comm monitor came alive with an image of Paladin. The old warrior had warned him that the computers aboard all four fighters would trigger periodic briefings as they headed in toward their goal. This tape, for Blair, had been personalized. Taggart smiled out at him. 'Laddie, we've covered this ground backwards and forwards waiting for the mission to launch, but I'll give you the straight dope one more time now. Since you're seeing this, you've made the jump successfully, and you're in the Kilrathi System now.' The screen changed to show a chart of the Kilrah star system, with navpoints glowing brightly. 'Your first job, now that you're through, is tae bring your fighters in tae the first asteroid depot. There you'll find a stock of fuel, spares, and missiles, everything you'll need tae carry you all the way in tae the outer moon of Kilrah.' The first depot faded, and another more distant asteroid was indicated. 'Should ye find the first position compromised, laddie, there is a second choice. But remember, if ye canna keep one depot in reserve, there'll nae be enough fuel in your birds tae get you through the jump point after the mission's done. The second depot is supposed to be for the trip back but I ken well you'll do what ye have tae if the mission depends upon it.'
Paladin's face appeared on the screen again. 'Good luck, laddie. You'll need it.
The screen went blank.
Blair set his course for the nearer depot, knowing that the others would be doing the same. They were maintaining absolute comm silence, hoping to avoid any detection by the Kilrathi. Surprise was their only hope . . . surprise sheer flying skill and pure, unadulterated good luck.
He hoped it would be enough.
A warning alarm beeped for attention, and Lieutenant Winston Chang checked his sensor board. There was something ahead, a powered target that glowed amber on his screen as the computer tried to identify it as friend or foe. A moment later, it changed to a reddish orange. An enemy, then . . . no, two enemies, a pair of Darket fighters, evidently making a routine patrol sweep.
Vagabond muttered an old Chinese curse under his breath and cut power to his engines. The two Darket were dead ahead and only a few hundred kilometers beyond lay the large asteroid where the first depot was established. In order to reach their destination, transmitters aboard the Excaliburs were programmed to send out short-burst signals to activate the locator transponders in the depot. As long as those two Darket were in the neighborhood, the Terrans were stuck. The depot might as well be around Sirius.
Meanwhile, there was another danger. If the Kilrathi got too close, they would spot the Terran ships, cloaked or not.
The two light fighters were making a slow, graceful turn. Vagabond warily watched them, alert for any signs of their detecting the location of one of the Terran fighters. He wondered about the others. Their original tight formation had become tenuous en route to the asteroid, and he was no longer sure where any of his comrades might be.
The Darket were going to pass close to him . . . too close. Vagabond engaged his engines again and started to bank away, but it was too late. Suddenly the two Kilrathi ships were picking up speed, swinging around, pointed directly at him. Cloaked, he had no shields. A few shots would be enough to knock him out.
He cut the cloak, shunting power to the weapons and shield generators and cutting back on his own course with a sharp pull on the steering yoke. Maybe if he disposed of these two fast enough there would be no time for them to summon help.
One of the Darket opened fire just as the green light on his shield status display appeared. Blasters pounded at the shields, but to little effect. He returned fire with blasters and a pair of heat-seekers, closing the range fast. The Darket's shields crumbled beneath the heavy pounding, and a moment later his beams bored through armor and set off the missiles slung under the Kilrathi crafts wings. He was close enough now to actually be caught in the fireball, and the energy release and spinning debris overloaded his own shielding.
In that moment, the second Darket engaged. He didn't have to look at the damage control panel to know that he was losing armor around his reactor. Desperately, Vagabond tried to dodge, but the controls were sluggish.
He broke comm silence. 'I can't shake him! I'm going up.' And just before the Darket fired again, he managed to add a final plea. 'Don't give up, Colonel. You've got to take them down . . . for all of us who didn't make it!'
He slammed the switch to trigger his ejection system, praying he wasn't already too late.
Blair saw Vagabond's Excalibur go up in flames of fury. He let out a cry of rage and grief. The Chinese pilot's last words echoed in his mind, and he made a grim, silent vow that Chang's last effort wouldn't be in vain.
Then Maniac's fighter appeared on his sensors swooping in from beyond the expanding fireball. Blair spotted the Excalibur a moment later as Maniac opened fire, battering through the Darket's shields. The fighter exploded.
