“I think we can come to somearrangement.”
“I do not believe that I cantrust you.” Roppa shook his head slowly.
“And I know for a fact that Ican’t trust you. So, now that we know where we stand with each other, howabout it?”
“You still confuse me… But Ilike you,” Roppa decided. “How much time do you have left?”
“He’s giving me forty eighthours. After which time, he will execute one crew member per hour.”
“You have the Ruscatan Soghrawith you. He would turn me over in an instant to save his own skin.”
John gingerly touched his grazedleft cheek with the back of his right hand as he looked up at Roppa. TheSkaren had done his own research on who was asking after him.
His cheek stung. Glancing at hishand, there was no blood. “His skin is my responsibility.” He glanced at hisempty wrist and grimaced. “Aww, geez, someone out there stole my watch!”
“Is it important?”
“Very.”
“Wait here.”
With Roppa gone, John took theopportunity to give himself a quick checkover. He softly felt his ribs,checked his forearms for the welts he knew were rising, and circled his wrists,flexing his fingers. There was a slight discolouration to his knuckles; theswelling consistent with bruising.
Roppa returned shortly. “Is thisit?” he asked, tossing something to John.
A quick check. “Yes, thankyou.” He put it on immediately.
“I will discuss your situationwith my men and let you know in the morning what has been decided.”
“But that –”
“That will give you enough timeto return to your ship to make an alternative offer should we not wish tobecome involved.”
The final statement may haveclosed the subject, but John caught the gleam in Roppa’s eye. The question wasnot if they should become involved, but how to turn the situation to their ownadvantage.
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Chapter fourteen
John spent an uncomfortable nightin the shuttle. Although, he admitted to himself, it would have beenuncomfortable no matter where he was. He had found a medical kit. Soghra’sassurances that nothing in there would kill him unless he drank or injected itweren’t altogether encouraging. When the Ruscatan picked out a jar of what hadthe colour and consistency of congealed blood and smelled like week old fish,John was ready to put up with the pain.
His cheek throbbed and hadswollen up to block most of his vision in that eye and his ribs were slowlycrushing his lungs. He figured anything was better than nothing.
The smell disappeared as the geldid its work. The colour remained longer before taking on the tones of thenatural pigment of his skin. The pain dulled and remained at a constant fuzzunless he moved – or breathed.
By morning, most of the bruisingand swelling had gone. His ribs were still tender to touch and his vision wasalmost normal. A mug of hot coffee was just what he needed. That would haveto wait. At least until he got back to Bismarck.
He stepped out of the shuttleinto the glaring morning sunlight. His hands automatically came up to shadehis face.
“You don’t look so good,”Gillespie commented.
“Good morning to you, too,” Johngrumbled.
“Eye’s better though,” Gillespieleaned forward for a closer look. “Little bit of purple and yellow. Lookslike it’s about a week old.”
Roppa didn’t take long to make anappearance. The Skarens had come to their decision; one which John had neverdoubted. Roppa and two of his men would return in the shuttle. That was allhe was willing to divulge at this stage. Anxious to be off, Soghra jumped intothe pilot’s seat and turned on the engines.
Roppa frowned angrily. “I may berisking my life, but I don’t intend throwing it away on the incompetency ofsome suicidal maniac!”
“That was a long time ago,”Soghra retorted.
“I have an even longer memory. And I do not believe that your flying skills have improved.”
“If you have no objections,” Johnwas eager to avert any tensions that might arise, “I will fly the shuttle.”
Reluctantly, they both agreed.
Roppa needed an outline ofBismarck’s security systems. Daygarn would already be familiar with them. Ifhe had not understood it to his satisfaction, then he would have orderedsomeone to explain it to him. The loss of any crewmember who failed to do sowould be of no concern.
Everything was making perfectsense to Roppa and his men. John felt he was missing something. It was asthough they had already planned it out and only let him know what was relevant.
John contacted Bismarck as soonas they were within range. Daygarn was in his chair and the hairs on the backof his neck prickled as his jaw twitched.
“You have succeeded?” Daygarnasked.
John grabbed Roppa by the jacketfront and dragged him in view of the screen before pushing him away.
Daygarn smiled. “And with timeto spare. Well done.”
“I want to speak to my crew.”
“No.” The smile disappeared.
John leaned back in the pilot’sseat and folded his arms across his chest. “You don’t get him until I knowthat every person on my ship is alive and in one piece.”
Out of Daygarn’s view, theexchange allowed Roppa to sum up their opposition. “Four on the bridge,” henoted. “There should be four more… Where would the rest of the crew be mostlikely held?”
“In the brig,” Gillespie answeredquietly. “They wouldn’t need anyone to stand guard.”
“There will be at least one. That leaves three. Most likely in engineering.”
“Why don’t we transport over andtake them out?”
Roppa shook his head. “He willhave installed an invasion device. It will disintegrate anything that tries totransport on or off.”
“How can you tell?”
“My ship has detected it.”
“He wants me to transport youacross,” John turned his head to the side and coughed loudly – his ribs grabbed– and joined the conversation.
“No, not until we find his ship. Stall him somehow,” Roppa instructed.
John turned slowly back to thescreen, his breathing short, his face and actions as blank as he could makethem.
He stalled using every excuse hecould think of. Daygarn’s patience grew thin. On the threat of immediateexecution of the bridge crew, John relented.
“Let me go,” Vido, Roppa’ssecond, offered.
“If he realises it is not me inthe beam he will terminate transportation,” Roppa reminded.
“I am aware of that,” Vidoanswered.
“I said immediately!” One ofDaygarn’s hands went
