“Let's, um, table our discussion of Earth politics for now,” Natalie suggested, clearing her throat, “and go back to something a bit easier. If anyone comments on your scales, what medical condition do you tell them you have?”
“Ick-thee-oh-sis vul-gar-iss,” I sounded out with difficulty.
“Correct.”
“And this is some sort of disease that gives human DNA reptilian traits?” I guessed.
She laughed. “No, it has nothing to do with genetic makeup, it's purely cosmetic. It just makes human flesh look tough and scaly due to collections of dead skin cells. On my world, human and reptilian DNA are entirely incompatible, which is why this whole pregnancy situation came as such as surprise,” she added. “The good news is that it's an inherited dermal disorder. So if we ever end up taking our children to see their mother's home world, they'll be able to claim the same thing, since they'll have gotten it from you.”
“We shall see,” I retorted. “Getting permission to make this journey once is difficult enough, but to make a habit of it would be...”
Before I could finish my sentence, though, the voice of the helmsman came over the comm: “Captain Dashel, please come to the command deck immediately.”
Natalie and I exchanged worried looks before hurrying to the command deck together.
“What is it, lieutenant?” I asked.
“We're approaching the edge of the Sol system,” the helmsman reported, “but there's a ship on its way out of it, and it's heading straight for us.”
I frowned. “Humans? Have they figured out a way to travel the stars after all?”
“Negative, sir. Based on the energy signature its engine drive is giving off, it's definitely a Pax retrieval craft.”
“On their way back with more slaves they've scooped off the planet's surface, no doubt,” I mused quietly. “Have they picked us up on their sensors yet?”
“I'm afraid so, sir. At this range, there's no way they wouldn't have and based on their current course, I'd say they mean to engage us. Based on our readings, they're powering up their weapons systems. Should we do likewise?”
I shook my head. “We can't risk an open altercation with them, especially not within range of the Earthers' telescopic arrays. Damn it, this is exactly the kind of thing Tarion ordered us to avoid. Are there any good hiding places for us out here? Ones where the Pax sensors won't be able to locate us?”
“Scanning for one now, sir.”
I could feel Natalie's tension building next to me, and I understood why. The last time she'd encountered one of these ships, it had beamed her and her husband up and transported them to a hellish life on Nort. Clearly, she had no desire to repeat the experience.
I reached out, squeezing her hand in mine. “Don't worry,” I assured her. “I won't let them take you again.”
She smiled at me, relieved, but her body was still vibrating with tension.
“Captain, I think I've got something,” the helmsman announced. “A dark cloud nebula in a cluster of stars the Earthers refer to as Orion.”
“Bring it up onscreen. Let's see it.”
When the swirling mass of red and blue appeared on the viewscreen, Natalie whispered, “The Horsehead Nebula. I've seen pictures of it in books.”
“Well, you're about to see it up close.” I turned to the helmsman. “You're sure that will obscure us effectively, lieutenant?”
“I'm fairly certain, sir, yes. Its density will swallow all light from objects positioned behind it, essentially making us invisible at all levels within the visual spectrum. And since dark nebulas are spawning grounds for stars, the intense stellar radiation it generates should throw off non-visual sensor readings as well. It'll be rough on our shield generators, though. We won't be able to remain that close to it for more than approximately twenty cleks before our shields fail and we're cooked by the nebula's rays.”
“That's a risk we'll have to take. Move us into position at once.”
The Wyvern soared to the nebula, taking up a spot behind it – and not a moment too soon, as a small, flat, triangular scout craft arrived.
Natalie let out a soft gasp. “The ship. It looks just like the one that took me and—”
“I know.”
“They're scanning for us,” the helmsman said. “Being pretty damn thorough about it, too, based on the pattern of our sensor sweeps.” He paused, then turned to us, his expression grim. “Sir, I think they've figured out that this is the only place we could be hiding. They've assumed a sentry position on the other side of the nebula. They're going to try to wait us out.”
“Shields currently at seventy-eight percent and dropping,” Ranel chimed in helpfully.
My mind whirled as I tried to come up with a way out. Then I remembered our surprise when the Pax Alliance armada suddenly appeared behind Lehar's ships at Nort.
“When we couldn't figure out how the Pax managed to follow Lehar without being seen, we assumed it was due to some kind of advanced cloaking technology,” I said. “What if we fooled them into thinking we'd developed the same capabilities?”
“How?” Natalie asked. She was pale, and her brow was covered in nervous perspiration.
I went to the helmsman, leaning over his console. “Lieutenant, a hypothetical for you. Let's suppose our ship was outfitted with a cloaking device, but it was defective somehow because we rushed through the testing process. What might give us away?”
He thought for a moment, then said, “If there were a faulty connection between the device and the shield generators which projected the cloak, there might be a faint rippling effect which would show up on visual scans. It'd
