“While you were dicking around on Roan Andessa, we were deploying beacons to guide the Mayir’s armada here. As you know, A.Z., there are a lot more goodies tucked away on yonder fortress than just the one that you found. The Mayir decided they didn’t feel like dealing with the Rhya and their restrictive policies any longer.”
I took a step back, like I had been punched in the gut.
Chiraine couldn’t contain herself. “You can’t be serious! The Mayir are coming here? To loot Bandala?”
“If I’m not mistaking, ladybug, you all did a bit of looting yourselves. Hell, that’s why we’re all here, ain’t it? The Mayir just want to get it done in one fell swoop. They’re all about efficiency. Surely you see the sense in that.”
It all started to make sense—in a twisted way. The Mayir expedition was never about finding the Kryrk or anything else. At least not directly. They were here to eliminate the Rhya and plant dark space beacons so the Mayir could find their way to the Hodierna galaxy and take over the system.
No, not the system. They were here for Bandala—all the artifacts on Bandala.
I looked over at the Kryrk, still in Qualt’s hands, and remembered what Chiraine had said about it being a weapon with the power to destroy planets. If the Mayir got ahold of the Kryrk, it would be game over. And who knew how many more Kryrk-level super weapons were hidden in Bandala? Even the Aanthangan clone bot was disruptive technology that no one had right now. The thought of a Mayir clone bot army chilled me to the bone.
Whatever plan we thought we had was now pretty much obsolete. A quote from an old military guy popped into my head. No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy. That was definitely true. The only question now was…what the hell were we supposed to do next?
21
Qualt gave us an ultimatum—in his semi-friendly, swaggering kind of way. We could either surrender the Kryrk and join him. Or take a short walk out of the airlock.
He sounded very cocky, but Ana-Zhi wasn’t having any of it.
“Last I counted, there are three of us and one of you. Not to mention the skiphammer here.” She tapped the bomb affixed to the Kryrk for emphasis.
“Your math is way off, darling. I count nine of us, and—”
“Not right here, Qualt. There’s just you.”
“Don’t matter, sweet cheeks. You know as well as I do that the boomer you got here is a fake.”
Ana-Zhi started to protest, but Qualt cut her off with a raised finger. “Please, A.Z. Give me a little more credit than that.” He held up his wrist, which had some sort of device on it that looked like our Auras. “I brought a scanner, all right. And my density scan says that your so-called skiphammer is just a shell. I’ve got to give you props, though. It sure looks real.”
“Fine,” Ana-Zhi said. “But there’s nothing fake about my HT4.” In a flash, she had her radiant blaster out of the holster and aimed at Qualt’s crotch.
But he just bellowed with laughter. “Really, Ana-Zhi? Really? What do you think will happen if I don’t call in to my man Crex Chao in, oh say two minutes?”
Ana-Zhi didn’t say anything.
“This tub of pudding’s got no chance against the Vostok,” Qualt said. “You got nowhere to go. You know that. Can I be real with you for second?”
“Whatever.”
“Listen, you put up a good fight. You really did. I admire how you get shit done. Always did. But now’s the time to consider the benefits of a little cooperation. Know what I’m saying? I’m fine to shoot the breeze with you, banter, and negotiate. It’s all in fun. But the esteemed Field Marshal? He’s not such a fun guy. Not a fun guy at all.”
Ana-Zhi took a step back. “So that’s what? Two threats in the space of sixty seconds?”
“Call it what you will, A.Z. I’m just trying to be a human here.”
“Is that what this is?”
Qualt just shrugged. “I need a decision, darling.”
“Can I think about it? Discuss some options with my crew?”
“Sure you can. We have all the time in the world now there aren’t any wrigglies breathing down our necks.” He pushed himself down on the bench seat next to where I was standing. “Although don’t take too long. The Mayir are going to be here in less than forty-eight hours.”
“I was kind of thinking of having a private conversation with my crew.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I blurted. “We don’t have much of a choice, do we?”
“Smart boy,” Qualt said. “Damn sight smarter than your poppa, in my humble opinion.”
Every muscle in my body tensed as a bolt of anger seared through me. How dare that asswipe bring up my father?
“Jannigan’s right,” Chiraine said. “We don’t have any other options. We’re running low on food and water and we’ve got nowhere to go. Plus, I know a lot about Bandala. The Mayir would appreciate that kind of knowledge.”
“Always looking out for yourself, eh missy?” Ana-Zhi said.
“Kid’s right,” Qualt said. “The Mayir know the value of smart folks.”
“As long as they aren’t non-human,” I said quietly.
“Okay, Qualt. You win.” Ana-Zhi took the Kryrk back from him. “But I’m handing this thing directly to Molda Prundt. I want him to know that it was us that found it and not you.”
“Absolutely, A.Z. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I may have a lot of faults, but I am not a credit hog. So we got ourselves a deal?”
“There is one last thing,” Ana-Zhi said.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yates and Obarral.”
“You are like a dog with a bone, darling,” Qualt laughed. “What about them? I already told you that I’m not authorized to terminate them.”
“Just give me five minutes alone with each of them,” Ana-Zhi growled. “That’s all I’m asking.”
“No can do, A.Z. You’re going to have to play nice. At least until the Mayir arrive. Then you can take
