"Keep our transmission going."
The ache grew around her heart, grew and grew. The blood pounded in her temples. Not a sound from the ships around them, nothing from the ships behind, yet ... yet. Light had a little lagtime for them.
"Nekekkt's answering," Hilfy said. "All code."
So what are you doing, Skkukuk? What are you up to? Who's in charge on that ship?
Twelve. Thirteen ships. Fourteen.
"Priority." Com came through direct to her earplug. "Instruction from the hakkikt, praise to him. Restore buoy output to our ships. Surrender this system and all its ships instantly. It will exist under the authority of my skku Pyanfar Chanur, whose orders come from me. Cease all hostilities. You are dealing with the mekt-hakkikt Sikkukkut an'nikktukktin, who allots the rule of this system and its adjuncts to his vassal Chanur.''
She let the breath hiss softly. Gods-be, what must they think now, Rhean and Anfy and Harun and Banny and the rest-what in a mahen hell do the kif back behind me think, and what kind of a move have I made with Skkukuk?
Then: Gods help me, I've got it, I've got it all, everything in my hands to protect, my people, my allies. He's not shooting.
Now what do I do?
"Reply: Pyanfar Chanur to the mekt-hakkikt Sikkukkut an'nikktukktin, praise to his foresight, his enemies are under my hand."
Ambiguity. Gods save us all.
Haral had looked her way. And there was that little black thing slinking back from the galley, in a hurry, as if Tauran crew in there had done something violent.
"Smart is all we got," she said to Haral. "I remember what Goldtooth said. We get this situation calmed down a little and then I go for a little visit to Harukk. That's what. We take Goldtooth's suggestion. Snuggle up to this kif and get him."
"The two of us," Haral said.
"No. You got a ship to run. Get our V and Harukk'% matched, that's what we got to do. I'd hit him now if we had the angle and his V to use, but we can't break through those shields, slow as we are."
Haral kept looking at her. She was talking about suicide. Haral knew it. Haral also knew the other plain fact, that their armaments were nothing against hunter-ship armor-unless one or the other in the encounter had C-fractional velocity to add to the impact, virtually head-on. And Sikkukkut, praise to his wily kifish heart, was not obliging them.
" 'Bout the only thing we can do, don't, you think?"
"You mean just board and shoot him pointblank."
"Hey, they never have been too fussy about us carrying weapons. Kifish etiquette's on our side, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Haral said.
"He'll ask me aboard. You wait and see. I get my chance, and then you blow his vanes if you can. I don't have to tell you. You know what you're doing." A look aside at Haral. Old partner. Old friend. The one who just as well could have captained The Pride a long, long time ago. Who right now looked at her with that stolid calm behind which was a great deal of pain. "Long time."
"Yeah," Haral said again. "Watch out for Ikkhoitr, that's what I got to do. But that's not your job in there right now. No one but you's got the credentials, hear me?"
"Nobody else can get close to the gods-be kif-"
"He's going to be expecting a move like this. That's why no one else can get close to him. This is why it doesn't work for the kif. No percentage in it. You do it, Py, and we got ourselves a kif ball-up right here in the system."
"We just got to get me inside there, that's what we got."
"We got those mahendo'sat hanging off system. We still don't know where Goldtooth is-he could come tearing through here any minute, f godssakes, him and the whole clutch of humans. We got that message going out to the mahendo'sat. Jik's coming in here-don't do it. Don't throw yourself into that mess. We just stay tight here, we talk to that bastard as long as he wants to talk, we got to hold our nerve, captain, that's what we got to do. We got to just bide our time and hope to-"
"Captain," Hilfy said. "We got a query from Vigilance. Query, query, query, quote. That's all they say."
"Gods rot that nest of lunatics. Tell 'em shut it down. My gods, they'll blow this up yet. Tell 'em-No. Tell 'em what I said. Shut it up. Next ship transmits out of turn I'll have some ears for it, say that. Tell Harukk again the system is stable and his enemies are in retreat. Say that we have a contingent of mahendo'sat insystem in support of Jik, who's gone on in pursuit of Akkhtimakt. Say that we're ready to meet and arrange things."
Eighteen ships in. The range out there was a confusion of ship IDs and colors as ships downshifted their V and others kept arriving.
"Aye," Hilfy said.
"Captain," Tully said. "Wrong. Ship wrong."
"Gods." Geran's voice. "No ID on that last ship. It's not outputting. We got an anomaly out there."
Her heart sped. "Track and target. Get me vector on it."
"Working," Sif said.
It was behind the others. The line popped up, projecting course right with the rest of the mass.
Chapter Fourteen
It kept coming, a ship on which ID squeal had malfunctioned.
But that kind of malfunction was a kifish trick.
A pirate trick.
"My gods. It's not theirs. It's not theirs, they know it- stand by, stand by armaments!" Pyanfar shoved her arm into the brace and gulped air in starkest panic. "Haral! Control to me!"
"Aye," Haral said on the instant, went over to switcher-one while Tirun busied herself with the tracking of the armaments.
"What is it?" Sirany wondered from her vantage.
"A stray," Pyanfar said. "It's a godsforsaken stray, Goldtooth's or-"
‘'Priority!'' Geran yelled, but it was already clear on the screen: the interloper had not dumped, and something else had come out from it: missile fire, projectiles launched C-fractional at ships that were relativistically stationary targets dead ahead of it.
"Priority!" Hilfy cried. "It's Tahar! That's Moon Rising! My gods, she's going to run right through them!"
"Track on Harukk!" Pyanfar yelled, and slammed the mains in. "All ships, fire at will-tell 'em that's an ally coming through!"
The armaments were tracking. Missiles launched with a thump and a shock against their own substance. Dead against Harukk, everything they owned to throw, hard as they could throw it.
"Ikkhoitr!" Pyanfar yelled over the whine of reloading. "Tirun, get their vanes. Never gods-be mind the others! Hilfy, give me output!"
"You got it," Haral said. "Tully, output! Talk to humans, got it?"
In the case there was anything back there to talk to. All kinds of com ready-lighted, human channel, mahendo'sat, kif, hani, while that dopplering ghost that was Tahar's Moon Rising came ahead pouring fire at a single target, savvy and deliberate.
"This is the mekt-hakkikt Pyanfar Chanur: Akkhtimakt is fallen and Sikkukkut has run here pursued by a thousand enemies who are my allies, hammered between mahen forces and the unity of han. In this pukkukkta I give you a chance, Chakkuf, Nekekkt! You've served us well on this voyage. You have my favor now! Hani ships and mahendo'sat, be sure of your targets! Harukk is your target, and any other ship which fires in our direction! Make no mistakes! Kifish ships, run from this system and my agents will hunt you down even to Akkht! Join us in this hunt and become among the first of my skkukun, all of you strong enough to maintain your place! Hani, fire your loads and scatter!"