"How long has it been there?"
"I first noticed it four hours after we left the Kolnari fleet," Rand said. "I didn't know just what it was at first. I thought it might be just a probe. The pilot has been careful, and for the most part was able to stay just far enough away to be unidentifiable. But occasionally, like now, it's strayed just this side of the line of scanning range and over time I've been able to determine that it's a small fighter."
Rand showed her a composite picture of a fighter, small and fast, and exceedingly well armed. "I'd suppose it's probably crewed by a mercenary."
"Yeah," Joat murmured, nibbling on her thumb. "They're not likely to risk one of their own on what could turn out to be a suicide mission. From the size of their fleet it doesn't look like they've got any Kolnari to spare… that thing looks just barely large enough to go interstellar."
She raised one brow and smirked with satisfaction. Channa would tell her that she shouldn't feel so pleased about it. But Channa was too soft-hearted for her own good. When you came across a killer disease you eradicated it. You didn't let it live out of pity.
"I'm going to guess," she said, "that his job it to make sure we go where we've been sent."
"The pilot has been sending periodic communications in the direction of the Kolnar fleet. But they were tight-beamed and I couldn't catch anything."
"Don't sound so embarrassed Rand. We're not a spy ship." We're really not, she thought with amusement, even though we've been spying.
"Hmmm. He's there to insure that Amos is delivered to Bethel. Maybe Belazir is afraid we'll grab the life-pod and go running off to the nearest Central Worlds outpost screaming for help. But I think his real fear is that we'll open it and be wiped out by the disease before his revenge plan has a chance to happen." She tapped the screen. "And this poor fool is to board us and take over the piloting if we show signs of going out of our minds."
"That was my assessment too," Rand said.
"So let's get him over here," Joat said. "Let's ask Seg for a complete list of symptoms."
Skating along on the narrow edge of his scanner's capacity, Kraig Rendino du Pare followed the Wyal's trail.
He was bored. To the point of pain.
He reckoned that fighters were made to be uncomfortable so you couldn't go to sleep on duty. And you had to stay in your suit, which cut down on your options for personal fun. You couldn't even open the helmet in vacuum, so you couldn't get at yourself. For good or ill. Merde!
This particular assignment was agony. The ship ahead of him did nothing but proceed quietly on its way.
Damned Kolnari paranoia, he thought sullenly.
When he'd become a mercenary ten years ago he'd done it in hopes of excitement, adventure, loot. Usually, though, it was as dull as regular duty in the Navy had been. With the added drawback that the pay was irregular. Not to mention the bad maintenance, so you had to check everything yourself if you wanted to live.
It's still hurry up and wait, he thought. Still do what you're told, no matter how stupid it is. He was going to quit. The pay was okay, but it wasn't high enough to counter Kolnari arrogance. Or missions to nowhere that last forever. And they were weird, even if they spared you the lectures on mental hygiene. Come to think of it, they seem to like it better if you're crazy.
Yeah. The Kolnari'd hired more head-cases than he'd ever even seen before. Another good reason to quit.
Uh oh. They were broadcasting on an emergency band. He risked scooting closer to pick it up.
"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Mayday," a clipped male voice recited calmly, over and over.
Alright with the Maydays, Kraig thought impatiently, get to the message.
"Mayday."
Oh, Jeeesh!
"Um… Mayday."
The speaker seemed to have run out of steam. Almost a minute went by in perfect silence, except for the crisp sound of an open com.
"Mayday?"
Kraig started to laugh. On the other hand, there were compensations. The Fleet would have expected him to charge in and rescue these idiots.
"Tell them we're in trouble," a woman's voice prompted.
"We are?"
Silence.
"I…" the woman's voice, sounding uncertain. "Yes, I'm sure we are."
"What's wrong? Are we in trouble?"
"Mayday," she said. "Keep saying… May-something."
Merde! Kraig thought in disgust.
This was what he'd been told to watch for. If the crew of the Wyal showed signs of disorientation he was to go over and check it out. If necessary he was to carry out their mission to drop a life-pod into Bethel's atmosphere.
Merde!
"Attaboy," Joat said with a grin as the distant fighter began to close with them. She felt a tingling alertness, far more agreeable than the sour taste of fear. "Come to mama. How long before he gets here, Rand?"
"About ten minutes." Rand had long since discovered that humans didn't really want to know exactly how long until an event occurred. They were more interested in generalities. He'd often wondered how they'd accomplished all that they had, including his own invention, given their evident distaste for precision.
"Has he sent anything to Belazir yet?"
"No. Perhaps he's waiting until he has concrete information."
"Verrrryy good," she said, eyes bright with satisfaction. "Can you intercept any messages he sends once he's in range?"
"I assume you mean stop rather than intercept. If so, no, I can't."
"But," Alvec said. "Even a tight-beamed message can be interrupted so that it's garbage when its received. I'll show ya how, Rand."
"Thank you, Alvec," Rand said. "I'd appreciate that."
"You're a wonder, Al. I don't know what I'd do without you," Joat said, smiling at him over her shoulder. "The things you know…"
"I had an unfortunate adolescence," Alvec said piously.
Didn't we all. Joat keyed internal communications. "Seg, how are you doing with that antidote for whatever they gave Amos?"
"Not too badly, given the circumstances," he said, gesturing towards a looming Joseph with a none-too-subtle jerk of his head.
Joat pursed her lips.
"Will Amos come out of it on his own?" she asked.
"Eventually,"!T'sel said slowly. "Why?"
"Because I'm going to have to ask you to stop what you're doing and come up here to administer some of those interrogation drugs you brought with you."
Joseph drew himself up indignantly, but Joat spoke before he could voice his outrage.
"Belazir put a tail on us," she said, "we're luring him in now. And somehow I don't think he's going to volunteer information."
Alvec barked a laugh in the background, making Joseph smile.
"Use your most effective drugs," he suggested to Seg, "so that you may return quickly. I loathe seeing the Benisur in this condition. And I assure you, neither the Kolnari, nor those they are likely to use as tools, are deserving of mercy. If your drugs fail, call me. My knife will not."
"I'll… take that under advisement," Seg muttered.
He swallowed at Joseph's expression. Usually human faces were a little hard to read, immobile… but he suspected that a good number of sentient beings had seen that expression the very last time they saw anything at all.
Perhaps Bros wasn't completely wrong about adventure. Suddenly, his quiet, boring laboratory seemed much more attractive.