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before we could countermand the orders from here, and since they were already
right on top of the Kilrathi& "
"Any idea what they're up against?"
"At least six Dralthi, Colonel," Flint told him. "But Vaquero reported he was
getting some other readings that might have been something bigger, a whole lot
bigger."
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"Christ," Blair muttered. "Probably a transport& but it might be a cap ship
under fighter escort. How're they doing so far?"
"Holding their own, but they haven't been able to obey recall and break away.
The Dralthi keep swarming them." Flint looked apologetic. "We didn't want to
commit the ready alert birds without your say-so, Colonel.
The standing orders are to avoid a fight."
"Yeah, I know. I helped draft 'em, remember?" Blair realized his tone had been
sharper than he'd intended. "You did well, Lieutenant. Okay, who's on ready
alert?"
"Maniac and Vagabond," Flint said. "They're in their fighters and ready to
launch."
"Good. Launch immediately, then. But tell the flight crew to get two more
Thunderbolts ready for launch."
"Who's on deck, Colonel?" There was a faint light of hope in her eyes.
"I'll take one. Call Hobbes to fly wingman with me." He saw her face fall,
disappointed. "I know you want back on the roster, Flint, but I don't have
time to discuss it tonight. Call out Hobbes. I'll be in the ready room suiting
up. Put through a call to the captain and route it to me there. He'll have to
know what we're getting into."
"Aye, aye, sir," she said, voice flat.
He had his flight suit on and was wrestling with his boots when a vid screen
came to life on one wall of the Gold Squadron ready room. Eisen looked like
he'd been asleep. "They tell me you have a situation, Colonel,"
he said.
"We certainly do, sir," Blair told him. "Two of my pilots ran into a
Kilrathi flight and have become heavily engaged. I've got two more on the way
to back them up, and Hobbes and I are joining the party as soon as our
fighters are prepped." Hobbes came into the ready room as he spoke and crossed
to his locker.
"That's a pretty strong response, Colonel," Eisen said quietly. "Just how many
Kilrathi did your people run into out there, anyway?"
"That's not clear yet, sir," Blair said. "That's why I'm flying the extra
cover. There could be a cap ship involved, too. We're not sure yet."
"Damned sensor clutter," Eisen said, nodding. "Well, I guess all good things
must come to an end. After all this, the furballs won't be letting us sneak
around any more. We'll have to hope we've got all the data HQ
wants, because I'm ordering a withdrawal to the jump point ASAP."
"Agreed, sir," Blair said, "though I'd appreciate it if you'd hold off until
we're back. I wouldn't want to misplace the
Victory in the middle of this mess."
Eisen chuckled. "Oh, I think we can wait for you, Colonel. Just don't keep us
waiting too long, okay?" He cut the intercom without waiting for an answer.
"Another flight together, my friend," Hobbes commented. "I am glad. It has
been too long since you were on my wing."
"Yeah, I'll say." Blair picked up his helmet and looked at the renegade
Kilrathi pilot for a long moment. "Do you ever find yourself wishing for the
old days, Hobbes? Back when we were junior pilots, flying for the sheer hell
of it all? Sometimes I'd give everything I've got to be back on the old
Tiger's Claw with you, and Angel, and Paladin, and the rest of the old gang.
No decisions to make, nothing to worry about but flying& "
Hobbes shook his head. "I do not think about that time often, I fear," he
said. "It was a period of great stress for me, as you may remember. Trying to
prove myself to you all." Ralgha's expression became bleak. "But sometimes, in
my dreams, I find myself yearning for the days before I left the Empire. Once,
long ago, I did not have doubts about my own kind. I
knew my place in the universe, and I was proud of it. Those are the days I
find myself remembering." He picked up his helmet and fell in beside
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Blair. "But the past is gone, my friend. All we have now is the present."
"And the future?" Blair asked.
Hobbes shook his head. "For many years I have known that I have no real
future. In peace or in war, my own kind reject me and your kind, with only a
few exceptions, shun me. What future do I have, save to fight and die in the
cockpit of my fighter? Sometimes I feel that I am somehow bound up in the
whole outcome of this war, that I might play a key part in victory or defeat
before I die. But that is not a future. That is my fate, hovering over me& " He
looked at Blair. "It is not a concept easily grasped by non-Kilrathi. But it
is all I understand."
"Come on, Hobbes," Blair said, troubled by the glimpse Ralgha had given into
his alien soul. "Let's get down to the flight line. That's all the future
either of us can afford to worry about for now."
Command Hall, KIS Hvar'kann
Ariel System
"Lord Prince, we have a report of enemy activity in the system. A
convoy is under attack by Terran fighters."
Thrakhath leaned forward in his chair to study Melek in the dull red light of
the audience chamber. "They dare attack us here, in our space?
Perhaps they did not learn their lesson at Locanda."
Melek bowed acknowledgement. "You did say you expected them to respond, Lord
Prince," he pointed out. "Intercepted radio traffic indicates that the Terran
ships may be from the
Victory
."
"So& " Thrakhath turned the report over in his mind. "This&
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