Slave Empire - The Crystal Ship (5 page)

Tarke shook
his head. “My offer expires in about ten minutes. I have to have an
answer by then.”

“
Why the rush?”

“
I don’t want to have to negotiate with your priesthood, and
you’re close to Amranon. They might send ships to see why you’ve
stopped.”

The Draycon
looked cunning. “They’ll believe what I tell them.”

“
Unless they find the girl, in which case your lies will anger
them.”

“
True.” The Draycon’s lips twisted, and his eyes darted
sideways again. “One of your battleships has arrived. Do you intend
to steal her?”

“
If necessary. You see, I’ve already agreed to sell her to my
client. If I don’t get her, it would be embarrassing. I dislike
being embarrassed; it tends to put me in a bad temper. I’m on my
way with another eight ships, so I recommend that you close the
deal.”

“
You would pit yourself against the might of the Drayconar
Empire for one ugly human girl?”

“
No. For a very lucrative deal. It’s what I do, and, at the
last count, I believe the might of the Drayconar Empire outweighed
mine by a mere twelve ships.”

The Draycon’s
crest rose. “I don’t believe you would enter into a war with us for
the sake of a deal.”

“
Maybe not. But I’ll certainly do a lot of damage to your
ship, and your priests won’t be any more eager than you are to
engage me in war. Remember, you have more to lose; more vulnerable
worlds. And I don’t have the Atlanteans’ foolish notions of fair
play. A war with me would cost you dearly, so I don’t see why
you’re so reluctant to part with one ugly human girl. After all,
you must have snatched her to sell, and you won’t get a better
offer.”

Norvar’s
captain appeared confused. “Then you don’t know who she is?”

“
She’s the last human female, that’s all I care about. My
client wants her. A special order, so make up your
mind.”

The Draycon
glanced sideways once more, and his eyes widened, then he faced the
screen again. “An Atlantean cruiser has just dropped out of the
Net. I must -”

“
Captain, the Atlanteans saved her from her world. They’ll
want her back. Right now, ships will be converging on you. I
recommend you close the deal with me and transfer her to one of my
ships. I’ll deal with the Atlanteans.”

Norvar’s
captain looked undecided, and, if he had been capable of it, he
might have started to sweat. Instead, his skin paled, and he broke
the connection. Tarke cursed as Pra’tar’s semi-transparent image
appeared again. She was speaking to someone beside her, and broke
off to face the screen.

Tarke said, “I
understand Starlight has arrived.”

She nodded.
“So have the Atlanteans. A cruiser called Hood. Shall I tap into
their communications?”

“
No need. I know what will be said. The Atlanteans will demand
the girl, the Draycons will refuse, and a standoff will result. All
that remains to be seen is whether the Draycons decide to sell her
to me or fight the Atlanteans. We’ll wait, for now. I’ll be there
in...” He consulted a hologram. “Less than three hours.”

“
The Atlanteans will send more ships, sir. It won’t be
safe.”

“
Commander, please don’t be concerned for me. If you and my
other commanders had their way, you’d keep me stored in a vat on
Ramia Four and take me out once a month for airing. I’ve survived
this far, so let’s not start giving me advice now.”

“
Sorry, sir.”

The space line
screen turned grey and slid back into its slot, leaving Tarke
staring at the stars through the snakes of golden brilliance that
crawled over the screens when they were semi-enveloped in the
transfer Net. He was certain the Draycon captain had been on the
verge of selling him the girl when the Atlanteans had arrived and
messed everything up, and he cursed them.

“
The Shrike stopped Norvar?” Tallyn demanded.

“
Yes, sir,” Marcon replied. “Not him personally. As I
understand it, he has two of his cruisers and a battleship
confronting Norvar. There’s another small ship nearby; sounds like
Rayne’s ship.”

“
Can Hood find out what’s going on between them?”

“
They’re not currently communicating, sir.”

Tallyn
grunted. “So, he must have offered them something, or they’d be in
battle by now. Rayne claims he’s her guardian.” He shrugged when
Marcon’s brows shot up. “That’s what she says, and he does seem to
turn up whenever she’s in trouble. Tell Hood not to start anything.
I want to know what the situation is first.”

“
Hood’s not going to take on two cruisers and a battleship,
sir.”

“
How many ships are en route, and when do they
arrive?”

Marcon checked
a hologram. “Three cruisers were dispatched from Atlan. They should
be there within the next half an hour. A battleship was called in
from Hansovar. It should be there within the hour, and we’ll be
there in two hours.”

“
I wonder how many more ships Shrike’s got on the
way.”

“
He won’t risk himself if we’re there.”

“
You’re right,” Tallyn agreed. “What’s more, he might have
been able to rescue her without a shot being fired, since he’s a
slaver. The Draycons might have sold her to him if he promised to
sell her to a murderer.”

He shook his
head. “But I’m being as naive as Rayne. I don’t know why he’s
there, and I refuse to believe he’s her guardian, even if he did
lend her a ship. It makes no sense. Rayne may be pretty, but, from
what I’ve heard, the Shrike doesn’t have a yen for women. Or men.
Maybe he took vows. It’s what makes him one of the weirdest slavers
in the galaxy, and the most difficult to spy on.”

“
Does this mean we’re not going to attack the Shrike’s
ships?”

“
We have problems enough as it is. If we can get her quickly
enough, sure, I’ll put a few holes in his ships.”

“
What if he offers to join forces?” Marcon asked.

“
He won’t. If he’s here to try to rescue her, let him, but
we’ll get to her first, I guarantee it.”

“
Sir, that strikes me as counterproductive. He’s shown he
wants to help her by lending her a ship; surely it’s in her best
interests for us to let him help with her rescue?”

“
The man is a wanted criminal, Marcon. If I can rescue her and
bag him too, I will.”

“
But if he’s her guardian, you’ll be countering the
prophecy.”

“
The prophecy doesn’t mention a guardian,” Tallyn said. “It’s
possible Rayne made up this guardian story to stop us hunting him.
Maybe she’s formed some sort of attachment to him, because he
released her when she was his slave. As to why he loaned her a
ship...” He threw up his hands. “I don’t know. But I’m not going to
make such a dangerous assumption based on so few facts.”

One of
Marcon’s holograms flashed, and he placed his hand on the sensor
pad. “A communication from Hood. They demanded the release of the
girl, and Norvar tried to move off. One of the Shrike’s ships fired
a shot across her bows. Communications have opened between Norvar
and the Shrike’s lead cruiser.”

“
Tap it.”

Marcon closed
his eyes, concentrating. “The Shrike’s cruiser is offering to buy
the girl, refusing to allow Norvar to pass. Norvar has sent a
distress signal to Amranon. They’re accusing the Shrike’s cruiser
of colluding with us.”

“
Damn,” Tallyn muttered. “Now things will get
messy.”

Rayne paced
her tiny cell, trying to figure out how she could get out of this
mess. An hour ago, her jailers had released her from the table and
thrown her in here. Evidently the Draycons were too busy to torture
her, and she hoped it was because Shadowen’s distress call had been
answered. She had not spoken to him for a while, afraid the
transmission could be detected if the Draycons found the right
frequency. Even now, she was reluctant to call him and find out
what was happening, not wishing to be cut off from him if she was
discovered.

The cell door
slid open, and four Draycons entered. Two held stunners trained on
her, the other two carried a metre-square steel box. An officer,
judging by his garish red and gold uniform, stood behind them, his
lips twisted in a vile smile.

“
We brought you a pet to play with, human. Of course, it’s
more likely to play with you, and I shall enjoy watching. It’s no
longer possible to take you to Amranon, so you’ll die right here,
in a few minutes.”

Rayne’s eyes
flicked to the box. “I thought your priests wanted me alive.”

“
They did, but our plans have changed. You can thank your
Atlantean friends for speeding your death, and also making it
considerably more painful.”

The guards put
the box down and left, the other two backed away, their weapons
trained on her. The officer raised a hand in a mocking salute.

“
Goodbye, human.” He sniggered as the door slid
shut.

Rayne wondered
what resided inside the box. If it was an animal, it could not be
much bigger than a medium-sized dog, but it did not have to be big
to be dangerous. She had studied many alien life forms whose
deadliness was only exceeded by their ugliness. Some could be
killed, and she had learnt every conceivable way to dispose of the
creatures, but a few were almost indestructible. Would the Draycons
underestimate her abilities? She hoped so with growing fervour as
she gazed at the silent box.

A whir and
click made her jump as the front of the box slid back, revealing a
dark interior. Her heart pounded as she waited for the alien to
appear. After about a minute, a tri-clawed leg appeared over the
edge of the doorway and gripped the steel lip. Another bright
orange claw joined it, then a third. With a jerk, the alien shot
into the light, and Rayne swallowed a scream. A mariner. Her mind
whirled. She had no idea why they were called mariners, for they
came from an arid planet whose sun slow-roasted it. The study data
she had accessed on Atlan had marked this creature with a bright
red danger symbol: deadly. More than that, however, the thing was
impervious just about everything save ejecting it into space.

The mariner
raised a three-eyed nub from its carapace. With its three hundred
and sixty-degree vision, it could not miss her. The black spots of
its eyes swivelled, nonetheless, examining its new prison, and its
next meal. Six triple-jointed legs splayed from its pear-shaped,
rigid torso. Its exoskeleton’s orange plates shifted as the muscles
within it flexed. Its tri-tail, three whip-like appendages of
armoured muscle, remained curled on its back. She tensed, ready to
run, for the mariner was fabled for its speed. Knowing she had
little hope of escaping it, she used her implant.

Shadowen,
they’ve put an alien in the cell with me, to kill me. It’s a
mariner.

Mariners are
movement hunters. Stay quite still. That is your best hope.

She froze.
What else can I
do?

Nothing. You
are in great danger. Do not move.

Rayne fought
the urge to run. The alien moved towards her, uncurling three
metre-long feelers. Its curved jaws, tipped with black fangs, bit
with a horizontal scissor movement. Hidden under its belly were two
needle-like appendages it used to inject its victim with an
embalming fluid. Mariners took a long time to eat their prey, for
they hunted far larger creatures. To conserve their food, they
injected a preserving fluid contained in sacs under the carapace.
The bloated soil-eaters of their home world were scarce, so they
could not afford to waste food by allowing it to rot.

A female
mariner laid eggs in her prey, then left it for her young to
consume and hunted again. Males often used their preserved food to
entice females for mating. Seldom did a mariner kill more than
twice in its short lifetime. The food their mother provided
nourished her young to adulthood, then males killed once to entice
a mate, usually chasing her away afterwards and eating the
remainder themselves.

The females
often hunted twice, once for their offspring, once for themselves.
If they did not find a second victim, they starved. The
soil-eaters, like giant worms, made vast networks of tunnels as
they ate their way through the ground, and mariners hunted in
these. The cell’s bright light seemed to affect the one that kept
her company. It withdrew the three-eyed nub and curled its legs,
only its feelers waving.

Rayne wondered
if she dared to slide down the wall and sit, or whether the alien
would detect the movement. She asked Shadowen.

It will detect it,
the ship
replied.
It may even sense your breathing,
anyway.

Oh, great.
What do I do if it attacks me?

There is not
much you can do. Presently the Draycon ship’s captain has reached a
standoff with the Shrike’s cruisers. Negotiations for your sale
were going well when an Atlantean ship arrived, now the Draycons
suspect the Shrike of trying to rescue you as well. Right now, all
sides are awaiting reinforcements. This means you will not be
rescued soon, so avoid alerting it to your presence.

Rayne groaned inwardly.
That’s why
they put this damned thing in here with me. They’re making sure
that even if they lose the battle, I’ll be dead.

Shadowen replied,
It would seem so.
However, a mariner is not the ideal choice of executioner. If it
does attack, it kills quite slowly, for it has no poison. The
embalming fluid it injects eventually kills, but it takes several
hours. The mouthparts inject a paralysing agent.