The Dragon Never Sleeps

— 88 —

Once on the Web Valerena began to gain confidence. It was not as bad as it looked. Lupo would see that. He would have everything into an information pattern that would put the House in the clear. Guardships had gone rogue before. And the fleet would not come looking where she was headed. If it did, well, her Guardship knew the Outside Web better than they did.

She would find her father's allies, flaunt her prize, get moving on the next phase of the struggle.

First she must score a diplomatic coup to please and placate Lupo. Then she would dig her Voyager out of its rider bay and head for home, to mend fences. Yes. And tell Tawn not to let any creepy-crawlies close while she was away. If they stole his secrets, they might cut House Tregesser out.

She must not lose sight of the fact that they were not human. And that they had their own agenda.

As breakaway neared, Valerena's excitement grew almost sexually intense. Would she be remembered not only as first to take a Guardship but also as the one who had caused their downfall?

She, Tawn, and all her Others but the one in the Pylon gathered. The most trustworthy of the workers caught aboard were allowed to join them, to witness something never before seen by people not of the Guardship fleet.

The viewscreens went white.

Before they cleared Tawn said, "They're here, Valerena."

A viewscreen cleared, revealed a monstrous shape of gleaming metal. Characters scrambled across the screen, proclaimed xii fulminata.

Lupo had destroyed XII Fulminata!

They would come within meters of colliding.

Another screen showed a gas giant with schematic orbits labeled xxviii fretensis and iv trajana. In seconds VI Adjutrix would pass XII Fulminata and be caught in a pocket from which there could be no escape.

"Hellspinners," she muttered.

As VI Adjutrix swept down the flank of XII Fulminata, too close for the latter to raise screen, the Hellspinners went mad, devouring that side of XII Fulminata two-thirds of the way to its Core, doing it so suddenly and unexpectedly XII Fulminata could do no damage in reply.

There was no way to avoid diving into the pocket. Momentum could not be defeated. "We have to turn and get out of here," Valerena cried.

XII Fulminata did not like that idea. Already that Guardship was launching secondaries and rotating its good face toward VI Adjutrix's fire.

VI Adjutrix launched, too.

Another first. The chance to see a battle to the death between Guardships.

To hell with that noise!

The displays had gone crazy. She could not take in a hundredth of the information. But the tactical situation became obvious quickly. XII Fulminata meant to hold VI Adjutrix till the other Guardships arrived. VI Adjutrix would keep probing the hurt already dealt XII Fulminata in hopes of a quick kill or at least of forcing XII Fulminata out of position long enough to dash to the Web.

Time flowed glacially, yet swiftly, according to where Valerena concentrated her attention. Came the moment when she knew XII Fulminata's cries had been heard by XXVIII Fretensis and IV Trajana. Came the moment when their indignant replies returned and it was certain they were accelerating toward the action as violently as their frames could stand. And XII Fulminata would not give a millimeter, though its destruction was assured if it did not.

Tawn came out of his fugue momentarily. "I've done the hard part. I've beaten XII Fulminata. The other two have nothing left. I can take them, too."

They were all insane. Tawn wanted to fight. Tawn wanted whatever laurels there were from a triumph over three Guardships.

Damn!

"Why are they coming if they can't win?"

"They have to. And what they know isn't what they believe. My love, I must leave you for a while. I must preside over the execution of Fulminata." He smiled. "I never liked Fulminata."

Valerena watched briefly. She saw no evidence that XII Fulminata was beaten, awaiting a coup de grace.

She summoned her Others. "This isn't shaping up good. He wants to fight even if he gets the chance to run. Ready the Voyager. I'll join you in a few minutes. We'll pretend to be a rider moving out to attack XII Fulminata's wounded side. When we're over there, we'll run for it. Get going. Casual."

She watched XXVIII Fretensis and IV Trajana on a split screen. Half showed what actually could be seen, which lagged reality by the time it took light to bridge the intervening gap. The other half presented Adjutrix's estimate of what the Guardships were doing in realtime.

They were coming up on turnover, where they would begin deceleration and launch secondaries.

They began decelerating.

Moments later, observation proved estimation incorrect.

Both had begun deceleration, but XXVIII Fretensis was pulling ahead of IV Trajana, as though planning a high velocity firing pass.

Something was wrong. Bad wrong.

Valerena began walking, betraying no emotion. But she did not sustain that false calm long. She ran.

Her run ended within sight of the Voyager lock.

Tawn stepped into her path. "Why are you trying to leave me, my love?"

"I don't want to die."

"They are the ones who will be destroyed. Come." He grabbed her wrist. She could not break his hold. "You were going to your homeworld? Yes. I see. We will go there when I finish this. I will need refitting again."

She tried to hang back. He dragged her. "For you I turned upon my own. Though it takes them a thousand centuries, they will hunt me down. They will hate me more than any mortal foe." More gently, "I have abandoned immortality for you, Valerena Tregesser. You will spend the rest of your life with me, be that ten minutes or ten thousand years."

Insane. Raving insane.

He began laughing as they approached the big hall. She had not heard him laugh before. It recalled Simon's crazy laughter. He said, "Fulminata is dead. Shells reached the Core."

He dragged her into the hall.

XII Fulminata did not look dead on screen. Erratic, yes, but still very much in action.

Did Guardships have reflexes, like killed animals?

XXVIII Fretensis and IV Trajana were sufficiently close that the split screen went to one view. XXVIII Fretensis was not leading the charge now. IV Trajana had pulled ahead. Neither should be able to slow enough to engage.

There was something bad wrong.

IV Trajana began accelerating.

Valerena saw it coming but did not believe it. Not till Tawn came, eyes moist, sorrowful. "I was wrong, my love. You were right. I'm sorry. Hold me. Please?" And a moment later, "We had so little time."

IV Trajana rammed VI Adjutrix at sixteen kilometers per second, flinging VI Adjutrix back into the remains of XII Fulminata. Three Guardships perished in a nova of violence.

So much did they hate and fear one of their own gone rogue.

XXVIII Fretensis slid by and clambered onto the Web, headed for Starbase with all the information VI Adjutrix had transmitted during its final seconds. VI Adjutrix had not turned on the fleet out of hatred and did not leave that final duty unfulfilled, though the fleet was casting it into oblivion.

Not a word about its lover did it betray, though.

Seconds before impact, the Valerena Others gave up waiting and flung their Voyager out of its rider bay. Gas and debris buffeted the vessel, tossed it about. They regained control and limped away, climbed onto the Web only minutes behind XX VIII Fretensis.

A debate began. They did not want to die. But their Prime was gone. Their lives might be forfeit. Yet they were Valerena Tregesser genetically and by conditioning. They had her sense of obligation to the House. And the House could not be kept ignorant of this disaster.