Dragonback 06 Dragon and Liberator (40 page)

She snapped her fingers. "Which reminds me, I've got the
footlocker you left at the Whinyard's Edge camp."

"With my leather jacket inside?" Jack asked. "Great! I thought
that was gone forever."

"No, Dad's got it, all safe and sound," Alison assured him. "We'll
pick it up after we get out of here. Anyway, we lost you for a bit
while you were on Brum-a-dum, then picked up your trail again after you
freed all those Chookoock slaves. I followed you to Bigelow, where you
promptly got yourself captured trying to sneak into the Malison Ring HQ
there."

"Which Draycos and I could have gotten out of on our own," Jack
said, his face warming at the memory. "So that was why I spotted Harper
hanging around your ship. He was your excuse to talk me into giving you
a ride?"

"Yes." Alison lowered her eyes. "He was also . . . bodyguards
aren't supposed to be your friends, you know. But he was anyway."

"Sometimes it's a bodyguard's duty to die for those he protects,"
Draycos said. "Just as it is a warrior's."

"I know," Alison said. "And we'd probably all be dead if he hadn't
sacrificed himself to set off the
Advocatus Diaboli
's emergency
beacon that way. But it still hurts."

"He wouldn't want you to hold on to the pain, Alison," Draycos
said gently. "But you may always honor him in your memory. As I will."

"As we all will," Jack promised, searching for a way to get Alison
off this subject. "So that whole thing about meeting friends on Rho
Scorvi was just a bucket of soap bubbles?"

Alison's eyes and mind seemed to come back. "Basically," she said.
"Though someone would have come eventually to check if I hadn't
surfaced. Grandfather's scientists had analyzed the scratch mark
Draycos made on the bottom of his rejuvenation cylinder, and they'd
somehow deduced that it was a Phooka claw mark. So I maneuvered you
into going there, just to see how you'd react."

She smiled at Taneem. "Little did I know. Anyway, once we got
off-planet again, I called my contact on your InterWorld transmitter. I
told him about the Phookas and had Dad go in with a team and spirit
them away. I didn't want Neverlin killing them or, worse, using them to
scam the refugee fleet when it arrived."

Jack looked over at the computer module. Uncle Virge was being
awfully quiet about all this. "How did you bribe Uncle Virge into not
telling me about the call?"

"No bribery needed," Alison said. "I'd already figured the
Essenay
was either a diplomatic or governmental ship, and their computers
always come with a privacy lock-out. I just said the magic words, and
Uncle Virge basically went to sleep."

Jack nodded. "Is that also how Harper got you on Bentre, Uncle
Virge?"

"Yes," Uncle Virge said, a strangely thoughtful tone to his voice.
"He shut me off, got out of his cuffs, unwired the sopor mist canisters
you'd hooked up, flew us to the Braxton Universis office on Keeleywine,
and dropped Chiggers off with the security people there. Then he woke
me up again, explained the situation, and gave me a take-it-or-leave-it
offer to help out."

"And so the two of you came to Point Two to masquerade as Uncle
Virgil and infiltrate Neverlin's group," Jack said, shaking his head.
There was nothing like suddenly getting an entirely new angle on a
situation you'd thought you understood.

"And to bring me some emergency equipment," Alison said. "He was
also there on Brum-a-dum, by the way, the night I locked myself in
Neverlin's safe."

"I remember," Jack said, an odd memory suddenly kicking in. "When
Frost and Neverlin came charging into the hangar, you said
both of
us
weren't supposed to rescue you."

"Right," Alison said. "I'd given him a comm clip with your
frequency and pattern so he could keep track of what we were up to."
She grimaced. "Of course, if I'd realized that Frost and Neverlin were
still on Brum-a-dum, I'd have called in a full Braxton Security force
to grab them as they left the Chookoock estate. We could have ended the
whole plot right there."

"That wouldn't have ended it," Draycos said. "The Valahgua and
their Death weapons were still free. Even without Neverlin and Frost,
they would have found a way to attack the refugee fleet."

"I suppose," Alison said reluctantly. "Anyway, you know the rest."

"All except your story about being General Davi's daughter,"
Taneem spoke up. "How did you create that fiction?"

"It's no trick for Intelligence people to create false IDs," Jack
explained. "Her dad probably also gave her all those voiceprints Uncle
Virge told me she had stashed away in case she needed them."

"Jack's right," Alison said. "But in this case, we also had
General Davi himself ready to back up my story if Neverlin decided to
check up on me. After I called his forces in on the Patri Chookoock
last month, Dad had to tell him the whole story to keep him from
launching a full investigation and maybe knocking over my personal
applecart in the process."

"I'll bet he was thrilled," Jack murmured.

"He was several miles north of furious," Alison agreed. "Not at
us, but at what Frost had done with his men and equipment. He agreed on
the spot to cooperate with us."

"Hence the Malison Ring contingent your grandfather brought in
with him," Jack said dryly. "Probably the main reason Frost switched
sides there at the end. He knew he'd lost, and figured he'd better
surrender to your grandfather before Davi got to him."

"Something like that." Alison shook her head. "I just wish we
could have persuaded the Patri Chookoock to cooperate, too. But he
wouldn't. All Dad could do at that point was block his communications
so that he couldn't bring the hammer down on Harper."

"Though Neverlin still guessed the truth," Taneem said.

Alison sighed. "Yes."

"So why didn't you just tell me from the start who you were?" Jack
asked. "It would have made things a lot easier."

Alison shrugged uncomfortably. "In the beginning, because we
weren't sure whether we could trust you," she said. "You
or
Draycos."

"Oh, that's nice," Jack growled.

"No, she's right, Jack," Draycos said. "She had only my side of
the story, after all. There was no way for her to know we weren't a
group of invaders planning a conquest of the Orion Arm."

"At least not until I got to know him," Alison agreed. "By then—"
She grimaced. "You'd gotten it into your head that Grandfather might
have been involved with your parents' death. At that point, I didn't
dare tell you the truth."

"You don't still think that, do you, Jack?" Taneem asked.

"Not really," Jack assured her. "Besides, if Alison can accept the
whole K'da race based on Draycos's character, I suppose I can accept
Mr. Braxton based on hers."

"Which makes him a good man?" Taneem suggested.

"It certainly makes him a conniving man," Jack said blandly. "Also
smart-mouthed, underhanded—"

"Hey!" Alison protested.

"—but probably not a murderer," Jack finished. He turned innocent
eyes on Alison. "You say something?"

"Listen, buddy-boy," she said, leveling a finger at him, "if you
want to talk about
conniving
—"

"Please," Taneem interrupted anxiously. "Please don't fight."

"They're not fighting," Draycos soothed her. "This is a rather
silly game humans sometimes like to play together."

"You'll get used to it," Alison assured her, sending Jack's
innocent look right back at him.

Jack felt his stomach tighten. "Yeah," he muttered.

"What, you don't think she will?" Alison asked, frowning.

"I don't think she'll have a chance," Jack told her. "As soon as—"

He broke off at the sound of a footstep down the corridor.
"Hello?" he called.

"It's just me," Braxton's voice came back. "Where are you?"

"Second cabin," Alison called back. "Down the corridor aft."

There were more footsteps, and Braxton appeared in the cabin
doorway. "There you are," he said, crossing over to the bunk and
sitting down. "You ready, Alison?"

"Almost," Alison said. "Is the battle over?"

"Actually, the battle never got started," Braxton said, looking
thoughtfully around the room. "We were able to get through to the
Brummgas on the
Foxwolf
—" He looked at Draycos. "Excuse me: the
Gatekeeper
," he corrected himself. "They decided there was no
sense in throwing their lives away and mutinied against the Valahgua."

"Lucky for them," Alison said.

"Not for all of them," Braxton said soberly. "The Valahgua turned
the Death weapons around and killed over a hundred before they were
finally overwhelmed."

The room went quiet. Jack glanced at Draycos, seeing his own
revulsion and regret in the K'da's expression. Even big, dumb lummoxes
like the Brummgas didn't deserve to die that way. "Rotten losers,
aren't they?" he murmured.

"Yes," Draycos said, his voice dark. "They are."

"Well, they'd better get used to it," Alison said. "Now that
you're back where you belong, they're done for."

"Yes," Braxton agreed. He finished his survey of the room and
turned to Jack. "Speaking of being back where they belong, Jack, you
and I need to discuss your future."

"What future?" Jack said sourly. "Now that everyone knows Uncle
Virgil's dead, some Internos bureaucrat's bound to take the
Essenay
away from me. Then they'll put me in school, or with some strangers—"

He broke off. "Sorry," he apologized. "I suppose I should just be
happy I'm still alive."

"Yes, you should," Braxton said. "But I think we can do a little
better than your rather unappetizing scenario."

He gestured to Draycos. "You see, as it happens, Braxton Universis
still owns Iota Klestis."

Jack eyed him suspiciously. "And?"

"Oh, don't worry," Braxton hastened to assure him. "The K'da and
Shontine are welcome to it, for as long as they want to stay. But
instead of giving it to them outright, I thought I'd give them a
permanent lease at a dollar a year."

"Why is that better than selling it to them?" Jack asked.

"Or just giving it to them?" Alison added pointedly.

"A mere dollar a year fee
is
giving it to us," Draycos
told her.

"May I speak?" Braxton asked. "Thank you. There are two reasons to
lease instead of sell. One: those Internos bureaucrats Jack just
mentioned also have their own ideas as to what should be done with
refugees and displaced persons. If I still own Iota Klestis, I can let
anyone move in there that I want."

"Giving the K'da and Shontine time to negotiate their way through
the paperwork?" Alison suggested.

"Exactly," Braxton said. "And two: since I own the world, I can
hire anyone I want to be ambassador to the residents."

"Ambassador?" Draycos asked.

"Technically, he'll be a corporate liaison," Braxton said. "But
the duties will be effectively the same. Naturally, I'll need someone
who knows and understands the K'da."

He looked at Jack. "Ideally, one who is also already known and
trusted by them."

Jack frowned . . . and then, suddenly, he understood. "You can't
be serious," he said.

"I certainly can," Braxton said. "My planet, remember?" He looked
around the room again. "And of course, an ambassador needs his own
personal diplomatic ship." He smiled. "It needs a little hull work
around the hatchway, but I think it'll do."

"But I'm just a kid," Jack protested.

"But you have the gifts of insight and compassion and justice,"
Draycos said. "Speaking on behalf of the K'da and Shontine, we would be
honored to have you among us."

"Then it's settled," Braxton said, standing up. "Once the fleet's
ready to move, we'll escort them to Iota Klestis. I've already alerted
the nearest Universis depots, and they're putting together an initial
supply run to help with the transition."

"Thank you," Draycos said.

"My pleasure," Braxton replied, inclining his head. "I'm very much
looking forward to working with you and your people."

He crossed back to the door. "As soon as you're all ready, come on
over to the
Advocatus Diaboli
. I've decided to stay aboard for
the trip to Iota Klestis." His face tightened a little. "And to make
sure that Death weapon is well and truly destroyed."

"I would be happy to assist in that," Draycos offered grimly.

"I was hoping you would," Braxton said. "See you all soon."

He left, his footsteps retreating again down the corridor. "Well,"
Alison said. "What do you think of that?"

"I don't know yet," Jack said. "This is all coming way too fast."

"You've got time," Alison said quietly. "The point is that you're
finally safe. You're safe, and you're among friends. Just like Draycos
and his people are."

"You're safe, Jack lad?"

Jack frowned at the computer module. It had been Uncle Virge's
voice . . . but there'd been something odd about it. "Yes, I think
maybe I really am," he said. "Who'd ever have guessed, huh?"

"The people responsible for your parents' murder are dead?"

"Dead or in custody," Jack said. "Why?"

"Just a minute."

There was a long pause. "What's going on?" Alison asked.

Jack shook his head. "I don't know."

There was a click from the speaker. "Hello, Jack lad," Uncle Virge
said.

Jack tensed. Because it
wasn't
Uncle Virge, the
personality Jack's uncle had programmed into the
Essenay
's
computer. This voice was subtly but definitely different.

It was Uncle Virgil himself.

"I apologize for speaking to you through this recording," Uncle
Virgil went on. "I presume from the fact that you
are
listening
to it means I'm dead or in jail or otherwise unavailable to give all
this to you in person.