Dragon and Liberator

"I know," Alison said, climbing off the chair and putting it back in its place by the desk. Going back to the bed, she lay down again.

But this time, it was relief that washed through her instead of heartache. "I tried every trick I could think of to get away, but they weren't buying any of them," she went on. "I couldn't even go the bathroom alone for those first few hours. I don't think they completely trusted me back then. Probably still don't," she added, remembering the look on Neverlin's face as she'd left the bridge just now. "All I could do was hope you could find a sleeping crewman or someone else you could borrow long enough to get by." She was babbling like an idiot, she knew. But strangely enough she didn't care. "I tried to point you forward toward the crew section a couple of times—did you notice?"

"I did better than that," Taneem interrupted her gently. "Harper let me stay with him." She paused, and Alison winced with the sudden sadness she could sense in her friend. "He's dead, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is," Alison said, fresh tears misting across her eyes. "He died trying to save Draycos's people."

"Did he succeed?"

Alison swallowed hard. "Not by himself," she said. "Maybe not even with all the rest of us to help."

She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. "But it's not over yet," she added firmly. An hour ago, all her hope had been gone. But now some of it was back. Maybe enough of it. "Not by a long shot."

There was a soft knock on the door. "Hide," she whispered urgently to Taneem as she stood up. She waited until the K'da had settled herself out of sight beneath her clothing, then keyed the door open.

It was Neverlin. To Alison's mild surprise, he was alone. "Ms. Davi," he greeted her courteously. "May I come in?"

"As you wish," Alison said, stepping back out of the doorway, her heart thudding suddenly in her chest. Could he have recognized her, as Frost had back on Brum-a-dum? "Please; sit down."

"Thank you." Stepping to the desk, he swiveled the chair around and lowered himself into it. "I trust you had a good rest," he continued as Alison perched herself on the corner of the bed facing him.

"I'm feeling much better, thank you," Alison said, telling the complete truth for once.

"Good." Neverlin paused. "Tell me, how soon do you think your father could get a full military force out here?"

"Not nearly soon enough," Alison said. "The refugee fleet could be here, what, as early as tomorrow?"

"Theoretically, yes," Neverlin said. "Though personally I'm not expecting them for another four to six days. But I wasn't thinking about a force for the attack itself."

"Then for what?"

"For the work afterward." Neverlin gave her a small smile, his eyes glinting unpleasantly. "For the looting."

"For the looting?" Alison asked pointedly. "Or for protecting us from any friends Harper might have on the way?"

"You mean his friends in Braxton Universis Security?" Neverlin snorted. "Actually, I rather hope they do show up. The more of them our Valahguan friends take care of here, the fewer I'll have to deal with later when I take over the company. The Valahgua have finished their examination of Harper's body, by the way."

Alison forced herself not to look away from him. "Any surprises?" she asked.

"Not really," Neverlin said. "The Death apparently kills humans as efficiently as it does everyone else."

"An interesting weapon," Alison said.

"Which I hope never gets a foothold in the Orion Arm," Neverlin said, his voice going odd. "That's one of the reasons I was hoping your father could get a force out here, in fact."

Alison frowned at him. "Are you asking my father to help you kill the Valahgua?"

"Perhaps the Valahgua," Neverlin said, shrugging slightly. "Or perhaps others. I presume you noticed Colonel Frost's confrontation with the Lordhighest just before you left the bridge. He nearly came to blows with him."

"I'm not sure I'd call it coming to blows, exactly," Alison hedged. "I've seen you and Frost lock horns as solidly as they were doing."

"Exactly my point," Neverlin said. "The colonel has been growing more and more erratic lately. That's not a good thing for a delicate alliance like ours."

"So you're thinking it might be a good time to clean house?" Alison suggested.

"Something like that." Neverlin paused, considering. "Perhaps both the house and the barn."

Alison stared at him. "Are you suggesting getting rid of Frost and the Brummgas?"

"You said your father wanted a fair cut," Neverlin pointed out. "This would certainly leave a larger share for him."

"It would indeed," Alison said, forcing her voice to remain calm. Neverlin was even more cold-blooded than she'd thought. "How would you explain the loss of his troops to the Patri Chookoock?"

"This is war," Neverlin reminded her. "People die all the time in wars."

"True," Alison said. "Well, it certainly wouldn't cost anything to ask Dad what he thought about all this. How long until the InterWorld transmitter is up and running again?"