Page 18 of Lhora
“Now let’s see if our Sarpi takes advantage of the opening we’ve given him.”
Lhora glanced at the Vadris, whose eyes remained glued to the scene outside. There may not be a need for a second volley, but she was glad to know he wasn’t going to take the chance.
The warship lifted away, and the cluster of vessels disappeared below them. The planet rolled just above their horizon, giving them a crystal-clear view of the Parravi Seas that separated Beinight’s eastern edge from Coltross’s western shores.
The pilot brought them around in a tight circle that impressed Lhora. By the time the vessels reappeared, they could see the extent of their attack. The two ketches were all but demolished. Large pieces floated where the ships had been. The rest were bits and pieces either drifting out into space, or plummeting toward the planet where they burned up in the atmosphere, becoming bright momentary bursts of light as they flamed into oblivion.
The giant Tra’Mellian battlecruiser remained attached to theCleedavia its three boarding tubes. Lhora would have given anything to know what was going on inside the Coltrosstian ship. Did anyone even know the other two ships were no longer—
She gave a little shriek as theCleeda’sentire port side lit up. Streams of blinding blue cannon fire from all its guns struck the side of the Tra’Mellian destroyer. A split second later, the enemy craft erupted into a blistering fireball. The explosion sent theCleedaflying across the air space, rolling and tumbling in the effects of the after-blast as it shot into the upper atmosphere and into outer space.
“Hard about!” Lon roared. “Go after the Sarpi!”
“Wait! Aren’t you going to stay and make sure the Tra’Mell are done for?” Lhora argued.
The Vadris shot her a scathing look. “They’re done for, or did you see a different demise than the one we all just witnessed?”
“At least go in and throw one more volley at them!”
His demeanor shifted into disdain, almost threatening. “You forget your place, Beinight. You are our prisoner here, not our co-captain. Keep your tongue in your head, or else I’ll be forced to have you escorted below.”
Lhora didn’t attempt to hide her immediate anger, but she bit back any further remarks. She knew she was being given preferential treatment by being allowed to remain on the bridge. More than that, they were letting her keep her weapons. Yes, she was aware that she was being kept under surveillance by more than a dozen pairs of eyes. One questionable move that anyone saw as threatening, and she’d be run through before she’d taken a second breath. Instead, she followed the man back down to the bridge and parked herself in an out-of-the-way corner where she could watch the crew and still be able to see out the bubble shield above the forecastle.
“All ahead full!” Lon ordered, and took his place next to the navigation panel.
The vibration underneath her told her they were pushing the engines to reach the runaway vessel. She knew the people inside the craft wouldn’t be aware they were tumbling end over end as long as the ship’s gravitational field remained intact. They wouldn’t know unless they were watching their vidscreens, or looking out a port window and saw the stars whirling faster than a child’s toy.
“Fire hooks!” Lon yelled.
“Firing grappling hooks!”
Lhora reached for a nearby panel to brace herself. As soon as she did, the hooks snagged theCleeda.There was a hard, spine-snapping jerk, and she heard the Vadris call for reverse engines. She would swear she heard the ship howl as it fought to bring the other vessel under control. It was slow and tedious, but gradually they managed to get the Sarpi’s ship slowed and upright.
“Deploy boarding tubes!”
“Boarding tubes deployed!”
The Vadris took off, she presumed to board theCleeda.Not waiting to see if she’d get an invitation to join him, she hurried to follow him anyway. Fortunately, no one tried to stop her or questioned her trailing after him.
When they reached the first boarding tube, Lon stood to the side and drew his sword. Lhora took her cue from him and positioned herself on the other side of the hatch as she also hefted her weapon.
The hatchway opened. The first person to appear was a member of the Sarpi’s crew. The man was bloodied, and his sword still dripped from combat. Seeing the way was clear and there was no danger, he straightened and called over his shoulder. “We’re safe!”
Lhora heard the heavy stride of boots coming down the gangway before Sov appeared in the opening. Like his guard, he bore the marks of a man who’d been fighting for his life. A cut nearly two beres long across the side of his left jaw had bled down his neck and onto the collar. As he clipped his weapon to his belt, his gaze lit on her first thing, and he stopped dead in his tracks.
“You! What are you… Guards! Take this woman prisoner!”
“Sarpi!” Lon moved forward to intervene.
Sov whirled on him. “What is she doing here? Why does the enemy have full rein on your ship?”
“Sarpi, if it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have been able to rescue you,” the Vadris protested.
Sov was astonished. “Shehelped you to rescue me? ABeinight?”
“She told us you’d deployed your guns but hadn’t fired them. If I hadn’t known tha—”
“Are you telling me you took the word of ourenemy?Are you telling me you did not make the decision on your own to come rescue us, but instead took the word of this plugging tokko?”
