Page 46 of Lhora
The crewman glanced up from where they were shutting off the entrances made by the boarding tubes. “Almost done!”
“Let’s get back up top!”
“What about the Sarpen?” Lhora asked. She was on the verge of asking someone to take the man down to the brig. To her, it would be just punishment for what had been done to her. To her amazement, Lon dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
“Goltz, Aderis, take the Sarpen to sick bay.”
“Yes, Vadris.”
“But…” She watched as the two men grabbed Duren by the arms and hauled him away, but not before they disarmed him first.
The Vadris grinned. “By the time he awakens, hopefully we’ll be in Beinight airspace. Let’s see how he conducts himself then. Yendaw!”
“Yes, Vadris.”
“Get some others to gather up these remains and send them down the chute.”
“Yes, Vadris.”
“Napern, let me know the status of our men. I need to know how many are dead or injured.”
“Yes, Vadris.”
Lon addressed Lhora. “Will my injured be tended to when we arrive?”
She gave a simple nod. “Yes.”
“Yanka! What are the two Coltrosstian ships doing?”
“Still sitting in orbit, Vadris.”
“Any sign of hostility?”
“No. None.”
“How many of the Sarpen’s men transferred aboard?”
“Six, including the Sarpen.”
Lhora glanced around, but she wasn’t able to spot any brightly colored uniforms. “Where are the other five?”
“In custody.” Lon snorted. “And in the brig. Pullid! Ahead quarter speed!”
“Ahead quarter speed!” the pilot responded.
“Come on. Let’s go back up top.” He gestured to her.
Wiping her sword on her pants legs, she clipped it to her belt and followed him back to the bridge. When they arrived, she asked, “Why quarter speed?”
“For one thing, to see if the other two ships follow.”
“Which they will.”
The Vadris smiled. “Since we’re not running, they’re less likely to start firing at us to get us to stop.”
“And since the Sarpen is on board, that’s another reason why they won’t attack,” she pointed out. “They may even believe he gave the order for us to proceed.”
“We’ll see. Yanka! Any sign of any more Tra’Mellian craft?”
