CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“It has been a damn nice thing—the nearest run thing you ever saw.”

—Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

“VERY GOOD, Commander.” Albert Barngate rose from the mess table and nodded approvingly as he moved to join Norden. Shumway pushed himself up from his seat as well, after shooting a triumphant sneer in York's direction.

“Commander?” Hull stepped forward, his face flushed with anger. “What lunacy is that?”

“Do show some respect, Captain,” Norden answered easily. He reached inside his jacket and removed forth a small charged-particle beamer, before handing it to Barngate. “I happen to be a commander in the Imperial Navy of Prince Li-Hu.”

“You're crazy,” Tregaski bellowed. “Li-Hu's got no empire and he don't got much of a navy either!”

“What he has is a very fine fleet of interstellar liners, each designed for immediate conversion into a cruiser of the line.” Norden responded. “I might also add that they will be very well armed. Shiva-class cruisers, as a matter of fact. The empire, I expect, will follow in time.”

“Shiva-class!” Hull exclaimed.

York waved him to silence as she locked eyes with Norden. “If you have the secret of the sunbuster, you'll never carry it back to your prince.”

“We have it,” Barngate declared. “And we will most certainly carry it back to our prince!”

In the momentary silence that followed, York carefully studied both Norden and Apgar. The latter wore a foolish, victorious smile that told her the big man was little more than a pawn in the power game being played. But not Norden. What an asset he would have made! She almost regretted that he would have to die.

“So you're the traitor,” she told him.

“Traitor?” Norden reflected upon her accusation without flinching or taking offense. “A man must be true to his House, and my loyalties have always been to House Dai Zhan. I was born on Yenchi, fourth of the noble sun Kang.”

“I see,” she said. “Tell me one thing. You showed your hand rather early in the two attempts on me.”

“We made you on the first day,” Norden admitted. “The attack on your room was planned, although the timer misfunctioned. You were supposed to be asleep. As for the other incident, well, Dave saw an opportunity and he took the shot.”

The deckhand grinned ruefully. “Damned snubnose has no range!”

“I thought both attempts were rather amateurish, actually. A consequence of the shortcomings in your training, no doubt. You know you're not going to get away with this, Mr. Norden.”

“She's right, you won't,” Captain Hull broke in. Disregarding York's urgent gesture to remain silent, he continued. “Myranda Flare has been captured! You didn't expect that, did you?”

Barngate and Norden exchanged a mystified glance. “No,” Norden admitted slowly. “That is something we didn't expect.”

“She's captured,” Hull repeated. “Terentulus is sealed off. You're trapped, all of you. The best thing you can do is surrender and hope for clemency.”

“He's crazy,” Shumway snarled. “What does he mean about this Flare. I never heard of her.”

“Shut up, Jarrett. You haven't heard of a lot of things,” Barngate shot back.

“Furthermore, every Dai Zhani world is under blockade,” Hull added.

“So?” Barngate shrugged indifferently. “Do you really think the prince didn't anticipate that?”

“Let me handle this, Captain,” York put her hand on the angry captain's shoulder. “Mr. Norden, how do you expect to pilot Draco through hypertime when your men couldn't do so with the Rigel?”

Norden chuckled. “My dear Miss York, I'm a little disappointed in you. The reason is simple. Draco is supplying the navigator, a graduate of the Wansu school. We won't have any difficulty on that score.”

“Another traitor,” Hull groaned disbelievingly.

“Another Dai Zhani loyal to his prince,” Norden corrected.

“It is true that my navigation skills are very modest,” Barngate admitted. “Although sufficient to locate a planet and put a ship into orbit. Essentially, you see, I'm an intelligence officer.”

“Intelligence officer?” York arched his brows. “I think you flatter yourself, Mr. Barngate.”

“And I think you considerably overestimate your abilities, Miss York. Small wonder we won so easily. Can't August Karsh do better than you?”

“You're not off Draco yet, traitor,” she replied, sneering in a manner calculated to irritate him. She shot a glance at Benbow, praying that he had fulfilled his role. The doctor's face, cold and stiff, told her nothing. If he had failed….

“Enough of this,” Norden snapped. “Jarrett, Dave, bind everyone's hands.”

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