Dragon and Herdsman

"What's a min kly?" Alison asked, throwing a frown at Jack's comm clip.

Jack was still trying to think up a good answer to that when the Essenay twisted suddenly like a hooked fish, spun to the side, and raked the incoming Djinn-90 with a full salvo from its lasers. Half-hidden by the brilliant flashes, a pair of missiles arrowed out in a one-two punch.

The first missile exploded against the side of the mountain as the fighter passed, blanketing the attacker in a flow of shattered ice and rock. The second arced straight into the middle of the avalanche. There was another ball of flame, and now only the Kapstan was left.

But the maneuver had cost the Essenay dearly. Its sideways skid had robbed it of most of its forward momentum, and Jack could see Uncle Virge fighting for stability in the churning mountain winds. Even as the transport dropped lower, its attack intensifying, the Essenay rolled over and plummeted toward the cliffs below. It disappeared behind a peak—

And there was one final violent explosion. The Kapstan veered sharply away, bouncing as it was buffeted by the blast.

Jack stared at the fading light and smoke, his pulse pounding in his ears. "Uncle Virge?" he whispered toward his comm clip. "Uncle Virge?"

There was no answer. In the distance, the Kapstan's pilot had gotten the transport back under control and returned to the area above the final explosion's fading glow. Slowly, it circled the area, its weapons silent.

Which could only mean that Colonel Frost no longer had anything to shoot at.

Dimly, Jack felt his muscles starring to shake, his vision blurring with tears. Uncle Virge, the Essenay, everything he'd known since he was three years old—it couldn't all be gone. Not here. Not now.

He jerked violently as a hand suddenly touched his shoulder. He turned, trying to see through the tears. "Come on," Alison said quietly.

"Where?" Jack asked, his voice quavering. It was a sign of weakness Uncle Virgil had always hated, but Jack no longer cared.

"Into the forest," Alison said. "We have to get under cover."

"Why?"

"Because they'll be coming here next," she said patiently. Her face was tight, and he could see an edge of fear lurking at the corners of her eyes. But her voice was calm and determined. "They'll have tracked the transmission from your comm clip."

"So what?" Jack demanded bitterly.

"So I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to give up just yet," she countered, some of her control starting to crack.

Jack shook his head. "It's finished, Alison," he said quietly. More finished than she would ever know, in fact. Jack, Draycos, the K'da and Shontine—they were all dead.

"Snap out of it," Alison ordered tardy, slapping him none too lightly across the back of his head. "Okay your ship's gone. I'm sorry. But it's a long way from being finished. My friends—remember? My friends are coming to get me."

Jack swiped at his eyes with his sleeve, a cautious flicker of hope stirring inside him. "Okay," he said, taking a deep breath. "I'm all right."

"That's better," Alison said. "Come on."

She got a grip on his arm and started pulling him back toward the path. "Where are we going?" Jack asked.

"I've got camping gear in my travel bags, enough for a couple of weeks if we're careful," she said. "We break it out, pack it for travel, and find someplace to hole up."

"What if they find us?"

"Then we do what we can," she said. "It's still better than being caught out here in the open."

Jack took another deep breath. She was right, of course. But the shock of losing the Essenay still pressed like a strangle cord across his mind. It was hard to think about anything else, even survival.

But Draycos wouldn't be nearly so handicapped. If Jack could just talk with him a moment . . .

They reached the first turn in the path. "Go ahead and start packing," Jack told Alison, waving her ahead as he slowed down. "I need to do something first."

She frowned. "Like what?"

"It'll just take a second," he promised. "Go on; get going."

She hesitated, then nodded. "All right, but hurry. And stay under the trees."

She turned and disappeared around the turn. "Probably thinks I need to cry about the Essenay," he muttered, looking down at Draycos.

"Jack—"

"No, it's all right," Jack cut him off. "The Essenay was just a thing. In the great grand scheme, things aren't important." He swiped at his eyes again. "And Uncle Virge was just a computer program. I did my crying for the real Uncle Virgil a year ago."

"I understand," Draycos said. "However—"

"Jack?" Alison's voice wafted over the bushes. "Come on, move it."

"Coming," Jack called back. "What I need to know right now," he said, lowering his voice again, "is whether or not it's safe for us to stay with Alison."

"Yes," Draycos said without hesitation. "I do not know why, but I believe we can trust her. At least, for the moment."