Dragon and Judge

"Then you also must fail in your attempt," Taneem said. Some weight came onto Alison's shoulder as the K'da lifted her head partially from the skin. "If the location is in the safe, you must not open it."

"I wish it was that easy," Alison said. "But it's not. They've got four safes—maybe only three if the one on Draycos's Havenseeker was too badly wrecked in the crash—and the whole Orion Arm to choose safecrackers from. Sooner or later, somebody will get one of them open."

"Then perhaps we can destroy it?" Taneem suggested hesitantly. "Perhaps we can destroy all of them?"

"We can't do that," Alison said. "There are just too many things we don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for instance, what happens if none of the advance team shows up at the meeting point?" Alison asked. "Do the refugees just wait there until someone does? Do they go home? Do they continue on to Iota Klestis, which Neverlin and Frost already know about?"

Taneem's glowing eyes seemed to dim a bit. "I don't know," she admitted.

"Neither do I," Alison said. "Besides, this is way too good an opportunity to pass up. Ever since Draycos's team was attacked, he and Jack have been playing catch-up."

"What does that mean?"

"Neverlin and his buddies have always had the initiative," Alison explained. "That means they were always deciding what to do, and Jack and Draycos were always having to react to their action and try to block it. But if we can get to the refugee fleet information first, we'll finally be ahead of the game."

"The game?" Taneem echoed. "Is that what this is to you, Alison? A game?"

Alison was still trying to come up with a good answer for that when, behind her, there was a soft click and the stateroom door slid open.

"What do you want?" she demanded, sitting bolt upright as Dumbarton and Mrishpaw strode into the room. On her shoulder, she felt Taneem's weight vanish as the K'da again flattened herself and moved out of sight. "How dare you just waltz in here?"

"Can it, kid," Dumbarton said. "Colonel wants your clothes."

"My what?"

"Gotta scan 'em," he said.

Alison clenched her teeth. With Taneem riding her skin . . . "Fine," she said. "Go on out. I'll toss everything out to you."

"Just do it," Dumbarton growled, not making the slightest move toward the door. "We haven't got all day."

"I'll tell Colonel Frost," Alison threatened.

Striding over to the intercom on the nightstand, Dumbarton jabbed one of the buttons. "Colonel?" he said. "Dumbarton. She's being uncooperative."

"I just want a little privacy," Alison called toward the intercom.

"You think you've got something we haven't all seen before?" Frost countered.

"Colonel—"

"You got two choices, kid," Frost cut her off. "Take 'em off yourself, or Dumbarton and Mrishpaw will do it for you." There was a click, and he was gone.

"Well?" Dumbarton asked.

Alison glared at him. "Fine," she gritted. Rolling to the opposite side of the bed, she put her hand on the edge of the mattress as she threw off the comforter and swung her legs over the side.

And to her horror felt a surge of weight on the back of her hand as Taneem dropped off onto the floor.

Alison clamped down hard on her tongue, potential disaster flashing in front of her eyes. Taneem clearly had it in mind to hide under the bed. Only it was a pedestal bed, fastened to the deck, with barely a three-inch overhang.

For the moment, the K'da was out of the mercenaries' view. But Dumbarton was already headed back around the side of the bed, clearly intent on catching up with Alison and making sure she didn't waste any more of his time. As for the Brummga, all he had to do was unglue his big feet from the floor and take three paces to his left and he would likewise get the shock of his life.

"Come on, come on," Dumbarton growled.

"I'm coming," Alison snapped back, pretending her foot was tangled in the comforter as she lowered her hand toward the crouching K'da and tapped her fingertips vigorously on the side of the bed.

To her relief, Taneem got the hint. A dragon paw grabbed on to Alison's wrist, and a moment later the K'da was back on her skin. "No room," Taneem whispered.

"I know," Alison whispered back. "Off my left foot, when I signal." Making a show of freeing herself, she stood up. "Can I at least change in the bathroom?" she asked aloud.

Silently, Dumbarton planted himself directly between her and the bathroom door and folded his arms across his chest. "Fine," Alison growled, coming around the bed toward them. "Would you at least get me one of the robes from the bathroom?"

"Sure." Dumbarton looked at the Brummga, jerked his head.

The big alien turned and lumbered off. "Thanks," Alison said, unfastening her belt, her eyes darting around the room. With the Brummga's back toward her, and Dumbarton's attention about to be elsewhere, getting Taneem off her body without being seen ought to be easy enough.

But that was only the first problem. In an open room like this, there were precious few places something the size of a small tiger could hide.