Dragon and Judge

He headed off before they could object, shining his light on the rough floor of the tunnel in front of him. There was no white ceramic here; the whole tunnel had been carved out of brown and gray rock.

The floor was rougher than the entry tunnel had been. There was also a layer of rock dust over everything, with small to medium-big pools of dust and stone in practically every dip and depression. Combined with the shadows thrown by his light, it made for rather uncertain footing.

Fortunately, the two pipes running along the sides were just the right height for handrails. Keeping one hand running lightly over the nearest pipe, he continued down.

Another bit of weight came onto his chest and shoulder. "Native stone," Draycos murmured quietly. "We must be below the sand layer."

"Yeah, thanks for the tip," Jack muttered back, throwing a quick look over his shoulder. But neither of the Golvins had followed him in. "Is there something about tunneling machinery that really excites you?"

"Pardon?"

"Blurting it out in front of God and Thonsifi and everyone that way," Jack said. "I know these Golvins are kind of primitive—"

"What do you mean, blurting it out?" Draycos interrupted. "I haven't spoken since we left the apartment this morning."

"Oh, come on," Jack growled. Gotcha! he thought sourly. So much for the high and mighty K'da warrior ethic and the idea of always telling the truth. "It isn't the first time, either," he added. "When we were first coming in to the canyon—"

"I did not speak," Draycos insisted. "And what do you mean by gotcha?"

"I mean—" Jack stopped abruptly, a sudden icy shiver running up his back. "Did you hear me say gotcha just now?" he asked carefully.

"Very clearly," Draycos said, starting to sound a little huffy. "Furthermore, you said it in such a way that—"

"I didn't say anything, Draycos," Jack said. "I just thought it."

"I heard—" Draycos broke off abruptly.

For a moment neither of them spoke. "You never told me about this one," Jack said at last.

"This has never happened before, Jack," Draycos told him, his voice actually shaking. "Not with the Shontine. Not ever in the recorded history of my people."

Jack took a deep breath. "We're sure we're not just imagining things, right?"

For a moment there was silence. Then, as clear as if the K'da had actually spoken, Jack heard his voice whispering in his mind. We stand before, we stand behind; we seek the truth with heart and mind.

"My mother's poem," Jack said, his stomach tightening. "This is nuts, buddy. This is really nuts."

"It does take effort," Draycos said. "I had to concentrate on the words for you to hear them."

"Or else you had to be thinking really strongly about them," Jack said, thinking back. "Like on the shuttle on our way in, when you really wanted me to turn to the right so you could see better."

"I remember," Draycos said thoughtfully. "I wished very much that I could ask you to turn, but knew it would be unsafe in such close quarters. And then, to my relief, you did exactly that, allowing me to see and identify the mine."

"And I've been mad at you for a week and a half about it." Jack shook his head. "Sorry. You suppose it works when we're not together?"

"Let's find out." With a surge of weight, Draycos leaped out of Jack's shirt collar onto the tunnel floor.

"Ssst!" Jack hissed warningly, looking back up the tunnel. Fortunately, a gentle curve had put the entrance, and the two Golvins, out of view. "We don't want them to see you."

"They won't," Draycos assured him. "Did you hear anything just now?"

Jack shook his head. "Nope. Guess it only works when you're riding me. You're sure this has never happened before?"

"Trust me," Draycos said, a little dryly. "I would have heard."

"Another one for the record books," Jack said, forcing his mind back to business. "So where exactly is this machinery you're all excited about?"

"This way," Draycos said, flicking his tail at Jack as he headed again down the tunnel. "Perhaps you will find it interesting, as well."

Shortly ahead, the tunnel split into two branches, the pipelines along the walls splitting along with it. Draycos picked the left-hand one, continuing left when the branch split again about fifty feet ahead. "These must be some really impressive copper ores for them to have gone to all this work," Jack commented as they hit yet another branch and again turned left.

"From what I've read of your economy, this is far too much effort for copper or iron," Draycos said over his shoulder. "There—just ahead."

They reached the end of their branch of the tunnel, to find the machinery Draycos had predicted.