William Shatner Quest for Tomorrow 02 In Alien Hands

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in his arms.
"Jeez, Mom, it looks like I'm taking off again."
"Oh, Jimmy."
He fumbled for something that might make her feel "When the Confed troops get
here, you won't have to They'll take care of you, make sure that nobody hurts
you."
She took a step back, her eyes blazing. "I'm not worried me!"
He shook his head. "I know. It's a curse, isn't it? This... He glanced
around, realizing he'd almost said too much.
She nodded. "A curse to both of us. I pray that somehow I'll find a way to
end- it, son." Her shoulders slumped. "I would could. I wish
I could take it for myself."
Jim stared at her, knowing she would do exactly that if could, and in that
instant he knew he loved her almost more he could bear.
"Mom, I don't know what will happen. But if everything out, it will be
because of you. You and Dad, what you both me. You won't have anything to be
ashamed of, I promise."
She took it for the ultimate compliment it was. "We tried make you a good
man, Jimmy." She paused, then chuckled embarrassment. "A good man. I guess
you are a man now, you? But so young. You shouldn't have to be a man yet,
Jim. I guess I hate that most of all. You've been robbed no boy should
lose."
He tried a grin. "Mom, that's a little melodramatic, don't think? I'm
going on a trip, not just disappearing like last time." "But will you come
back? Will I ever see you again?"
He had no answer for that, and so he gave the only answer could, the only
answer that in the end meant anything. He her in his arms and held her, and
she held him, until Korkal
"Confed armor coming down now. I'm sorry, but it's time." "Jim?
You'll take care?" "I will, Morn."
"I'll think of you every day. If you can, you let me going on."
He nodded. He hadn't even thought about that. "Korkal?" The Alban
understood. "We can get messages to the
Under normal circumstances, at least."
Tabitha touched his cheek. "Jimmy, I'll... I'll..."
At the sight of her tears he felt his own begin to well up, and some reason
this embarrassed him. He kissed her to cover feelings, squeezed her into a
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final hug, then turned to
Outside, coming out of the trees, armored Confed troopers who reminded him
unsettlingly of Commander Steele set up a rapid I perimeter as they stared at
the Alban soldiers and their ship.
"Let's go," Jim said.
Korkal gestured toward the huge craft now occupying most of }he cleared space
to the right of the cabin. "Go ahead. I'll be along in a minute."
The XO followed Jim out. Korkal turned to Tabitha. "I'll take care of him."
Then he paused, choosing his words carefully. "Mrs. Endicott, Thargos is
after your boy. But I still have no idea why. I think you do, though. It
might make a difference to Jim's safety if you told me.
Don't you think?"
Tabitha didn't hesitate at all. She shook her head and said, "Mr.
Denai, I have no idea. All I can think of is it must be some mistake.
He's only a boy. Why would some alien we've never heard of want to hurt him?"
Korkal held her gaze for several beats, then dropped his eyes. "Very well.
I'll still do the best I can." He turned. "Your guards are ready for you."
He watched as a burly Terran Marine captain escorted her from the cabin to his
waiting vessel. She vanished into the lighted interior, pausing only an
instant for a last glimpse of Jim. But her son was gone. She squared her
shoulders, stepped up, and disappeared.
"All right," Korkal called. 'That's it. Let's get this thing moving."
From then on everything went with military efficiency. Within five minutes
both vessels were buttoned up and rising from the now-deserted clearing.
As the hatch slid shut behind him, Korkal allowed himself a shiver of relief.
He didn't know anything about the human idea of hubr/s, the
thought of pride tempting the gods to destroy the prideful, but if he had he
would have understood it just Free.
The interior of the Alban craft began to flash with crimson warning beacons.
The XO's voice echoed mechanically through the compartments:
"HUNZZAN VESSEL PENETRATING DETECTION
LIMITS. HUNZZAN ATTACK! HUNZZAN ATTACK!"
he captain of the Hunzzan cruiser was hooked into his ship's nervous system as
he always was. A continuous whisper of data with soothing monotony through
the back of his mind. In "the same way that one was always aware on some
level of the functions of the body---especially when something
malfunctioned-he was aware of the happenings aboard his ship. And just as one
would subconsciously monitor some chronic malady like a or infection, there
was one presence aboard his vessel he was also conscious of with greater than
normal attention. That presence had now entered the control room of the ship,
and the captain felt an uncomfortable thrill of anxiety.
He knew what was coming. It was never pleasant to report failure to
Thargos. But it was less pleasant---even dangerous--to sugarcoat the facts to
his superior. Thargos rarely killed themes senger for bad news. Unless the
messenger was also responsible for it. The case here was a gray area, and so
the captain rose from his seat slowly and took his time making his way toward
the command chair, where Thargos was now settling in.
If we'd only found them sooner, the captain thought. He moved through the
atmosphere of the control room, an atmosphere maintained at Hunzza normal. To
alien eyes the air would appear as a glowing yellow fog, the natural Hunzzan
environment of super aturated moisture and brilliant sunlight, but to the
captain it was as unnoticeable as the water any fish swam in. His vision was
augmented by natural infrared sensors that lined the soft unscaled skin
beneath his large eyes, giving his brain two sources of visual
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input. He was barely conscious of the low bubble of the propultion systems,
mechanical rattles and clicks, a sudden shower of computerized beeps.
He'd crossed halfway from his console to Thargos when Hunter turned and saw
him. The captain picked up his pace.
Thargos encouraged a certain informality, and so the began to speak almost
immediately. "As you've seen, we were late."
But Thargos only blinked his eyes in reassuring increasing the captain's sense
of disquiet. Thargos laugh at the most inappropriate moments.
"And Korkal survived. Well, it would have been ament otherwise. He's a hard
one to kill even for an Alban." The captain didn't know what to say, so he
waited.
"I see they've gone to a cabin of some sort in the mountains.
"Yes, Lord. And now his ship is standing guard. They put an assault craft as
a lander a little while ago."
Thargos's eyes shifted to the huge 3-D holographic screen shimmered in the air
before him. On it was an aerial view of cabin and two large ships grounded on
either side. It wasn't ble to make out human figures at this magnification,
but didn't care. They were down there. That was all he needed to
He felt an unusual sense of excitement and wondered Korkal had beaten him
again, somehow survived the attack his gray-van, and managed to escape not
only in one with the boy as well.
Maybe the Alban discovered the boy by watching me, thought. And maybe not.
He would have liked to ask, but Korkal's ship protecting him at close range,
that was nately no longer possible. He could have blasted that the sky;
having found it at last, he now knew it was no the power of his own cruiser.
Nevertheless, it was potent, Thargos hesitated at staging a full-scale battle
before the ing eyes of the Confed Naval squadron also orbiting over cabin.
Not that the TelTan Navy could have stopped him but there were potential [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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