Have sent the boarding code. Talyn's docking bay will open for the transport.

"Good. When I want to wake Talyn, can I use my comm to signal you?"

Will listen.

"After sending the signal, you will starburst to the estimated coordinates of the Peacekeeper research vessel, scan for the Ancient, and report the results of your scan. After that, your order is to retreat."

Understand.

There is something she is hiding from me, a conscious thought she is working hard to bury beneath layers of data. With the resistance fighters holding Soraya, I do not have time to cajole the truth from her. I must trust that if it were vital information, she would not withhold it. Perhaps what she conceals is simply her own fear as she contemplates her duty.

I disconnect from her and follow the DRD to her docking bay. Before I board the transport, I scoop up the DRD, holding it at arm's length in case it decides to protest using any of its appendages. Once inside the transport with the door closed behind me, I set it on the floor. The machine races to the door and makes several futile attempts to ram it open before giving up, its antenni drooping in dejection.

I tap my comm. "Kateri, can you help me communicate with the DRD?"

The DRD's antenni stand up in what I hope is acknowledgment, and the machine comes to sit at my feet like an attentive child.

"Be certain that none of the resistance fighters are aware of your presence. I need you to enter Talyn's ventilation conduit system and follow my movements. If I signal you, cut the coolant line and allow it to leak for twenty microts before repairing it."

The antenni twitch in what I assume is confusion. Though no longer bonded with Kateri, I can almost feel her asking, "Why?"

"Because I may need a distraction. Can you follow my instructions?"

One of the DRD's appendages reaches out to tap the toe of my boot in what I decide must be a gesture of assent. Kateri's docking bay opens without my asking. As I make my way toward Talyn, I reflect that on the whole, Kateri has proven more cooperative than her mate. Perhaps their offspring will resemble the outcome I hoped to achieve when I began the hybrid project. With a fleet of such creatures, I could form my own resistance. For now, I must focus on reclaiming Talyn.

Velorek's fail safe code has worked, and Talyn's docking bay opens to admit my transport. I shrug out of my jacket and drape it over the DRD in case any of the resistance fighters decide to look inside. Judging by the games it played with me in Kateri's cargo chamber, the machine knows how to stay out of sight. Such is my army. I once commanded enough troops to subdue a planetary rebellion, and now I count myself fortunate to have enlisted the aid of a DRD.

Ideally, I will not require the distraction I requested. If I can find a way get to my quarters, I can use the second transponder to link with Talyn. Once I have secured Soraya's safety, I can signal Kateri and retaking the ship should proceed with ease. Seizing the original transponder from Terryl is something I would rather avoid, at least until the man is dead or incapacitated.

The transport door opens to reveal Terryl, along with four of the other resistance fighters. One of them stands behind Soraya, holding her by the shoulders. Her hands have been tied behind her back, and her face is swollen and bleeding. That gives me an idea.

"Officer Terryl," I greet my adversary.

"Peacekeeper." His tone makes it clear that the name is a form of profanity. "I've commandeered the gunship for the resistance. Your Peacekeeper-loving trelk says you can get it operational, so consider yourself conscripted."

I had hoped to retake Talyn with as little violence as possible, but with those words, the man has just composed his own death warrant. I want nothing more than to tell him Talyn and I will not be pieces in his game, and I want to say it with my boot on his throat. However, against five armed fighters, lies are the most effective weapons I have.

"You misunderstand my relationship with the Peacekeepers, Officer Terryl. At their hands, I have been stripped of my command, disgraced, and humiliated. I have been interrogated, tortured, and declared 'irreversibly contaminated.' My only wish is to keep Talyn away from them." A few solar days ago, that would have been the truth, though now I realize that there are many factions capable of using Talyn for destruction.

Terryl shrugs. "I don't buy your dren, but then I don't have to. You'll get this thing ready for battle, or I'll kill you, kill the girl, and scrap the gunship for parts."

I am filled with contempt. Surely an "officer" should know that the response obtained with a pulse rifle is always the one you hope to hear, regardless of the truth. I nod in mock-deference. "Very well, then. You have made yourself clear. However, I think both of us would prefer to see the gunship operational, and hence it behooves us both to behave in a manner that demonstrates good faith. I have come here unarmed, ready to perform the necessary repairs, which I will begin after you have complied with one small request."

"Shoot the trelk," Terryl orders.

The woman behind Soraya raises her weapon to comply, but the man next to her knocks her arm down and clamps a hand around her wrist. "Don't be stupid, Lora. She's the only leverage we have. Let's just see what he wants before we do something we'll regret."

"I won't regret it," Lora snaps. "She and her father let them take the Ancient. They failed us."

The man holding her wrist shakes his head. "She's a frelling civilian, barely more than a kid."

The other two fighters, a man and a woman, exchange a glance and a shrug, then sigh in unison, as if used to this kind of discussion.

I make no attempt to hide my amusement at Terryl's lack of authority. I nod my thanks to Soraya's savior and address my next words to him, watching out of the corner of my eye as Terryl seethes. "I have a med kit in my quarters, and I wish to treat Soraya's injuries there."

Lora responds before either man can answer. "I'll take care of that for you."

"Forgive my skepticism." I shake my head, then turn to face Terryl. "As another show of good faith, I will wait while you cast a ballot, if you wish."

Terryl's hand twitches near his pulse rifle for several microts before he growls, "You can use your frelling med kit. Lora, Pelak escort them to his quarters, then bring him to the command deck in half an arn."

Pelak drops Lora's wrist and gestures for me to proceed him.

As the four of us leave the docking bay, I place an arm around Soraya's shoulders. Above our heads, something rattles in the ventilation conduit, and I smile.