Jack apparently spotted it at the same time Draycos did. Geez, the boy's startled thought echoed through Draycos's mind. Is that one of your advance team ships?
It is indeed, Draycos thought back grimly. Suddenly, Neverlin's strategy was as clear as the cold vacuum of space.
Hey, hey, slow down, buddy, Jack protested into Draycos's sudden flurry of thoughts and speculations. Did you say something about a trap?
Sorry, Draycos apologized, forcing his mind to slow down. Their telepathic link only worked if he and Jack were thinking directly at each other. Other thoughts could be sensed, but only as a wordless and rather distracting buzz. Yes, it's a trap. But not for us. Do you see all the hull damage, especially in the forward part?
Yes, Jack thought back, sounding puzzled. I didn't realize Neverlin's team had hit you that hard.
They didn't, Draycos replied. That damage has been added since the Iota Klestis attack.
He sensed Jack's sudden flash of understanding. Got it, the boy said. They're going to pretend they're being attacked by the rest of the ships and go running to the refugee fleet for protection.
Exactly, Draycos confirmed. Many of the Valahgua can speak our language well enough to be mistaken for Shontine. They'll call for help, and the screening warships will almost certainly let them past the defense ring.
There's no password?
There are several, Draycos told him. But the Valahgua can feign transmission trouble, or claim that all senior members of the advance team were killed or incapacitated.
And come to think of it, why shouldn't the warriors believe them? Jack agreed grimly. As far as they know, there isn't a Valahgua for thousands of light-years.
There was a ping from the control board. "Hey, Chiggers," Driscol's voice came from the speaker. "So you didn't get lost, huh? Too bad. Guess I lose the pool."
Jack took a deep breath. "Showtime," he muttered, and flipped the transmission switch. "Yeah, and my heart bleeds for you," he replied sarcastically.
Only somehow, it was no longer Jack.
Draycos twisted his head around to look up at the boy's face, a wave of disbelief running through him. Jack's face had subtly changed, his eyes gone dark and smoldering with resentment, a cynical twist to his mouth.
And his voice was Chiggers's voice, matching the mercenary's tone, phrasing, and attitude. It was as if Jack had flipped a switch and somehow become the mercenary.
"That's not the only thing that'll be bleeding if you don't get your tail over here and fuel up," Driscol warned. "Colonel wants us taking a turn at sentry duty."
"Colonel's going to have to wait," Jack growled. "I need to dock and get some repair sealant."
"You still leaking air?"
"No, now I'm leaking calozyne," Jack told him.
"Calozyne?" Driscol echoed, a sudden catch in his voice.
"Yeah, calozyne," Jack said impatiently. "You want me to spell it for you?"
"You sure it's not just your breath?"
"Smells more like your butt," Jack countered.
There was another click from the speaker. "Chiggers, this is Borkrin," Sarge's voice came on the line. "What's this about a calozyne leak?"
"It's a calozyne leak," Jack said. "What do you want me to say about it?"
"How about starring with how bad it is?" Sarge growled. "You need us to set you up an isolation bay?"
"Oh, frunge, no," Jack scoffed. "It's not going to kill anyone. But it's eating the lining off my nose, and I used all my sealant on the air leak. Can you set me a port with the Advocatus Diaboli?"
"Oh yeah, right," Sarge said with a snort. "Like the colonel and Mr. Neverlin want to smell it. Get yourself over to the Foxwolf. I'll have Reinking set you up a docking port there."
"Copy," Jack said, and tapped his transmission key, cutting off the radio. He took another deep breath; and as he did so, the resentful expression smoothed away. "I think we're in," he said. His voice, too, was back to normal.
It took Draycos another second to find his own voice. "Impressive," he said. "I had no idea you could do something like that."
"You like it?" Jack asked, getting a grip on the control yoke and turning them a few degrees to the left. "A little trick Uncle Virgil taught me."
"More than just a single trick," Draycos said. "It was as if you'd actually become the man."
"That's the best way to imitate someone," Jack said. "Body, mind, attitude, voice. Everything." He shrugged. "If you can do it. Most people can't. At least, not very well."
"Obviously, you're one of the few who can," Draycos said. "And all that after having heard only a few sentences from the man."
"Yet another useless talent for a reformed con man and thief." Jack shook his head sharply. Okay, I think my brain's ready to go with the telepathy thing again, the thought whispered across Draycos's mind. Next job is to actually make it aboard the ship.
Draycos turned his head to look out the canopy through Jack's collar. While they'd been talking, Jack had shifted their course toward the Gatekeeper. Isn't the next trick to figure out which ship is the Foxwolf? Draycos asked. Going to the wrong one would be a dead giveaway that you aren't Chiggers.
Not a problem, Jack said. If you scratch the Advocatus Diaboli, the only ships big enough to dock this thing are your Gatekeeper, the fueler, and the troop carrier. Troop carriers and fuelers, if you'll recall from all that reading we had to do when I was in the Whinyard's Edge, are usually numbered, not named.
Neverlin might have made an exception.
He didn't, Jack assured him. Now that we know Frost's plan, Foxwolf is a perfect name for the Gatekeeper. It'll start out looking like it's running for its life, like the fox in a foxhunt. Once it's past the main defenses, it'll suddenly turn into a wolf and start ravaging its way through the fleet.
Draycos felt his tail twitch. With his mind occupied with Jack's performance, he hadn't yet spotted the most important implication of the Gatekeeper's presence here. Which also means that's where the Valahgua will have mounted their Death weapons.
Or at least most of them, Jack agreed. I'm guessing Neverlin has at least one aboard the Advocatus Diaboli, just to make sure his own skin is safe.
And if they could get aboard the Gatekeeper and disable those weapons . . . Tell me about this calozyne you mentioned, Draycos said. What exactly is it? And there isn't any actual leak, is there?
Believe me, buddy, if there was you'd know it, Jack said dryly. It's a heat-exchange fluid for the laser chargers, and it stinks to high heaven.
Odd, Draycos said. Our heat-exchange fluids are odorless.
Actually, calozyne smells the way it does on purpose, Jack said. It's a safety feature, so that you know right away if you've got a leak. Firing lasers without being able to dump the heat is generally considered a very bad idea.