"And then what?" Frost asked. "He and the K'da are immune, remember?"
"Only if they're together," Neverlin said. "I think we can arrange something that'll get them apart. Get everyone to the Death weapon chamber."
"I hope you know what you're doing," Frost warned. "Both of you."
"We do," Neverlin said. "Now get moving."
He gestured to the guards holding Alison's arms. "And bring her, too. If the Death isn't enough bait for Morgan and the K'da, maybe she will be."
The Advocatus Diaboli's airlock had been slightly warped by the impact. But it was functional enough. Slipping inside, Jack pressed his back against the inner door. What kind of reception committee have they got waiting? he asked Draycos.
The K'da peered over the door. I see nothing, he reported, sounding both surprised and more than a little suspicious. They may have set up an ambush in one of the cross-corridors.
Let's find out. Hefting his tangler. Jack keyed the door.
It slid open with another screech of tortured metal. He ducked out into the corridor for a quick look, then ducked back into cover again.
No one shot at him. I don't smell anyone nearby, Draycos said, his tongue flicking up from Jack's shoulder. Shall I go investigate?
Better not, Jack said. An ambush we can hopefully spot before we get in range. They don't have to be nearly that obvious to turn the Death around and shoot it at us.
Then let us deal with it, Draycos said firmly.
They set off down the corridor, Jack holding his tangler ready, Draycos's tongue rhythmically darting out and tasting the air.
But for all the signs of life they found, the ship might have been deserted. Where is everyone? Jack asked as they passed the ship's midpoint.
In the bow, Draycos said. You were right—they're planning to use the Death against us.
Good luck to them, Jack said. How do they think they're going to get you to come off me?
By also attacking us with normal weapons, Draycos said. Frost knows I'll have to leave you if I'm going to defend you against his men.
Jack chewed the inside of his cheek. Unfortunately, that made a lot of sense. So we need to get you to the Death before he can get his guns lined up?
Or get me past the guns before we attack the Death, Draycos said.
Jack grimaced. Sounds like your classic chicken-and-egg problem.
Pardon?
Never mind—tell you later, Jack said. I guess we're playing this one by ear.
They continued forward through the still-deserted ship. Maybe we can get to the Death room from underneath, Jack suggested as they walked. Or maybe we can just cut off the power.
We can try, Draycos said doubtfully. But I suspect Frost has blocked any threats that obvious.
Frost had. They reached the middeck bow to discover that all the forward compartments had been sealed. And no one's getting in there any time soon, either, Jack said, pointing to a red light on the door's release switch. They've opened that whole section to vacuum.
Including all the power connections to the Death room?
And including the section's backup generator, Jack confirmed. I guess it's a frontal assault or nothing.
Then let us not keep them waiting, Draycos said.
Fine with me, Jack said, feeling his heart start to race again. But we've got one more stop to make first. If they've moved the Death into a bulk storage room, it stands to reason they must have moved all the bulk storage itself out. Let's find out where they put it.
"Hurry up with that thing," Frost growled as the two Valahgua worked at disassembling the swivels of the Death weapon's mount. "Come on; come on."
"It is not easy to work in these confines," the Lordhighest countered stiffly.
He had a point, Alison had to agree. The storage room followed the shape of the ship's bow, reasonably wide at the aft end by the door but narrowing considerably toward the bow where the Death weapon had been mounted.
And with Neverlin, Alison, Frost, the three Valahgua, and six crewmen crammed in that narrower area, the Valahgua didn't have a lot of extra room to work with.
"Relax, Colonel," Neverlin said calmly from Alison's side. "We have time." He nudged Alison's shoulder, nodding back toward the door. "I trust you approve of our tactical landscape?"
Alison looked toward the room's door, her stomach tightening. The ship's twelve resident Malison Ring mercenaries were facing the door, five of them kneeling, another five standing behind them, the last two another pace back from the double firing line as backup. "It's beautiful," she said. "Draycos will cut through it like winter wheat."
"I hope he tries," Neverlin said. "I understand K'da evaporate into thin air when they die. I'd like to see that."
Alison's eyes flicked up to the ventilation grille just above the door. She hadn't seen Taneem since the K'da had wrecked the jamming equipment and Alison had ordered her to go hide.
She hoped Taneem had obeyed. She hoped even more that the K'da had found a hiding place somewhere forward and in the lower deck where Neverlin's planned sweep of the Death might miss her.
Jack found the displaced storage items on the third door he tried, two doors aft of the Death room. Everything he'd hoped for was there.
Three minutes later, he was ready.
Okay, he said, running a critical eye over his masterpiece: a rolling cart with three oxygen tanks strapped to it, twenty feet back from the Death room and lined up squarely on its door. We're good to go. You ready?
Yes. Draycos hesitated. Jack . . . if this doesn't work . . .
It's okay, symby, Jack said, a lump coming to his throat. We already said our good-byes, remember?
Yes, Draycos said. The moment had passed, and he was all business again. Do you want me to take another look over the door?
No time, Jack said. They looked like they might have the Death free any second now. Besides, where could anyone possibly have moved in there?
Point, Draycos agreed. Then let's do it.
He leaped out of Jack's collar and landed on the deck beside the cart. Jack moved up to the door, his usual full-size tangler in his right hand, Harper's tiny palm-grip tangler hidden in his left. Holding the butt of his tangler an inch away from the door release, he looked back at Draycos and nodded.
With a triple slash of his claws, Draycos sliced the ends off all three oxygen tanks.
The cart surged forward, picking up speed as the escaping gas drove it forward like a small, rolling rocket. Draycos loped along beside it, picking up his pace as the cart sped up, nudging it back on track whenever it started to drift off-target. Jack watched it come, holding out his left hand toward Draycos as he judged his timing.
A second before the cart reached the door, Draycos leaped up and forward, catching the back of Jack's hand and melting onto his arm. A half second later, with the cart still picking up speed, Jack tapped the butt of his tangler into the release.