[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
questionable deal. He was an avaricious soul, but a benign one."
"He saved my life."
"Because he thought you could save others. We're going to find out, Alex. No time for mourning. Our
remaining orbital defenses won't stop the Ko-Dan. You've seen what they can do to a mountain. Imagine
what that same weapons system could do to a major city."
Alex allowed himself to be led through twisted passageways and down corridors with cracked floors and
shattered ceilings.
"We weren't away from Rylos very long, Grig. What did happen here? I thought you were ready for the
Ko-Dan. When I left, a whole roomful of Starfighters was preparing to go out and intercept the Ko-Dan
armada."
"We were a few minutes too slow, Alex." Grig struggled to explain the disaster. "We went from the
heights of confidence to the depths of despair in a moment. The Ko-Dan attacked from long range.
Simultaneously, our defensive shield was sabotaged by Xur's fanatics. So was Starfighter Control. None
of the gunstars had a chance to get out before the mountain was hit. All were destroyed or damaged by
the first strike. The main gunstar hangar is solid with shattered rock.
"In one stroke we had been rendered helpless. That Xur knew exactly when and how to attack suggests
careful intelligence work by his agents. It's too late to do anything about that now. You've come back
none too soon."
"Fat lot of good I'll be able to do now," Alex murmured, appalled at the destruction around him.
Cen-tauri's death had brought home to him the issues at stake in this conflict far more forcefully than his
words ever had. The growing conviction that he had to do whatever he could to help was reinforced by
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
everything he saw around him.
The last thing he wanted to do was insult Centauri's memory by lying to protect himself. "Yeah, well,
there's nothing noble about my coming back, Grig. I didn't have much choice. Xur detected Centauri's
ship leaving Rylos just before he attacked, I guess. It's a small ship. Maybe it looked like a gunstar on
their radar, or whatever kind of tracking devices the Ko-Dan use. Centauri said it would look suspicious
to them, and I guess it did.
"So Xur plotted our course, tracked us somehow, found me and tried to have me killed. If it wasn't for
Centauri and a Beta Unit he'd left behind to replace me I wouldn't be talking about it now."
"But you are here," Grig pointed out quietly, "and it seems you've changed your mind about . . . certain
things."
"Yeah. Don't get me wrong. I still think Centauri picked the wrong guy. But now I understand why he
was so anxious to try and recruit any help he could find."
"Then you are willing to give it a go?"
"Huh?" Alex threw him a sideways look.
"Here we are," Grig said. He ducked beneath a beam that was leaning at a crazy angle across the
corridor, rummaged for a moment behind a shattered barrier, and returned with a handful of clothing.
"Give what a go?" Alex pressed him.
"Fight," Grig said.
9
Alex stared at the uniform. It was identical to the one he'd been handed eons ago, in a similar room, by a
different alien. It was more than familiar.
Grig generated one of his stiff, thin smiles. "Yes, it's the same one. I made a point of knowing where I
could find it. In case you changed your mind."
Alex took it, blew dust off the shirt. "Do I have to? I mean, isn't it silly?"
"Not as silly as standing here arguing about it," Grig told him, making Alex feel very immature indeed.
"Besides, my people are sticklers for the proprieties. If you're going to do battle on behalf of the League,
you should feel and look the part. The uniform is a small concession to my sense of rightness. Don it for
me."
Alex shrugged. "Okay. No big deal."
"Then you're still ready to participate in the fight?"
"Well, yeah, okay, sure."
"Perfectly splendid that is."
Alex turned to examine the destruction surrounding them. Two dazed Rylans were struggling to move
small mountains of twisted metal.
"But with what? You said yourself that the gunstar hangar was completely destroyed."
"I promise you this much; we will not have to fight with words. Come."
He followed Grig out of the devastated storage area and into a still functioning elevator. The alien ran his
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]