Free Dragonback 04 Dragon and Herdsman by Timothy Zahn Page A

chance the Essenay is still intact and functional."
    Jack felt his chest tighten. "Why didn't you say so before?" he
demanded.
    "I tried, but you gave me no opportunity," the dragon said. "Do
you remember my telling Uncle Virge to use the Saga of Fristra?"
    Jack nodded. "You called out one of your fancy K'da maneuvers,
then said that."
    "Correct," Draycos said. "Fristra was a young Shontin who was
trapped by enemies at the edge of a grassy cliff. With no other hope of
escape, he set fire to the grass, and under cover of the smoke leaped
into the river below."
    "That last explosion, and then the ship disappeared," Jack said
slowly, thinking back. "And he was just about over the river, wasn't
he?"
    "Yes," Draycos said. "The questions are two. First, could the Essenay survive such a dive into the water? And second, would it be able to
conceal itself afterward from the transport's sensors?"
    "Yes to the first, I think," Jack said, his pulse pounding with
new hope. He should have known Uncle Virge wouldn't have gone so
easily. "The Essenay was pretty tough to begin with, and Uncle
Virgil put a lot of money into building it up. And I'd say a probable
yes to the second, too. You've seen the chameleon hull-wrap in action.
It's as close to invisibility as you can get."
    "Yes, I know," Draycos said. "My question was whether the
hull-wrap would work in water, or whether there would be some sort of
bubble effect that would be detected."
    "No idea," Jack admitted. They reached the edge of the clearing
and he shifted grips on his two K'da to guide them through the opening
in the bushes. "As far as I know, Uncle Virgil never tried hiding in
water. But remember how busy that river is. All chat churning white
water and floating silt would work in his favor."
    "Agreed," Draycos said. "Then we are left with only the question
of what precisely Uncle Virge will do once Colonel Frost turns his
attention to us."
    "Well, he won't just charge to the rescue, that's for sure," Jack
said, chewing at his lower lip. "That Kapstan can probably outgun him
four to one. My guess is that he'll stay underwater and try to move
downriver."
    He looked down at his chest. "Which is why you don't want to hole
up in the foothills, isn't it?" he said with sudden understanding. "You
want us to make for the river and try to link up with the Essenay there."
    "Exactly," Draycos said. "Provided Alison's friends don't arrive
first, of course."
    "Yeah, well, I'm not going to hold my breath on that one," Jack
said grimly, trying to remember the geography they'd seen on their way
in. The river cut straight through the middle of the forest, which
meant that as long as they kept going north they were bound to hit it.
    That was the good news. The bad news was that he also remembered
it being a good fifty-mile trek.
    Fifty miles of unknown territory and unknown dangers, with sixty
barely sentient K'da and ten wide-bodied Erassvas to drag along with
them.
    "Gangway." Alison's voice came from behind him. Jack turned, and
saw her guide the green dragon through the bushes.
    And behind them in more or less single file was the rest of the
herd.
    The herd . Jack felt an unpleasant shiver run through him.
Draycos had so often pointed out what a proud and noble people the K'da
were. Yet here, through some horrible twist of fate, they'd been
reduced to something no better than animals.
    Maybe Draycos had been right. Maybe they would be better
off dead.
    "Well?" Alison prompted.
    Jack took a deep breath. "Right," he said. Stepping to the other
side of the green dragon, Jack got a grip on the K'da's crest. "Let's
go."

    The first hundred yards were easy. The Erassvas had obviously been
all through this area; the path meandered around in what Jack was
starring to realize was typical Erassva fashion. A dozen somewhat
narrower trails led off the main path in various directions where one
or two of the big aliens had gone exploring for berries and other food.
    At the end of that hundred yards,