Free Dragonback 05 Dragon and Judge by Timothy Zahn

shuttle.
    Draycos lashed his tail thoughtfully. Unfortunately for him, the
Golvin didn't have to worry about being seen out here. Draycos did,
which meant that in a straight head-to-head skulking race through the
cropland, the alien would almost certainly reach the shuttle first.
    But there was nothing that said Draycos had to keep to the
cropland.
    The river water was cool, but not nearly as cold as he'd thought
it might be. He slipped beneath the surface, leaving only the top of
his head above water, and paddled quickly and quietly toward the
landing pit.
    He reached it well before the Golvin and eased up out of the
river. Crouching in the shuttle's shadow with the water dripping off
his scales, he gave the vehicle a quick look.
    As he'd seen on their earlier trip, the passenger compartment
contained front and rear bench seats, each capable of seating three
Golvins. There was also a wide hatchway in the rear of the vehicle, he
could see now, probably leading to a storage area.
    But there was no connection between it and the passenger
compartment. If Draycos wanted to be able to see anything, the storage
area was out.
    The Golvin was only about seventy feet away now. Scooping up a
small stone from the riverbed, Draycos wrapped the tip of his tail
around it and flipped it, sling style, over the alien's head.
    It landed with a soft rustle in the plants behind him. Startled,
the Golvin spun around, his head wagging back and forth as he searched
for the source of the noise.
    And with the other's back turned, Draycos popped the shuttle's
rear door and slipped inside.
    Pulling the door closed again, he lay on his side on the rear seat
floor and looked around. The back of the front bench seat was
upholstered with a thick dark blue cloth, he saw, as were the rear
seats. Extending a claw, he cut the cloth away from both the bottom and
the side edges of the front seat, creating a wide flap.
    Rolling onto his other side, he did the same with the cloth
extending down from the front of the rear seat. Then, flipping both
flaps up, he lay down on the floor and arranged the flaps on top of
himself.
    It was an absurdly simple deception, and in the full light of day
it wouldn't hold up for a second. But the night was dark, and the
Golvin out there was in a hurry. Chances were good he wouldn't give the
rear seat even a first look, let alone a second.
    The front driver's side door opened, and Draycos braced himself.
But from the quick and shifting pressures on the seat cushions in front
of him, it appeared the Golvin was intent on just getting in and
getting away.
    A few seconds later, the shuttle lifted off into the night.
Cutting hard away from the center of the canyon and the party still
going on in the Great Hall, they headed up. Draycos eased the corners
of the flaps away from his eyes and settled in to wait.
    They'd been flying for nearly an hour when Draycos's sense of
balance told him they were starting down. The starlight was joined now
by a diffuse glow reflected from the shuttle ceiling, indicating the
lights of civilization below. Draycos arranged the camouflaging flaps
over himself again, and a few minutes later they were down.
    The door opened, there was another quick shifting of the Golvin's
weight on the seat, and then he was gone, closing the door behind him.
    Draycos gave it a twenty-count. Then, pushing aside the flaps, he
eased up to the level of the window and looked out.
    They had landed in a large parking area, apparently not far from
the spaceport where the Essenay had arrived a few hours
earlier. Surrounding the landing area on three sides were squat
buildings housing various small shops.
    And on the fourth side was a single, large building. Above the
door, in glowing letters, were the words InterWorld Corporation,
NorthCentral Semaline .
    Draycos felt his claws scratch gently against the shuttle floor.
So that was the reason the Golvin had sneaked away from the big
celebration. He'd had an urgent offworld message to