Free Dragonback 06 Dragon and Liberator by Timothy Zahn

scornfully. "That would be a neat trick."
    "On the other hand, double crosses can come in all sorts of odd
flavors," Frost said, a subtle change in his voice. "They might even
involve, oh, say, a set of twelve Compfrin KK-29 patrol ships."
    There was a short, dark silence. "Very good, Colonel," Neverlin
said at last. The words were calm enough, but there was something in
his tone that sent a shiver up Alison's back. "But let's not overstep
the dramatics. Ever since the raid on the Chookoock estate you're no
longer flying beneath the Malison Ring's radar. I felt it might be
unacceptably dangerous for your men to go to Driftline as originally
planned for those Rhino-10s. I therefore went ahead and set up a backup
plan, just in case."
    "Nice speech," Frost complimented him. "Very believable.
Unfortunately for you, I happen to know that this particular backup
plan was made long before the Malison Ring had ever even heard of the Chookoock family."
    There was another short silence. "I see," Neverlin said, his voice
still calm. "So you gave Kayna a little safecracking practice on the
way to Brum-a-dum."
    "I thought it would be a good idea to give her skills a real test
before I brought her in front of you and the Patri," Frost said.
"Imagine my surprise when I discovered that bill of sale among your
private papers."
    "Imagine," Neverlin agreed politely. "But as I said, it was a
backup plan."
    "Was it?" Frost countered. "Or was the plan to abandon me and my
men on Driftline and do the job on the refugee fleet without us?
Leaving us to face General Davi's tender mercies?"
    "You're here for your tactical abilities, Colonel," Neverlin said
coldly. "I suggest you start proving you have some. Do you really think
I'm foolish enough to tackle an armed fleet with nothing but a handful
of KK-29s and a ship full of Brummgas?"
    " And your tame Valahgua and their Death weapons."
    "Even with them we need everything we have, and everything more
that we can get," Neverlin assured him. "I trust you'll remember that."
    " I remember it just fine," Frost said. "I just wanted to
make sure you did, too. What was your plan for retrieving the 29s?"
    Neverlin snorted gently. "The original plan was to swing by Bentre
after I'd dropped you and your men off at Driftline and have the
Brummgas collect the ships and fly them to Point Two. Now, with this
Mrishpaw thing, I may not want all of your men leaving my ship just
now."
    Alison pricked up her ears. Point Two. The ambush location?
    "Don't worry, we won't need to use anyone from the Advocates
Diaboli ," Frost said. "I've already sent a group of my fighter
pilots to Bentre in one of the other shuttles."
    "Have you, now," Neverlin said, and there was a sudden edge of
caution in his voice. "And they're already on their way?"
    "If not, they will be soon," Frost said. "They were to leave as
soon as the troop carrier signaled that it was safely on its way to
Point One. They should reach Bentre in four days, at which point
they'll pick up the 29s and fly them directly to Point Two."
    "Yes," Neverlin murmured. "That should make everything so much
more convenient."
    "Meanwhile, Sergeant Chapman and a team are on their way to
Driftline to see about those Rhino-10s," Frost continued. "By the time
we're ready to move to Point Three, we should have all the ships we
need."
    Alison grimaced. So much for Point Two being the end of the line.
    "Excellent," Neverlin murmured. "You do still mean we ,
correct?"
    Frost chuckled. "Relax, Mr. Neverlin," he said. "As you said, we
need all of us to make this work."
    "I'm relieved to hear it," Neverlin said, back on balance again.
"Langston isn't with either raiding party, is he?"
    "Don't worry," Frost assured him grimly. "He's at Point One
getting drilled in proper Malison Ring combat technique." He paused,
and Alison could imagine his thin smile. "And he's under the impression
that Point Two is the actual rendezvous point. If he does have
a knife up his sleeve, whoever he tries to