Free Ascending by James Alan Gardner Page A

would be in greater danger than Starbiter; if they insisted on chasing us all the way into the flames, they were fools who could suffer the consequences.
    We skipped backward in a series of hiccupy motions, zipping a short distance, stopping to see if the stick-ship followed, then retreating farther when our pursuer reappeared. I could not tell if the aliens were truly teleporting after us, or just moving so quickly they seemed to come from nowhere. Starbiter and I traveled quickly ourselves, each backward hop so fast I could not perceive the transition: the sun simply ballooned a little larger with each jump, its prominences wilder and more threatening, its dark spots looming ever nearer.
    With every jump, I sensed greater fear in the Zarett. She showed no damage from the heat—looking down at her body, I could see no sign she was burning or even turning the slightest bit crispy—but like most lower animals, Star-biter seemed cowed by the very presence of fire. Each time I ordered her to retreat, I felt her reluctance growing. There, there, I thought in my most soothing way, it is all right, good girl, do not worry you will be burned to a cinder and disintegrate into howling ash …but there came a time when even such encouragements could not overcome her terror: when I said, Jump, she did not move.
    Move now! I thought again. It had no effect. She stayed where she was, trembling, as the stick-ship shot into view. We must move, I told her desperately, or we shall be captured.
    Starbiter did not budge. Perhaps she did not care if we were captured…or killed, or whatever these Shaddills wished to do with us. To be honest, I was not sure what we feared from them; but they had shot Uclod and Lajoolie despite my pleasant message of friendship, so I assumed they were most awful villains, intent on doing us harm.
    We had been stationary long enough that the other ship was nearly on top of us. Once again, the long tube-stick began telescoping outward, its mouth open wide enough to swallow Starbiter whole. I could see absolutely nothing inside: complete blackness, more inky than the darkest night sky. All around, the sun cast its blazing light, washing out every possible shadow on the alien ship, even the shadow Starbiter should have cast against the ship’s belly…but in the mouth that wanted to eat us, the darkness was stronger than light.
    “You foolish Zarett!” I yelled aloud. “Do you wish to be gobbled by the enemy? You must run now. You must fly straight into the sun. Go!”
    Still Starbiter refused; and in my ear, I heard a whispery voice, nearly lost amidst crackle and hiss. “Oar…wait…you will die…”
    It spoke to me in my own language, not the English it had used before. For some reason, I found that unsettling—as if these Shaddill ones were my personal foes, not aliens whose grudge was against Uclod.
    “Go away!” I yelled at the whisperer. “Go away, or I shall fly into the sun.” An idea struck me. “If we burn up,” I said, “it will be your fault for chasing us. You will be branded as Callous Murderers, pursuing us to our deaths. What will the League of Peoples think about that, you poop-heads? Will you enjoy their wrath?”
    “Oar…” the voice whispered.
    “Go away,” I said. “Go far away and leave us alone. Otherwise, I shall fly into the sun and the League will know you as killers.”
    For several seconds, nothing happened…except that the stick-mouth slowed its approach, as if it were no longer quite so confident about swallowing us. Be wary, I thought to Starbiter. They may wish to lull us into a false sense of safety. If anything happens, fly into the sun immediately. No more mulish hesitation!
    I could feel my heart beating in my chest. Thud…thud…thud…then two things happened almost simultaneously.
    First, the stick-ship vanished like a bubble going pop.
    First, the stick-ship vanished like a bubble going pop.
    Second, Starbiter reacted. More precisely, she leapt in total