Shaking his head in wonder, he looked into the cam.

"Our sources confirm that Supreme Ruler Kirkov"a"the man's mouth twisted slightlya""perhaps we should qualify that and say former Supreme Ruler Kirkova"left Del Sol in his private shuttle shortly after 0700 this morning. News of his departure stunned his aides, who did not know he was leaving. Apparently not even Madam Kirkov knew her husband was intending to flee the world. She is said to be making arrangements to join him."

He put his hand to his ear again.

"What does Kirkov think he's doing?" Becking squeaked. "Surrendering to the dremecks! He's lost his mind!"

"The man's an idiot," said Macdonald. "I always said so. But he's easily replaced. It will mean a lot of trouble and expense." The cadaver-cold eyes went to Robison. "I thought you said our people were on top of this situation."

"They were," Robison gabbled. "Something's gone wrong. My reportsa""

"Oh, hang your reports!" Macdonald snapped impatiently.

"No pun intended," Xris murmured, and turned his attention back to the vid broadcast.

"We have just been informed that one of the leaders of the victorious dremeck Revolutionary Army has arrived at our studios and is asking to speak to the nation."

A dremecka"at least Xris a.s.sumed it was a dremeck; he'd never met one in persona"appeared on the screen. Her face-folds were all scrunched together in happiness and rippled excitedly as she spoke.

"My fellow citizens, I greet you in peace," said the dremeck. "My name is Trella and I am here as a representative of the dremeck people. The free dremeck people," she added proudly. "I want to first thank those humans who helped us gain our freedom this night; the humans who threw down their arms and refused to obey their leaders when they were ordered to fire on us; those humans who used their own bodies to shield us from the secret police; those humans who marched with us on the palace and demanded the dictator's surrender. Thank you. We owe our freedom to you and to one human in particular. He is very modest and didn't want me to give his name, but he deserves to be known."

Trella turned her head and the vidcam followed her. The cam focused on a black-skinned human dressed in combat fatigues. He stood in a corner, looking extremely embarra.s.sed and ill-at-ease.

"That'sa"" Harry gasped.

"Shut up!" Xris hissed into the internal comm.

"Jamil Khizr," said Trella. "Thank you, Jamil. We owe you our freedom. You will be a hero to the dremeck people forever."

Trella turned back to face the cam. "We want to rea.s.sure the human portion of our population that we intend to work together with you to form a coalition government of both humans and dremecks. As for planetary security, acting on the advice of Jamil Khizr, we have sent a request to His Majesty, King Dion, for Royal Navy protection. That request has been granted. It is our hope that Del Sol will apply for a position within the Empire, but that is something the people of Del Sol will determine in free elections."

"The Royal Navy!" Mair looked concerned.

Macdonald brushed it aside. "Don't worry. It will take them weeks to get organized. By that time, our people will be in place and their 'coalition' government will have voted to send the Royal Navy to h.e.l.l."

"I don't think you'll find it's that easy," said Jafar el Amadi.

Macdonald lashed out with his hand, struck the injured man across the face.

"You've accomplished nothing except give us a little trouble."

Amadi didn't reply. He continued to smile, though blood trickled from his mouth.

"You know, Xris," said Mashahiro Ito suddenly, "I think I just figured out what the old man's up to. That secret bank accounta""

"Harry!" Xris spoke urgently into the comm. "Do whatever you have to do, but end the transmission! Now! Shut it down. I don't care how! Break something if you have to!"

"But," Harry protested, "that was Jamil! On the vid! Maybe he'll bea""

"d.a.m.n it Harry!" Xris said desperately. "Shut it down!"

"Too late," said Ito. "Looks like you may be joining me sooner than you expected, my friend. Death isn't so bad. It's the waiting around that gets tiresome."

Trella was continuing her speech. "It has been brought to our attention that for the past several decades, private individuals, corporations, and crime organizations have been depositing money in the banks of Del Sol, thereby avoiding taxation and criminal prosecution."

Mair, Becking, and Macdonald were now staring silently and intently at the vidscreen.

"It's been proven that watching vids rots your brain," Xris said loudly, jumping to his feet.

Robison s.n.a.t.c.hed up the beam rifle, aimed it at Xris. "Sit down," he yelled savagely.

Apparently Ito's ghost wasn't the only one to have figured out Amadi's scheme.

"Since much of the money has been illegally obtained, the new government has decreed that all financial inst.i.tutions on Del Sol will be nationalized. The money belongs to the free people of Del Sol.

"The same holds true for off-world-owned corporations. We realize that in some cases innocent individuals will suffer..."

We're ruined," Macdonald said coldly and dispa.s.sionately.

"Wiped out!" Mair gasped.

"We have payments due." Becking's lower lip trembled. His hands shook. "People we owe. When news of this gets out..."

Macdonald turned the corpse eyes on Robison.

"We can fix this, sir!" Robison cried desperately, lowering the beam rifle.

"How?" Macdonald demanded.

"I need time, sir! Time to think! I have contacts at the highest levels! I'm surea""

A soft whoosh sounded in Xris's left ear, followed by a soggy plop. Robison gave a pain-filled grunt. He looked down at his chest. Blood bloomed like a terrible rose on his shirt front. He dropped the beam rifle. His hands went to his chest, but there wasn't anything for the hands to do once they got there. Robison grabbed hold of the back of a chair as he fell, but that was just a reflex action. He was dead when his body struck the deck. The bolt must have hit very close to the heart.

Xris glanced around, saw Becking holding a needle gun.

Not a bad shot from a man whose hands were shaking.

Becking turned the gun on Amadi.

Xris lowered his head and lunged. With one hand missing and the other incapacitated, his only weapon was his body, and he sent his full ma.s.s of flesh and bone and plastisteel plowing into Becking, aiming for the man's sore and tender rib cage.

Xris struck Becking, who shrieked in pain and went down. Unable to stop his fall, Xris landed heavily on top of the pudgy man. The needle gun flew from Becking's hand, landed on the deck, and skittered away, Xris had no idea where.

Not that it would do him much good anyway. He couldn't very well fire it with his teeth.

Xris rolled off Becking. By the sounds he was makinga" moaning, groaning, and pukinga"Becking was going to be involved with his own problems for some time to come, wasn't likely to interfere. Xris staggered to his feet.

Harry Luck and Macdonald lurched about in front of the console, wrestling for control of the beam rifle. Harry was the stronger of the two, but the rifle was covered with Robison's blood and Harry couldn't get a good grip on the slippery barrel.

Mair was watching, a needle gun in his hand, but he didn't dare fire for fear of hitting Macdonald.

"Pilot Luck," said the computer, "missiles on the planet below are locking on to us."

"Missiles?" said Harry, distracted. He turned his head.

Macdonald smashed Harry in the jaw with the rifle barrel.

Harry reeled backward, crashed into the console.

Macdonald aimed the beam rifle at Xris. "Don't move."

"Missiles locked on," reported the computer. "Commencing firing sequence."

Groaning, Harry sagged into the pilot's chair.

"What missiles?" Mair demanded, unnerved. "Why are they firing at us, for G.o.d's sake?"

"Standard defense procedure," said Xris. "We haven't received permission to enter their atmosphere and we're entering it."

"But Kirkov ordered the military to stand down!" Mair protested.

"The missiles are programmed to react automatically. A fail-safe measure." Xris shrugged. "In all the turmoil, probably no one remembereda""

"Wolf Two Two One Heavy!" A panicked voice came over the comm. "Wolf Two Two One Heavy! We have just discovered that the missile launch sequence was accidentally activated. Four Proton V4 missiles have been launched at you. Suggest you take evasive action now!"

"Missiles launched," confirmed the computer. "Estimated time until impact: five minutes and twenty seconds. Raising shields and preparing to perform evasive maneuversa""

"No," said Harry Luck.

The computer's lights burned blue for an instant, then brightened to green again. "Please confirm, Pilot Luck, that I am not to raise shields."

"No shields," Harry mumbled, holding his hand over his swelling jaw. "No evasive maneuvers."

Macdonald shifted the beam rifle, aimed it at Harry.

"Go ahead, shoot me." Harry wiped blood from his split lip. "I'll get to h.e.l.l five minutes ahead of you. I'll let them know you're coming."

Macdonald shifted the rifle to Xris. "You're his commander. Tell him to raise the shields and get us the h.e.l.l out of here. Or so help me I'll blow your head off."

"You can't kill a ghost, Macdonald," Xris said quietly. "I died in that b.o.o.by-trapped factory of yours on TISor. I just haven't fallen down yet."

"Estimated time to impact: four minutes and thirty seconds," said the computer.

"Do something!" Becking whimpered. He was on his feet, shaking all over.

"Computer," Macdonald said, his voice tight, "raise shields and commence evasive maneuvers."

"I do not take orders from pa.s.sengers," said the computer in lofty tones. "Estimated time to impact: four minutes and twenty-five seconds."

"I was in an explosion once," Xris said in conversational tones, thinking it might help to pa.s.s the time. "Let me describe it. First there's the blast, then white-hot pain as the metal and flame rip through your flesha""

"Shut up," said Mair, mopping his sweating forehead with his sleeve. "Make him shut up. For G.o.d's sake, Macdonald, do something!"

"Estimated tune of impact: four minutes," said the computer.

From his chair, Amadi chuckled. "Yes, Macdonald. You're the man in charge. The one in control. You have power over life and death. Do something."

"Pilot Luck," said the computer, "I have run an a.n.a.lysis on the four missiles. Two of them have faulty guidance systems and will miss us completely. One of them has a defective warhead and will impact but will cause no damage. The other missile will hit but its warhead will home in on the venting engine exhaust. The engine bay will be destroyed, resulting in loss of power to all systems except emergencya""

"Thanks, sweetheart," said Harry, patting the computer on the datalink manifold, "but I pretty well know what it'll do."

"Estimated time to impact: three minutes and thirty seconds," said the computer. "It is now too late to raise the shields or commence evasive maneuvers. All hands prepare to abandon ship."

"At least I'll have the satisfaction of killing you myself!" Macdonald said. "Starting with you, cyborga""

"Abandon ship!" Becking shrieked. He grabbed hold of Macdonald's arm, jostling his aim. The beam rifle fired, blasted a burning hole in the copilot's chair.

"You fool!" Macdonald turned on him.

"You're the fool!" Becking cried, spittle flecking his lips. "She said abandon ship! That means lifeboats! There are lifeboats on board! We can escape!"

Harry Luck looked nervous. His hand, resting on the arm of the pilot's chair, opened and closed spasmodically. He couldn't meet Xris's eye.

"So that was your plan!" Macdonald snarled, putting the beam rifle to the back of Harry's skull. "You were going to escape in the lifeboats and leave us here to die. Where are they?" Using the barrel of the beam rifle, he slammed Harry's head down hard on the console. "Where are they?"

"Three minutes to impact," said the computer.

"Take me with you!" Harry whimpered, twisting around. His face was the color of wet clay.

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d," said Xris.

"I'm sorry, Xris, but I don't wanna die! Take me with you," he said, pleading with Macdonald, "and I'll tell you."

"Sure, we'll take you," Macdonald said.

Harry jumped to his feet. "In the cargo bay. The lifeboats are in the very back. I'll show youa""

"We'll find them," Macdonald said, and drove the b.u.t.t of the beam rifle hard into Harry's stomach.

Harry groaned, clutched his gut, and crumpled into his chair.

Becking and Mair did not wait for their leader. They bolted through the hatch, jostling each other in their panic. Macdonald, holding the beam rifle on Xris, edged after them. Reaching the hatch, he hit the closing mechanism. The hatch started to slowly shut.

Xris was missing one hand and the other was useless, but he started to dash out after Macdonald. They could shoot him full of holes. It didn't matter. He'd live enough long to see that they didn't reach the lifeboats.

"Two minutes and thirty seconds to impact," said the computer.

"Xris!" Harry moaned, "Xris, I'm hurt. Hurt real bad. Don't leave me! I don't wanna die alone! Xris, please!"