Lady Lure Read Free

of the ship on
the viewscreen for a moment longer before, without moving his head,
he shifted his glance to Capt. Jyrit. “Aren’t you curious?”
    “Curiosity is not a Jugarian trait, admiral,”
Jyrit responded, barely controlling his anger and his desire to
destroy the ship confronting him.
    “No,” Halvo said, “but courage and ferocity
in battle are.”
    Capt. Jyrit inclined his head in mute
acceptance of the compliment and waited to learn what Halvo wanted
to do.
    “During the past year,” Halvo went on, “there
has been precious little to arouse my curiosity. It is aroused now.
Capt. Jyrit, I have a suggestion for dealing with this interruption
in our journey. Since I am curious and you are not, I shall meet
with the leader of the boarding party and attempt to discover what
he wants. Meanwhile, you may keep your weapons trained on the Space Dragon. Do not hesitate to fire if they take any
action that threatens the safety of the Krontar. Comm
Officer, order a security team to Entrance Hatch Six. With your
permission, Captain,” Halvo added, to appease Jyrit’s sensitive
ego, though he knew the captain would not override his suggestions,
however much he might disapprove of them.
    “Sir.” Jyrit was the picture of affronted
Jugarian pride, but as Halvo had guessed, he would not openly
disagree with someone of Halvo’s rank. “You can interrogate them in
the brig. I shall order Security to have the entire boarding party
imprisoned at once.”
    “Not at once, Jyrit.” Deliberately, Halvo
used the personal name only, speaking as though the captain were
his friend. That, too, would ease Jyrit’s pride, which must surely
be outraged at having his expressed desires countermanded on his
own bridge. “Let us discover first exactly what it is they want. I
leave the bridge, and the weapons control, in your capable hands,
Jyrit, while I personally greet our unwelcome guests.”
    “As you wish, Admiral. Sir.” His tone was
formal and polite, but Jyrit, his antennae glowing, looked after
the departing Halvo in wondering disbelief at the admiral’s
irregular actions.
    Halvo himself scarcely knew why he was taking
the trouble to investigate the intrusion upon his homeward voyage.
Perhaps it was because the journey had been so boringly uneventful
or because, once he reached Capital, the planet where the Assembly
and the Jurisdiction government offices were located, Halvo would
be relegated to an administrative position behind a desk for the
rest of his life.
    Faced with the prospect of never commanding
his own ship again, let alone the entire Jurisdiction Fleet, Halvo
was bound to view any delay that kept him in outer space for a
while longer as an undisguised blessing. He might even discover an
opportunity to prove himself still capable of handling a
challenging situation, just one last time, before the intrigues and
the rules of Capital enmeshed him forever. It was all he could hope
for at his present stage of life.
    Balancing cautiously, moving slowly to avoid
as much of the ever-present pain as possible, Halvo made his way
through the familiar corridors of the Jurisdiction warship, heading
toward Entrance Hatch Six. Capt. Jyrit was certainly efficient.
Half-a-dozen security personnel were waiting for him beside the
hatch.
    “The pirate ship has just docked, sir,” said
one of the security team as he caught sight of the slowly
approaching Halvo. “The air lock is being pressurized now.”
    A moment later a blinking yellow light
signaled equalization of pressure and the hatch slid open. Between
the Krontar and the Space Dragon stretched a flexible
passageway that temporarily joined the two ships. Halvo saw that
the entrance to the smaller ship was also open, though there was no
sign of any member of the crew.
    “Where is the boarding party we were
promised?” Halvo demanded. He received an immediate response from
the interior of the smaller ship.
    “I wish the presence of Admiral Halvo Gibal,”
said the same