Read Online Cobra Outlaw - eARC by Timothy Zahn - Free Book Online Page B

the CoNCH control room. Two, they do have weapons in there, or at least so claims the one who’s still talking to us. They might also have booby-trapped the doors.”
    Jody swallowed. “Oh.”
    “Exactly,” Kemp said. “So for the moment, everyone’s more or less agreed that we’ll just let them run through whatever food and water they have in there and let them come out on their own after—”
    He broke off, his face and body stiffening. Before Jody could ask what was wrong, he launched himself from the couch, hit the door jamb with the heel of his left hand to change direction and disappeared at full sprint down the corridor.
    Jody had barely made it out of her own chair when a sudden voice split the silence. “Alert! All Cobras to the portside gunbay.”
    Jody mouthed a silent curse, then concentrated her full attention on her running.
    Apparently, the Marine in the portside gunbay had found his own magic can opener.
    Two Cobras were waiting just around a bend in the corridor from the gunbay when Jody arrived: Kemp and Nisti, one of the four Qasaman Cobras. Kemp glanced at Jody as she came into view, waved a warning hand for her to keep back. She nodded as she trotted up beside him. “Any idea what’s going on?” she whispered.
    “Everyone stay back,” a tense voice called from around the bend. “You hear me? Your Cobra’s down, and I’ve got a hostage.”
    “Please,” a strangled, pleading voice added. “Please—do as he says.”
    The voice was so stressed that it took another second for Jody to realize it was Rashida Vil.
    And that sudden realization sent a chill through her. Rashida was one of the Qasamans, originally brought along as a pilot and translator, before being forced by the Troft invasion to become a warrior as well. The young woman had risen to the challenge, showing strength and determination that Rashida herself probably hadn’t realized she had. If she was this frightened, the danger must be worse than Jody had guessed.
    “Just calm down,” Kemp called back. “There’s no need for anyone else to be hurt.”
    “But he’s blind ,” Rashida wailed. “The Marine threw some sort of device—”
    “Shut it,” the Marine cut her off.
    “Shut it yourself,” Smitty’s strained voice snarled. “What the hell was that? What did you throw at me?”
    “Oh, stop whining,” the Marine said contemptuously. “It was just a flash grenade. Your eyes will be fine in a few hours. I just want to talk.”
    “You could have talked from inside,” Kemp called around the bend. “Or you and I could go talk in the lounge. I’m sure that would be more comfortable.”
    “This’ll do for now,” the Marine said. “But I would like to get all of you together. Especially Shahni Omnathi.”
    “And why do you think he would have any interest in talking to you?”
    “Maybe he doesn’t,” the Marine said. “But this woman here is pretty scared, and I can’t let her go until I’ve said my piece to the Shahni.”
    “Let’s start with me,” Kemp suggested. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll decide whether it’s worth bothering His Excellency about.” He shot Jody a look. “For the sake of the woman, of course.”
    And accompanying the look was a smile. A grim smile, but a smile nonetheless.
    Jody frowned. Smitty was blinded, Rashida was a hostage, and the Marine was loose on the ship. What in the Worlds did Kemp have to smile about?
    And then, belatedly, she got it.
    Because Smitty wasn’t blinded. The grenade may have dazzled his eyes, but Cobra optical enhancements were totally independent systems, their sensors implanted in the skin around the eye sockets. Clearly, Smitty’s overacting was for the Marine’s benefit, playing his supposed helplessness for all it was worth in hopes of convincing his opponent that the only threats were waiting around the corridor instead of lying right at his feet.
    And with that, Rashida’s terror-stricken voice also snapped into perspective.