Read Online Infinite Day by Chris Walley - Free Book Online Page B

Merral sent her on her way.
    As the door closed after her, Vero shook his head. “My friend, if we don’t have trouble with her, I will be very surprised.”
    â€œMe too.”

3

    I n the heat of the midafternoon, Merral briefly met with Azeras when they arrived at the watercooler by the main door at the same time. The badge on the sarudar’s breast was not the Lamb and Stars but the lightning bolt and severed chain of the True Freeborn.
    Still the True Freeborn, and still an alliance. I don’t like this; Lloyd is right to be uneasy.
    Wordlessly, the two men walked outside and stood in the shadow of the hangar. Merral drank deeply from his cup before speaking. “So, Sarudar, you have seen the current plans?”
    Azeras wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and made a grunt that Merral took to be assent.
    â€œAre you happy with things?”
    Azeras leaned against the wall. “Happy? With this mission? No.” He beckoned Merral closer with a slight gesture of the head. “Commander,” he began in a lowered voice, “I appreciate why you want to do this. But be realistic. The probability is that none of us will return.”
    Alarmed, Merral replied, “You said you would go.”
    â€œOh, I will go . That’s not the issue. It’s whether any of us are destined to return .” The look on his face was one of resignation.
    â€œSarudar, our days may be marked out for us, but not by some cold, unshakable destiny.”
    He had only a shrug for an answer.
    Let’s hope our faith triumphs over your despair rather than the reverse . “Tell me, how do you rate Captain Bezemov?”
    Another shrug. “She seems competent. But we will see. It’s reality that counts, and the Nether-Realms can make or break men. Women, too.”
    â€œIt’s going to be vital that you develop a good working relationship.”
    â€œI’ll do my best.”
    Merral was struck by the extraordinary lack of passion Azeras showed. He seems beyond either hope or fear. “A question for you. The ambassadors claimed it had taken them two months to get here. Were they lying?”
    â€œNot in that case. There they were probably truthful. In fact, for something as big as a full-suppression complex, two months is pretty good going.”
    â€œBut you’re talking about half that time for us. And Lezaroth, too.”
    â€œYes. Generally, you can halve the time going back. All you need to do is backtrack on the route the steersman found on the way out. The coordinates are stored in the ship’s computer.”
    â€œSo that’s what Lezaroth will do?”
    â€œWell, no, he probably doesn’t have the coordinates on his ship. It’s called the Nanmaxat’s Comet, by the way. We got satellite imagery processed, and you can read the name. But the coordinates would have been on the Triumph, and he wasn’t expecting to lose it. So although he’ll go as fast as he can, he’ll have to stop and surface at least three times to check his position. And that will slow him down.”
    â€œIn short, we ought to get there before him.”
    â€œExactly. By at least three days. If we can start soon.”
    â€œI am working to start as soon as we can. Incidentally, we want to get the ship cleaned when we have it.”
    A shadow of unease crossed Azeras’s face. “You want to get rid of the Great Prince Zhalatoc?”
    â€œSarudar, no one here is enthusiastic about flying through Below-Space with a centuries-old, not-totally-dead man aboard.”
    â€œPersonally, I’d keep him. He’s very valuable. I suspect the lord-emperor would trade you the hostages for that body. We reckoned he was going to try to raise the old man with the help of the powers. When we fled here, having Zhalatoc with us was the one thing that stopped them using fission warheads against us.”
    For a moment, Merral wrestled with finding an answer.