Read Online Sword Destiny by Robert Leader - Free Book Online

preferred a normal night of howling storm and darkness. There was no cover on a night such as this, and although their skimmer was painted in a camouflage pattern of grey and jet black swirls, she knew that it was still reflecting a metallic gleam of moonlight. If an alert Gheddan patrol ship flew overhead, they could not be missed.
    With the ocean in sight, she slowed the skimmer, turned it in the widening river mouth and pointed the bows upstream. She eased down the power so that there was just enough thrust to hold them against the current.
    â€œWe are to return into Ghedda?” Kananda asked uncertainly from the seat behind her.
    â€œNo,” Zela said with a smile. “We have to hold our position here and wait.” She flicked the switch of the craft’s main communicator and leaned forward to speak into the mouthpiece mounted onto the control panel in front of her. “This is Z-K-One. We are in position and waiting.” She waited for a silent count of ten then repeated the short message before switching off the communicator.
    After a minute Kananda said doubtfully, “They make no answer.”
    â€œAlpha and Ghedda both have technology which can overhear radio transmissions and locate their point of origin,” Zela told him simply. “That is why we keep such calls to a minimum. I made one call when we first reached the skimmer to let Antar know that we were on our way. This call tells them we are here. It should be enough. Our rescue ship should be cruising in close orbit somewhere above the river-mouth.”
    They all stared upward through the clear glass of the control hood. Jayna was leaning close against Kananda. She had slept on his shoulder for most of the long journey down river but now she was awake again. The drugs in the skimmer’s medical pack had helped her and now she was pain-free, but she was still hurt and weak. All three of them were silent, watching and waiting.
    The river journey had frayed their nerves. Twice they had bumped scaled monsters that had snapped and thrashed as they passed and now they felt vulnerable holding motionless against the river’s flow. It was deep enough here to hide creatures that might be as big as the skimmer itself. The dangers below occupied their minds almost as much as the dangers above. They knew that in a high state of war readiness, the Gheddans would almost certainly increase their guard patrols. Also, with no evidence of bodies in their crashed rotor-flyer, it would not take too much logical reasoning to work out that if they had survived the desert then the river might offer them their best means of escape. The Gheddans were not stupid and the risks were still high.
    â€œPerhaps you should call again,” Kananda said at last. “Your friends have not heard us.”
    â€œThey know which frequency we are on. If they are close enough, they will have heard us. If not, we must give them more time before we try again.”
    Kananda was doubtful. Sometimes she used words he still couldn’t understand. There was nothing on his world or in his language to which they could be related. He wanted to ask what the word “frequency” meant, but then Jayna squeezed his hand.
    â€œThis spy business involves a lot of waiting. Be patient, Kananda.”
    Kananda tried to be patient but it was not something he was good at. The long hours of being cramped in the tiny cockpit had been irksome. He wanted to move and stretch his muscles. Jayna sensed the tension inside him and again squeezed his hand. He felt irritated by the small intimacy and then uncomfortable when Zela looked back at him and smiled.
    Time dragged as they searched the heavens. There was nothing but the stars and constellations. Kananda thought that he could again pick out Earth but he was not sure. A bank of thin clouds had slowly moved into that quarter of the sky. He began to wonder what would happen next if no rescue came. He knew that the skimmer