Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson [212]
Daniel gaped at the uniformed men as they all crumpled, his eyes wide and round. Whirling toward Peter and Estarra, he spotted the twitchers in their hands. His face turned an uneven red, and he couldn't seem to find his voice. Peter saw the instant in which all of the young man's suspicions clicked into place. Bawling for help, Daniel broke away and tried to run. Peter dialed the twitcher down to its lowest setting and fired a pulse at Daniel's legs.
The Prince collapsed. The disruptive impulses ricocheted through his central nervous system. Even his back twitched. The Prince tried to cry out, but his voice was weak. His legs had turned to rubber, and he could barely manage to flop on the ground.
Now the derelict lay open and undefended. "Estarra, OX--we've got to get him inside."
As Peter worked with Estarra and the compy to pull the young man to his feet, he noticed that Daniel had lost control of his bladder, wetting his loose pajama pants and the front of his robe. It was probably the least of the indignities he would suffer in the near future. Holding the arms of the twitching Prince, who continued to mumble incoherently, they hauled him past the stunned guards and into the alien sphere.
"Carry him up this ramp, and I will begin my preparations," OX said.
Letting the compy lead the way, Estarra and Peter dragged Daniel into the derelict's central room. The Teacher compy marched up to the hydrogue's trapezoidal wall. "I have already uploaded all the information compiled by the research team from Deputy Cain's datapacks, as well as relevant data from Chief Scientist Palawu and the Roamer engineer Kotto Okiah. This system functions very much along standard lines." OX swiveled his head, and his golden eye sensors glowed. "I spent six hours completing a coordinate transform. Judging from a preliminary test the scientists performed yesterday, I believe it will work."
"Is there a risk?" Peter glanced at Daniel, whose eyes were wild and uncomprehending. Drool dribbled from the right corner of his mouth; he didn't have the muscular control to form words, though he made faint whining sounds.
OX stared at the alien coordinate glyphs, then turned toward the King. "No greater risk than in using any Klikiss transportal. Provided I have properly transformed the coordinates, I have selected an appropriate place to send him."
Desperate to recover, Daniel twitched his arms, but to no avail. Peter and Estarra held him still, grunting with the effort. Peter doubted the young man could comprehend why all this was happening to him, but he decided it was best not to explain. "Don't worry, I'm sure OX picked the perfect location for you."
Daniel made a mewling noise as the Teacher compy attempted to work the controls of the hydrogue transportation system. After linking his own systems to the alien command deck, OX selected one of the coordinate tiles while busily reprogramming the unit. The transgate misted, shimmered, then grew ready. "I have been successful. You may send him through."
Daniel made a last uncoordinated thrash, but Peter and Estarra lifted him. When his wife winced with the effort, Peter hesitated, looking at her swollen abdomen with concern. "Maybe you shouldn't be--"
"I'm not helpless, Peter. This is life or death." With a silent count to three, they swung Daniel through the transgate wall. Peter hoped they weren't accidentally dumping the conceited and ill-behaved Prince into a deadly environment, but he trusted OX. He always had.
With barely a twitch, Prince Daniel vanished through the flat barrier, swept off to one of the settlements claimed in the Klikiss