Richmond would have smiled at his friends, and maybe even hugged them. He stopped himself when he saw their expressions. Their gazes darted around at all the workers adjusting everything on the equipment.

  The party stood together on one side of the console. No one went near them, looked at them, or talked to them. A bubble of isolation hung over the group.

  They all made room for him to join them. Their wary eyes told him they all knew what they were doing here.

  Richmond didn't see any difference between one worker and another. They all seemed to be equally ranked in whatever hierarchy they used for their organization.

  He was just getting interested in the charts, diagrams, and readings on all the computer equipment when a different group approached the center console.

  These people didn't look or act any differently than anyone else. They all wore the same clothes and spoke in the same tone. They surrounded the console and started working on the equipment. Everyone who had been working there before suddenly stopped what they were doing and left.

  One large Yenus glanced across the console toward Richmond's group. "Captain...I am Madoc," he announced. "You're welcome to our humble compound."

  Richmond cleared his throat. "Um...thank you for taking us in and helping us the way you did. Zuna tells me you want to talk to me about us helping you out in return."

  "We can always use good people. You've all proven yourselves able adversaries against the Lilri. We could use your help."

  "What did you have in mind?" Hayes interjected.

  "We were kind of hoping to get the hell off this planet, if it isn't too much to ask," Richmond added. "I hear you don't have any spacecraft that can leave orbit, so whatever we do, we'd like to work toward that end, if it's all the same to you."

  Madoc nodded. "I understand, and I think I can help you out. You see, the Vasyke broadcast your time in the Necrodrome all over the planet."

  "I know they did. Everyone on the planet knows who we are, so we won't be able to blend in or be anonymous."

  "I don't want you to be anonymous," Madoc replied. "I was about to say that you gave us information we didn't already have about the Lilri and their resources and capabilities."

  "How could we?" Richmond asked.

  "We didn't know about their airfield outside the city. They keep it closely guarded."

  Richmond allowed himself to shift his weight to his other foot. He didn't want to piss off the one man who could help and actually wanted to help him and his friends.

  "I find that hard to believe," Richmond began mildly. "I find it hard to believe that this faction has been running for so long and you didn't know about what must be a colossal airfield right outside your own city. You have all these aircraft flying around. How could someone not notice?"

  "The airfield wasn't there before," Zuna told him. "The Lilri only brought in those fighters when they realized there was a chance you might actually escape from the Necrodrome."

  Richmond spun around. He had to stop himself from using the wrong tone with her, too. "How is that even possible? Even if you're right and the Lilri moved the fighters closer to the Necrodrome to subdue us, then it only follows that the Lilri must have been storing these fighters somewhere else." He allowed himself to glance at Madoc again. "You aren't doing your job if you could let your enemies amass such a force and you didn't even find out about it until they moved their fighters right out into plain view. You have compounds and forces all over the planet. How could you not find out?"

  "I don't say you're wrong, Captain," Madoc replied. "I wasn't doing my job. None of us was. We let the Vasyke and the Lilri get the jump on us by not finding out what they were doing. We know about them now and they are right outside the city, so we have to take advantage of it--for both our sakes."

  "What do you mean?" Richmond asked. "What do you want us to do?"

  Madoc switched something on the console in front of him. "We plan to raid the airfield."

  He pulled up a layout of the city with the name 'Nesara' printed next to it. So that was the name of this place.

  The chart showed the city from the air. This was the first time Richmond had really gotten a sense of where everything was in relation to everything else.

  Madoc didn't give Richmond or his men a chance to study the chart. He zeroed in on the Palace of Sevao and then rotated sideways to the airfield.

  It sat beyond the Necrodrome's outer wall exactly the way the friends guessed it would. The airfield occupied a position where it could easily launch fighters through the chute into the arena.

  The chart showed all those hundreds of fighters sitting there unused. If the Lilri had somehow kept these fighters hidden before, they didn't even try now. Anyone in town would have been able to see them sitting out in the open.

  Madoc pivoted the chart sideways and expanded the view of what looked like a series of buildings along one side of the airfield.

  The buildings looked exactly like all the others around it. The airfield butted up against the edge of town.

  "The Lilri are using these buildings as supply warehouses," Madoc announced. "We're going to raid them, steal their supplies, and destroy as many others as we can. If you help us get the goods away, you can steal a Lilri fighter at the same time and fly it into orbit. We'll get what we want with your help, and you can escape the way you want. It's that simple. What do you say?"

  Richmond studied the chart. The plan did seem simple enough on the surface, which somehow made him so much more reluctant to go through with it.

  He knew how to fly a Lilri fighter craft. He also knew how to fight the Lilri. Going into their stronghold to steal their stuff...maybe not.

  Madoc must have mistaken Richmond's hesitation for thought or maybe consideration. He pointed at different parts of the chart.

  "The Lilri have soldiers stationed here, here, and here..."

  "It isn't possible that they would post so few to guard such a huge installation," Richmond cut in. "They either must have hidden guard posts, or they're conducting surveillance from the air--and they must have fighters on standby to attack anyone who tries to encroach on the airfield."

  "I don't think so, Captain," Madoc countered. "The Lilri don't guard anything very well. The population is too docile. The Lilri don't believe anyone will attack the airfield because no one usually attacks anything. Most of the population prefers to mind its own business. The Lilri don't guard their infrastructure as well as they should. They never do. They don't think they have to."

  "Even if you're right that they did it that way in the past, I don't believe they'll do it that way in the future, and I know for a fact they aren't doing it that way now. We already know the Lilri are tracking our movements. They've been monitoring our life sign readings so they can tell what we're doing and when. They'll know we're making a move on this airfield. They aren't stupid enough not to take precautions. We can expect resistance--heavy resistance."

  "We're already anticipating that," Madoc replied. "We have a hundred people going on this raid. We'll be able to handle anything the Lilri throw at us."

  Richmond didn't reply. The Thalek rebel faction wouldn't be able to handle anything the Lilri threw at them. They wouldn't be a rebel faction if they could. The Thalek would be the ruling faction of Narillia and the Vasyke would be long gone, if that was the case.

  He didn't say anything to point out all the flaws in the plan. He could forget about any element of surprise. The Lilri would see him, Hayes, and Leatherwood coming a mile away. That would tip them off to the Thalek's plans. Then it would all be on.

  There was one other aspect of this that never seemed to cross Madoc'ss mind because he didn't mention it once--not even after Richmond brought it up.

  The Lilri had all those hundreds of fighters. They also had plenty of pilots to man those fighters. They didn't hesitate to launch fighters against a bunch of prisoners in the Necrodrome. Why in the name of God would the Lilri hesitate even for a second to launch fighters against the Thalek?

  The Thalek didn't have fighters. They had hover vehicles and low-flying transport craft at best. The Lilri would have all the advantage--and that was saying nothing about their numbers.

  Madoc broke in on Richmond's thoughts. "Well, Captain? What do you say? You don't have to do this. You can go your way with our fond wishes for your success. We'll carry out this raid without your help."

  Richmond looked up at the alien. He couldn't read anything about the Yenus from his bizarre features.

  "Would you give us a minute to discuss this in private?" He turned back to his friends. "This won't take long."

  He steered everyone out into the corridor and away from the command center to a spot where no one would overhear their conversation.

  "What do you all say?" he asked the group at large. "None of you has to go through with this. You can walk away. You're free. We got out of the Necrodrome. I won't be offended if you want to leave now."

  "You said you would take me off the planet with you, Joel," Zuna replied. "I've decided to go with you, so I'll take part in the raid."

  Aemon looked up. "Would you apply that offer to all of us? Would you take all of us off the planet?"

  "Of course," Richmond countered. "It just means you have to go on this raid and we have to steal a fighter."

  "We'd have to steal something anyway, somewhere along the line," Leatherwood pointed out. "These fighters are sitting right out there in front of our faces, and we know they're spaceworthy. If not now, when?"

  Richmond turned to Aemon, Fadek, and Venov. "What about you three? Do you want to leave Narillia? If you go to the Chronon Vanguard with us, you might not be able to come back."

  "I'm going," Aemon snapped. "I don't want to stay here to get recaptured and maybe sent back to the Necrodrome--or worse."

  "I'm going, too," Fadek replied. "I didn't fight my way out of the Necrodrome so I could spend my life as a prisoner on my own planet."

  "I wouldn't mind joining the Chronon Vanguard," Venov added. "It sounds like a better way to live than this."

  "Then are we all agreed on this plan? I don't like the way this raid is looking. We might be able to get another ship somewhere else."

  "We'd have to spend time looking for one that can withstand space travel," Zuna pointed out. "That would take time--which means we would need to find another secure hiding place while we search. We're already in a secure hiding place, and these fighters are right in front of us as Leatherwood says. I say we take one of them if we can. If we try and fail, we haven't lost anything."

  "Agreed," Aemon added. "The sooner we get off the planet, the better."

  CHAPTER 7

  Richmond and his friends stood in the cluster of Thalek rebels who would take part in the raid on the Lilri airfield.

  The group crowded into a large underground cavern attached to the compound. Richmond hadn't been able to explore the compound since he and his friends had come to stay here. He couldn't have found his way around without Zuna showing him where to go, but from the look of things, he and his friends wouldn't be staying here much longer.

  Madoc strode back and forth in front of the group, giving instructions. Three Dunonos went through the room, handing out weapons to everyone. They were the same kind of laser rifles Richmond had seen the Thalek using against the Zoth.

  He studied the weapon in his hands. It resembled a Lilri rifle more than any of the other weapons he'd seen so far, but it wasn't quite the same. The barrel--if he could call it that--didn't follow a straight line to the end of the weapon. In fact, it took him ages even to figure out how the thing fired at all.

  A bunch of curving conduits twisted and tangled around each other to form the weapon's body. The conduits gave the weapon a fat, rounded shape instead of a long smooth one like a normal weapon. More than one of these conduits ended in a round port on what Richmond assumed must be the front end.

  He couldn't be certain which end was the muzzle until he saw Zuna handling the weapon with expert precision. He watched her to figure out how to position and grip the thing. Richmond just hoped he didn't accidentally discharge it, because he had no idea where the firing mechanism was.

  Madoc paced back and forth in front of the group giving last-minute instructions to everyone, but Richmond barely listened. He and his friends had gone over the plan a million times with Madoc already.

  In all those meetings, Madoc couldn't give Richmond a clear idea of how many Lilri the raiders could expect to meet at the airfield, or even where they would be positioned. Richmond couldn't possibly know what to expect, so he would just have to find out when he got there.

  He never would have gone through with such a flimsy plan, but the presence of all those spaceworthy craft in one place proved too powerful a temptation. He didn't know where to even begin to look in this city for any other ship he might use to escape the planet. He could get stuck here indefinitely just trying to find a ship.

  He couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a ship that was right in front of him, that he already knew he could fly, and that all these other Narillian rebel fighters wanted to help him get.

  Some of them would probably die today, but he barely glanced at the rebels around him. He and his friends hadn't associated with or gotten to know any of the rebels in the week the group had been staying in this compound. In fact, Richmond and his people never spoke to any of the rebels except Madoc. The rebels didn't try to talk to Richmond and his people, either. The two sides seemed to have come to an unspoken agreement to stay as separate as possible.

  Richmond's people isolated themselves from everyone and only talked to each other. That was good enough for him. He didn't want to talk to anyone else.

  Only Zuna occasionally interacted with her fellow Dunonos. She seemed to be on exceptionally good terms with them. They talked in their own language even around Richmond's group. The Dunonos seemed to have a lot to say to each other.

  Richmond didn't resent them for keeping their conversation private. He didn't want to intrude on whatever Zuna might be doing or planning with them. He really didn't blame them for keeping their business private from everyone, even people with whom the Dunonos might be in the rebellion business. Everyone on this planet seemed to follow their own private agenda, even when they cooperated with each other.

  These Dunonos could have been planning a completely parallel rebellion that Madoc and the Thalek would never find out about. Richmond wouldn't have been at all surprised.

  He still found the Dunonos to be the most reasonable, the most reliable, the most insightful, and the best prepared of all the Narillian species. He saw the same steady determination in these Thalek Dunonos. Nothing ruffled them.

  Richmond was still studying his weapon when the crowd of raiders broke up. He didn't hear Madoc dismiss the group, but whatever.

  Richmond and his party followed a dozen rebels to one of the hover vehicles parked across the cavern. All the rebels loaded up and squashed themselves into the back.

  The vehicle didn't have seats. It resembled a cargo hauler with a large square compartment where everyone had to stand. Those near the walls held onto pipes and bars attached to the bulkheads. Everyone else had to hold onto each other.

  Richmond and his people were assigned to go with a group of Dunonos, five Drichi, and three Gulepe. They all seemed to know exactly how to use their weapons, so Richmond would have to copy these people when the time came to actually shoot someone.

  Two Yenus flew the vehicle. The whole thing rumbled when the engines started. Then deafening noise obliterated all else as the vehicle lifted off the ground.

  It howled away at top speed. Richmond couldn't see where he was going. He wasn't in any position to find his way around in this city. If he got lost, he'd be completely out of luck.

  He could only hope this plan actually worked. Then he'd be off this planet and he wouldn't have to worry about finding his way around.

  The vehicle vibrated so badly that his feet and legs went numb. Everyone stood in tense silence while the vehicle flew out of the Thalek compound and then...somewhere else. Richmond didn't see anything until the vehicle set down again, powered down its engines, and opened its back hatch to let the rebels out.

  He and his people went with them and streamed down to the ground in another unremarkable street full of ordinary Narillians. The vehicle didn't draw attention because it landed in what must have been a cargo loading area with countless other vehicles sitting around. Workers loaded and unloaded cargo from all the vehicles. More workers moved cargo into and out of the surrounding buildings.

  No one paid the slightest attention to the rebels' weapons. The Narillians must be so used to rebel activity that people carrying weapons around looked normal to them.

  One of the Drichi in the group took charge and led the way through the streets. Richmond had heard Madoc calling this guy Eben.

  The Yenus pilots joined the party and followed Eben's orders. Whoever the Thalek were, at least Richmond wouldn't have to deal with any conflicts of authority.

  He still didn't find his way around before Eben stopped behind a random building. It didn't look any different from all the others.

  "This building is the Lilri's supply warehouse," he announced. "This is the building we'll hit."

  "That wasn't the plan," Richmond pointed out. "We were supposed to attack from the airfield."

  "The other flanks are coming from the airfield. Our task is to hit the warehouse from this side."

  Richmond compressed his lips. He'd been in conference with Madoc enough over the last week to understand the man's plan in detail. He might not have been paying attention in the cavern just now, but he'd heard enough.

  One flank of the rebel attack coming from the city side of the warehouse was definitely not part of Madoc's plan. He would have known about it if it was. Madoc had specifically assigned Richmond and his people on the airfield side.

  Madoc had done it that way on purpose so Richmond and his people would be able to get to a Lilri fighter as quickly as possible, as soon as the Thalek got away with their stolen goods.

 

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