Then colors blossomed all across the scan. . “We got company!” Geran yelled, and pounded the board. “Gods, o gods, they’re ours, hani IDs-hani ships lying off-system ecliptic, they’re coming in!”
Chapter Eleven
“Hani ships!” Hilfy cried. “Waiting-O gods, someone got ’em the word! They’re coming in on our escorts’ wavefront!”
“Ayhar,” Pyanfar said. Her heart again. It was a good hurt. As if the universe itself were not large enough to hold it. “Gods look on her, Banny Ayhar got through!”
While The Pride hammered down its V and Akkhtimakt’s kif picked theirs up, faster and faster shifts. Comp subtracted their V-drop out of that relative V increase and still came up with a plus. “The bastards are running!” Haral exclaimed. “They’re getting out of here; they got Ajir for an outbound-”
“They got Jik on their tail,” Tirun exclaimed. While on com, Sif was trying to explain it all to the crew in the galley. A cheer racketed out of that section, weak and wobbly in the strain of decel, but a cheer all the same.
“They are lost!” Skkukuk cried, and a string of something else in kifish.
His former associates. Akkhtimakt and all his minions, and Skkukuk was not with them in their debacle, but in the lead ship of the winning side. It was surely a sweet moment to a kif, all his maneuvers justified. He chittered and hissed and all but chortled. “Give me a channel,” he cried. “Hakt, give me a channel, praise to my captain, mekt-hakt’, they will not turn, they dare not turn, give me a channel!”
“Affirm,” she said. It seemed little enough to keep a kif content. And having gotten it he sent out a steady burst of clicking main-kifish.
Fools, was the burden of it. Join my captain, join us in success, turn and rend the doomed and hapless fools who lead you!
“Com,” Hilfy said. “Harun’s Industry says their compliments and they’re wanting instructions.”
“Come about and stay after them and for the gods’ sweet sake let the comp do the shooting, we got too many allies out there that look like the other side.”
“Kifish signal,” Hilfy snapped. “Skkukuk.”
“Notiktkt has begun to fire on its fellows!” Skkukuk cried. “It signals its loyalty, mekt-hakt’!”
O my gods.
She stared, appalled, listened as Skkukuk rattled off more and more names. As kif hindmost in the whole retreating force began to add their fire to the attack on their own forces, and hani ships swept in like a wave, hammering at the ships that were attempting to flee.
Hammer and anvil. More and more kifish defections, and the Ajir vector, the only way out at their velocity and on that heading-barriered suddenly with yet another wave.
“My gods, what’s that?”
More breakout of plague on the com, this time nadir, ships lying emissions-silent suddenly having picked up velocity and started to run.
Howling out mahen IDs.
“My gods, we got “em,” Haral yelled. And laughed aloud and pounded the console. “You hear that? That’s the mahendo’sat! We got the kif between us, Akkhtimakt’s forces are defecting right and left, they’re chewing each other to bloody rags!”
Pyanfar stared at it with her mouth open. With bits and pieces of things sorting themselves into vague order, as they had been ordered for longer than she had wanted to look at them.
She did not cheer. There was an obscenity in what was happening in front of them. And yet not obscene or unfit. No more than the little vermin that had multiplied and succeeded against all odds.
It was kif out there, surviving again.
Doing the best they knew to do.
Murder is possible here. Ours, committed against kif innocent by their own lights.
In one stroke, I can order it, clear our system of kifish ships till we can get organized in defense. Wipe the aliens out of home system.
It’s prudent to do. It’s only prudent.
But gods help me, I’m not a butcher.
“Send: The Pride of Chanur to all ships. Cease fire, cease fire on all kifish IDs that signal surrender.”
Then com reached her down the other vector, backflung from Jik.
Requesting that same message that she had anticipated and just sent.