“Good idea, Princess,” Becker said. “But you know RK. He wants to spend a little time with Nadhari before we ship out again.”
“I see,” Acorna said, smiling. “It doesn’t have to be done right now.”
But at that moment, Nadhari Kando burst into the lab. “Becker!” she said urgently, then nodded slightly to the Linyaari who were also present. “I have to ship out right away. Sorry.”
“I’ll go with you,” Becker said immediately.
“No. You can’t. This is my responsibility. Hafiz hired me to protect him and his people and now the AcaSeckl has disappeared.” Acorna grabbed Nadhan’s muscular forearm to get her attention, “What do you mean, disappeared? Calum was on that ship as well as Hafiz-”
“And Maati,” Kaarlye, Miiri, and Aari said at once. “I know, I know. I should have gone with the Harakamians
but he wanted me here to protect his investment,” Nadhari said.
“But time is wasting. I’ve commandeered the Ifrit. It’s the fastest
ship in Hafiz’s security fleet and well-armed.”
She took the time to explain about the Haven’s transmission. Becker frowned. “If they’re not -where they’re supposed to
be, I’m not sure fast is going to do you any good, Nadhari. I’ve
got those banks of long-range scanners on the Condor. And the
Khieevi communications device. And Mac.”
“It’s too slow, Becker. And you already told me, it’s not
packing firepower.” She hesitated and then said, “Although …” “What?”
“You’ve had good success defeating the Khieevi without weapons and you do have that unconventional navigation style. Your tactics might come in handy. If you still -want to join me.”
“No ifs ands or buts about it, lady,” he said.
“Good,” she said and turned on her heel, as if expecting him to follow.
“Captain,” Acorna said. “We can follow in the CorSor and keep the scanners working and Mac monitoring the Khieevi transmissions. That way if we learn anything, -we can transmit to Nadhari’s vessel and you’ll have the advantages of both ships.”
Becker leaned back and gave her a kiss on the cheek before Nadhari snagged his hand and yanked. “Thanks, Princess. But you can do that from here and we can read you. No sense you taking unnecessary chances. Besides, I need you to make sure the sap shells get made and Condor, at least, is outfitted with them. Don’t want to get caught with nothing but a tractor beam to fight those klackers again.” Nadhari released his arm and threw the door open. He followed her calling, “Hey, wait up, Punkin. Just a sec.”
“What?” she asked sharply.
“What about the cat, is he going or staying?”
“He is already aboard the Ifrit but wouldn’t allow the checkout procedure to proceed. I divined his purpose was that you should be told of the mission.”
“I should hope so!” Becker huffed into his mustache. “That’s the only reason you came for me?”
“Of course not,” she said. “But -we -will discuss that later. “Yes, ma’am. I know. It’s of the essence,” Becker said, and -waved to the others as he allowed himself to be hauled away.
Acorna and Aari conferred -with Gill and Rafik.
“Do you think you can locate the materials for making the aerosol torpedoes Becker described?” she asked.
“Are you kidding?” Gill asked. “We have the best engineering help available in all areas.”
“And Uncle Hafiz has never been one to turn his nose up at the lucrative business of arms manufacturing,” Rafik added. “I can think of at least six of our friendly neighborhood merchants -who could supply what’s needed immediately.”
“Good,” Acorna said. “Miiri and Kaarlye cannot be a party to turning the sap into -weapons, you understand, but since it’s a simple matter of mixing sap and saltwater, there should be no problem with others mixing the formula. We need to return to the vine world. We Linyaari must communicate -with the vines, heal them if the Khieevi attack truly injured them.”
“Good thinking,” Gill said. “Some of the non-House Harakamian merchants may resist having their ships fitted with the torpedoes, but I think from -what we’ve seen, as long as they’re in this sector it’s really the only smart thing to do. Maybe if we show the vids the moon camera took of the sap’s effect on the Khieevi, it will be easier to persude the skeptical owners to accept the modifications.”