Cobra Slave-eARC by Timothy Zahn Read Free Book Online Page B

shaky. You okay otherwise?”
    “Yes, I think so,” Jody said. “I was—”
    And suddenly, it all flooded back to her. “Lorne—my recorder!” she gasped. “The Marines have it.”
    “No, it’s okay,” Werle said quickly. He dug the recorder out of his pocket and pressed it into her hand. “We got it back.”
    “Thank you,” Jody breathed, closing her fingers tightly around the recorder, feeling the sudden spike in her heart rate start to slow down again.
    “You can thank us by telling us what the hell is going on,” Lorne said a little gruffly. “What’s Uncle Corwin afraid of? That the Dominion will find out about your embarrassing taste in music?”
    Jody flashed a look at each of the other two Cobras. “I don’t—”
    “And if you’re thinking about going all dark and mysterious, don’t,” Lorne said firmly. “Badj and Dill just attacked a pair of Dominion Marines. Their necks are stuck out all the way into the next province on this one. They deserve to know what fire they just pulled your butt out of.”
    Jody grimaced. But he was right. “You remember Uncle Corwin telling us at dinner that the Dominion is looking for Qasama?”
    Lorne nodded. “Of course.”
    “They’re looking for Qasama?” Werle cut in, frowning. “What in the Worlds for?”
    “Nothing good, I’ll bet,” de Portola said. “From everything I’ve read of Dominion history—”
    Lorne silenced him with a gesture. “What does this have to do with you?” he asked Jody.
    She braced herself. “Qasama’s coordinates are on my recorder.”
    The three men looked at each other. “So erase them,” de Portola said.
    “Or if you want them really erased, let me do it,” Werle suggested, holding out his hand. “A couple of arcthrower shots, and they won’t even be able to tell that it was a recorder anymore.”
    “It’s not that easy,” Jody said, clutching the recorder to her chest. “There’s other data there that I have to keep, and it’s all multi-laced. I can’t explain any further.”
    “Okay,” Lorne said, clearly puzzled but also clearly willing to let her run with this. “So what’s the plan? I assume from the fact you were with Uncle Corwin that there was a plan?”
    “I was trying to get to Esquiline,” Jody told him. “The Southern Cross is right across town, but it’s full. He was hoping he could twist Chintawa’s arm and get me aboard.”
    “No chance of that now,” Lorne said, scratching his cheek. “Dill; Badj? Any ideas?”
    “She could come to Archway with us,” de Portola suggested doubtfully. “Lots of places there where we could stash her for awhile.”
    “No, I have to get off-planet,” Jody insisted. “I need to be able to…go. Other places.”
    “Like Qasama?” de Portola asked pointedly.
    “Just other places,” Jody said. “Look if you can’t help—”
    “What about the Troft ship?” Werle asked suddenly.
    “What Troft ship?” Lorne asked.
    “There’s a Hoibie merchant on Aventine,” Werle said. “He was in Capitalia this morning, but I think he’s in Pindar right now.”
    “Yes, he is,” de Portola confirmed. “I heard a couple of people in town talking about Hoibie shipments being due in this afternoon, and about damn time, too.”
    “If we hurry, we should be able to get her there before he leaves.” Werle looked at Jody. “If you don’t mind traveling with Trofts, that is.”
    “Riding a Hoibie ship will be a lot safer than sticking around here right now,” Jody said, suppressing a fresh flicker of uneasiness. A Tlossie ship she would have jumped at without hesitation, especially after all the time they’d spent with the Tlossie demesne-lord’s third-heir. But she didn’t know the Hoibies nearly so well.
    But it was her best chance. Possibly her only chance. “The question will be whether or not I can get them to take me aboard,” she added.
    “We’ll manage,” Lorne said, eyeing her closely. “My question is, where are they headed