Dragonback 05 Dragon and Judge by Timothy Zahn Read Free Book Online Page A

an
escort?"
    "So that you can try again to speak your side?" one of the other
Golvins asked dryly.
    "I don't think I'll get lost," Jack assured him. Picking a
direction at random, he set off, making sure to stay on the paths and
off the crop plants. The Golvins, to his quiet relief, made no move to
follow.
    "Interesting," Draycos murmured from his shoulder as Jack reached
one of the narrow irrigation channels and took a long step over it.
"Did you notice how they form their names?"
    "What names?" Jack countered. "They're nothing but a bunch of
numbers."
    "Though the listing is apparently not simply by birth order or any
such random assignment," Draycos pointed out. "Recall that Onfose
appeared to think a decision by you could change his number."
    Jack thought back to the conversation. "Okay, I guess I can buy
that," he said. "So they're ranked by status or position or nearness to
the throne. Or whatever the One sits on."
    "Note too how they simplify the awkwardness of long numbers,"
Draycos went on. "They take the first two letters of each number and
form a name from them."
    "The two-letter abbreviation thing is actually pretty common
across the Orion Arm," Jack said, thinking back again. The critic who'd
jumped all over One-Four-Seven had called him Onfose. So that made
Nionei—"So Nionei is Nine-One-Eight?"
    "That would appear to be the pattern," Draycos agreed.
    On a hunch, Jack flipped open his notebook again. "Looks like our
friend Nionei is an upright," he said. "I wonder what they are."
    "I don't know," Draycos said. "But the direction I was going with
this—"
    " Jupa ," Jack said as it suddenly hit him.
    "Exactly," Draycos said. "If they're following their usual
pattern, Jupa is likely a contraction of two words: Ju something and Pa something."
    Jack ran the two syllables through his mind. But nothing leaped
out at him. "Sorry," he said. "But I already told you I don't know the
first thing about mining."
    "Jupa Jack?" a voice called.
    Jack turned to see another Golvin hurrying toward him, a
paper-wrapped bundle clutched in his hands. "I have brought you your
attire," he said, panting a little as he trotted to a halt. "I do not
know if it will fit—Jupa Stuart was somewhat taller than you. I will
adjust it later if it does not."
    "Thank you," Jack said, frowning as he unwrapped the paper and
pulled out the items one by one. On top was a light gray robe with
vertical pleats equipped with a wide black sash fastened with a brushed
silver clasp. Next came a black sleeveless duster with angled royal
blue stripes on the shoulders and sleeves. Tall gray boots of some soft
material were wrapped in a package of their own; and between them, also
in its own paper wrapping—
    Jack's breath froze in his lungs as he stared down at the
black-and-royal-blue hat folded neatly in its packaging. Part tricorne
and part biretta, the old description ran through his numbed mind. Part
tricorne and part biretta . . .
    "Jupa Jack?" the Golvin asked into his thoughts.
    "Yes," Jack managed, forcing his mind back to the present. "Yes.
Go ahead and take the—take everything back to my apartment. Except
this," he added, snatching the hat as the Golvin started to close up
the paper.
    "As you wish, Jupa Jack," the Golvin said. "There will be a dinner
in your honor at the twelfth hour, two hours from now, at the Great
Assembly Hall."
    Jack forced moisture into his suddenly dry mouth. "Fine."
    The Golvin made as if to say something else, apparently thought
better of it, and headed back toward the pillars.
    "Jack?" Draycos asked quietly, his voice anxious.
    "I'm all right," Jack said, gazing down at the hat cupped in his
hands. "I just . . ." He took a deep breath. "This is it, Draycos. This
is the hat I remember my parents wearing."
    The K'da shifted on his skin, and Jack felt a slight pressure
against his shirt as the gold-scaled head pressed against the material
for a better look. "Are you certain?"
    "Absolutely," Jack said, memories flashing once