King's Test Read Online Free PDF

you. There, that's gotcha, kid. Just
take it easy. Cut your engines. Relax."
    And in the
background, "Raise Phoenix. Tell Lord Sagan we're
bringing the kid into Defiant , safe and sound. Maybe there'll
be a promotion in this!"
    Dion grinned,
settled back comfortably in the pilot's seat. "Don't count on
it!" he said softly.

Chapter Four
    I am fire and
air . . .
    William
Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, Act V, Scene 2

    Aboard Phoenix, the fragile lives encased in the warship's megagrams of zero-grav
Fused steel endured the enemy bombardment with the stolid fortitude
and iron discipline drilled into them by their commanders. Each man
performed the tasks demanded of him to keep Phoenix alive and
functioning or to inflict damage on the enemy. Each kept his duty
uppermost in his mind, attempting to override the deep, inner
knowledge that he was trapped inside these metal walls with no
escape, no way out, and that a million mischances could end his life,
either swiftly, before he might be able to take that next breath, or
slowly, dying alone in horrible, agonizing terror.
    "My lord."
Admiral Aks straightened from leaning over an instrument panel, where
he had been almost pleading with the computer to change its verdict.
The admiral was gray with fatigue, looked his age and ten years
older. "The damage to the reactor is irreversible. An explosion
is imminent. We must evacuate.
    A muscle at the
side of Sagan's eye twitched. The dark eyes narrowed. "How
long?"
    "An hour,
perhaps, my lord Unless we take additional damage."
    A thud, the ship
rocked. Maigrey reached out. steadied herself on the control panel.
The shields blocked a direct view outside Phoenix, but the
vidscreen was providing excellent coverage of the Corasian vessel
looming near, the fiery tracers of the ongoing barrage.
    "Shields on
the port side are damaged but holding. It was the shields for'ard
that gave. We've got the port side to her now, my lord—"
    "Yes."
Sagan east a glance at Maigrey.
    I can give you
nothing, my lord, she answered him silently. Neither encouragement in
your hour of need . . . nor triumph over your defeat, I'm too tired.
I don't care anymore.
    Maigrey wondered
if she looked as had as he did. She must. The Warlord seemed to think
it safe to shift his attention away from her. "Put me through to
the reactor's engineers."
    A vidsereen came
to life, portraying a scene of death. Bodies lay unheeded on the
deck, the living stepping over the dead, who after all had no more
concerns. Smoke hung in the air: twisted and tangled metal could be
seen in the background. Maigrey saw the warning lights flash, heard
the Klaxons bleat. A man stood before the screen, his protective suit
ripped and torn.
    Whatever Sagan's
thoughts might have been, they din't show on his face. Maigrey could
have read them—as tired as he was, his guard was down—but
she didn't want to. Biting her lip, she turned away from him, kept
her eyes on the screen.
    "What is
your status?" Sagan asked, voice calm as if this were a routine
exercise.
    "Not good,
my lord. The blast doors held, the contamination's been contained to
this area, according to reports—
    "That's
confirmed, my lord," Aks murmured.
    "—and
we've slowed the meltdown, but there's no way we can halt it."
    "How long?"
    "If we stay
with it, we can give you an extra hour in addition to the original
estimate, my lord. Maybe longer; but after that, I can't guarantee
it. '
    Sagan paused,
involuntarily turned his gaze away to the Corasian vessel. Its giant
bulk filled the screen. The man in the reactor room saw him, perhaps
guessed his thoughts.
    "You can
use that extra hour, my lord?"
    "Yes, but I
won't order you to stay. In fact, I order you to leave, right now."
    The man glanced
down at his torn suit, at the badge that measured radiation level. He
smiled wearily. "We respectfully decline to obey, my lord. We're
dead men, anyway. We'll give you the time you need."
    "You will
be recorded in my