For several minutes they maintained their position behind the bombers, spectators as Berterelli's pilots unleashed a heavy attack against the first destroyer and then broke off to climb away from the deadly warship dodging defensive fire all the way. One of the Longbows didn't make it out, but the other five did. The attack didn't destroy the Kilrathi ship, but Blair's sensors registered serious damage to shields, armor, and propulsion systems. The cats knew they'd been hit, that much was sure.

The second destroyer was a tougher nut to crack. Forewarned, it laid down a devastating pattern of fire against the incoming Longbows. A series of shots raked across Major Berterelli's bomber, and the Longbow came apart under the force of the barrage . . . but not before the Italian pilot released a full spread of ship-killer missiles. And the other bombers dropped their remaining loads simultaneously. As if avenging the squadron leader, they received the satisfaction of seeing those shots hit home. Explosions rippled down the spine of the destroyer. A few seconds later, a massive fireball consumed it. Some of the chunks were bigger than the Terran Thunderbolts, adding to the confusion that reigned on the Kilrathi perimeter.

"Retreat! Retreat! All fighters retreat!" Blair called. The Terran ships began to disengage, even Maniac and Flash. They turned away now, on their false escape heading, but Blair and Cobra hung back to cover the retreat.

So far, neither had fired a shot.

A pair of Darket gave chase, but Cobra took out one with a well-placed barrage from her tail gun, and Blair used a hard braking maneuver to change vector and let the second one shoot past him. Then he took it out with sustained blaster fire, saving his missiles in case a real threat developed. No other fighters approached them as they continued their retreat.

Just before losing sensor contact with the Kilrathi ships Blair saw that the destroyers were in motion. He allowed himself a grim smile. As he hoped, they were spreading out to throw up a detection net . . . but they were on the wrong side of the jump point to block Victory now.

"Last of the Hellcats is aboard now, sir," Rollins reported from his post at Communications. "And the first Longbows just checked in, looking for clearance. Looks like it's going down smooth."

"Let's hope it stays that way," Eisen growled. "Helm? What's our status?"

"ETA is fifteen minutes. sir, the helmsman reported.

"Blair's cutting it fine," Rollins muttered. "Hope he knows what he's doing out there."

"A little less chatter, Lieutenant, if you please," the captain said. "Navigation, begin plotting for jump. Mr. Rollins, make it 'Jump Stations,' if you —"

"Sir!" The Sensor Officer broke in. "Captain, the jump point . . . it's not there!"

"What?" Rollins spoke before he could stop himself. "It ain't there? What do you mean, it ain't there?"

"Lieutenant!" Eisen snapped. "Explanations, people. I need explanations . . ."

"It's like the cats just managed to . . . to dose off the jump point, sir," the Sensor Officer said. "I don't know how. But it isn't out there any more."

"And without it, we're stuck," someone else said aloud.

Rollins looked at Eisen. The man's face was darkly impassive, but he could see the expression in the captain's eyes. However the Kilrathi had done it, there was one thing certain. Victory was trapped.

"We haven't been able to determine exactly what's going on, Colonel, but it appears that the Kilrathi have somehow managed to close off the jump point to Caliban."

"How the hell can they do that? It ain't poss —"

"Clear the channel, Maniac!" Blair snapped. He understood how Marshall felt, but they couldn't afford to waste precious time in useless hysterics. "Sorry, Captain. Continue the message."

"We're going to have to try for another jump point instead," Eisen went on as if there hadn't been an interruption. "The Delius jump point isn't far . . . if it's still out there. We're downloading the coordinates to you now. Reform your squadron and keep their light stuff off our backs until we get there, And keep your fingers crossed that this door isn't closed, too."

"Understood, Captain," Blair said. He paused. "And if there's a picket at the other jump point, sir? I doubt we can out fox them a second time around . . ."

"Just pray we get lucky, Colonel," Eisen said grimly. "Because luck's about the only thing that'll bail us out at this point."

"Roger that," Blair responded. "Okay, Gold Squadron, you heard the man. Form on me and keep a sharp eye on your sensors. By this time they've probably got more than Darket out there, so be ready."

"If they can close down one jump point, they can close them all," Maniac said, still sounding ragged. "How the hell are we supposed to fight them if they can do that?"

"Stay frosty, Maniac," Blair told him. "Same for the rest of you. Whatever the cats are doing, we can't let it put us off our stride now. The ship's counting on us."

He adjusted his course to match the vectors Victory's computers fed to the fighters and adjusted the sensitivity on his scanners. If the Kilrathi really could shut down a jump point at will, the war was as good as over . . . but Blair refused to allow himself to dwell on the bitter thought. For now, all that mattered was survival.

"They are moving again, Lord Prince." Melek gave a deep, formal bow as he approached the throne on its raised dais. "The destroyer Irrkham has them at the very edge of his sensor range. Their vector indicates they are probably trying for the Delius jump point. It is the closest to their present location."

Thrakhath studied Melek without speaking, and the retainer grew uncomfortable under his lingering stare. Finally the Prince spoke. "The Mask has performed its function, then?" he asked.

"Yes, Lord Prince," Melek replied. "The Galiban jump point does not register on any sensors. The Terrans must have believed we simply cut it down, like helpless prey."

"The apes should have remained in the trees of their homeworld, and never challenged warriors of the stars," Thrakhath said, showing his fangs. "They are fools."

"Yes, Lord Prince," Melek agreed quietly. Inwardly he wasn't so sure. It was true that the Terrans still lagged behind the Empire in cloaking technology, but they were catching up fast. They would realize, soon enough, that the Kilrathi couldn't actually close down a jump point, but only obscure it with a particularly powerful cloaking field — and even then only where the dust and gas of a nebula made it possible for the cloak to operate effectively over the large distances needed to cover the jump point.

But Thrakhath remained utterly contemptuous of the Terrans. It was an attitude that worried Melek more and more as the climax of the campaign approached. So far events had unfolded much as the Prince planned, excluding the continued interference of the Victory after several attempts to cripple the carrier had failed. No doubt the unexpected Kilrathi ability to make jump points seem to vanish would, as Thrakhath intended, cause the humans to choose a different target system when they deployed their new weapon, regardless of the knowledge concerning their adversaries. But, sooner or later, Thrakhath's disdain for the Terrans might well lead him to underestimate them at a critical moment, and that could have disastrous consequences.