“I don’t scare off easy, meat. I’m Besh, night-howler and hill-loper! Runner in the woods and bed-lover of all three moons! My yowl curdles milk in far counties. It shatters windows in the Standards’ armored high rises. Nomorts take a sunburn, before they face Besh. Little baldie, you dare try to out-bluff me?”

As he moved closer, flexing hands like the scoops at the end of a steam shovel, Lorg tugged at his sleeve.

“Watch out, Besh. He makes this noise.”

I had been getting ready for a fight, relaxing into Judo stance… as if that would help much against four such demons. But Lorg’s words gave me an idea. I pressed my collar again.

“Did that noise impress you, Lorg? Why, I wouldn’t insult Besh with anything so puny.”

This time the big Lik’em stopped, clearly intrigued.

“Oh yeah?” he asked.

“Yeah! Besh calls himself night-howler? Why, I can out-bellow him anytime, anywhere. I can make clamor that’ll rattle your gums and shake your teeth out of their sockets. I can make water rise up and stones fall from above. You want noise? I’ll give you noise!”

Would Commander Talon understand what I wanted? By sonic induction, it should be easy enough to transmit vibrations directly into the bedrock all around this chamber – something loud and awe-inspiring. It would only be a matter of timing, triggering it to coincide with my surreptitious cue. Just the sort of improvised trick I had seen the Captain pull, plenty of times.

I felt a moment’s triumph from the facial expressions of Besh and the others. Clearly, bravado and bluster were components of Lik’em character, part of how they sorted out their own pecking order. Now to back up my bravado with something that would turn them into jibbering converts, eager to help me any way they could.

“Right!” I took a step forward, brandishing a fist. “I’ll make these rock walls tremble with such a din, you’ll think the world is ending!”

The Lik’ems stared at me, wide-eyed and nervously expectant.

Seconds passed, measured by the slow plinking of condensation droplets, falling unhurriedly into a nearby puddle. With each “plunk” my heart sank. Where was Talon? Why didn’t he answer, to confirm my request?

Besh blinked once. Twice. Scratching his shaggy, blond mane, he ran his tongue back and forth a few times between his tusks, making a thoughtful clicking.

He glanced at Lorg, who looked back at him and shrugged.

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Besh said, facing me once more. “What noise is it you were thinkin’ of impressin’ us with?”

“Yeah,” Lorg added, a little eagerly. “Will it hurt?”

I pressed the collar mike against my throat, with desperate urgency.