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.Sandy had been hurt more than once in basic training – the colonies insisted on teaching hand-to-hand combat, even to starship crewmen – yet this was different.Her skin seemed to be tingling with pain.“I think you got quite a bad dose,” Jess said, softly.Sandy started.She’d realised she was naked, yet it hadn't quite dawned on her just how weird it was to be naked.Her body looked normal, suspiciously so.There were no bruises, nothing to suggest that she'd been hurt.nothing, apart from the feeling in her skin.“Your clothes needed to be cut free,” Jess explained.“I think you were having a reaction to anything that touched your skin.In the end, I had to hold you in the air until you calmed down a little.”“Fuck,” Sandy said.She tried to sit up again; this time, she managed to sit on her ass without feeling too sore.“The next time I bitch and moan about being hurt after we spar, you laugh in my face, all right?”“Naturally,” Jess said.“You may have to be careful what you eat over the next few days.I think your senses may have been screwed up.”She unhooked a flask of water from her belt and passed it to Sandy, who sipped gratefully.But the water tasted like milk and honey, not plain water.She shuddered as she took a deeper swallow, realising the implications, Something that she needed to eat might taste like shit.“Get some rest,” Jess ordered, standing up.“I told them that you were not to be disturbed.”“Oh,” Sandy said.“Will they listen?”“I think so,” Jess said.“I was quite graphic.Oh, and I promised to beat you if you did something as stupid as that again.”Sandy rolled her eyes, then closed them.Jess pushed something against her neck and Sandy was out like a light.***“That’s the unlocked data package,” Cynthia said.“The XO sent us a lot of data.”She tapped the screen.“But this is the important bit,” she insisted.“The location of the raider base.One day away, assuming we travel at maximum speed.”“Which we will,” Glen said.He studied the data for a long moment.The raiders had built – or captured – an asteroid settlement and turned it into a base.And they had other starships, starships they were converting into warships.and supplies of Federation technology.That was another piece of data for the puzzle, a puzzle that seemed to make absolutely no sense at all.“Pass the coordinates to the helm.I want us heading there as soon as possible.”“Understood, sir,” Cynthia said.She frowned as she skimmed the rest of the data.“I honestly don’t understand how they’re funding so much activity.Piracy doesn't pay that much and they’re certainly not making profits on most of their raids.”Certainly not after Xenophon, Glen thought.The serial numbers of captured materials had been shared all over the cluster.Even the most amoral dealer would hesitate to receive goods from Xenophon – and might well tip off the Colonial Militia.Whatever the Governor thought she’d found, Glen honestly couldn't see how the colonies could hope to benefit by funding the raiders.“I’ll go through the data packet myself,” he said, glancing over at the helm.“Time to raider base, Lieutenant?”“Twenty-five hours, unless the storm reverses course,” Helena informed him.“In that case, we will have to evade.”“Then get us underway,” Glen ordered.He tapped the console, copying the data packet to his terminal, then headed towards his office.“Mr.Cooke, make sure that the crew has a rest and something to eat.I want us in full fighting trim when we reach the raider base.”Cooke nodded in understanding.The raiders would have nowhere to run, at least not if they wanted to preserve their investment.They’d have to stand and fight.and they might well have enough firepower to take out the heavy cruiser.Glen had faith in his ship, but he also knew that the raiders would be desperate.Even a destroyer could kill a heavy cruiser, if the crew were willing to ram.He stepped into his office and sat down, then wrote out a brief message for the Governor and another for Admiral Porter.They had to know what he was doing, although he knew that there wouldn't be any reinforcements in time to make a difference.And maybe it would stop them doing something drastic.Once the messages were sent, he looked down at the data packet from Sandy – and the much larger data packet from Fairfax.In hindsight, asking for the raw data might have been a mistake; whoever had compiled it had included absolutely everything.But he shook his head and started to go through it, comparing both data packets with the other information they’d had sent to Dauntless through the Bottleneck.And yet, the only conclusion that made sense was that the colonials were insane.They weren't insane, Glen knew.The colonials might be determined to remain independent, determined to protect themselves even if they had to eat grass to survive.but they weren't mad.And they gained nothing from slaughtering their own people.Aliens.maybe; humans, no.Even if the Federation didn't step in, their own people would rise up and lynch them in the streets.Carefully, he went back to the start and applied what his brothers had taught him.Follow the money.Who benefitted? And what was the observed end result?And -slowly, but surely - a very disturbing picture began to emerge.Chapter Thirty-Seven“You want us to attack Bottleneck?”“Correct,” Mr.Ford said.His voice was almost completely emotionless.“The base is currently undefended.I want you to attack, do as much damage as possible and then withdraw back into hyperspace.”Jason stared at him.“And how many ships will we lose to the defending ships?”“The Bottleneck Squadron is currently blockading Fairfax,” Mr.Ford pointed out, smoothly.“If they are summoned back the moment your fleet enters the Bottleneck, they will still be unable to reach Bottleneck itself for several hours.You will have ample time to attack and withdraw, broadcasting colonial IFFs all the time.”“Ensuring that the Colonial Militia is blamed for the attack,” Jason said, slowly.“You are trying to spark off a war.”“Yes,” Mr.Ford said, simply.Jason hesitated.It was too late, he knew, to develop moral objections.Even if he did, it wasn't as if anyone would take him in after everything he'd done [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]