[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
people for the mission.
There was a beat before Knott spoke, as though he were waiting to be sure that
the squadron leader wasn t going to add anything to what he d said.
One, the captain said, holding up a finger, you have no reason to believe
that there is a mission.
Two, if there
were a mission there s no reason to believe that Speeds would be involved.
Three, there is no reason whatsoever to connect General Scaragoglu with the
Invincible
.
Sutton leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, folding his hands in his
lap and studying the captain.
Sir, Sutton said quietly, with all due respect, I beg to differ. The
general visibly tapped Raeder, asking him to attend the general in his office.
Moreover, strings had obviously been pulled or the poor commander would even
now be packing his bags for home.
Knott smiled. He d foreseen this sort of interview when Scaragoglu had made
his interest in the commander so public. Still, he d no intention of
discussing the mission until
Invincible was on her way.
Sutton s people were logical candidates, because Knott knew that Raeder had
taken advantage of every opportunity to watch the squadron in action. The
commander knew their abilities and would no doubt prefer to choose people
whose qualities and quirks were familiar.
Nevertheless, that didn t entitle the squadron leader to a special briefing.
For one thing, I don t want to step on
Raeder s toes.
It might well look that way, too.
Sutton would undoubtedly approach the commander on his own, but he wasn t
going to be armed with infor-
mation he wasn t yet entitled to when he did so.
And Raeder s entitled to pick his own team; the only way I d interfere is if
he s doing something spectacularly wrongheaded.
Though he conceded to himself that Peter Raeder was fully capable of being
dead wrong and utterly sly at one and the same time.
Still, I ve no intention of second-guessing him or breathing down his neck.
Nor will I
have Ron, here, doing it with my apparent approval.
In any case, the Spider was undoubtedly going to try to influence the
commander s decisions. Knott rather looked forward to watching Raeder deal
with Star Command s own Machiavelli.
Though I ve no idea where to put my money, he thought with an inner smile.
I have nothing to add to what I said at the meeting, Squadron Leader.
Knott s voice was quiet but full of authority. Just bring your squadron up to
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full strength. Anyone still in sick bay must be replaced immediately. Make me
a wish list and I ll see that it gets pushed through.
He stood and perforce the squadron leader did too.
Yes, sir, Sutton said.
Though his disappointment at being excluded from the loop was almost palpable,
British sangfroid forbade any visible sign of it. He saluted, the captain
returned it and the squadron leader departed.
Knott sat down with a sigh and looked over at the holo of his old scout ship.
Ah, those were the days, he thought.
The simplicity of it all. Nothing in the universe to worry about but being
hopelessly lost in endless space, or breaking down with no prospect of rescue,
or being devoured by some alien gourmet.
The captain sighed again.
Duty calls, he reminded himself.
He pulled his chair up to his desk and began making more detailed notes on the
reports his senior officers had turned in. Life on the
Invincible was about to get hectic.
CHAPTER FIVE
Come, Knott said in answer to the chime at his door.
Good evening, sir, the XO said as she entered.
He smiled wearily at Mai and held out his hand. She dropped a set of datachips
into his waiting palm, then, at his gesture, sat in the easy chair near his
desk. Knott put the chips down on his desk and returned briefly to his
reading.
The desk here in his personal quarters was smaller, but every bit as
businesslike as the one in his office, and was used almost as much.
I think that you ll find that everyone has struggled to be as detailed as
possible under the circumstances, Mai
Ling said when he turned to her at last.
He grinned. Mai, you re so inscrutable this evening, he said.
She winced slightly, but smiled in return. Then settled in to wait. If she was
to be briefed, the captain would speak with her tonight.
We re being sent on a mission to Mollie space, the captain said at last.
Ju cocked her head. Of course, she said. Where else would they go? For what
other purpose did the
Invincible exist? But there is something about this mission that troubles
you, sir.
He nodded slowly.
Our cover is that we re supposed to attempt to intercept a pirate ship loaded
with goods for the Mollies. What we re really going there for is to drop off
six Speeds to do guerilla runs against their shipping.
I see, she said. Indeed she did.
Well, that s the Spider s trademark. Bold. Daring. Unconventional. Suicidal.
Mai Ling licked her lips. We are to return for them?
Yes. But there s a great deal that could go wrong. We ll be cruising in
another area looking for pirates or illegal shipping, or Mollies. Meanwhile,
they re going to be on their own. Which means that if for any reason we can t
get back to them . . .
There s no backup? Ju asked. Though it was more a statement than a question.
Given this is one of Scaragoglu s projects I can t answer that, Knott said
grimly.
But, given that this is one of Scaragoglu s projects it s fair to assume that
the answer is no. Mai Ling caught a flicker of expression. A good XO was
supposed to be able to read her captain s mind. . . . So we will have to make
sure that nothing goes wrong, she said.
Knott smiled. Now, why didn t I think of that.
Their eyes met.
Except that, by definition, in a wartime operation things do go wrong.
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Well, General Scaragoglu was right . . . Commander Raeder would be wasted in
a desk job on Earth.
Knott nodded.
And, of course, Scaragoglu may have decided that if he s doomed anyway, he
might as well go out in a blaze of useful glory. And if he s not just lucky,
if he s really good
, he ll find some way to survive . . . and be even more useful somewhere else,
later.
Testing to destruction, Knott murmured.
Poor bastard.
Commander? Chief Jomo arap Moi s voice came from the speaker sounding
unusually clipped.
Raeder, who was working hard at clearing his mind via the judicious use of a
puzzle cube, answered, Chief?
Sir, could you come down to Main Deck, please? We . . . have a most unusual
delivery. I m sure it s a mistake but they won t take my word for it.
On my way. Raeder put down the cube and headed out the hatchway.
I should brief arap Moi on what we re expecting to be delivered, he thought.
There had been plenty of things on his list that would come as a surprise to
the Chief. Peter hadn t expected deliveries to begin arriving so soon, though.
Working with Scaragoglu does have its benefits, he conceded, smiling.
Maybe this is what it s like to be in the High
Command; you snap your fingers, and things actually happen. You get things,
instead of queries and requests for clarification and profoundly
regrets.
Peter stepped out onto cavernous spaces of Main Deck and took a deep breath.
The scent of machinery, lubricant, fuel and scorched plastics, pleased him as
much as the scent of flowers after a spring rain, and it was far more
familiar, the smell of his trade. He walked from bay to bay to where he knew
the Chief waited, glancing left and right at the Speeds towering over him,
gleaming in the bright light.
He began to frown as he walked. The last two Speeds seemed to have fewer techs
around them than there should be.
Where is everybody?
There they were. Chief arap Moi and twenty or so techs stood about the
elevator platform that delivered the more massive supplies to Main Deck. On [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl rafalstec.xlx.pl
people for the mission.
There was a beat before Knott spoke, as though he were waiting to be sure that
the squadron leader wasn t going to add anything to what he d said.
One, the captain said, holding up a finger, you have no reason to believe
that there is a mission.
Two, if there
were a mission there s no reason to believe that Speeds would be involved.
Three, there is no reason whatsoever to connect General Scaragoglu with the
Invincible
.
Sutton leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, folding his hands in his
lap and studying the captain.
Sir, Sutton said quietly, with all due respect, I beg to differ. The
general visibly tapped Raeder, asking him to attend the general in his office.
Moreover, strings had obviously been pulled or the poor commander would even
now be packing his bags for home.
Knott smiled. He d foreseen this sort of interview when Scaragoglu had made
his interest in the commander so public. Still, he d no intention of
discussing the mission until
Invincible was on her way.
Sutton s people were logical candidates, because Knott knew that Raeder had
taken advantage of every opportunity to watch the squadron in action. The
commander knew their abilities and would no doubt prefer to choose people
whose qualities and quirks were familiar.
Nevertheless, that didn t entitle the squadron leader to a special briefing.
For one thing, I don t want to step on
Raeder s toes.
It might well look that way, too.
Sutton would undoubtedly approach the commander on his own, but he wasn t
going to be armed with infor-
mation he wasn t yet entitled to when he did so.
And Raeder s entitled to pick his own team; the only way I d interfere is if
he s doing something spectacularly wrongheaded.
Though he conceded to himself that Peter Raeder was fully capable of being
dead wrong and utterly sly at one and the same time.
Still, I ve no intention of second-guessing him or breathing down his neck.
Nor will I
have Ron, here, doing it with my apparent approval.
In any case, the Spider was undoubtedly going to try to influence the
commander s decisions. Knott rather looked forward to watching Raeder deal
with Star Command s own Machiavelli.
Though I ve no idea where to put my money, he thought with an inner smile.
I have nothing to add to what I said at the meeting, Squadron Leader.
Knott s voice was quiet but full of authority. Just bring your squadron up to
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
full strength. Anyone still in sick bay must be replaced immediately. Make me
a wish list and I ll see that it gets pushed through.
He stood and perforce the squadron leader did too.
Yes, sir, Sutton said.
Though his disappointment at being excluded from the loop was almost palpable,
British sangfroid forbade any visible sign of it. He saluted, the captain
returned it and the squadron leader departed.
Knott sat down with a sigh and looked over at the holo of his old scout ship.
Ah, those were the days, he thought.
The simplicity of it all. Nothing in the universe to worry about but being
hopelessly lost in endless space, or breaking down with no prospect of rescue,
or being devoured by some alien gourmet.
The captain sighed again.
Duty calls, he reminded himself.
He pulled his chair up to his desk and began making more detailed notes on the
reports his senior officers had turned in. Life on the
Invincible was about to get hectic.
CHAPTER FIVE
Come, Knott said in answer to the chime at his door.
Good evening, sir, the XO said as she entered.
He smiled wearily at Mai and held out his hand. She dropped a set of datachips
into his waiting palm, then, at his gesture, sat in the easy chair near his
desk. Knott put the chips down on his desk and returned briefly to his
reading.
The desk here in his personal quarters was smaller, but every bit as
businesslike as the one in his office, and was used almost as much.
I think that you ll find that everyone has struggled to be as detailed as
possible under the circumstances, Mai
Ling said when he turned to her at last.
He grinned. Mai, you re so inscrutable this evening, he said.
She winced slightly, but smiled in return. Then settled in to wait. If she was
to be briefed, the captain would speak with her tonight.
We re being sent on a mission to Mollie space, the captain said at last.
Ju cocked her head. Of course, she said. Where else would they go? For what
other purpose did the
Invincible exist? But there is something about this mission that troubles
you, sir.
He nodded slowly.
Our cover is that we re supposed to attempt to intercept a pirate ship loaded
with goods for the Mollies. What we re really going there for is to drop off
six Speeds to do guerilla runs against their shipping.
I see, she said. Indeed she did.
Well, that s the Spider s trademark. Bold. Daring. Unconventional. Suicidal.
Mai Ling licked her lips. We are to return for them?
Yes. But there s a great deal that could go wrong. We ll be cruising in
another area looking for pirates or illegal shipping, or Mollies. Meanwhile,
they re going to be on their own. Which means that if for any reason we can t
get back to them . . .
There s no backup? Ju asked. Though it was more a statement than a question.
Given this is one of Scaragoglu s projects I can t answer that, Knott said
grimly.
But, given that this is one of Scaragoglu s projects it s fair to assume that
the answer is no. Mai Ling caught a flicker of expression. A good XO was
supposed to be able to read her captain s mind. . . . So we will have to make
sure that nothing goes wrong, she said.
Knott smiled. Now, why didn t I think of that.
Their eyes met.
Except that, by definition, in a wartime operation things do go wrong.
Page 33
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Well, General Scaragoglu was right . . . Commander Raeder would be wasted in
a desk job on Earth.
Knott nodded.
And, of course, Scaragoglu may have decided that if he s doomed anyway, he
might as well go out in a blaze of useful glory. And if he s not just lucky,
if he s really good
, he ll find some way to survive . . . and be even more useful somewhere else,
later.
Testing to destruction, Knott murmured.
Poor bastard.
Commander? Chief Jomo arap Moi s voice came from the speaker sounding
unusually clipped.
Raeder, who was working hard at clearing his mind via the judicious use of a
puzzle cube, answered, Chief?
Sir, could you come down to Main Deck, please? We . . . have a most unusual
delivery. I m sure it s a mistake but they won t take my word for it.
On my way. Raeder put down the cube and headed out the hatchway.
I should brief arap Moi on what we re expecting to be delivered, he thought.
There had been plenty of things on his list that would come as a surprise to
the Chief. Peter hadn t expected deliveries to begin arriving so soon, though.
Working with Scaragoglu does have its benefits, he conceded, smiling.
Maybe this is what it s like to be in the High
Command; you snap your fingers, and things actually happen. You get things,
instead of queries and requests for clarification and profoundly
regrets.
Peter stepped out onto cavernous spaces of Main Deck and took a deep breath.
The scent of machinery, lubricant, fuel and scorched plastics, pleased him as
much as the scent of flowers after a spring rain, and it was far more
familiar, the smell of his trade. He walked from bay to bay to where he knew
the Chief waited, glancing left and right at the Speeds towering over him,
gleaming in the bright light.
He began to frown as he walked. The last two Speeds seemed to have fewer techs
around them than there should be.
Where is everybody?
There they were. Chief arap Moi and twenty or so techs stood about the
elevator platform that delivered the more massive supplies to Main Deck. On [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]