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Fifty one - EARTH (DIVIDED)
Peaches saw the executive's discomfort and felt a strange sense of superiority. She participated in the horror because she was too afraid to say no. Quinn did it for personal gain. That made her the better person. Didn't it?
Quinn turned his back to the video. "So? I asked for a report, but a tour of some god damned gravel pit! Where the hell is she?" A muscle twitched in Baba's cheek. Voice presidents come and vice presidents go. God help this son of a bitch if he ever fell out of favor. "Yes, sir. Take a look at the woman. Notice how they wear scraps of red and blue?" Quinn hadn't noticed but was not going to admit it. "Of course. What's your point?" "The point", Peaches said patiently, "is that gangs have formed. The reds and the blues". "Representing those why support us and those who don't", Quinn said brightly. "No", Baba replied. "I'm afraid not". The words "dumb shit" went unsaid but were clear nonetheless. "ThenRelated chapters
HALF BREED Fifty - EARTH (DIVIDED)
A third screen, which registered nothing but snow, was hooked to the company's communication network - a fully encrypted system that enabled Doug Douglas to communicate with offices all around the world. Although some of his staff had been arrested and placed in prison, the vast majority had escaped, and were back in business. Afterall, what is a company beyond the people who run it? Records? Those were duplicated and sent off-prem once every fifteen minutes. Processes? There were backups for those as well. The company had been attacked before.So, in spite of the fact that the mutineers had cost him some money, and that Zuon Inc. had obtained some valuable intelligence, Doug Douglas was very much alive.The blacksmith sat at the ancient desk and started to type. Not because he had to, but because he enjoyed the kinesthetic feedback.Thousands of miles away, in the basement of an old church, words jerked across a screen. Kenny read them and grinned. It seemed that the myste
HALF BREED Fifty two - EARTH (DIVIDED)
The pilot, a man named Hudson, was none too happy. The mission had screw up written all over it. A clipboard was velcroed to Hudson's right thigh. He checked the printout for the tenth time. The lights were dim to protect his vision, but the orange ink continued to glow. The instructions were clear. He was to land near Hugo, pick up an passenger, and haul butt. All without alerting the mutineers.Of course, that wasn't the worst of it, not by a long shot. Assuming the orders were correct, and not the ravings of a suit gone mad, the person he was supposed to collect was listed as Citizen Doug Douglas, as in Marcus Doug Douglas, a man who had disappeared more than fifty years ago and should be dead.The navcomp beeped softly and projected a map onto the windscreen's inside surface. The transport was five miles from the LZ and closing fast.Hudson pushed a thought through the neutral interface, felt the speed drop by fifty percent, and directed power to the bow-mounted searchl
HALF BREED Fifty three - EARTH (DIVIDED)
The cover jerked Salom out of a deep, restful sleep. Her mind raced as her eyes sought the bridge repeaters, and her fingers fumbled for the talk button. What could it be? An attack? Fire? The numbers glowed red, and the readings appeared normal."Yes?""Sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but you're required on the bridge".She recognized the voice as belonging to Lieutenant Roman, the same Lieutenant Roman who had kept her head throughout the mutiny. If Roman said there was a problem, then there was a problem. Salom's feet hit the ice cold deck, and she grabbed a shirt. "I'm listening, Lieutenant. What have you got?""It's Rear Admiral Pius, ma'am. His crew took control of the flagship"."Any word on him?""No, ma'am. And we aren't likely to hear any. Not anytime soon. The mutineers took a hyperspace jump. Headed for the galaxy would be my guess".The theory made sense. There wasn't much law out on the galaxy, and the deserters would have a chance. Not to mention a f
HALF BREED Fifty four - EARTH (DIVIDED)
The recruits trotted off the parade ground, missile launchers swung toward the northeast, and the entire base went to the highest stage of alert.Marco raised his glasses. "Tag the friendly, and order fire control to leave it alone. Tell the poor Special Operation Bases that we will fire the moment they cross the thirty mile marker. And Fo...""Sir?""Tell them that the first round is beers is on me". * * * Due to the fact that Shola's body was so vast, and her intelligence so widely dispersed, she didn't regard herself at being invested in one particular part of her anatomy. The fact that humans were convinced that their existence was centered in their heads seemed strange indeed.She could focus her beingness on the input recieved from selected sensors, however, and that being the case, she chose the gulf of Eden.Lacking any means of propulsion, the Say'lnt had been forced to expand a considerable amount of time following the Agulhans cu
HALF BREED Fifty five - EARTH (DIVIDED)
Marco turned, saw the expression on the other officer's face, and knew Lucy had a surprise up her sleeve. A roly poly civilian stood by her side. He wore a badly outdated business suit and looked familiar somehow. "Yes?"Lucy gestured to her companion. "President Doug Douglas, I would like to introduce Colonel Dooley Marco, commanding officer of the 17th DBLE. Colonel, this is the honorable Marcus Doug Douglas, President of the Confederacy, a two star admiral, and chairman of Doug Douglas Enterprises".Doug Douglas stuck out his hand. His smile was open and friendly. "The captain forgot to mention that I'm past President, a reserve admiral, and retired from my company. A has been if there ever was one".Marco accepted the hand, discovered that it was hard as a rock, and knew why the other man looked so familiar. Every cadet who passed through the academy was required to study the Midvalian wars, and more than a few references to the now famous Marcus Doug
HALF BREED Fifty six - EARTH (DIVIDED)
Suddenly, as if to confirm her suspicions, the ceiling screen flashed on. Sophie blinked, squinted into the light, and saw a school of fish circle above her head. She saw the bottom of a boat and bubbles as someone entered the water.The driver kicked his way downward. It was Leshi Quinn, or rather a digital Leshi Quinn, who had no need of a mask, tanks, or fins. His beautifully cut business suit was impervious to the water."Why, Miss Doug Douglas! What a pleasant surprise. Fancy meeting you down here. How's the water? No offense but you were due for a bath. Wow... nice pair of tits you have there! I would have liked to grab them, except that I'm somewhere else".Water poured down over the top of Sophie's head as the executive appeared to hover above. She blinked and wiped her face. The water was up to her knees by then, and continuing to rise. "Screw you"."Ah", Quinn replied. "If only you could! But let's stick to business - your busine
HALF BREED Fifty seven - EARTH (DIVIDED)
Marco took a remote off the worktable, clicked through a series of wall maps, and stopped on the one he wanted. It showed the southern half of Africa. The "hop, skip, and a jump" that Doug Douglas dismissed so lightly spanned the former countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, plus a healthy chunk of South Africa.Impossible to make the trip on the ground, given the fact that Luton's forces were out there waiting for them, and iffy by air even with Salom's help. Stupid, really, unless...The officer moved the cursor onto the word "Johannesburg" and clicked. A map of the city appeared. "Do you know where the building is?"Doug Douglas nodded.Marco handed him the remote. "Show me".Doug Douglas directed the cursor to the north, east of Soweto, and clicked on one particular intersection. A shot obtained from an orbital satellite bloomed. The buildings appeared flat and rectangular. The shadows suggested that they
HALF BREED Fifty eight - EARTH (DIVIDED)
Marco nodded and scanned their faces. The words were Naa. "Welcome to Operation Eaglet. The objective of tonight's mission is to rescue a prisoner, put the resistance effort on the offensive, and kick some mutie ass. That okay with you?"The Naa were thrilled to hear their language. More than two hundred voices replied in unison. "Sir! Yes, sir!"Marco grinned and switched to standard. "I thought you might say that! All right, let's run the missing one last time". He looked at his wrist term. "We load twenty eight from now, and lift at 1800. There are two birds, one for the first and one for the second. Decoys will depart just before we do, scatter in every direction, and lead the fighters away."I'm going with the first. Lieutenant Goddear will command the second. Standard night operations and radio procedures are in force. Check your wrist term for call signs, passwords, and a copy of the technical order."Marco motioned to a technician, said, "Light the tank",
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