There was very little to do. Some of the inmates reacted to this by engaging in what seemed like endless squabbles. Others, especially the less sociable types, became morose and withdrawn. A few, Herbert included, plotted and planned. Not that the activity did them much good, since the storage module was virtually escapeproof, a fact that the navcomp had verified by countless excursions, experiments, and observations. No, the only way to leave was to be summoned by the Hoon, and escorted out of the module by one of the blimplike Hoon agents.
Green lightening zigzagged across the grid, and the ground gave birth to a mountain. Herbert could do nothing, but wait.* * *
The moment had finally arrived. By waiting till the prey entered one of the metal caves, then racing ahead, the Worgan had established an ambush. His quarry would pass directly below. He would drop, right himself in midair, and smother the biped's movement. There would be no opportunity for
The village blacksmith waited for the farmer to inspect the newly healed metal, accepted payment with a courtly bow, and watched the tractor growl away. Ancient though the equipment was, the blacksmith was even older, and more machine than man.Marcus Doug Douglas had played many roles throughout his long and rather productive life, including those of son, brother, husband, father, uncle, friend, industrialist, politician, strategist, artist, and for the last six decades, village blacksmith.His biological body had died years before, which explained why, with the notable exempting of his brain and some spinal cord, the rest of Doug Douglas was synthetic. Nor was this the first such body. After being forced to occupy a blue eyed monstrosity immediately after his "death", the businessman had commissioned bodies that looked a lot like the original had. Pleasant but portly. His Asian-Parsian ancestors would have been proud.Not only of the body in which he had chosen to d
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."Then
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
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
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
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
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
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