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Twenty Eight - EARTH
Light twinkled through the murk as a minisub nudged a neon numbered lock and a school of French grunts wheeled and darted away.
Sophie Doug Douglas saw those things, but didn't see them, as she hung face down in the water. She was naked except for a gill mask, a weight belt, and a pair of flippers. Billions of Phytoplankton, all linked by miles of translucent fiber, embraced both her body and her mind.The Say'lynt, one of four in existence, came from ocean world IH-4762-ASX41. Like her "parents", Shola was highly telepathic. Even more amazing was the fact that the alien could control other sentiments from a distance. Her voice echoed through Sophie's mind. "So, the work goes well?""Work?" Sophie asked dreamily. "What work?""Oh, nothing much", the alien teased, "just the interstellar corporation for which you have ultimate responsibility and the Center for Undersea Research"."Oh, those", Sophie responded easily. "Doug Douglas Enterprises had another profitable quarRelated chapters
HALF BREED Twenty nine - EARTH
"Sorry I wasn't here to meet you. There was an Abyssal out along the trench. Lots of mud, terrible visibility. A cyborg rolled off a cliff and took some damage. She's safe, she's safe but it took twenty hours to recover the crawler".Sophie took a seat. "I'm sorry to hear it... Is that what you came to see me about?"The scientist shook his head. "Heck, no, I wouldn't bother you with something like that. This is, well, big. Here. Watch this".Bato walked over, dropped a holo cube into her player, and touched a button. "This stuff was recorded during the past couple of days. The com center condensed more than thirty hours of programming into thirty minutes".Sophie started to speak, but Bato raised a hand. "You're busy, I know, but trust me. Once you see this, you'll want more information, not less".A thousand points of Light swirled like multicolored snow and coalesced. Governor Sandral Usmos started to speak. The executive lis
HALF BREED Thirty - EARTH
The security officer stood at a close approximation to parade rest. "Nothing good, ma'am. Combat-equipped troops invaded the company's office in Los Angeles, New York, Mexico City, Rio, London, Moscow, Calcutta, Sydney and Limau. Our records were seized, our funds were frozen, and at least ten members of our executive team are under arrest. Your picture was aired on the government controlled news. They put our a reward of one hundred thousand credits... dead or alive".The words came as a shock. Sophie felt something cold trickle into the pit of her stomach. Dead or alive? What was happening? Had Usmos lost her mind? But there was more. Sophie could tell from the other woman's expression. "Casualties?"Juliana have a short, jerky nod. "Yes, ma'am. A hundred and six so far, security people mostly, including the chief".Major Malite Jones had been one of those pushed out of the Legion and onto the streets - the perfect man to lead her security team. Sophie c
HALF BREED Thirty one - EARTH
The business woman had absolutely no intention of staying at the Imperial, but knew better than to lay electronic tracks to her real destination. Whatever that would be.The bay area had escaped the sort of destruction visited on Los Angeles and looked reasonably normal except for the military presence on the streets. Major intersections were guarded by tanks, cyborgs, and armored personnel carriers. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was in control.Sophie considered her options. There weren't any. She could approach the government and allow them to throw her in prison, or go get some help. The law firm of Baracko, Allison, and Griin had served Doug Douglas Enterprises for a long time and would know what to do.With her decision made, the business woman decided to settle back and let the ride take care of itself. Traffic was lighter than usual, which shaved ten minutes off the trip. There was a whir as the autocab pulled into the drive, took the correct number
HALF BREED Thirty two - IN SPACE
The Shem scout ship dropped out of hyper, scanned the three-planet system, and found what it was searching for. The Shem possessed two fleets, and this one, controlled by the Supreme intelligence known as the Hoon, consisted of no less than one thousand three hundred and forty seven heavily armed spacecraft.Some cruised the margins of the solar system, watching for signs of hostile activity, while the rest swarmed around the second planet from the sun. Those capable of landing did so, feeding on the remains of a once-thriving Steam Age society, while shuttles fetched "food" into orbit for consumption by the larger vessels.The ships, each protected by the same silvery sheen, flashed like fish through the ocean of blackness. They felt nothing for the millions who had died, or would die during the days ahead.Recognition codes flashed back and forth as the newcomer identified itself and was readmitted to the fold.The scout had no emotions as such, but did possess
HALF BREED Thirty three - IN SPACE
Jyro felt his heart thump against his chest. Were aliens waiting? How would they react? What should he say to them? Something moved. The dart thrower came up; his finger tightened on the trigger, and then came off again.Nano! A long silvery stream of the silvery stuff had entered the ship and oozed in his direction.The human watched the pseudopod split into three separate rivulets. Two turned and slithered down side passageways, while the third probed the main corridor.The nano were assessing how much damage the ship had suffered. That's the way it appeared, anyway, which suggested that they were external to the ship. Afterall, if the ship had the ability to repair itself, why wait until now?Thus encouraged, the prospector followed the pulsating stream back toward its source. He passed through one of the more damaged sections, saw light through a ragged hole, and was struck by how strange they were, like luminescent dandelion seeds floating on the wind.
HALF BREED Thirty four - IN SPACE
The corridors were like a maze. Jyro walked for like fifteen minutes. He turned right, turned left, and turned right again. The lock was just as he had left it. Such wanderings were frustrating,but more than that, extremely dangerous. The adrenaline had dissipated. He was tired, very tired, and a little bit dizzy. What he needed was food. All his dwindling strength should be focused on finding it.But how? Where to look? What to do? Robots didn't need food, so he couldn't get it from them. From where, then? Despair threatened to pull him down. Jyro forced himself to think. The combined weight of the space suit and duffel bag was too much. He would leave them behind.The maze of passageways was consuming time and precious energy. He would mark them. The prospector fumbled around in his duffel bag, found a can of blue spray paint, and eyed the indicator. Half full. Good. That should suffice.The lock hissed open, allowed two of the humanoids to exit, and close again. Th
HALF BREED Thirty five - ELGIRON
Fort Camerone squatted on the dry, rocky plain, and, with the exception of the missile launchers, antenna arrays, and fly form landing pads that broke its hard, angular lines, looking a lot like the godforsaken outposts the Legion had occupied in North Africa, centuries before.General Maltese Kairo low-crawled forward, used his elbows for support, and brought the binoculars up to his eyes. A motor whirred, and the outskirts of the ever expanding slum known as Naa Town, swam into focus.The shanty town consisted of hundreds of makeshift earthen domes, each reinforced with whatever chunk of metal or plastic that the occupants could beg, borrow, or steal.The officer panned from left to right. Data rippled down from the right side of the screen. Range, albedo, and more. None of it mattered. What did matter was the fact that smoke dribbled out of only half the chimneys, very little laundry had been hung to dry, and the narrow, twisting streets were practically deserted.
HALF BREED Thirty six - ELGIRON
The bodies, some of which were forty eight hours old, were piled like offerings before a pagan alter. There were at least fifty of them. Blood had seeped down onto the floor. Coaster's best friend, Jane Hopskins, lay on her back. Insects crawled in and out of her mouth.A servo whined. The tech looked up, and there was Davide. The quad looked like what he was - a monster.Some poor slob had spent hours on the huge, glaring eyes, the wide, grinning mouth, and the rows of razor-sharp teeth.Coaster turned and tried to run. The troopers caught the tech and brought her back. Urine soaked her pants.The voice had a hard, metallic quality, like the synthesizer that produced it. "Nice job, Coaster. There we were, all ready to suck Kairo in, when you spooked him".The discovery that Davide knew what had transpired down in the Ops Center would have surprised the technician, except for the fact that she knew he had access to the fort's command and control systems.
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