Leshi Quinn nodded and glanced at the wall display. The steadily dwindling numbers indicated that only two hours and thirteen minutes remained until one of NI's subsidiaries would seize control of seventy two percent of the planet's voice, data, and video networks along with ninety four percent of the deep space com gear. "Yes, Governor, Zuon is ready, or will be at 0 600 hours local".Sandral nodded. "Excellent. And what of our allies?"Senator Vaano had left many days before in order to ensure that he would be seen on board the Kindred before the shit hit the fan. His job was to slow if not actually prevent response by the Confederacy.Ambassador Hardin Ishimoto-Seven was present, however, he was preparing to leave. He had bobbed his head. "My ship lifts within the hour. I will do everything I can to bring the Hegemony around".Sandral was well aware of the fact that Ishimoto-Seven lacked the full support of his government, but hoped he'd find the means to secure it. S

Captain Tyson Salom broke the corner, saw two energy bolts whip through her peripheral vision, and felt Chief Grinnell jerk her back. "Bad idea, ma'am. They have this corridor sewn up. Where are we headed, anyway?" Salom was grateful for the "we". "The Admiral's cabin. Before they capture is kill him". Grinnell nodded. "Aye, aye, ma'am. Let's try 'B' Corridor". The naval officer followed the NCO back to a passageway labeled "Connector 10" and from there to Corridor "B". A rating raced by. The chief stuck his head around the corner, motioned for Salom to follow, and ran toward the stern. The Admiral's cabin was large enough to have entrances onto both "A" and "B" Corridors. They would enter from the "B" side if the hatch was open. Salom's mind started to race. There was so much to consider... And so much to do. Reach the admiral, secure the bridge, restore discipline. If only... A power tech stepped out of an access hatch, saw Gri

The corridor was momentarily clear. Chief Petty Officer Grinnell hollered "Now!" and began to run. Captain Tyson Salom followed. What began as a thin trail of blood droplets thickened and vanished under a body. The rating lay facedown. Loyalist? Mutineer? There was no way to tell. Half-congealed blood had adhered itself to the bottom of Salom's black high-tops. They made a scritching noise as she ran. Someone yelled, and she waited for the seemingly inevitable impact. But the port side midship lock appeared up ahead, the hatch opened, and they slid inside. Bullets flattened themselves on metal. Salom used her override to lock the door. "This looks about right", Grinnell said, pulling a set of emergency space armor out of the locker. "Hope you like white". "It's one of my favorites", Salom said as she struggled into the suit. "The shoulder beacons are a bit much, though". "You might want to deactivate those hummers", the noncom s

Monitors, receivers, transmitters, routers, switchers, amplifiers, junction boxes, and more, hung from ceiling-mounted racks, filled his homemade shelves, and covered eight worktables. Hundreds of cables squirmed this way and that, tying his Kingdom together and connecting Kenny with the world. The teenager sat in his favorite chair, an executive model he had rescued from a dumpster and equipped with wheels. Large wheels that enabled him to roll over cables, empty meal paks, and cast-off clothing. A spot threw light down across Kenny's shoulder-length hair, badly scared face, and filthy T-shirt. The youngster felt jubilant, frightened, and defiant all at the same time. He and his fellow netheads had created Radio Free Earth, what? Twenty four hours ago? Thirty six? He couldn't remember. The whole thing had happened so quickly. Most of the infrastructure already existed, resident not only in his garage, but in hundreds of similar facilities all over the wor

"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