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we know what s behind us.

And they re chasing us.
 There is that.
The com chimed and Raeder touched a key.
 Sir, Truon Le said,  Ms. Lurhman reports another jump exit coming up.
 How long? Peter asked.
 Five minutes, sir.
 Sound warning, Raeder ordered.  I m on my way.
Peter and Sarah rushed from his office.
 Uh, I was wondering when you d have need of some Speeds, she said.
His jaw dropped and he turned to goggle at her as they strode along.
 You fighter jocks are crazy, you know that? he answered.  We ll need you
when we don t have to make a high-speed transit through whatever Fibian
minefield we find ourselves in. Remember Sutton back at Bella Vista having his
boring dinners with Mrs. Hong? Only here you d dinner and you wouldn t live
long enough to get bored.
be
 I agree, she said.  But I agreed to ask. Thanks for saying what I thought
you would.
Sarah gave him a mock frown.  All except that crazy jocks thing.
He flashed her a grin as they parted ways, he to the bridge, she back to Main
Deck.
Peter swung himself into the captain s chair and brought his screen online.
 Report, he said.
Truon Le handed him a noteboard and gave him the highlights verbally.
 All battle stations are active, all weapons are hot, he finished.
 Thirty seconds to exit, Lurhman said.
Raeder focused on his screen.  Give me feed, he said after a pause.
 Sir, I can detect no naval units. If there s anything here, it s far away or
powered down so far it s leaving no footprint.
That s a change, Raeder thought, nodding.
For . . . what, four jumps now? Four. Each system more heavily fortified and
each one with still more in the way of major Fibian units.
Another two systems like the last and they d out-mass the whole Commonwealth
fleet by themselves, never mind the Mollies.
 But there s a lot of traffic through here, sir. The ghost-traces of ships
drives came up on the screen.  I m highlighting those the system and I think
were warships. Either that or they have a lot of luxury liners.
A disconcerting number of the trails glowed green. Liners, couriers and
perishable-freight carriers were the only civilian ships that had footprints
anything like a war vessel s. Most of a military ship s drive capacity was
useful only when you had to maneuver very violently very
quickly.
 And I m getting a hail from those buoys, Lurhman went on.  Let s see . . .
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Infraray and radar probed; passive sensors drank down every particle and
computers extrapolated.
 Sir, those aren t just beacons. They re automated forts. Not much
maneuverability, but they re heavily shielded and they re armed for bear.
They re repeating the hailing pattern, at higher intensity I think that s an
identification-friend-or-foe-or-we-open-fire.
 Trusting lot, if that s their notion of a navigation bouy, Raeder said.  Get
Ticknor.
 Ms. Lurhman, I think we should withdraw if that s possible.
 They re not coming through behind us yet, sir, the astrogator said calmly.
 We ll end up back in the frying pan, though.
 That may depend on how many of their ships they sent after us, Peter said.
 The buoys have locked onto us, their weapons are hot, Gunderson said from
tactical.
 Take us back, Ms. Lurhman.
 Yes, sir. Taking us back, aye.
 What if we meet them in transit? Truon asked the astrogator.
 Theoretically we should be able to see one another. Parts of the ship, or
even individuals, might pass right through one another. Theoretically, she
emphasized.  No telling what will really happen.
Eeeuuw, Peter thought.
What if this happens while we re leaving jump? Does that mean I
might end up with six legs or claws?
He shook his head.
Concentrate on the matter at hand, he told himself sternly, and tried not to
see himself with a tailwhip.
 Is there any possible way that we can use that? Raeder asked. He looked at
Truon, then over to Lurhman at her console.  Maybe plant a worm in their
software, or something?
Truon looked thoughtful; to a tactical officer this was an appealing idea.
 We have no idea if our computers are in any way compatible, Ashly mused.
 There might be something we could use though, the XO said.  Physics is
universal, whether you ve got eight legs, two, or none.
Raeder nodded.  They must have some stuff they ve gotten from the Mollies,
even if it s only translation programs . . .
 I think I ve got something that will answer, Gunderson interrupted. He [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]