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Ninety two - EARTH (DIVIDED)
The command car circumnavigated the bomb crater, lurched through a drainage ditch, and growled onto the much abused highway. A lizard raised its head, took exception to what it saw, and scuttled away.
Admiral Tyson Salom felt her butt leave the seat and was grateful for the lap belt.Colonel Bay Marco glanced in her direction and grinned."Nice one point landing, Admiral... sorry about the road"."The name is Salom... and I'll settle for any kind of landing that I get to walk away from"."So noted", Marco said cheerfully. "Now hang on. The road gets worse before it gets better".The legionnaire's words proved prophetic. The vehicle topped a rise, granted a glimpse of blue, and plunged into a gully. It took the better part of twenty minutes to fight their way through a dry river bed, up a series of ancient switchbacks, and along the side of a heavily eroded cliff. Tool marks left more than two hundred years before could still be seen.But then, just as Salom wasRelated chapters
HALF BREED Ninety three - EARTH (DIVIDED)
Shola's extremities covered hundreds of square miles of ocean and, that being the case, could feast on nearly limitless sunlight. Wonderful, delicious sunlight, which was different from that available on her native planet had its own unique bouquet.It was a dreamy existence for the most part, drifting with the currents, pursuing whatever thoughts happened along, and keeping the world at bay.Well, almost at bay, since there was no way to ignore the surface vessels that did occasional damage to her delicate limbs, or the minds, thousands upon thousands of which planned, schemed, and plotted until the ethers were filled with the metal equivalent of static.But there were others as well. Minds lost in deep meditation, who, though primitive in ways, had their own kind of intelligence, and lived in the ever present now.It was through them, while hitchhiking in their minds, that Shola had first experienced how wonderful it felt to slide along the crest of a wave, to dive for
HALF BREED Ninety four - EARTH (DIVIDED)
A sentient might have experienced any number of emotions, but the machine was utterly calm. It launched a remote through tube one, waited for the device to reach the stern, and scanned the incoming video. Unlikely though such a circumstance was, it appeared as though two or even three Loliginidae, or giant squid, had chosen to wrap themselves around the propellor shaft and been torn apart. Sharks had been attracted to the scene and were starting to feed.That was strange, but of no particular concern, since the problem would soon resolve itself. Or so it seemed to the machine.Daggers flew regular coastal patrols now, and it was a relatively simple matter for Shola to summon two of the aircraft and point the pilots in the right direction. They located the attack submarine, dropped two torpedoes each, and whooped as debris boiled to the surface.Shola, who had experienced each death as if it were her own, floated in an ocean tears. * * * Luton looked out acro
HALF BREED Ninety five - IN SPACE
Every now and then, every other cycle or so, the Hoon liked to tour the fleet. The easiest way to accomplish that was to choose two or three hundred of the more than twenty thousand surveillance devices at his disposal and spend a tenth of a second on each.Though once routine, the excursions had been more rewarding of late, ever since the soft body had gone forth to "peach the gospel" - the essence of which seemed to consist of blocking thoroughfares, praising the supreme intelligence known as "God", and seeking "converts", which is to say semi autonomous units willing to listen to the human's rantings.The entire process seemed like a waste of time and resources except for one thing: interspersed with the nonsense regarding God was a good deal of anti Thraki rhetorics. And, like it or not, the Artificial Intelligence had no choice but to support sentients that shared the same mission it had which was to find Thraki and kill them.Still, the Hoon had encountered a co
HALF BREED Ninety six - IN SPACE
"Don't tell me, let me guess", Herbert said disgustedly. "You signed on".Jyro looked away. "No, not exactly"."But close".The human turned back. The tone was petulant. "So, what if I did? There was no other choice".The navigational computer would have sighed, had such a thing been possible. "I think the message is pretty clear: They found some Thraki, and the Hoon wants you to kill them"."Why me?" Jyro asked desperately. "The Hoon could kill them by himself"."It's a test", the Artificial Intelligence replied patiently, "to see what you will do".The better part of a minute passed while the human considered the matter. When he spoke, the words fell one at a time."So it's kill or be killed"."Essentially", Herbert replied."Unless..." Jyro said."Unless what?""Unless I could convert the Thraki, and convince the Hoon to accept them"."Dream on", the Artificial Intelligence said simply. "The Hoon is a computer, and
HALF BREED Ninety seven - CLONE HEGEMONY
The stars seemed to snap into existence as Jose Fonseca-Three Hundred Forty six dropped hyper, switched his sensors to max, and scanned the surrounding volume of space. Something that he, plus all 876 of his "brothers" had done countless times before.In spite of the fact that the Clone Hegemony had joined the Confederacy at the conclusion of the second Dodvalian war, they continued to maintain their own military forces and placed little reliance on the Confederate Navy.That being the case, the clones conducted regular patrols along their section of the Galaxy - mostly to control smuggling, but to ensure their sovereignty as well.A beeper beeped, data scrolled onto the scout's screens, and the pilot felt his stomach lurch. The readings couldn't be true! Nobody had a fleet that large! Not even the Confederacy.Fonseca-Three Hundred Forty six ran the scans again, obtained the same results, and dumped them to memory. A swarm of fighters started in his direction. That was
HALF BREED Ninety eight - CLONE HEGEMONY
"Then, when the Shem arrive, the aliens will help fight the machines. Who knows? It may be possible to use them as a protective shield. Later, at the conclusion of the conflict, we can either continue the partnership or, if circumstances warrant, turn and destroy them".Silence filled the chamber as the female took her seat. Sector 3's strategy was one of the most cynical, dishonest, and downright diabolical proposals the sectors had ever heard. Needless to say, they loved it.Sector 16 was the first to stomp his right foot, a sector 34 followed, and the rest joined in. After years of waiting, the Facers would have their day. Sector 3 looked triumphant. The Runners scowled. All eyes turned to Adrolopus.The warrior's mind flashed forward to the work that awaited him. He felt a great weariness settle onto his shoulders, and bowed his head. "This sectors have spoken... I will obey". * * * Jedidiah Jyro waited for the shuttle to settle o
HALF BREED Ninety nine - CLONE HEGEMONY
Antonio, the doubter, remained with the fleet, ostensibly in case of treachery, but actually because he refused to participate and thereby endorse the meeting.There were rumors about Antonio, people who claimed that his genetic material had been obtained directly from one of his predecessor's backup copies rather than the Hegemony's DNA banks, as if that might account for his independent ways. A seemingly silly theory - since there shouldn't be any difference - but who could know for sure?Ishimoto-Seven watched with approval as the Thraki admiral entered the compartment, closely followed by an entourage of officers, priests, and a contingent who, in spite of the title "Sector", sounded suspiciously like the sort of politicians the diplomat was used to.The two parties merged, exchanged greetings, and were herded in the direction of the Bullet's wardroom - the only space other than the hanger deck that could accommodate such a large group. The Thraki spoke via
HALF BREED Hundred - EARTH (DIVIDED)
The statue of Christ the Redeemer still stood over the way ravaged city of Rio de Janeiro, but little else looked the same. Great swaths of the once attractive downtown area had been destroyed pro to when the Navy retook the skies. Now, having been victimized by repeated submarine launched missile attacks, the city lay in ruins.The government tower lay where it had fallen, crushing hundreds of lesser structures, pointing toward Guanabara Bay. Sugar Loaf stood as it had been for countless millennia, but the cable cars that carried people to the top lay crumpled where they had fallen, as did a row of three transmission towers.Thousands of dispossessed citizens lived in the enormous soccer stadium, while an equal number camped in the streets. The citizens of Rio had paid a high price for their freedom and refused to let it go.Farther toward the south, beyond the limits of the old city, the latest incarnation of the Hotel Intercontinental still stood, blackened by the effect
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