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Twenty Five - EARTH
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 sRelated chapters
HALF BREED Twenty Six - EARTH
A voice spoke in Morgan's ear. She recognized it as belonging to Kendall Riob, a sixteen-year-old who actually liked the stuff they served in the mess hall and couldn't get enough of it. "Alpha Three to Alpha One... I have smoke on my forward positions. Over".Morgan knew what that meant. The smoke was intended to blind her troops. Infantry would follow, and not just any infantry, but infantry supported by cyborgs. They would hit the front lines together, attempt to flank her, and attack Page's rear.Morgan commanded what amounted to a light battalion, including three rifle companies of approximately one hundred thirty cadets each, plus a headquarters company that consisted of herself, some com techs, the medium armor weapons (MAWs) and two 60mm mortars. The same ones firing from her rear.Her mission, as laid down by General Page, was to delay the enemy forces long enough for the regulars to secure the inner city and turn toward the south. That was a task
HALF BREED Twenty Seven - EARTH
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
HALF BREED 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 quar
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.
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