《Esora》 1. Bad News Comes In Threes Kressa Bryant studied the image displayed on the main screen of the Conquest¡¯s bridge, her dark eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°Connie,¡± she called to the freighter¡¯s computer, ¡°is that a heavy cruiser?¡± ¡°Transponder identifies the vessel above the planetary capital of Vsatt as the heavy cruiser Cheops,¡± the computer replied in her calm contralto voice. Kressa widened the image. Several other vessels hung above the planet Vsuna in unusual orbits. ¡°What about those other ships? Let me see the ones in range.¡± The image on the main screen split into multiple windows. Each displayed a view of one of Vsuna¡¯s major cities with a warship hanging in a low, stationary orbit above it. Kressa counted three light cruisers and four destroyers. Doubtless there were others on the planet¡¯s far side. She frowned. She¡¯d been warned this assignment might be dangerous, but finding a fleet of warships gathered around Vsuna was the last thing she expected. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± she said. ¡°Why keep a fleet of United Galaxy Patrol warships at a world controlled by the United Galaxy? It¡¯s not like there¡¯s anyone who¡¯s going to try to invade Vsuna, and even if there were, wouldn¡¯t the Pattys want to engage them away from the planet, not wait for them in low orbit?¡± ¡°That would seem to be a wiser tactic,¡± Connie said. Kressa continued to study the ships, struggling to make sense of their presence. Had the mysterious Esora succeeded in unifying Vsuna¡¯s rebel factions and risen against the United Galaxy forces that ruled the planet, forcing the Patrol to send in ships to defend the cities? Except for the timing and the fact that she detected no evidence of active fighting, that almost made sense, but only almost. ¡°It must be a show of force,¡± she decided aloud. ¡°The admirals probably got tired of all the petty rebellions and decided to show the rebels what they¡¯re up against.¡± ¡°Assumption seems logical,¡± Connie said. Kressa pushed a hand through her short black hair and considered her next move. They couldn¡¯t turn back. The Conquest¡¯s approach to the planet would have been picked up long ago; turning around would only guarantee unwanted attention. ¡°Are there any disruptions to planetary traffic?¡± she asked. ¡°Communications suggest normal traffic permissions and patterns, although security appears unusually high.¡± ¡°No surprise there.¡± Kressa drew a deep breath. ¡°We¡¯ll land at Tranur like we planned and hope those phony credentials the Guard gave us are as good as promised. If we try to run now, the Pattys are sure to come after us.¡± ¡°Agreed. Setting course to bring us in over Tranur.¡± Kressa cleared the main screen, leaving only the unmagnified image of Vsuna¡¯s blue-and-white globe hanging against a backdrop of stars, all signs of the lurking Patrol fleet hidden by distance. The globe grew steadily larger as they drew closer to the planet. Watching the image, Kressa tried to shake the feeling that this assignment would turn out to be nothing but bad news, but the feeling remained. She sighed. What was the saying? Bad news comes in threes. She wasn¡¯t superstitious, but this trip to Vsuna was an excellent candidate for the looming third piece of bad news in her life. The first piece had come ten days earlier when she visited the domed city of Raasch, the main trading post on the planet Taas. She knew something was wrong the moment she got out among the merchants and traders that crowded the streets. The colorful sights and exotic smells of the vendors¡¯ wares were as prominent as ever, but the loud, good-natured banter that normally filled the air was missing. Even the handful of barter-fueled arguments she overheard held little of their usual passion. Curious to discover what had happened to cast the pall over the city, she made her way through the troublingly subdued crowds to the Devil¡¯s Promise, the tavern owned by Kanmi Aradus, a retired Taasian mercenary. Kressa had met Aradus nearly a decade earlier, on her first visit to Raasch. The tough old soldier had taken an instant liking to the feisty sixteen-year-old girl she¡¯d been then, and he had treated her like his kid sister ever since. As soon as Kressa entered the Promise, Aradus nodded to her from behind the bar, filled two glasses with the tavern¡¯s popular house brew, and joined her at a corner table. ¡°Hey, Kres.¡± He placed one of the glasses on the stained plasteel table in front of her and took a seat. ¡°What brings you to Taas?¡± She smiled her thanks for the drink and took a sip. ¡°Delivering cargo. Den Blackwell says he might have something for me to take off-planet.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t pin my hopes on that. Blackwell¡¯s not in the best shape right now.¡± Kressa shrugged and took another taste of her drink. ¡°I¡¯m sure someone¡¯s got something that needs hauling.¡± Aradus nodded but said nothing. Kressa frowned at the normally talkative man¡¯s reserve. Apparently, whatever had happened in the city had affected him, as well. ¡°What¡¯s going on around here? Things are awfully quiet.¡± He glanced away and then looked into his glass. ¡°We had a bit of trouble with the Pattys a few days back.¡± ¡°¡®We¡¯? You mean here in the city?¡± ¡°A bit more than that, I¡¯m afraid.¡± He took a long drink, and Kressa waited for him to continue. ¡°About a week ago, a Patrol task force showed up in the system for what they claimed were scheduled maneuvers.¡± Kressa arched an eyebrow. Taas produced little of value to the high-living citizens of the United Galaxy¡¯s planets, so the world was largely ignored by the UG¡¯s ruling admirals, which was just the way the hardy, independent-minded Taasians liked it. Still, the planet was officially under the United Galaxy¡¯s jurisdiction, so a Patrol task force choosing to practice maneuvers within the system was not unheard of, just a bit odd given the system¡¯s distance from so many of the United Galaxy¡¯s primary worlds. ¡°The Pattys¡¯ so-called ¡®maneuvers¡¯ consisted of stopping, searching, and otherwise harassing every non-commercial ship that entered the system,¡± Aradus continued with a frown, ¡°as well as commercial vessels from any of the Free Worlds. We figured the task force commander must¡¯ve been new to his position and wanted to impress the higher-ups, or he¡¯d been stuck in the same job for too long and wanted to do something to get noticed.¡± ¡°But the ships are gone now, aren¡¯t they?¡± Kressa asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t pick up any sign of Patty vessels when I arrived in the system, and the Conquest has some damn good detectors.¡± ¡°Aye, they¡¯re gone now,¡± Aradus said. ¡°They left a couple of days ago, but not before stepping up their tactics from harassment to aggression.¡± Kressa did not like the sound of that or the troubled look that tightened Aradus¡¯s craggy features as he said it. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°If you believe the official Patty version of the story, they ordered a free trader to heave to. When the ship didn¡¯t comply, they fired a low-power warning shot. The ship attempted to evade, forcing the Pattys to target their engines. Apparently the vessel wasn¡¯t very well maintained, because when the engines were hit, something went critical, and the ship blew.¡± Kressa did not think the story sounded all that implausible. The Patrol was famous for its shoot-first tactics. The fact that they bothered to fire a warning shot could be viewed as a generosity. As for the ship that had been destroyed¡­ Kressa pursed her lips. She didn¡¯t like it when any of her fellow traders bought the black, especially at the end of a Patty pulse beam, but it was a well-known fact that some of them skimped on ship maintenance due to lack of skill, lack of money, or lack of common sense. Having a ship¡¯s systems go critical, even without the help of a shot from a Patrol warship, was hardly unknown. ¡°You don¡¯t believe that¡¯s what really happened?¡± she asked. The old merc¡¯s expression softened unexpectedly. ¡°Kressa, the ship the Pattys took out was the Darsan.¡± An icy hand clutched Kressa¡¯s heart, and a chill surged through her body and along her limbs. She had served aboard the Darsan for three years. Shipping out on the freighter when she was sixteen had given Kressa her first taste of the life of a free trader and taught her everything she needed to know to take up that life when she got the Conquest. Due to the unpredictable schedules and destinations of free traders, she¡¯d had only rare contact with the Darsan and her crew since then, but now that they were gone, she felt as if some fundamental chapter of her life had come to a sudden and unexpected end. It left her feeling ungrounded, slightly off balance, with the odd sense that she¡¯d lost something she never knew she had. Then the details of the Darsan¡¯s destruction made it through her shock. Aradus said the ship had gone critical. One of the most important things she learned while serving on board the Darsan was the necessity of keeping a ship and all of its systems in perfect working order. It was the one place where Tempo, the Darsan¡¯s captain, never took shortcuts; the ship had not blown up due to faulty systems. A second chill washed over her. ¡°The Pattys purposefully destroyed the Darsan,¡± she said. ¡°Why?¡± Aradus¡¯s expression grew hard, shifting from compassion to anger in an instant. ¡°Why do they do anything? Maybe Tempo didn¡¯t answer their hail quickly enough for their liking, or maybe he wasn¡¯t ¡®respectful¡¯ enough when he did answer. Hell, maybe he really did try to run.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Kressa gave a single adamant shake of her head. ¡°No, Tempo wouldn¡¯t run. He¡¯d never have any reason to. The Pattys could have gone over every square millimeter of the Darsan and still found nothing to cite him on. Every trader I know would give half their controlling interest in their ship for a record as clean as Tempo¡¯s.¡± She had hoped to emulate that record when she set out to trade on her own, but fate conspired against her, and the Patrol caught her running guns¡ªalbeit unknowingly¡ªto the Free World Guard forces on Arecia. The Guard had rescued her from the Patrol, but they could do nothing about the black mark on her record or the price the Patrol put on her head. ¡°The Pattys wanted to send a message,¡± she said, struggling to keep her voice calm. ¡°They wanted to remind us that they can strike anyone, anywhere, for any reason. Or for none. The Darsan was just unlucky enough to be chosen as messenger.¡± Aradus nodded agreement with her appraisal. ¡°Lucky you didn¡¯t show up a few days earlier, or they might¡¯ve targeted the Conquest.¡± Kressa shook her head. ¡°No, they wouldn¡¯t have come after me. Not for that reason, anyway. They needed a dirty kill on a clean target. The Conquest has the equipment to not only fight back, but maybe even escape. The Darsan didn¡¯t stand a chance, which made her the perfect target.¡± Sickened by the realization, she downed the remainder of her drink in a single swallow. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go.¡± Aradus put a hand on her arm as she stood to leave. ¡°You¡¯re not going to try anything stupid, are you?¡± ¡°Against the Pattys?¡± She laughed mockingly. ¡°What can I do? What can any of us do?¡± She drew a deep breath. ¡°I just want to get away from here.¡± He pursed his lips and nodded. ¡°Take care of yourself.¡± She returned to the Conquest, delivered the cargo she¡¯d brought, and resolved to leave Taas without bothering to look for another job. She would fly straight to Arecia, she decided, land at the Guard base, and go see Halav. But it was her heart that made the decision. Once her head caught up, she knew she could not go. Colonel Halav Kamick had led the team that rescued her from the Patrol after the gun-running incident six years ago, and he had all but given her the Conquest, albeit with the stipulation that she use the ship to help the Guard whenever he asked. More than that, they had been lovers for the past several years. But the last time they were together, mere weeks ago, they decided it was time to end their relationship, for personal as well as practical reasons. Things between them had never truly gone bad, but they were hardly an ideal couple. As a free trader, Kressa needed to travel, whereas Halav was kept busy and planet-bound by his duty as a colonel in the Guard. Plus it was no secret that General Laszlo expected him to take over command of Arecia''s Free World Guard forces once Laszlo retired, at which point Halav would have even less free time. And there was the more practical consideration of the danger their relationship could pose to the people they worked with. When on field assignments together, if they were busy watching out for each other, those with them might end up paying the price. They had discussed all of these points, and more, and decided together that it would be best if they kept their interactions limited to those required by their ¡°professional¡± relationship, although Halav had told her they could end that, as well. Kressa knew that running to Halav for emotional support so soon after they made that commitment would do neither of them any good. Besides, she told herself, it wasn¡¯t as if she needed his support; she was perfectly capable of dealing with her feelings on her own. And if she wanted someone to talk to about what happened, Connie was an excellent listener and would provide sympathetic feedback, even if it was only because she was programmed to do so. Realizing that, Kressa took the time to seek new cargo, eventually hiring out to take a shipment to the Free World of Latella. But when she arrived on Latella four days later, the second set of bad news was waiting: Something had happened on Arecia involving one of the Guard¡¯s high-ranking officers¡ªthe stories weren¡¯t clear who¡ªand someone had died. This time, Kressa did not bother to find a new job. She delivered her cargo and headed straight to Arecia. With her heart in her throat, she landed the Conquest at the Guard¡¯s main base and rushed to the command building where an aide directed her to the general¡¯s office. The worst of her fears dissolved when she entered the room and found Halav seated behind the desk, but the general¡¯s insignia on his black-and-gray uniform told her that all was not well; something must have happened to Laszlo. Halav looked up as Kressa entered the office, and his tawny eyes met hers. He rose quickly and stepped around the desk. Kressa was in his arms in an instant, holding him close to assure herself of the reality of his existence. He returned her embrace, and for a brief moment she thought¡ªhoped¡ªhe would kiss her. Instead, he eased her away from him and held her at arm¡¯s length. ¡°I heard about the Darsan,¡± he said, his expression filled with compassion. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± She stared at him, shocked by his words, not only because they completely ignored his current circumstances, but because he knew about what had happened at Taas. But after only a brief moment of consideration, she realized it made sense that he would be more focused on her concerns than his; after all, whatever had happened to General Laszlo was days-old news to him. And of course he would have heard about the less-than-subtle statement the Patrol made at Taas; it had been intended for the Free World Guard forces as much as for anyone else who dared to challenge the United Galaxy¡¯s authority. Kressa tore her gaze from Halav¡¯s compassionate look and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. ¡°Thanks,¡± she said quietly. ¡°I¡­ guess Tempo was in the wrong place at the wrong time.¡± Halav nodded and returned to his chair. For a moment it looked like he wanted to say more. But what could he say? That Tempo and the rest of the Darsan¡¯s crew had not died in vain? That their senseless deaths would be avenged? It was what Kressa wanted to hear, and almost certainly what he wanted to say, but it would be a lie. Halav did not tell those sorts of lies, not even to comfort her, although sometimes she wished he did. ¡°What happened to Laszlo?¡± she asked, eager to turn the conversation away from the Darsan. ¡°He was on his way up north to check out some land he was thinking about buying when he retires.¡± Halav¡¯s tone was terse, his voice flat, as if he were relaying a report to a senior officer. ¡°His car was involved in an accident. Several people were killed, including Laszlo.¡± ¡°Was it really an accident?¡± Halav shrugged. ¡°The preliminary investigation suggests it could have been.¡± Kressa nodded. She knew Halav would never believe it was an accident, and neither would she. ¡°Will the Pattys come after you next?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Not right now. They¡¯ve made their point, and they¡¯ll want to see if I¡¯m any good at the job. If I turn out to be incompetent, taking me out now would be a bad move on their part.¡± Kressa scoffed. She knew Halav would be an excellent leader, maybe even better than Laszlo, but he was probably right in thinking that the admirals would wait to see that for themselves before deciding whether or not to send someone after him. She forced a lighthearted smile. ¡°I guess this means no more field assignments for you, General.¡± He returned her smile, and she was glad it looked more genuine than hers felt. ¡°You¡¯re probably right about that, but I do have an assignment for you, if you¡¯re interested.¡± ¡°What do you want me to do for you this time?¡± she asked with a feigned sigh, trying to banish the last of the heavy emotional undercurrent with the teasing repartee that normally defined their conversations. ¡°Do you have anything to trade on Vsuna?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to trade anywhere.¡± He gave her a surprised look. ¡°You¡¯re running empty? Isn¡¯t that against some unwritten free-trader code?¡± ¡°Halav, I didn¡¯t come to Arecia because of any cargo I¡¯m carrying. I came to make sure you were all right.¡± His surprise melted to a tender look, and Kressa¡¯s chest tightened uncomfortably at the affection in his gaze. ¡°Let¡¯s not go there,¡± she said quietly. ¡°Why do you need me to go to Vsuna?¡± His features hardened to a more businesslike expression. ¡°Have you been keeping up on what¡¯s happening there?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± she admitted, trying to think of the last time she¡¯d heard any news from or about the planet Vsuna. She knew it was one of the United Galaxy¡¯s rising stars, but as with most rises to prominence, Vsuna¡¯s increasing importance in the UG hierarchy was not without its cost. As the power, wealth, and prestige of Vsuna¡¯s ruling class increased, the remainder of the Vsunan citizens were being pushed further and further down, dangerously increasing the gap between the haves and the have-nots. It was an unfortunately common scenario on United Galaxy worlds. ¡°What¡¯s happening on Vsuna that concerns us?¡± she asked, sorry for what she knew of the situation, but unable to see how it affected Arecia or the other Free Worlds. ¡°Rebellions,¡± Halav said. ¡°Do you think they¡¯re the reason behind what the Pattys did to the Darsan and Laszlo?¡± ¡°Possibly, at least in part. So far, the incidents on Vsuna have been fairly small and isolated. The Guard¡¯s been in contact with a few of the rebel groups, thinking we could offer some support, but none of them have been around long enough for us to be much help. The Patrol has gotten good at finding them and cleaning them out. The main problem has been the small size and limited reach of the organizations, but that seems to be changing. Apparently someone¡¯s working to bring all of the different groups together.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Kressa asked. Halav shook his head. ¡°No one seems to know. We aren¡¯t even sure if it¡¯s a person or a group. All we have is a name. Esora.¡± ¡°Never heard of it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a Vsunan word, the name of a flowering plant that grows in one of the world¡¯s rainforests. The flower is said to be small, beautiful, and under certain circumstances, just a whiff of one can be deadly.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± ¡°But, unfortunately, not very enlightening.¡± ¡°So you¡¯d like me to go to Vsuna to see if I can find something more enlightening?¡± Kressa asked. ¡°It¡¯s up to you. I told you before that I don¡¯t expect you to keep working for the Guard if you don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°What else am I going to do to keep sticking it to the Pattys?¡± He flashed her a brief smile. ¡°Good point. We received a message that this Esora is going to be meeting with the leaders of the Vsunan rebel groups in four days. We didn¡¯t get the entire message, so we¡¯re not sure if it was meant to be an invitation or just informational. Or even a trap. Whatever the truth, we need someone to look into it. If something big is about to go down on Vsuna, we¡¯d like to know about it, to offer our help or at least be ready for the aftermath when it happens.¡± ¡°How much of the message did you get?¡± Kressa asked. ¡°We have a time and a place, but not much else.¡± ¡°What happened to the rest?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know. That¡¯s one of the reasons this is a purely voluntary assignment.¡± Kressa took only a moment to come to a decision. ¡°Vsuna¡¯s only two days away,¡± she said, ¡°and the meeting with this Esora is in four. That gives me a full day to put together some sort of cargo to make this look like a legitimate run and still get to Vsuna with a day to spare.¡± ¡°The Guard can help with the cargo,¡± Halav said, ¡°and with any documentation you might need.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get to work, then. It seems I have an appointment on Vsuna.¡± 2. The Warehouse Despite the presence of the Patrol fleet, landing on Vsuna proved uneventful. Except for having to make a minor course adjustment to keep out of the restricted area around the cruiser stationed above Tranur and being rerouted from the main city spaceport to a commerce port, everything went as expected. The commerce port sprawled along the southern shore of a large bay to the north of Tranur. Based on what Kressa was able to make out of the city and its port from the air, she was glad they rerouted her. She preferred the grittier appearance of the commerce port, with its surrounding trading establishments and warehouses, to the city¡¯s flashy, ornate structures. ¡°Connie, download an area map,¡± she said as soon as she got the ship docked in one of the port¡¯s hangars. ¡°Locate the address we were given for the meeting, and then see if you can find any references to the word Esora. I¡¯d like to know if it¡¯s the name of a person, a group, or something else entirely.¡± ¡°Acknowledged. There¡¯s an incoming call from the port authority.¡± ¡°Probably just requesting an inspection. Put it through.¡± ¡°Freighter Notti Girl, this is Port Supervisor Wendahl Jiunta. Prepare for inspection.¡± Kressa pursed her lips in concern. Supervisor Jiunta? What had she done to earn the attention of the boss? ¡°This is freighter Notti Girl.¡± She used the name from the false ship¡¯s ID she¡¯d been given by the Arecian Guard. ¡°We¡¯re ready anytime you¡¯d like to send someone over.¡± ¡°We¡¯re a bit short on personnel right now,¡± Jiunta said, ¡°so I¡¯m handling some of the inspections myself, and your number came up.¡± A personal inspection by the supervisor? Kressa¡¯s worry grew. This was not looking good. ¡°I¡¯ll be there shortly,¡± the supervisor continued. ¡°Jiunta out.¡± Kressa forced herself to relax. A personnel shortage was a perfectly plausible explanation. She hoped it was also the truth. ¡°Connie, open the freight doors,¡± she said as she headed for the Conquest¡¯s bay. She was waiting in the middle of the cargo area when the supervisor arrived. Jiunta was an older man with silver hair and pale gray eyes. Based on his features, Kressa thought he might be from the planet Sundara. He wore a dark blue uniform designed with more than a passing resemblance to the white, straight-tailored, padded-shoulder outfits worn by United Galaxy Patrol soldiers. He climbed the Conquest¡¯s lowered freight ramp, paused to glance around the bay, and then strode to where Kressa waited. He gave her an amiable smile. ¡°I need to see your ship docs and personal ID.¡± Kressa handed over the datacard that contained the details of the Conquest¡¯s false identification and cargo manifest, and the counterfeit ID card that identified her as a twenty-six-year-old Terran trader named Deb Massera. The age on the card was right, and Kressa was half-Terran, so it wasn¡¯t likely to be questioned. If it were, the Guard assured her that a matching history file existed in United Galaxy records. They had briefed her on the details of that history, just in case. Jiunta spent several moments comparing the holo-image of the fair-skinned, black-haired, dark-eyed woman from the ID to the real thing. His pleasant expression did not change, but Kressa knew what he was thinking: How did a woman with such elegant looks and obvious aristocratic breeding end up working as a trader? At least he had the courtesy not to look at her as if she were some sort of angel fallen from the grace of the United Galaxy elite. Jiunta finished his perusal and slid the ship¡¯s card into the data pad he carried. He read down the information displayed on the pad¡¯s screen, pursed his lips, made a few entries, and read some more. ¡°You¡¯ve come from Arecia?¡± he asked. Kressa nodded. She¡¯d seen no reason to go through the trouble of changing the Conquest¡¯s flight log as well as her ID transponder. It was not illegal for United Galaxy traders to do business on the Free Worlds; in fact it helped the United Galaxy¡¯s image by providing difficult-to-obtain Free World goods to their citizens. One of the few powers the Free Worlds had over the United Galaxy was the ability to withhold those items. Unfortunately, exercising that power was often more trouble than it was worth, the trouble usually arriving in the form of Patty warships. Jiunta surveyed the bay again as if trying to place something. His gaze landed at last on the anti-personnel gun centered on the ceiling. The weapon¡¯s barrel was retracted, disguising the full extent of its power, but some of the color seemed to drain from Jiunta¡¯s face as he studied it. ¡°It¡¯s a pest-control system,¡± Kressa lied. She didn¡¯t owe him an explanation, but he seemed like a nice enough guy, even if he did all but work for the Patrol. ¡°It helps take care of the rats and crawlers and other undesirables that come on board with some of the cargo.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± He sounded disappointed. He made an additional notation on his pad and looked at the readout again, graying brows pinched together. ¡°This says the ship belongs to Damel Sana. Is he on board?¡± ¡°That would be Damel Syana.¡± She had spent part of the hyperspace journey from Arecia memorizing the false ship documents. If Jiunta wanted to trip her up, he¡¯d have to try harder than mispronouncing a name. ¡°He¡¯s just the owner. He never ships out with us. I¡¯m the acting captain.¡± ¡°The rest of the crew¡¯s inside, then?¡± Kressa wondered at his question. The Conquest had been under port authority surveillance since she landed, so Jiunta knew damn well that no one had left the ship. She nodded. ¡°They had a bit of a party on the way here, and they¡¯re sleeping it off.¡± She had used that story dozens of times. So far it had gotten her out of having to explain how she piloted a four-man freighter by herself, something she wanted to avoid, for the Conquest was a special ship, and Connie was a very special computer. ¡°Weren¡¯t you invited to the party?¡± Jiunta asked. She forced indignation into her tone. ¡°Of course I was, but somebody had to stay sober enough to land the ship.¡± ¡°And your number came up, did it?¡± he asked, a strange lilt in his voice. ¡°Yeah, I guess it did.¡± Jiunta studied her for a long moment, cast another look around the Conquest¡¯s bay, and then ejected the ship¡¯s datacard from his pad and handed it back to her. He replaced it with her ID. ¡°How long are you going to be on Vsuna?¡± ¡°A couple of days, at least.¡± He made another notation and returned the card to her. ¡°I¡¯ve imprinted your ID with a visitor¡¯s permit. It will expire in three days. If you decide to stay longer than that, come to the port office to have it extended. You won¡¯t be able to leave the port grounds or do any business off-site without it.¡± Kressa pocketed the ID. While she would almost certainly need the card to leave the port through any of the standard exits, she had strong doubts she would need it to do business in the surrounding establishments. When dealing with the sort of people who ran businesses that catered to traders, a few credits slipped under the table went a long way toward getting around the need for IDs, permits, and other official documentation. ¡°If any of your shipmates want to leave the port,¡± Jiunta continued, ¡°have them stop by the office first to get a permit.¡± ¡°Will do. Anything else?¡± For a moment it looked as if there were, but then Jiunta shook his head. ¡°No, nothing else.¡± He made another note on his data pad, took a final look around the bay, and headed out of the ship. He stopped at the top of the ramp and glanced back at Kressa. ¡°Good luck here on Vsuna.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± She gave him a smile to send him on his way, closed the bay doors, and ordered Connie to seal the hangar. As she headed back to the Conquest¡¯s bridge, she pondered her encounter with Supervisor Jiunta. The inspection, such as it was, had been remarkably brief, but she had the distinct impression that something else had happened, or tried to happen, and she had completely missed it. She asked Connie about it, but the computer detected nothing out of the ordinary. ¡°Probably just a side effect of having a Patrol cruiser hovering a few kilometers over my head,¡± she mused aloud as she entered the bridge. ¡°Did you find that address for the meeting?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a warehouse a few kilometers northwest of the port,¡± Connie said. ¡°I¡¯ll check it out this evening. Did you learn anything else?¡± ¡°There has been a marked decrease in rebel activity since the arrival of the Patrol fleet, indicating that your conjecture about the warships¡¯ presence is correct.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Did you find any reference to the word Esora, besides it being the name of a Vsunan plant?¡± ¡°The only other reference I was able to locate was to a drug made from the flower of the plant.¡± ¡°No mention of it in reference to any rebel activity?¡± Kressa asked. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Good. With luck, the Patrol doesn¡¯t suspect anything.¡± ¡°Or the entire operation is a trap.¡± Kressa flashed a confident smile. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to check out the warehouse tonight, the night before the meeting.¡± * * * Kressa left the Conquest in the early evening and made her way to the bayside warehouse district northwest of the commerce port. She followed a convoluted route all but guaranteed to throw off anyone who might try to follow her. Darkness had fallen by the time she spotted her destination. Situated at the east end of a long row of ill-kempt, deserted buildings along the edge of the bay was a small warehouse. The shoreline curved around its east side and back, and a crumbling sea wall ran the length of the eastern shore. Two narrow roads led to the warehouse. The one Kressa was following paralleled the seawall and shore and ended at a row of freight doors across the building¡¯s front wall. The second came in from the west¡ªher left¡ªto meet the first in a large loading area. Except for a few dim lights shining through the building¡¯s high windows, the warehouse appeared as deserted as its neighbors. She moved closer to the structure, slipping from shadow to shadow along the dark street. A cool breeze off the water carried the odors of fish and brine, and the bay¡¯s gently lapping tide kept perfect time over the hum of the nearby spaceports and city. Kressa reached the warehouse and crept down the narrow strip of pavement that ran along the building¡¯s east side, beside the sea wall. She hoped to find some way to see inside, but only a few high windows opened toward the bay. She hurried to the back corner and peered around it. The breeze blew harder here, the ocean sounds and smells more intense. A tall, covered pier thrust into the water from the center of the back wall. It appeared to be the only way into the building from the back. Kressa retraced her route, made her way across the front of the warehouse, and ducked into the dark alley on the west side. An open metal stairway bolted to the side of the building led to a door near the top, then continued to the roof. A dim light shone above the door, and Kressa could just make out a small window on the barrier. Under the stairs, a large, grime-smeared window looked out from the ground floor. She ducked beneath the stairs and peered into a large, high-ceilinged storeroom. The room had been stripped bare except for a collection of mismatched chairs and benches. Dim light filtered down from the upper floor through the shaft of an old freight lift centered on the back wall and down a concrete stairway in the far back corner. The shadow of a single figure passed through the light from the lift shaft, but Kressa detected no other signs of life. She eased away from the window, crept up the metal stairs to the door, and peered through the tiny pane. A well-lit hallway stretched the width of the warehouse with several openings along it. A man stepped through an opening on the left and stood before one on the right. He wore a grease-smeared worksuit, and a number of tools hung from his belt. He spoke to someone beyond the opening, gesturing more than once toward the room he had come from, then he paused, shook his head, shrugged, and returned to the room from which he came. Kressa pulled back from the window. Were they building something to trap the rebels once they assembled inside the warehouse tomorrow night? Or¡ªtaking the less paranoid view and assuming this Esora thing was on the level¡ªwere they simply repairing some machinery? She looked through the window again. Two men were striding toward the door. She ducked away, thinking fast. She could head down the stairs and hope she made it to the bottom and found a place to hide before the men noticed her, or she could go up and find some cover on the roof. Then she recalled a simple fact of human nature: People seldom look up. Even if the men used the stairs to access the roof, which seemed unlikely, they probably wouldn¡¯t look all the way up the stairway before climbing it. She was halfway up the remaining stairs before she finished the thought. She reached the roof just as the door opened below her. She ducked into a bank of deep shadows created by the blocky housing of a ventilation unit and drew the pulse gun she¡¯d brought with her on the chance this turned out to be a trap. A single set of footsteps started up the stairs. Damn. Someone was coming to the roof. Kressa huddled deeper into the darkness beside the rusting ventilator and tried to ignore the adrenaline-induced tingle in her limbs. As long as no one looked directly toward her, it was unlikely she''d be seen, but it would be nice to have a way out, just in case. She peered across the dark roof, searching for inspiration in the clusters of equipment housing. The area flooded with light as several pole-mounted beacons came on. She blinked in the sudden, unexpected illumination. The man from the stairway stepped onto the roof and swept it with his gaze. Kressa froze. Had she been discovered already? No, the man was looking at the sky, scanning for something beyond the bright beacons that illuminated the roof. He appeared to be in his thirties, with a slender build, short black hair, and dark, attractive features. She didn¡¯t know enough about the different Vsunan racial types to know whether or not he might be a native. He wore nondescript clothing that would go unnoticed on a dozen worlds. The only thing of real interest was a needler tucked into a holster beneath his left arm, but before Kressa could decide on the significance of the highly illegal sidearm, the hum of an approaching aircar drew her attention to the sky. The small, sleek craft circled over the bay, its running lights shining bright against the night sky. It slowed as it switched from airfoils to repulsors and then eased down to the roof beside the freight lift housing at the rear of the building. Before the craft settled fully onto its landing gear, a door on the car¡¯s side opened and a cloaked figure stepped out. The door whisked closed, and the car lifted back into the sky. A gust of air from the repulsors caught the newcomer¡¯s dark cloak and swirled it back, revealing a short-statured woman clad in the white uniform and silver insignia of a Patrol commander. A pulse gun hung at her side. ¡°Hello, Nait,¡± the woman said, stepping toward the dark man. ¡°Sorry I couldn¡¯t get here sooner, but with all the meetings and troop deployment and planning for tomorrow night . . .¡± She shrugged. ¡°You know how it is. Is the lift broken again?¡± She glanced back at the structure. ¡°Yeah,¡± Nait said. ¡°Clennan¡¯s working on it.¡± He started back toward the stairway. Back toward Kressa. ¡°He says he¡¯s almost got it fixed.¡± The woman fell in beside him, and Kressa ducked farther into cover. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± the commander said. ¡°It¡¯ll be a hell of a nuisance if it¡¯s not working tomorrow night.¡± ¡°Maybe you should choose a more modern place for your next little scheme,¡± Nait said with a smile in his voice. ¡°I admit that age was not on my list of things to consider, but you¡¯ve got to agree this place has everything else going for it: Limited access, no nosey neighbors, and no civilians around to get hurt if something goes wrong. What else could we ask for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not suggesting it isn¡¯t a good location,¡± Nait said. ¡°It would just be nice if the facilities were a little newer.¡± They reached the stairs and started down. ¡°We won¡¯t need it much longer,¡± the woman said. ¡°Has Dahl shown up yet?¡± ¡°No. He called earlier and said he¡¯d be late. He was checking on something that¡­¡± They descended below the roofline, and their voices faded. Kressa released a breath she hadn¡¯t realized she was holding, forced loose the death-grip on her gun, and breathed a tentative sigh of relief. The two had walked within a meter of where she hid and had not noticed a thing. She considered her next move. Obviously, getting off the roof and away from the warehouse was the first order of business, but then what? She would have to find some way to contact the people who had been invited to this charade and warn them it was a Patrol trap. She holstered her gun and started to rise, then she remembered the lights. Dare she come out of hiding into the glare of the bright beams? No one was around to see her, but¡ª The lights went out. She smiled and crept through the darkness to the top of the stairs. A horrendous grinding and clanking rattled from the freight lift housing behind her. She glanced back, hand on her gun, but saw nothing of immediate concern. She started down the stairs. The scraping and clunking grew louder as the lift rose toward the roof. As Kressa¡¯s foot touched the third step down, the door below her opened, and the workman she¡¯d seen inside the building stepped onto the landing. ¡°Turn the lights back on, Nait,¡± he called through the open doorway, and then shattered Kressa¡¯s faith in human nature by looking up. Straight at Kressa. As the lights flared on behind her. ¡°Hey! What are you doing up there?¡± She drew her gun and fired without bothering to take aim. The man ducked through the open doorway in time to avoid her wild shot. She fired a second time to let him know she meant business, and then dashed back up the stairs. ¡°There¡¯s someone on the roof!¡± the man said, his voice almost lost in the ruckus from the rising lift. Kressa cast about for a better place to hide than behind the ventilator. Behind her, footsteps pounded up the stairs, rattling over the continuing complaints of the lift. She spun and fired at the stairway, hoping a third shot would dissuade the man from following her. The clamor from the lift stopped and then started again. Kressa dashed toward the front of the building, trying to watch both the lift and the stairs, and then hesitated. Moving too close to the front would make her a target for anyone standing in the street. As if it really matters, she thought bitterly. Any second now, the Patrol commander could call for air support, and then it wouldn¡¯t matter where Kressa was on the roof, which meant she had to get off quickly. Unfortunately, the only way down was a nearly three-story drop¡­ unless she jumped down to the roof of the pier behind the warehouse. That was probably less than five meters. Easy, she told herself, hoping it would be. Either way, a twisted ankle from a bad landing was far better than anything she could expect from the commander and her cohorts. She dashed toward the back of the building, firing random shots at the stairs. She reached the edge and looked over. No one there. She fired a final shot toward the stairway, holstered her gun, and swung over the edge of the building. The lift door screeched open just as she let go. She landed hard but safely on the slightly sloped surface of the pier roof, then dropped over the east side to the rocky beach below. Shouts rang out across the roof. Kressa drew her gun again and ran along the back of the warehouse, east toward the sea wall. With luck, she could make it past the wall before anyone spotted her, head south along the shoreline, then find a way back onto the streets, get to the Conquest, and¡­ figure out her next move. Less than a meter from the sea wall, a small pop issued from the darkness ahead of her, and something stung the back of her right hand. She recognized the sound of a needler and tried to bring her gun up, but the drug-tipped dart had already done its job. Her gun slipped from fingers gone suddenly numb. The needler popped again, and another dart stung her just above the collarbone. Then she was falling, helpless, unable to catch herself as she collapsed to the damp stones of the beach. Nait, the dark man from the roof, jumped down from the top of the sea wall, needler in hand. He kept the weapon trained on her as he picked up her gun and searched her, then he withdrew a commlink from his pocket and keyed it on. ¡°Tell the commander I¡¯ve got our prowler.¡± 3. Call Me Esora Kressa wasn¡¯t sure what kind of drug was on the needler darts or what effect it was meant to have, but she was fairly certain it was not intended to hold a person on the twilight edge of consciousness, allowing them to see and hear what went on around them while leaving them unable to move or speak. But that was what it did to her. It wouldn¡¯t surprise her to learn that was not the intended result; she had experienced unusual responses to drugs in the past. Halav believed her odd reactions were a result of latent psi abilities inherited through her mother¡¯s royal Nepurhan bloodlines combined with the prenatal genetic manipulation that had assured her elitist parents that their daughter would grow up strong, healthy, gifted, and beautiful. Kressa agreed with the first half of Halav¡¯s argument, for many children of Nepurhan royal families exhibited psi abilities before societal pressures convinced them that pursuing the use of those abilities was dangerous. Kressa had experienced enough strange occurrences over the years to believe she had real potential. She did not, however, believe that psi abilities were inherently dangerous, and on more than one occasion she had promised herself she would one day seek out someone who could help her tap her potential. Unfortunately, that was a hard promise to keep. Suspicious of anything they could not control, the United Galaxy¡¯s ruling admirals had outlawed the teaching of psi abilities long ago. The second half of Halav¡¯s argument was another matter. Kressa detested her parents¡¯ high society and did not like to think that any potentially beneficial result could come from it. At that moment, however, she was less concerned with the origins of her odd drug response than she was with having to endure its results, including being completely aware, but also completely helpless, while Nait and two other men¡ªone of them smelling enough of sweat and grease for Kressa to guess he was the man who had been working on the freight lift¡ªcarried her into the warehouse to ride the clanking, shuddering, newly ¡°repaired¡± lift to the top floor. They took her to a room and dumped her on her back on something soft and musty about a half meter above floor level. Her head rolled to one side, providing a hazy view of the room¡¯s doorway through half-opened eyes. Seconds later, two more people entered the chamber. ¡°Ent, Clennan,¡± one of the newcomers said in a voice Kressa recognized as the female Patrol commander from the roof, ¡°go help Lisha search for any of our prowler¡¯s friends, and then take up a post on the roof. Nait, Theo, you two stay here with me.¡± Two figures left the room. ¡°Any idea who she is?¡± the commander asked. ¡°She had this ID on her,¡± Nait said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t tell us much, does it?¡± the commander said after a moment. ¡°Any idea how she got on the roof or how long she¡¯d been there?¡± ¡°She must have gone up the stairs,¡± Nait said, ¡°but I can¡¯t say when. None of us saw or heard anything.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to take extra security measures until the meeting,¡± the commander said. ¡°Make sure there are at least three people on watch at all times.¡± ¡°Between the six of us, that shouldn¡¯t be hard,¡± the second man, Theo, said. ¡°There¡¯ll be seven of us once the old man shows up,¡± Nait said. ¡°That should be enough people to be sure we don¡¯t have any more unexpected visitors and still allow us to get everything ready for tomorrow night.¡± ¡°What are we going to do with our present visitor?¡± Theo asked. The commander started to answer, but muffled voices outside the room interrupted her. ¡°That could be the old man now,¡± Nait said. ¡°Go check,¡± the commander said. ¡°If it¡¯s him, bring him here.¡± Kressa tried to look around, but she only managed to move her eyes a millimeter or so to the side. Still, it was better than nothing, and it suggested the drug might be losing some of its hold on her. ¡°What¡¯s this I hear about a prowler?¡± a new yet vaguely familiar voice asked from the doorway. ¡°Dahl, I¡¯m glad you could make it,¡± the commander said. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late, but I had something interesting show up at the port this afternoon. I thought it might be the Arecian contact we were hoping for. I had a couple of people follow her when she left her ship. I was waiting for their report. Unfortunately, they lost her.¡± ¡°Her name didn¡¯t happen to be Massera, did it?¡± the commander asked. ¡°Yeah, it was,¡± Dahl said with a hint of surprise in his voice. ¡°At least that¡¯s what her ID said. It was a fake. So were her ship docs. But they were damn good. Few people would have realized they weren¡¯t genuine.¡± He paused. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the card. Where did you get it?¡± ¡°She¡¯s our prowler.¡± A figure stepped in front of Kressa and reached down to turn her head. She struggled to bring their face into focus. Sure enough, it was Port Supervisor Jiunta. He let her head fall back. ¡°That¡¯s her, all right. What happened to her?¡± The commander chuckled. ¡°Nait¡¯s needler.¡± ¡°Will she be all right?¡± Dahl asked. ¡°As long as I give her the antidote within an hour or so, there should be no permanent damage,¡± Nait said. ¡°Why all the concern for her?¡± the commander asked. ¡°Like I said, I thought she might be our Arecian contact.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°According to her ship¡¯s registry she¡¯d just come from Arecia. Plus the fact that she was traveling under an assumed identity.¡± ¡°Did you try soliciting the pass-phrase?¡± ¡°Twice. She didn¡¯t respond. But does that prove anything? With all the jamming on the comm channels, I¡¯d be surprised if even half of our messages are getting out.¡± ¡°Any idea who she might really be?¡± ¡°If I had to make a guess, I¡¯d say she¡¯s Kressa Bryant.¡± A gasp caught in Kressa¡¯s throat. How could he know? ¡°Bryant, huh?¡± the commander said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of her. What makes you think this is her?¡± ¡°Her ship mostly. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s Bryant¡¯s freighter, the Conquest.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± Nait asked. ¡°I helped design some of her systems.¡± Kressa almost choked as a second surprised gasp lodged in her throat. The Conquest had belonged to Halav¡¯s friend, Cameron Thorne, who had inherited the vessel from its original owner, Juric Azano. Halav had given the ship to Kressa after a series of events left Thorne dead and Kressa the only person alive who Connie would obey. Everything Kressa knew about the ship and its history came from records on board the freighter. She had never met anyone who knew anything more about the vessel, let alone someone who had helped build her. ¡°How do we find out if she really is Bryant?¡± Nait asked. ¡°We could ask her,¡± the commander said. ¡°And if she won¡¯t tell us?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll take her to the Cheops and find out there,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s part of the plan anyway, to get the best of the rebels to the ship.¡± Worry replaced Kressa¡¯s surprise. She tried to move and managed to feebly flex the fingers of her left hand; she couldn¡¯t even feel her right one. ¡°Let¡¯s wake her up and see how cooperative she¡¯s willing to be,¡± the commander said decisively. ¡°Nait, give her the antidote.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we tie her up first?¡± Theo asked. Nait stepped up to where Kressa lay. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. This is a slow-acting antidote. And even if it were fast, she won¡¯t be in any shape to do much of anything.¡± He pressed something cool against her throat and stepped back. Despite Nait¡¯s claim that the antidote was slow, Kressa¡¯s limbs grew instantly warm and began to tingle. She counted slowly to ten, and then, with a moan that was only half feigned, she opened her eyes fully and looked up. The commander stood beside Nait, looking down at her. Kressa returned her scrutiny. The woman¡¯s features were small but well proportioned for her round face with its mane of wavy brown hair. She had replaced her Patrol uniform with a dark green, thigh-length sweater and black leggings tucked into calf-high boots. Her body was slender, compact, and muscular, and Kressa could sense her wiry strength even standing still. She estimated her age somewhere in her late forties. ¡°You¡¯re Kressa Bryant?¡± The woman¡¯s question drew Kressa¡¯s attention to her intense brown eyes. Kressa said nothing. ¡°Are you Kressa Bryant?¡± The woman spoke each word slowly and concisely. ¡°Who are you?¡± Kressa asked, her voice stronger than she expected. The woman cast a glance at the three men standing nearby, and then looked at Kressa again. ¡°You can call me Esora.¡± ¡°From the rebels?¡± Kressa asked. The woman nodded. ¡°What about you? Are you with the Arecian Guard?¡± Kressa ignored the question and surveyed her surroundings. She lay on an old sofa, its cushions tattered, threadbare and smelling of dust. It stretched across the full length of the small room¡¯s back wall and took up nearly a quarter of the floor space. Nait, Port Supervisor Jiunta, and a third man she assumed must be Theo stood in front of the open doorway. She glanced at each of them briefly, displaying what she hoped was the right mixture of recognition and surprise when she came to Jiunta. Beside the opening, her gun and ID card rested on a small table. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. She forced her gaze not to linger on the weapon and let her eyes drift back to the commander. ¡°What were you doing on the roof?¡± the woman asked. ¡°Enjoying the view.¡± The commander gave her an exasperated frown. ¡°What are you trying to hide? If you¡¯re from the Arecian Guard, we¡¯re glad you¡¯re here. We were hoping you¡¯d make it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Kressa sat up slowly, her gaze locked on the woman¡¯s. ¡°So you can grab me with the rebels tomorrow night and ship us all off to your friends on the Cheops?¡± The woman¡¯s brows shot up. Kressa glanced at the three men. They appeared relaxed but watchful. Nait held his needler ready. Clutching the sofa cushion as if she had to use every ounce of strength simply to sit up (in truth, she felt surprisingly good), Kressa glared at the woman. ¡°I know who you are, Esora. And I know what you are, Commander!¡± As she snapped out the rank, Kressa dove for the woman¡¯s knees and swung the cushion toward Nait. She released it to continue its trajectory toward the dark man¡ªand hopefully block any needler darts¡ªthen she wrapped her arms around the commander¡¯s lower legs and twisted, throwing herself and the commander into the men and knocking at least two of them off their feet. She rolled again, forcing herself through the tangle of bodies, and grabbed a leg of the table. She jerked it onto its side. Her gun crashed to the floor, and she lurched toward it. Her hand closed on the grip, and she started to roll again, to bring the weapon to bear on her captors. A heavy weight landed on her back, slamming her to the floor and forcing the breath from her lungs. She tried to swing her arm back, to point the gun at whoever was on her, but something closed around her wrist like a vise. Desperate, she pulled the trigger. The shot screamed in the small room, and someone spat a curse. ¡°Get the gun!¡± one of the men yelled. Something hit her wrist hard, and her hand and forearm went numb long enough for someone to wrest the gun away. She tried to twist her knees under her to lever the weight off her back, but someone else threw their body across her legs. She struggled to dislodge the two people who held her. A third person joined the effort and helped pin her to the floor. Then someone pressed the still-warm tip of her gun against the back of her neck, and she ceased her struggles. A brief moment of stillness passed while her captors caught their breath, then the commander spoke from the far side of the room. ¡°Let her up.¡± ¡°Are you crazy?!¡± Theo gasped. ¡°She tried to kill us!¡± ¡°I said let her up.¡± The woman moved closer. ¡°When I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed.¡± ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the man grumbled. ¡°Give me the gun,¡± the commander said. The weapon¡¯s warm tip left the back of Kressa¡¯s neck, and the men relaxed their hold. She rolled over cautiously and sat up. The three men stood around her, hair and clothing disheveled, watching her carefully. Nait kept his needler pointed at her. The commander stood at her feet with Kressa¡¯s gun held loose at her side. The woman raked her free hand through her hair in a vain attempt to smooth it. Running footsteps drew her attention to the doorway, and a man dashed into view. ¡°We heard a shot.¡± The newcomer¡¯s worried look grew as he surveyed the room. ¡°Is everything all right?¡± ¡°We¡¯re working it out,¡± the commander said. ¡°Get back to your post.¡± He cast a baffled look around the room and turned away. The commander looked at Kressa. ¡°You were on the roof when I arrived, weren¡¯t you?¡± She nodded. ¡°You saw the uniform.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question, but Kressa nodded again. ¡°I saw it.¡± The commander pursed her lips and picked up the cushion Kressa had thrown at Nait. She plucked out a needler dart, dropped it to the floor, and ground it to powder beneath one booted toe. ¡°Are you from Arecia?¡± she asked. Kressa clenched her jaw. The commander tossed the cushion into place on the sofa and sank down onto it. With a sigh, she leaned her head back. Her eyes widened with surprise. Kressa followed her gaze to the smoldering hole she¡¯d blasted in the ceiling with her desperate shot. The commander sat up and began to examine Kressa¡¯s gun. ¡°For the sake of our rather one-sided conversation," she said, "I''m going to assume you are either with the Guard or some similar group, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t be trying so hard to protect the people you work for. I¡¯ll also assume you came here to check out the location of tomorrow night¡¯s meeting. Being a loyal and very thorough soldier, you decided to really check out the place and wound up on the roof around the time I showed up.¡± She looked at Kressa. ¡°Have I got it right so far?¡± Kressa remained silent. The woman scowled half-heartedly and leaned back again, holding Kressa¡¯s gun in her lap. ¡°Seeing a Patrol commander at the location of the meeting forced you to draw some mistaken conclusions about what must be behind the whole Esora thing, so when we found you, you tried to shoot your way out. Twice. And you almost succeeded.¡± She gave the hole in the ceiling another brief, respectful glance, and then met Kressa¡¯s eyes. ¡°So, to sum it up: Yes, I am Esora. And, yes, I am a Patrol officer. Commander Dania Vel, first officer of the heavy cruiser Cheops, to be precise. But I¡¯m also Vsunan¡­ No, not also. I am Vsunan, first and foremost.¡± She narrowed her eyes, and a dangerous look smoldered in her expression. ¡°And I don¡¯t like what the United Galaxy is doing to my home or to my people.¡± Kressa considered the woman¡¯s words, almost believing them. Wanting to believe them. But she remembered some of the things she¡¯d heard Vel say. ¡°Nice try.¡± Vel arched her brows. ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡± Kressa shook her head. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I heard what you said up there on the roof, about how perfect this place is for your little scheme. About how isolated it is, with limited access and no civilians around to get hurt if something goes wrong.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°So you¡¯re planning to trap the rebels here, then you¡¯re going to take them to your ship for interrogation, to help you root out the rest of their people and put an end to the resistance on Vsuna. But it won¡¯t work, Commander. Even if you kill every active rebel on the planet, others will rise up in their place and¡ª¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Vel interrupted Kressa¡¯s speech with her two quiet words. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said thank you, for your faith in my people. You¡¯re right, they will keep fighting. That¡¯s what I¡¯m counting on to win back my world. As for my selection of a meeting place, I can understand how you might see it as a trap. But turn that around, stop thinking offense and think defense. With only a few people watching from the roof we can see every route to this place: land, water, and air. No one can get near without us knowing about it.¡± ¡°I got near,¡± Kressa said, but she saw the woman¡¯s point. Kressa had come looking for a trap, and that was exactly what she found. When looked at the other way, Vel¡¯s explanation made sense, too. ¡°True, you did,¡± the commander said. ¡°But you¡¯re only one person, not a troop of soldiers or a flight of attack craft, and we aren¡¯t expecting trouble until tomorrow night. Actually, we aren¡¯t expecting it then either, but we will be watching for it.¡± She paused to study Kressa. ¡°You still don¡¯t believe me, do you?¡± ¡°I''m not sure,¡± Kressa said honestly. ¡°It makes sense, but¡­¡± She glanced at the three men. They met her curious look. ¡°Nait, put your needler away,¡± Vel said. ¡°Back off a bit.¡± The dark man holstered his gun and took a few steps away from Kressa. Jiunta and Theo did the same. Kressa looked at the commander again and then at the gun the woman held idly in her lap. ¡°I heard what you said about taking the best of the rebels to your ship.¡± The commander looked bewildered. ¡°I said no such thing.¡± ¡°Yes, you did,¡± Kressa said. ¡°You said it was part of the plan.¡± The commander glanced at the three men. ¡°You did say something like that,¡± Nait said. ¡°When we were talking about finding out if she¡¯s Bryant.¡± The commander gave Kressa a wide-eyed look. ¡°You were unconscious.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I was awake the whole time.¡± This time it was Nait¡¯s turn to look surprised. ¡°That¡¯s impossible, Commander. One of those darts can bring down a man twice her size, and I hit her with two.¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯d better check them,¡± Vel said. ¡°She did recover awfully fast.¡± She looked at Kressa again. ¡°Did we have anything else interesting to say while you were supposedly sleeping?¡± ¡°Plenty.¡± Kressa cast a quick glance at Jiunta, and then returned her gaze to Vel. ¡°So what about your plan?¡± ¡°About getting the best of the rebels on board the Cheops? Just what I said. I need them there to help me take over the ship. If we can¡¯t get control of the flagship, we¡¯ll never be able to control the fleet.¡± She rose to her feet and looked down at Kressa. ¡°And I¡¯ll tell you something else, kiddo. If you care anything for Vsuna or if you just don¡¯t like the Patrol, I¡¯d like you on the Cheops with me. I can use people with your abilities.¡± She held Kressa¡¯s gun out to her, grip first. Astounded, Kressa stared at the weapon. Could she have been so wrong in her assessment of the situation? She thought back, trying to come up with some hole in Vel¡¯s story, something else she said that would indicate Kressa had not made a terrible mistake. But there was nothing. She looked at the three men again. Their tension had dissolved, apparently trusting Vel¡¯s judgment. As her gaze came to rest on Jiunta, Kressa realized Vel must be telling the truth. The man had known her ID and other documents were fakes, yet he had let her go. No one loyal to the Patrol would do that. ¡°Well?¡± the commander said. ¡°Do you want the gun or not?¡± Kressa took the weapon and holstered it, then took Vel¡¯s hand when she offered it and let the woman help her to her feet. The top of her head barely reached Kressa''s eyes. Vel looked up at her. ¡°So, will you do it?¡± she asked. ¡°Will you help me take the Cheops?¡± Kressa met the woman¡¯s eyes and hoped she wasn¡¯t being misled by the honesty she saw in them. ¡°Tell me what you need me to do.¡± * * * It amazed Kressa to learn the full extent of Commander Vel¡¯s plans. Nearly everyone and everything was in place and ready to go. There remained only the meeting tomorrow night to go over the final details, and the transfer of Vel¡¯s handpicked rebels¡ªKressa among them¡ªto the Cheops the evening after that. Unfortunately, that timetable meant Kressa¡¯s offer of assistance from the Arecian Guard came too late. ¡°As much as I appreciate the offer,¡± Vel said, ¡°I probably wouldn¡¯t have accepted it even if it had come weeks ago. There¡¯s simply no way to get enough people onto Vsuna and in place to make a difference without the Patrol catching on, and the only types of ships that would do us any good would be impossible to hide from the fleet. But we will need help after we¡¯ve taken the planet. This could turn into a very ugly battle if things don¡¯t go precisely as planned, and I¡¯m not fool enough to believe they will. We¡¯re going to need ships and people to help with evacuations, clean up, medical assistance, stuff like that. Would the Arecians be willing to do that?¡± Kressa assured her they would and spent the next hour composing several messages that would let Halav know of Vsuna¡¯s needs while being innocuous enough to be ignored should the Patrol intercept them. Vel promised that her people would send the messages over the next day or so. Jiunta offered to send some of them from the spaceport, as well, and asked if Kressa would like a ride back to her ship. She accepted, eager to talk to someone who had been involved in the Conquest¡¯s design, even if the talk lasted only the few minutes it took to drive to the port. But those few minutes turned into an hour when Kressa invited the port supervisor¡ªwho insisted she call him Dahl¡ªfor a tour of the ship. One hour stretched to two when he started telling stories of Juric Azano, the rich and somewhat eccentric businessman who¡¯d had the Conquest built to his specifications. Dahl then spent another several hours talking to Connie, discussing the modifications Azano had made after taking delivery of the freighter. Dahl finally left just before sunrise, after arranging to drive Kressa to the meeting and promising they would get together again afterward to talk. Exhausted by the evening¡¯s adventures and the long night of visiting, Kressa crawled into her bed just as Vsuna¡¯s sun was rising over Tranur. 4. Youre All As Crazy As I Am Kressa and Dahl arrived at the warehouse nearly an hour before the scheduled start of the meeting. A dozen people were waiting already, with more arriving every minute, both on foot and via aircars that landed on the roof and took off as soon as their passengers debarked. Vel¡¯s workers had completed the repairs to the freight lift; it carried the attendees who arrived by aircar quickly and quietly from the roof to the ground floor. Kressa worried that so much activity in an abandoned part of the warehouse district would be noticed by the cruiser stationed above Tranur, but Dahl assured her that the sensors on the ship were running a sweep program that ignored all readings coming from the area around the warehouse. The program had been in place for several weeks, installed by a sensor technician loyal to the Esora cause. Tonight at midnight, the program would shut down, restore the original, and erase itself. By that time, everyone would be gone from the building. While she waited for the meeting to begin, Kressa mulled over Vel¡¯s plan. The commander had gone over the main points the evening before, and Kressa believed the idea was well thought out, but as it drew closer to the time she would have to face a troop of Patrolmen and willingly surrender, she began to have doubts. Dozens of things could go wrong, not the least of which was the Patrol soldiers becoming a little overzealous in their attack and failing to take all of the rebels alive. And in the back of her mind lurked the remnants of her first impression of the Esora operation: The possibility that it was all an elaborate trap. By the time the meeting began, Kressa had gone over all of the arguments for and against her participation and decided she would do it. After all, if the dozens of men and women gathered in the warehouse, as well as the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people they represented, trusted Dania Vel enough to risk their lives following her plan, who was Kressa to doubt her? Decision made, Kressa turned her attention to the meeting and learned the full, impressive extent of the rebel movement on Vsuna, the ground forces that would back up those on board the Cheops. After the meeting, Kressa and the rest of the Cheops force¡ªDahl and Nait among them, the latter accompanied by a young blond boy¡ªgathered near the freight lift for a final talk with Vel. ¡°First of all,¡± the commander said, ¡°I want to thank you all for volunteering to do this and let you know that I¡¯m going to give you a couple of chances to change your mind. No one here will fault you for getting up right now and walking out.¡± She paused to glance at each of the thirty or so men and women gathered before her. No one moved. Vel smiled. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. You¡¯re all as crazy as I am.¡± A smattering of laughter rippled through the assemblage; some of it sounded forced. ¡°There are two things I want to go over before I give you your second chance to wise up and get out of here,¡± Vel said. ¡°First is the people I¡¯ll be bringing here to capture you tomorrow night. Few of them are going to be on our side. How many depends on who the captain assigns to me. While I don¡¯t expect you to give up without at least some token resistance¡ªno one would believe that¡ªyou need to remember that these people have orders to meet any show of force with at least twice as much. And while they¡¯ll be under orders to take all of you alive, they¡¯re not going to hesitate to kill anyone they think is serious about killing them.¡± ¡°How do we put up a convincing resistance without looking like we want to kill them?¡± one of the women in the group asked. ¡°I hope to bring such an overwhelming force that you¡¯d have to be completely suicidal to believe you could overcome them. My story is that one of the Esora inner circle is my informant, so I¡¯ll know exactly what I''m going to be up against and will have made plans to be sure I can take you all alive. ¡°Now,¡± Vel continued, ¡°onto the part over which I have a lot less control, and the one I want you to consider very carefully before refusing my second offer to back out. As some of you have probably heard, my commanding officer, Captain Olun Betz, is not the most tolerant soul in the galaxy. He¡¯s also got a sadistic streak about a light year wide. Do not cross him. Don¡¯t even look at him if you can avoid it. He might consider it a challenge and decide to begin your interrogation then and there. ¡°I wish there was some way to bring you all onto the ship, march you straight to the bridge, and begin the takeover, but try as I might, I¡¯ve not been able to get enough loyal people transferred on board to make that possible. Until we¡¯ve got you locked up safely in the brig, there will be too many guards for me to dare to try to get you out. I¡¯m going to do everything I can to make your stay in the brig short and keep the captain away from you, but he¡¯s going to be so full of himself for being the CO of the person who brought down Esora that I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s going to want to inspect his prize. My best advice to you if that happens is to endure whatever he does, keeping in mind that he¡¯s going to be the one who suffers the most when we send him back to his keepers without Vsuna or his fleet.¡± ¡°Send him back?¡± a man standing behind Kressa asked. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just kill him?¡± ¡°Because I want that bastard to suffer for the hell he¡¯s put me through,¡± Vel said. ¡°Being court-martialed for losing Vsuna will be a good start. Betz is one of those elite officers who didn¡¯t have to attend academy and work his way up through the ranks like most of us. His family bought him his commission and command. Losing it will cost him not only his power in the Patrol but the respect and financial backing of his family, as well. I¡¯m not sure which he¡¯s going to miss more,¡± she added with an amused lilt. ¡°On a less personal note,¡± she went on, her voice serious again, ¡°no one is to be killed unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary. Remember, I¡¯ve been working with these people for years. Some of them are good friends whose only shortcoming is the fact that they were born on a United Galaxy world and believe the crap the Patrol has fed them. If we kill them simply because of what they are, we¡¯re as bad as the United Galaxy and no more fit to run Vsuna than they are.¡± She stood up and began to walk slowly back and forth in front of the gathering. ¡°The raid is scheduled so you¡¯ll arrive on the Cheops around the time the captain goes off duty, and I may have a way to keep him occupied. A brave young woman named Jendora deRas has volunteered to visit him in his quarters. If anyone can keep him busy, she can.¡± Vel paused to glance at them all before continuing. ¡°I wish I could give you a precise, step-by-step plan of how we¡¯re going to pull this off. Unfortunately, there are too many variables for me to have worked it out that thoroughly. What I can tell you is that, sooner or later, I will get you out of the brig. After that we¡¯ll divide into two teams, one for engineering and one for the bridge. Once we have control of those two places, the Cheops is ours, and we can move onto getting control of the fleet and taking back our world.¡± Vel walked to her chair and picked up her cloak. She swung it around her shoulders and adjusted it before turning back. ¡°Next time we see each other, we¡¯ll be enemies. After that, on board the Cheops, if something goes wrong, I will not jeopardize months of work to save any one of you. If some of you aren¡¯t here tomorrow night, I¡¯ll understand.¡± She stepped onto the freight lift and slid the heavy grating closed. After a moment, the lift activated with a quiet whir and rose out of sight. A long silence hung in the room as the lift progressed to the roof, then came the faint sound of an aircar lifting off and moving away across the water. Slowly, the men and women in the warehouse began speaking quietly. Kressa looked around for Dahl. She found him sitting to one side of the room, fingers tapping briskly at his data pad. Curious, she made her way over to him. He smiled at her without looking up. She took the empty chair beside him. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Working.¡± ¡°On what?¡± He gave her another smile, but still did not take his attention from the pad. ¡°Hopefully, whatever it is the commander¡¯s going to ask me to do on board the Cheops.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very encouraging.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± he asked. ¡°Don¡¯t you know what she wants you to do?¡± ¡°In theory.¡± His fingers continued to dance over the pad. ¡°But theory¡¯s rarely the same as reality.¡± ¡°In theory, then, what is it she wants you to do?¡± ¡°Convince the fleet computers to lie.¡± ¡°Can you do that?¡± ¡°If not, we¡¯re all going to be in a lot of trouble.¡± Kressa frowned. ¡°I can do it,¡± he assured her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± He gave the pad a few last taps and held it out. ¡°Want to give it a try?¡± ¡°Me? I don¡¯t know how to¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy.¡± He leaned forward to point out the controls. ¡°It¡¯s like a game.¡± On the screen, a three-dimensional representation of a complex lattice-work structure connected a series of glowing red spheres. ¡°This is a program I developed to represent and control a Patty fleet control network. Right now, it¡¯s in simulation mode, but when it¡¯s jacked into a real system, you can use it to affect the computers on that system. The spheres are control points, computers that can accept input, make decisions, control part of the system. The lines connecting them are the primary communication links between them. You can reroute the controlling input point of any of the computers to any other computer by doing this.¡± He touched one of the red spheres. It turned green. He tapped a second sphere. This one turned a different shade of green, and one of the shorter paths connecting the two spheres began to glow a dim greenish color. An instant later, an identical path appeared alongside the original, creating a double connection between the two spheres, and the entire node took on an intense green color. ¡°That shows you there¡¯s now a control loop. But watch what happens next.¡± New paths, drawn in yellow, began to reach out from the first sphere. They followed existing lines or traced new ones toward the second green sphere. Dahl stroked his finger across one of the growing lines and it stopped. He did the same to a second one. Almost as fast as he wiped away the lines, new ones appeared or old ones lit up again. He kept at it. ¡°What you¡¯re seeing now,¡± he said as he continued to cut off the lines, ¡°is the first computer trying to confirm the reroute command. Patty fleet computers are designed to resist rerouting commands that aren¡¯t strictly internal, so it¡¯s trying to find a way to get to the computer it thinks issued the command, to confirm the order through a security channel. As you can see by the new lines it¡¯s drawing, it¡¯s even creating new communication links to reach the other computer. When I touch any of the lines, it momentarily breaks contact, but that doesn¡¯t stop it from trying that connection again or from continuing to search for new ones.¡± He paused to concentrate on the pad for a moment. ¡°Each computer has its own¡­ personality, I guess you¡¯d call it, when it comes to searching for new connections. It has to do with how it¡¯s programmed and what its function is. By watching one for a while, you can pick up on its pattern and begin to anticipate what it¡¯s going to do next. If I can keep this up long enough, one of my other programs will work its way far enough in to overcome the computer¡¯s resistance, then it will obey the reroute command.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Kressa watched as he continued to work at the data pad, cutting off lines almost before they began. ¡°Why can¡¯t other programs do what you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°They¡¯d have to be too intrusive to be able to both monitor and control all of the communication lines,¡± he said without looking up. ¡°Some security program would pick them up and wipe them out and set off a whole lot of alarms in the process. As it is, it¡¯s almost too intrusive now, but I¡¯ve been able to put a lot of camouflaging code around it, making it look legitimate enough to get past the monitor programs. Unless someone sends in a sniffer routine specifically designed to find it, it¡¯s subtle enough to get away with doing its job.¡± After several more seconds, Dahl tapped the last line out of existence, and a low, triumphant tune played. ¡°You did it,¡± Kressa said with a smile. He gave a nonchalant shrug. ¡°It¡¯s set on one of the lower levels of difficulty, and I was only working on one node. In reality, the connections form much more quickly, and there are generally several nodes you have to worry about at once. Watch.¡± He tapped a control and restarted the ¡°game.¡± This time, he began by creating five different connections, each represented by a different color. Almost immediately, the five spheres began tracing paths to the central sphere. Moving with amazing speed, Dahl cut off every route the spheres tried to create until, one by one, they stopped trying, and the tune played again. He reset the pad and held it out to Kressa. ¡°Your turn.¡± She took it, studied the screen for a moment, and then tapped two of the spheres. It took her several tries, but she finally got the feel of the game and was able to relax enough to stop trying too hard. ¡°You¡¯re really good,¡± Dahl said after she¡¯d won several games. ¡°You¡¯re nearly as fast as Telsin.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Telsin?¡± she asked without taking her eyes from the pad. The games were getting more difficult after each win. Already, she was at a level where she had to create at least four nodes before it would begin. ¡°The blond boy with Nait. They¡¯re brothers. Not biologically, of course. They¡¯re members of the Gendzet order. Telsin¡¯s going to be playing that game with the fleet computers on board the Cheops.¡± Kressa finished the current round and looked across the room at the boy. ¡°He¡¯s coming with us? Isn¡¯t he a little young?¡± ¡°He¡¯s twelve.¡± ¡°But he could be killed.¡± ¡°We could all be killed,¡± Dahl said, ¡°and Tel knows what¡¯s at stake. Besides, I need his help.¡± Kressa continued to watch the boy. She had run away from the San Francisco Patrol Academy when she was ten and spent the next several years living with a street gang in the crumbling remains of the earthquake-shattered old city. She¡¯d been in her first serious fights with rival gangs when she was Telsin¡¯s age. ¡°Are you sure he doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s all a game?¡± she asked. ¡°When I was his age, stuff like this sounded like fun to me, an adventure, until I saw enough of my friends die.¡± ¡°He¡¯s seen plenty of his friends die, Kressa. The Gendzet order was outlawed by the United Galaxy, and most of its members were killed in raids on their compounds. Even now, they¡¯re still being hunted.¡± ¡°Why? What¡¯d they do?¡± ¡°Oh, the usual stuff. Believed in peace, brotherhood, freedom.¡± He looked across the room at Nait and the boy. ¡°And¡­ other things.¡± ¡°What other things?¡± Dahl returned his gaze to her. ¡°Apparently, their founder was an Ilekian Adept.¡± Kressa''s brows shot up. She had heard about Adepts. As with Nepurhans, some Ilekians had developed a proclivity for mental abilities. Adepts devoted their lives to the study and perfection of those abilities. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize there were any Adepts still alive,¡± she said. ¡°There are a few, although they tend to keep a low profile, for obvious reasons.¡± Kressa glanced across the room again. Most of the people had left, but Nait and Telsin remained, talking to another man. A data pad similar to Dahl¡¯s hung from the boy¡¯s belt. ¡°Do you want to help me and Tel on the Cheops?¡± Dahl asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°With this.¡± He touched the pad she held. ¡°Play the game.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing.¡± He looked at the pad. ¡°This says otherwise.¡± She hesitated. ¡°I could really use the help, Kressa. With a second person to work on the routing, I¡¯ll be able to concentrate on the rest of the job.¡± ¡°You mean there¡¯s more to it than this ¡®game¡¯?¡± ¡°Much more. Once a computer¡¯s been rerouted, it has to be told what to do in a convincing manner. Plus the computers need to be prevented from reacting to their security programming and kept from listening to other reroute commands sent by people and computers trying to break the original one.¡± ¡°How do you do that?¡± ¡°By sending in programs to change the computers¡¯ behavior, software worms to rot the original programming. And by watching for certain behaviors that can be used to our advantage or altered slightly to get them to do what we want.¡± He took the data pad from her. ¡°This thing is full of routines I¡¯ve created that can be strung together to get the Patty fleet computers to do what we need.¡± She looked at him for a long time and then shook her head in amazement. ¡°Why in hell is someone with your abilities working as a port supervisor?¡± ¡°To let people like you onto the planet with no questions asked.¡± She smiled. ¡°In my spare time,¡± he went on, ¡°I¡¯ve helped design some of the non-standard programs many of the local Patty ships are currently running, like the sensor program on the cruiser up there,¡± he pointed toward the ceiling, ¡°as well as some security worms and backdoors we¡¯ll be using tomorrow night to get into the fleet computers. Once we¡¯re in, we¡¯ll reroute everything to the Cheops¡¯ bridge and make the fleet think the wrong stuff¡¯s happening at the wrong places. Would you mind if I call Connie and run some of this stuff by her? It would be nice to have someone like her check my work.¡± ¡°Sure. We can go to the ship now. You can run it by her in person.¡± He looked around the nearly empty room. ¡°That might be a good idea. I can upload the information to her tonight and stop by tomorrow after work to go over it. Then we can drive in here together.¡± Kressa nodded. ¡°Sounds good. Let''s go.¡± * * * Dahl showed up at the Conquest late the following afternoon, and Kressa offered to make him something to eat before they left. While she prepared a meal, he spoke with Connie about the work he¡¯d left the previous night. Kressa listened to their conversation while she cooked, but it made little sense, and she finally turned her full attention to the food she was preparing. By the time she finished, the conversation was over. ¡°Was Connie able to help?¡± she asked Dahl. He was sitting at the table in the Conquest¡¯s dining area. She set a plate of food in front of him. ¡°She sure was.¡± He set aside his data pad and centered the plate before him with a grin. ¡°This looks great. Thanks.¡± Kressa began to pick at her own meal. ¡°That¡¯s one hell of a computer you''ve got,¡± Dahl said between mouthfuls. ¡°She had good designers.¡± He gave her a wry smile. ¡°You¡¯re right about that. Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t one of them. All I did was help design some of her control systems. The important work was done before the Alliance War, long before any of us were born. If I could design a computer like Connie, I¡¯d be rich.¡± He paused for a moment, as if to reconsider his statement. ¡°Actually, I¡¯d probably be in prison, since AI systems like hers were outlawed decades ago.¡± ¡°The Pattys just don¡¯t like computers that are smarter than they are,¡± Kressa said with a smile, although she knew the truth was much more complex than that. Problems with various AI systems had triggered a number of different regulations, as well as outright bans on certain AI systems, even before the Patrol came into power. ¡°You¡¯re probably right about that,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d be interested in selling the ship?¡± ¡°Not on your life.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I probably couldn¡¯t afford it, anyway.¡± ¡°Probably not. It cost Azano over twenty-eight million credits to build her. I wouldn¡¯t sell her for twice that much.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t blame you. And even if I did have her, I probably couldn¡¯t figure out how she works. It took an entire team of people much smarter than myself to make sense of the Alliance designs, and from what Connie¡¯s told me, Azano spent years making further modifications. Too bad there¡¯s no way to bring her along on this mission of Vel¡¯s. She¡¯d be a lot of help.¡± Kressa thought of the many times it would have been helpful to have someone with Connie¡¯s knowledge and quick thinking along with her, as well as the times the computer had managed to save her skin despite being bound to the ship. Dahl scraped the last morsel of food from his plate. ¡°That was really good. Have you got more?¡± Kressa pushed her nearly full plate to him. ¡°You can have mine.¡± He studied her for a moment. ¡°Nervous?¡± She forced a smile. She¡¯d spent half of the day trying not to think about what was going to happen tonight. When that failed, she¡¯d spent the rest of the time trying to bolster her decision to participate. ¡°What is there to be nervous about?¡± she asked with feigned nonchalance. ¡°All I have to do is turn myself over to the Patrol and allow them to lock me up in the brig of a heavy cruiser. Happens every day.¡± He continued to watch her. ¡°You¡¯ve never done anything like this before, have you?¡± ¡°Sure I have.¡± She leaned back in her chair. ¡°Lots of times. It¡¯s just that none of it¡¯s ever been this big. I¡¯ve worked with the Arecian Guard for six years, but Arecia¡¯s a Free World. We¡¯ve never had to take a planet away from a Patty fleet. The most we¡¯ve done is rout out a few nests of Patrol soldiers. Everything was done with small forces and quick strikes, and I helped with the planning of just about every mission I was on. This isn¡¯t going to be like that.¡± ¡°Just play it smart and follow orders, and you¡¯ll be fine,¡± he said. ¡°The commander knows what she¡¯s doing.¡± Kressa nodded. ¡°You know, no one would blame you if you backed out,¡± Dahl said. ¡°This isn¡¯t your world.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your world either.¡± He had confirmed her initial impressions about his Sundaran origins the night they met with a story about growing up near Sundara¡¯s famous shipyards. ¡°Why are you helping?¡± He paused a moment before answering. ¡°Do you know what Esora means?¡± ¡°I heard it was some kind of flower, and a drug made from it.¡± Dahl nodded. ¡°A deadly drug. Suicides use it because the lift you get before you die is supposed to be amazing. Some say you die of pleasure. Because of that, Esora has become a slang term for anything worth dying for. This little uprising of Vel¡¯s has become my Esora.¡± He paused and looked deep into her eyes. ¡°I think freedom is worth dying for.¡± 5. Were Going With The Backup Plan Kressa and Dahl reached the warehouse nearly a quarter of an hour early. Only a few people had arrived before them, but as the minutes passed, the remainder appeared. They sat about the room, singly or in small silent groups, waiting. Dahl introduced Kressa to Telsin and told the boy they would be working together aboard the Cheops. Kressa feared Telsin might perceive her presence as a sign that Dahl did not think him capable of handling the task, but the boy seemed pleased to have her assistance. As the time for the Patrol raid grew near, Nait went to the front of the room and cleared his throat. In the nervous hush of the room, the small sound seemed as loud as a gunshot. All eyes turned toward him. ¡°It¡¯s nearly time,¡± he said. ¡°Esora wants me to thank you all for coming, and she wants you to know that she hopes we can meet again soon, under better circumstances, when this is all over. For now, she thought it best if I¡ª¡± A series of explosions rumbled from the front of the building, and the room flooded with bright light. White-uniformed Patrol soldiers poured down the stairs and rushed through holes blasted in the doors that lined the front of the warehouse. Kressa was on her feet with her gun halfway out of its holster before she remembered that she wasn¡¯t supposed to put up too much resistance. Before she could decide just how much resistance might be considered too much, three Patrolmen surrounded her. One twisted the gun from her hand while the other two took hold of her arms, forced her face-first against the nearest wall, and locked her wrists in a pair of security cuffs. Then they searched her for additional weapons and led her toward one of the demolished freight doors. Vel had not lied when she said she would bring an overwhelming force. From the brief glimpse Kressa got, she estimated the rebels were outnumbered at least three to one. Even on board the transport, with the prisoners disarmed and their cuffed wrists locked into the backs of the ship¡¯s seats, the soldiers still outnumbered their prisoners, mute testimony to the importance the Patrol put on getting and keeping the rebels alive. During the flight to the Cheops, Commander Vel stood at the front of the transport ship, watching over prisoners and soldiers alike, her expression stern. Kressa wondered what she was thinking. Once on board the cruiser, the soldiers guided their prisoners off the transport and placed them in two closely guarded rows on one side of the massive docking bay. After a moment, a door at the front of the bay opened, and a Patrol captain stepped through, accompanied by a grim-faced, dark-haired security officer. Vel stepped forward to meet them. Kressa watched the newcomers from her position in the middle of the back row. Captain Betz stood only a bit taller than Vel, with a stocky build and rough, nondescript features. Vel saluted as she joined him. He sketched a return salute, then smiled as he took in the prisoners. ¡°I take it you encountered no problems, Commander?¡± ¡°Everything went perfectly,¡± Vel said. ¡°No casualties on either side.¡± ¡°Very good.¡± Betz walked slowly along the first row of prisoners, studying each as he passed. Commander Vel and the security officer followed. Nait stood near the end of the row. The captain halted and scrutinized him. ¡°This one looks familiar,¡± Betz said to Vel. ¡°I think he¡¯s one of their leaders.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± He stopped in front of one of the female prisoners next, studied her briefly, then continued without comment to the end of the line and started along the back row. Telsin stood second in line, blond head bowed, eyes locked on the floor. Betz stopped and looked down at him. ¡°Isn¡¯t this one a little young?¡± the captain asked. Vel shrugged. ¡°He was there when we moved in. I thought it best to bring everyone we found.¡± Betz nodded. ¡°What¡¯s your name, boy?¡± ¡°Telsin,¡± he said without looking up. ¡°What are you doing with these people?¡± Telsin chewed his lower lip. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Betz said. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you. Look at me when I¡¯m talking to you!¡± Telsin glanced up at the captain through pale lashes. Betz took the boy¡¯s chin in his hand and forced his head up. ¡°I told you to look at me. Now, what are you¡ª? What¡¯s this?¡± He reached a hand toward Telsin¡¯s throat and used one finger to hook a thin silver chain that disappeared into the boy¡¯s shirt. He drew the chain forth. A small amulet hung at its end. Betz held the silver disk flat on his palm, then he wrapped his fist around it and gave the chain a sharp tug. Telsin flinched as the links bit into the back of his neck before snapping in two. Betz gave the amulet another brief glance. ¡°Gendzet?¡± He looked at Telsin. ¡°Is that what this is, boy?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Do you know it¡¯s illegal to own one of these? I could have you executed on the spot for wearing it.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Yet you wear it anyway.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Betz frowned and passed the pendant and chain to the security officer. ¡°Lieutenant Taler, remember who I got this from.¡± He turned back to Telsin. ¡°Is any of your ¡®family¡¯ here, boy?¡± Telsin pursed his lips but said nothing. ¡°We¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡± Betz moved past the next several prisoners in line with little more than a glance for each of them, and then stopped in front of Kressa. She looked straight ahead and tried to ignore her uncomfortably pounding heart. ¡°This one¡¯s definitely familiar,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s Kressa Bryant, sir,¡± Vel said, triumph plain in her voice. ¡°Apparently, she¡¯s the Arecian Guard¡¯s sole contribution to the cause. I guess they didn¡¯t think much of this Esora business.¡± ¡°Maybe once we¡¯re done cleaning up Vsuna, we can use the information she¡¯ll give us to clean up Arecia, as well,¡± Betz said. ¡°That would be a nice prize.¡± Kressa tightened her jaw. ¡°Don¡¯t have anything to say, Bryant?¡± A crooked smile twisted Betz¡¯s lips. ¡°You will.¡± He glanced at the lieutenant. ¡°When you begin interrogations, save this one for me.¡± He made his way past the remaining prisoners to Dahl standing at the end of the line. Despite Commander Vel¡¯s suggestion to the contrary, Dahl met the captain¡¯s eyes, but nothing about his agreeable look or congenial nod could be construed as challenging. Betz scowled at the older man. ¡°Are you with these people?¡± Dahl scanned his fellow prisoners. ¡°Apparently so.¡± The captain¡¯s scowl deepened. ¡°So much for the theory that wisdom comes with age.¡± ¡°On the contrary, Captain, wisdom can come at any age.¡± Dahl surveyed the prisoners again, and his gaze rested briefly on Telsin. ¡°All one need do is open one¡¯s mind to different ideas.¡± Betz sneered and turned away. ¡°Lieutenant, get these prisoners to the brig.¡± The security officer gestured for the guards to begin escorting the prisoners from the bay. Vel moved to join them. ¡°Where are you going, Dani?¡± Betz asked her. ¡°To oversee the processing of the prisoners. I know this is the end of your shift, so I didn¡¯t want to bother you with it. I¡¯ll have a full report ready when you come back on duty.¡± Betz hesitated, and Kressa feared he would insist on accompanying them to the brig. Finally, he gave a curt nod. ¡°Very well, Commander, but I want that report as soon as possible.¡± Kressa drew a relieved breath, but a final glimpse of the captain¡¯s tight-lipped expression made her wonder if the report could come soon enough to please him. * * * Kressa sat on a hard, molded plasteel bench in one of the cells of the Cheops¡¯ brig. Five rebels who had been processed along with her¡ªstripped, searched, scanned, forced to state their name, and then given a rough, one-piece worksuit to wear¡ªshared the cell. Beyond the shield barrier, other prisoners received similar handling before being placed in adjoining cells. A few put up token resistance, but whether it was for show or brought on by honest and rightful anger at the rough treatment, Kressa did not know. She suspected a little of both. She hadn¡¯t bothered to resist, aware it would do no good. Either Vel was going to get them out, or they had all walked willingly into a very cunningly set trap. The main brig door opened, and two Patrol soldiers entered. One guided a null-grav platform containing a large plasteel crate. ¡°What is this?¡± Lieutenant Taler, the security officer, asked. ¡°The prisoners¡¯ weapons,¡± the man with the crate said. Taler frowned and narrowed his eyes. ¡°They should be taken to the armory, not¡ª¡± ¡°I asked for them to be delivered here,¡± Vel said. ¡°That¡¯s highly irregular, Commander. Regulations plainly state that all captured weapons are to be processed through and stored in the armory.¡± Vel gave Taler a barely tolerant look. He had been questioning and attempting to contradict her orders ever since they arrived in the brig. She opened the crate and began picking through its contents. ¡°Some of these weapons are highly illegal,¡± she said. ¡°I want to match them to their owners, make sure we know who had what.¡± ¡°That can be done in the armory,¡± Taler said. ¡°The weapons can be scanned for prints, DNA¡ª¡± ¡°Lieutenant,¡± Vel pulled Nait¡¯s needler out of the crate and examined it, ¡°when I give an order, I expect it to be followed without question or comment.¡± ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Taler said stiffly. ¡°But the captain wanted me to¡ª¡± ¡°The captain isn¡¯t here right now. I am.¡± ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°Lieutenant, shut up.¡± Vel swung the needler toward him and pulled the trigger. Taler had just enough time to muster a surprised look before the drug took effect, and he collapsed to the floor. Before anyone could react, Vel used the needler to take out four of the other soldiers. The remaining Patrolmen began releasing the processed prisoners from the cells, removing the security cuffs from those who still waited, and distributing the weapons. Kressa came out of her cell with a profound sense of relief, retrieved her gun, and checked the charge. Vel tossed the needler to Nait and then withdrew two data pads from the crate and passed them to Dahl and Telsin. ¡°Dahl, plug into the security board. Download the access codes and anything else you need, and start working on the weapon sensors.¡± Dahl slid his pad into a receptacle at the brig control station. Telsin stood nearby. Kressa crossed the room to join them. Vel continued to distribute weapons. ¡°Remember, people, these are to be used only if absolutely necessary. There are sensors all over this ship that can pick up energy weapon fire and alert security. Dahl¡¯s going to do what he can to disable them, but too much tampering with the ship¡¯s systems at this stage is only going to put our enemies onto us too soon. If you do need to use the guns, remember what I said last night: No killing unless it absolutely cannot be avoided.¡± She motioned to a group of rebels standing nearby. ¡°Get the uniforms off these five.¡± She indicated the soldiers she had disabled with the needler. ¡°Give Taler¡¯s to Nait. Find people who can fit in the rest. We¡¯ll¡ª¡± A low tone interrupted her, and she pulled a commlink from her belt. A similar tone came from one of the unconscious soldiers. ¡°Here, Commander,¡± the man who was stripping Lieutenant Taler said. ¡°It¡¯s his comm.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t answer it.¡± She activated her link. ¡°Vel here.¡± ¡°Commander, it¡¯s Jendo¡ªEnsign deRas,¡± a young woman¡¯s voice said from the link. Kressa recognized her name; it was the woman Vel had arranged to keep Betz busy. ¡°I¡¯m in the captain¡¯s quarters,¡± deRas said. ¡°He came here a few minutes ago, but then he left.¡± ¡°Did he say where he was going?¡± ¡°No, sir. I tried to stop him, but he was acting very distracted. I tried everything you suggested to keep him here.¡± ¡°All right, Ensign. I¡¯m sure you did everything you could. Stay there for a while. Maybe he had something he needed to take care of and will be back.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. DeRas out.¡± She sounded despondent, and Kressa didn¡¯t think she believed Vel¡¯s words. Based on the commander¡¯s stern expression, Vel didn¡¯t believe them either. Taler¡¯s comm beeped again. Vel looked at the man kneeling beside the unconscious security officer. ¡°Ignore it,¡± she said. The lieutenant¡¯s comm beeped a third time. A moment later, the brig comm chirped. Vel scowled and pointed to one of the Patrolmen. ¡°Answer it.¡± It was the captain. ¡°Get me Commander Vel. Now!¡± Vel crossed the room to the comm panel, her features tight. ¡°Vel here, sir.¡± ¡°Dani, is Lieutenant Taler with you?¡± She glanced at the unconscious lieutenant. ¡°No, sir.¡± ¡°Do you know where he is? He¡¯s not answering his comm.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. He left here a few minutes ago. Should I tell him anything if I see him?¡± ¡°No. It can wait. Betz out.¡± ¡°Do you think he believed you about Taler?¡± Nait asked as he began putting on the lieutenant¡¯s uniform. ¡°Let¡¯s hope so,¡± Vel said, ¡°and let¡¯s hurry it up in here.¡± She locked the brig door from the inside and motioned to Kressa and two of the rebels. ¡°You three, watch the door.¡± Kressa took up a post beside the barrier, pulse gun ready. The two rebels joined her. Vel split her people into two teams: one for engineering, led by Nait; the others to help her take the bridge. Kressa would accompany Dahl and Telsin on the bridge team. Nait made a final adjustment to Taler¡¯s uniform, tucked the Gendzet amulet he wore under the shirt, and then searched through the pockets until he found the amulet Betz had taken from Telsin. He moved across the room to where the boy stood beside Dahl. ¡°Here, Tel.¡± Nait held out the pendant by its broken chain. Telsin smiled up at him. Nait looped the chain around the boy¡¯s neck, tied it, and laid a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Take care of yourself. I¡¯ll see you when this is over.¡± Telsin threw his arms around the man¡¯s waist. ¡°Be careful, Nait.¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll be doing the easy part. You¡¯ll be on the bridge. You be careful.¡± He tousled the boy¡¯s hair. ¡°And take care of the old man.¡± Dahl glanced up. Nait winked at him, gave Telsin an affectionate look, and then joined his team. ¡°Any last-minute questions or comments?¡± Vel asked. ¡°All right, let¡¯s go.¡± A red light began winking from the door panel. ¡°Someone¡¯s trying to force the door,¡± one of the renegade Patrolmen said. ¡°It could¡ª¡± The door slid aside, and Captain Betz rushed in, flanked by five security men. Recalling Vel¡¯s repeated warnings about the use of weapons, Kressa stuck a foot in Betz¡¯s path and swung her gun to cover him as he stumbled into the waiting hands of a half dozen rebels. The security men with him began to fire. Apparently, they¡¯d been misinformed about what they were up against or hadn¡¯t been in a position to see the full extent of the opposition. In seconds, all five were down. Two rebels were hit, as well: one dead, the other wounded. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Vel turned to the wounded man. He was nursing a pulse gun burn on his arm. One of the renegade Patrolmen hurried to help him. ¡°Will you be all right?¡± Vel asked the wounded man. ¡°I think so, Commander.¡± ¡°Okay. You two stay here.¡± She pointed to one of the rebels who had donned a Patrol uniform. ¡°And you. Secure this room after we¡¯re gone.¡± She turned to Dahl. ¡°Did the sensors pick up the weapons¡¯ fire?¡± He nodded. ¡°But the alert never left this room. I got a loop established before the shooting started. As long as no one heard the gunshots, we should¡ª¡± A struggle erupted between Betz and the men holding him. The captain glared at Vel. ¡°What in hell are you up to, Dani?! Who are these people?¡± ¡°Olun, would you please shut up?¡± Vel said. He stared at her, mouth agape, and tried again to jerk out of his captors¡¯ grasp. ¡°You¡¯ll never get away with this.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°I already have. Now, this is your last warning to keep your mouth shut and¡ª¡± ¡°How dare you threaten me?¡± Betz¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You¡¯d be nowhere without me, Vel. Nothing!¡± The commander crossed the brig to a supply cabinet, slapped her hand against the scanlock, and removed a collar-like device. Kressa had never seen a vocal paralyzer, but she¡¯d heard them described well enough to recognize the object the commander held. Betz glared at her as she approached him. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± ¡°No?¡± Vel said, her tone friendly, then her eyes closed to angry slits. ¡°Try me.¡± Betz clamped his mouth shut. Vel watched him for a moment, then turned back to the cabinet and withdrew a pair of security cuffs. Betz lurched toward her, dragging one of his captors with him. He shook the man off, but stumbled to his knees and toppled onto the body of one of the dead security men. He struggled to get his arms under him, then pushed himself up using the body beneath him for leverage. His captors grabbed him again and jerked him to his feet. Betz made a final valiant¡ªbut silent¡ªattempt to escape before they got his arms bound behind his back with the security cuffs. One of the rebels moved toward him with the vocal paralyzer. ¡°You can leave that off for now.¡± Vel gave the captain a long look. ¡°But if he opens his mouth again without permission¡­¡± She met his eyes, and the threat hung in the air between them. He clenched his jaw. Vel started for the door. ¡°Bring him.¡± ¡°We¡¯re taking him with us?¡± one of the rebels asked, clearly surprised by the order. ¡°We¡¯re going with the backup plan.¡± She gave Betz another long look. ¡°He¡¯s going to help us take the secondary bridge. We¡¯ll have less resistance that way. Dahl, you won¡¯t have any trouble running things from the backup bridge, will you?¡± He held up his data pad. ¡°Just give me a place to plug this in, and I¡¯ll do whatever you need.¡± She turned to Nait. ¡°Get your team to engineering. Prepare to shut down the main bridge power on my order. The rest of the plan stands. Signal me when you¡¯re ready. Good luck.¡± Nait gestured to his team, flashed a cautious glance out the door, and then led them from the brig. Vel turned to her remaining people. ¡°Those of you who aren¡¯t wearing uniforms, hide your weapons or give them to someone in uniform. Keep your hands behind your backs as if they''re cuffed and stay in the center of the group when we¡¯re moving through the corridors. Those of you in uniform will act as escorts. We¡¯ll be using corridors that shouldn¡¯t have much traffic, but if someone sees us, I want it to look like we¡¯re escorting prisoners. I¡¯ll be in the front. You two,¡± she pointed to one of the real Patrolmen and one of the rebels in uniform, ¡°will be responsible for the captain. Keep him in the middle of the group. If anyone gets too close, do what you can to keep him from being noticed.¡± She flashed Betz a look that promised severe retribution if he did not cooperate. He met her glare with one of his own, but refrained from comment. ¡°When we get to the backup bridge,¡± Vel continued, ¡°we¡¯ll wait for Nait¡¯s signal and then go in.¡± She pulled her commlink from her belt and pressed a button on its side. A moment later, the link emitted a series of tones. ¡°I¡¯ve just signaled the rest of our people on the ship. They¡¯re ready to move. Let¡¯s go.¡± They reached the dim-lit corridor outside the Cheops¡¯ secondary bridge several minutes later with no one the wiser. An armed Patrol officer was waiting for them when they arrived, a lieutenant commander with angular features, short brown hair, and pale green eyes. Vel greeted him with a friendly smile. ¡°Commander Hartos, how are things on the bridge?¡± ¡°Comfortably normal,¡± he said. "Why the change of plans?¡± Vel stepped aside and gestured to Betz. Hartos smiled. ¡°Captain,¡± he sketched a mock salute, ¡°how nice of you to join us.¡± Betz gave him a hate-filled look. While they awaited Nait¡¯s signal, Dahl jacked his data pad into a wall terminal and started to work. The uniformed rebels and renegade Patrolmen redistributed the weapons. Moments later, Vel¡¯s commlink beeped. ¡°Nait here, Commander. We¡¯re in position. Your people were waiting for us when we arrived. Resistance was light. No alarms triggered. Looks like the old man did his job right. Again.¡± Kressa glanced at Dahl and found him lost in his work. ¡°All right, Nait, stand by,¡± Vel said. ¡°Dahl, how¡¯s it coming?¡± ¡°Almost ready,¡± he said without looking up. ¡°Secondary bridge controls coming online, and¡­ Got it.¡± Vel keyed her commlink. ¡°We¡¯re ready for you to cut the power, Nait. Give us a three count.¡± As she spoke, she moved to the bridge door and placed her hand near the controls. Dahl moved forward to join her, with Telsin close behind. Nait started his countdown. Vel palmed the opener, and the door slid aside. Nait finished counting, and the lights in the corridor and room beyond winked off. An instant later, dim emergency lighting flickered on, and lights from several of the control boards in the secondary bridge glowed to life. Dahl slipped into the room and plugged his data pad into one of the stations almost before the door opened fully. Telsin followed. Vel, Hartos, and the others moved in behind them. Kressa joined Dahl and Telsin. The boy had plugged his pad into an auxiliary outlet and was already hard at work. Dahl motioned Kressa into a seat at a dark board adjoining the one where he stood. As she sat down, the control screens came to life. ¡°I¡¯m rerouting the main bridge alerts,¡± Dahl told her. ¡°When the power comes back on, we¡¯ll get them all in here so no one will realize what¡¯s happening. Tel¡¯s taking care of keeping the new reroutes intact, but I¡¯ll start sending you overflow soon. Be ready.¡± ¡°Bridge, this is Commander Vel,¡± Vel said into her commlink as she and Hartos made their way to the command station and the others took their places around the room. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not sure, Commander. There seems to be a ship-wide power fluctuation.¡± ¡°Can you tell where it¡¯s coming from?¡± She glanced at Dahl, brows raised in question. ¡°Almost,¡± he said quietly. ¡°No, sir,¡± came the reply from the main bridge. ¡°Most of the monitor systems are being affected.¡± ¡°All right, bridge, I¡¯m on it. Stand by.¡± She glanced at Dahl again. ¡°Come on, old man¡­¡± He kept working, using both the control screen on his pad and those on the board before him. Finally, he nodded. ¡°Go.¡± Vel touched a control on her commlink, switching channels. ¡°Ready, Nait. Return power.¡± The main lights came on in the room, accompanied by the hum of systems powering up. Red lights winked from the command and security boards, and a synthesized voice blared over the room¡¯s comm, ¡°Warning. Secondary bridge has been accessed.¡± The commander flashed a smile at Dahl. ¡°Keep up the good work.¡± She changed the channel on her commlink again. ¡°Bridge, we¡¯ve isolated the problem in engineering. Power should be restored to all systems momentarily.¡± ¡°Acknowledged, Commander¡­ Sir, we¡¯re picking up non-standard coded transmissions inside the ship.¡± ¡°Try to isolate it. I¡¯ll be there as soon as we can get this power thing straightened out.¡± She set aside the commlink and began working at the board before her. After a moment, she gestured to the two men guarding Captain Betz. ¡°Bring him here and uncuff him.¡± She turned back to the board and put her hand flat on the control screen. ¡°This is Commander Dania Vel requesting transfer of all control functions to the secondary bridge. Authorization TF-63791-alpha.¡± ¡°Transfer command acknowledged,¡± the computer said. ¡°Awaiting additional authorizations.¡± She looked at Betz standing beside her. ¡°One way or another, Captain, I¡¯m going to get control of this ship. You know I can do it eventually with the people I¡¯ve got here and in engineering, but you could make it so much easier,¡± she drew her gun and placed its tip against his temple, ¡°and live to tell about it.¡± ¡°What guarantee do I have that you won¡¯t kill me afterward?¡± ¡°None, other than my word. I trust you know that¡¯s worth something. Right now, you have my word that in ten seconds I¡¯m going to pull this trigger if you don¡¯t put your hand on that scanplate and give your transfer code. Ten. Nine. Eight¡­¡± His face paled. ¡°Commander,¡± another call came from the main bridge, ¡°the computer¡¯s reporting unauthorized tapping.¡± She glanced at Dahl. He shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m doing the best I can.¡± ¡°Sir,¡± the bridge officer said over Vel¡¯s comm, ¡°I think we should call the captain.¡± Betz started to say something, but Vel shook her head sharply and pressed the gun harder against his temple. ¡°Don¡¯t bother him yet,¡± she told the bridge. ¡°That power spike seems to have caused all sorts of erroneous readings. Stand by.¡± She looked at Betz. ¡°Three. Two. One¡ª¡± With a snarl, he slapped his hand onto the screen and gave his authorization. Hartos followed suit. The computer acknowledged the commands, and Vel holstered her gun. ¡°Olun, you¡¯re a dear,¡± she said to the captain, and then glanced at his two guards. ¡°Cuff him, and take him to the back of the room. Computer, this is Commander Vel. Secure and lock down the main bridge. Transfer all functions to secondary bridge. Nait, she¡¯s ours. Cut power to the main bridge.¡± She glanced at Dahl with a smile. ¡°Do your magic, old man.¡± Dahl worked for another long moment before replying. ¡°Fleet computer online.¡± Vel¡¯s smile grew as the Cheops¡¯ computer linked passively into the other ships in the fleet. ¡°Got ¡¯em all, Commander,¡± Dahl said moments later. ¡°Ready to transmit false sensor readings on your order.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Vel looked at the woman at the communication station. ¡°Rebel channels open, Commander.¡± Vel glanced at Betz, and then switched on the comm at her station. ¡°Attention all units, this is Esora. You¡¯re clear to move.¡± The control screen at Kressa¡¯s station began to display the red spheres and three-dimensional lattice-work of Dahl¡¯s rerouting program. She tore her eyes from the satisfying look of consternation on Betz¡¯s face and turned to the screen. ¡°Kressa¡ª¡± Dahl started to call out to her. ¡°I¡¯m on it.¡± She studied the screen briefly as the first loops formed and the computer-spheres began searching for different routes. New loops appeared, and Kressa worked to stay ahead of them. At this level of activity it took only a portion of her concentration; she kept the remainder of her attention on the activity in the room around her. ¡°Get me a channel to the fleet,¡± Vel said. ¡°Ready, Commander.¡± ¡°This is Commander Vel aboard the Cheops. We¡¯ve been attacked by hostile forces. Captain Betz has been wounded. I am in command. The attack on us may only be the beginning of a move by the Vsunan rebels. Increase sensor sweeps and activate fleet computer access.¡± An instant later, the activity on the screen in front of Kressa increased dramatically as the Patrol vessels began actively linking into the fleet network and Dahl started rerouting the ships¡¯ control systems. In less than a minute, the lattice of computer nodes and comm lines had doubled in size, and the activity had grown to match one of the higher levels of Dahl¡¯s simulation. Kressa narrowed her attention to the task at hand. Time and place ceased to have any meaning; there was only the screen, the spheres, and the ever-changing lines. For how long she worked like that, Kressa could not say, then she caught a quick movement out of the corner of her eye, and a pulse gun flashed from the rear of the room. The shot exploded into the board in front of Dahl. Kressa drew her gun and spun toward the back of the bridge. Captain Betz stood before an open doorway, a pulse gun in each hand. He fired shot after shot into the room as he backed through the opening. Kressa brought her gun to bear on him, but shifted her aim minutely when she remembered Vel¡¯s no-kill order. Her shot burned into Betz¡¯s right arm. He dropped the weapon in his right hand, fired a wild shot at Kressa with his other gun, turned, and dashed through the opening. The door closed, blocking the shots of those who had reacted an instant after Kressa. They dashed toward the door. As the first of them reached the barrier, Betz¡¯s voice came over the ship¡¯s comm. ¡°Attention crew, this is Captain Betz. Rebel forces led by Com¡ª¡± Vel¡¯s comm officer cut the channel, and the soldiers at the door charged into the room beyond. Confident they were well on their way to stopping the captain, Kressa glanced to where Dahl was working to see what damage Betz had done. Instantly, she wished she had ignored Vel''s no-kill order. Dahl lay sprawled across the control board. From where Kressa stood, she could see where one of Betz''s shots had hit the controls, but there were at least three hits on Dahl''s back. Amazingly, he was still breathing. Telsin leaned over him. His hands hovered near the man¡¯s body as if he wanted to help but was too frightened to touch him. One of Betz''s shots had burned into Telsin¡¯s side, but the boy seemed oblivious to the injury. He looked at Kressa, blue eyes brimming with tears. ¡°Help him,¡± he begged. Kressa glanced around, searching for Vel. The commander stood in the middle of the bridge, a stern expression on her face as she watched three rebel soldiers drag Betz back into the room. Despite his wounded arm and a fresh pulse gun burn on one thigh, he was doing a valiant job of resisting his captors. Then one of them struck him on the side of the head with the butt of a gun, and he slumped in their grasp. ¡°What happened?!¡± Vel snapped. One of the men holding Betz glanced to where his two former guards lay dead from pulse gun blasts, an open pair of security cuffs and a soni-key abandoned on the floor beside them. ¡°He must¡¯ve had the key on him and used it to open the cuffs.¡± Kressa remembered Vel in the brig, approaching Betz with the cuffs, then Betz struggling and collapsing onto one of the dead security officers. ¡°I think he got the key in the brig,¡± she said, ¡°when he fell on the dead security troops.¡± Vel snarled. ¡°Cuff him!¡± she said to his captors. ¡°And watch him this time.¡± She cast a meaningful look at the bodies of his former guards. ¡°Commander, Dahl¡¯s been shot,¡± Kressa said. Vel turned to the weapons control station. ¡°Hartos, get the emergency medkit. See what you can do.¡± Hartos started for a cabinet at the back of the bridge. Kressa frowned. ¡°That won¡¯t do it, Commander. He needs more than a medkit.¡± Vel returned her frown. ¡°Do what you can, Hartos.¡± She turned her attention to the communications console where the comm officer was working frantically. ¡°What is it?¡± Vel asked. ¡°I¡¯ve got calls coming in from every part of the ship wanting to know what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Clear all channels, and get me a ship-wide circuit.¡± ¡°Ready, Commander,¡± the comm officer said after a moment. ¡°All crew. This is Commander Vel. Everything is under control. Mind your stations and keep the comm clear for essential communications only. Sickbay, send a trauma team to the secondary bridge.¡± Kressa turned back to Dahl and Telsin. The boy had placed one hand on Dahl¡¯s shoulder, head bowed, eyes closed, his Gendzet amulet grasped tightly in a fist. A pale, blue-white glow surrounded his hands. Kressa blinked hard to clear the strange sight, and then realized she was not seeing it with her eyes. Rather, she was sensing it with her mind. Something inside her reached out to join the pale illumination. Surprised, she placed her hand on Telsin¡¯s where it rested on Dahl¡¯s shoulder. The light expanded to surround her hand, and a tingling ribbon of energy flowed along her arm. Telsin¡¯s eyes snapped open. He stared at her for a moment, then his lips twitched in a hint of a smile, and he closed his eyes again. The ribbon of energy grew, and Kressa turned her full attention to it. She caused it to ebb and grow with a thought, and she believed she could stop it, but she wasn¡¯t sure how to start it again, and although she knew the energy could not heal Dahl, she sensed it was helping him hold onto life. ¡°Is everything all right, Commander?¡± Nait¡¯s voice came over Vel''s commlink, full of worry. ¡°Everything¡¯s under control,¡± Vel said. ¡°Mind your post. I¡¯ll let you know if we need your help with anything.¡± There was a brief pause, and then Nait¡¯s voice returned, the concern in his tone undiminished. ¡°Commander, I¡¯m certain I felt Telsin--¡± ¡°Mind your post!¡± Vel switched off the link. But Nait¡¯s concern could not be so easily dispelled, Kressa realized as she sensed his presence enter the remarkable psychic link that bound her and Telsin to Dahl. In her mind¡¯s eye, she saw the dark man¡¯s hand wrap around his Gendzet amulet. His presence surged through the link, taking control of the power within it and channeling it to Dahl. After a moment, he seemed to sense the extent of Telsin¡¯s injury and stopped drawing energy from the boy. Beneath Kressa¡¯s hand, Dahl stirred and raised his head. ¡°Lie still,¡± she said. ¡°Bryant, how are the reroutes holding?¡± Vel asked. Kressa looked at the commander, dumbfounded. How could she worry about such a thing when Dahl was dying? Didn¡¯t she¡ª? Kressa cut the thought short as she recalled what she¡¯d said to Dahl about the difference between what Vel was doing on Vsuna and what Kressa was used to doing on Arecia. Vel was not about to abandon her plans because of the death of one of her people, or even half of them. This was too big for that, too far reaching. Kressa eased her hand from Dahl¡¯s shoulder, severing the link with Nait and Telsin, and returned to her board. The reroute loops were disappearing as the computers failed to verify the orders. ¡°They¡¯re dropping off fast, Commander.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of them.¡± Telsin staggered to his chair. ¡°But your side¡ª¡± Kressa started to protest. ¡°Someone¡¯s got to hold them.¡± He began working to reestablish the broken links. ¡°If we don¡¯t do it and Dahl dies, what was it for?¡± ¡°What¡¯s it for anyway?¡± she asked. ¡°Without him running the rest of the programs, we can¡¯t¡ª Wait¡­ Dahl went over all of his programs with my ship¡¯s computer. Maybe she can do it.¡± ¡°She can,¡± Dahl whispered. Kressa glanced at him. Hartos had arrived and was trying to keep him still, but he pushed himself upright and turned his pain-clouded gaze on Kressa. ¡°Connie can do it,¡± he said. Kressa turned to look for the commander. She stood at the command station, directing what remained of her control of the fleet. ¡°Commander Vel,¡± Kressa said, ¡°call my ship, the Conquest. She¡¯s at the Tranur commerce port. If we can establish a link with her, I think we can keep this going.¡± Vel¡¯s brow furrowed, but she signaled to her comm officer. ¡°Get a link to Bryant¡¯s ship.¡± ¡°Route it here,¡± Kressa said, and then looked at Dahl. ¡°Are you sure¡­?¡± ¡°She can do it,¡± he said, and then slumped into Hartos¡¯s arms, unconscious. ¡°Bryant,¡± the comm officer said a moment later, ¡°I¡¯ve got your ship.¡± Kressa keyed the comm at her station. ¡°Connie, this is Kressa. I need your help.¡± ¡°Unable to comply,¡± the computer said. ¡°Authorization required.¡± Kressa pursed her lips. Years ago, she had ordered Connie to answer any call from a Patrol channel like that in case the Pattys ever tried to force Kressa to use the ship or computer for their own ends, but she had also set up an override. ¡°Connie, authorization CT-5593-delta.¡± ¡°Acknowledged. Awaiting command.¡± Which meant she knew it was Kressa. What Kressa said next would tell the computer to either do as Kressa ordered or use her best judgment to the contrary. ¡°Azano was right,¡± Kressa said. ¡°Understood, Kressa. What do you need?¡± ¡°Connie, remember what you and Dahl were working on earlier, about controlling the fleet computers? If I got you a link to the Cheops¡¯ main computer, could you do that on your own?¡± ¡°I could. However, the programs I reviewed were written for specific scenarios. I would require guidance when to deploy them.¡± ¡°We can do that,¡± Vel said from nearby. Kressa glanced up to find the woman standing beside her. ¡°Is that your ship¡¯s computer?¡± Vel asked. ¡°The one Dahl helped build?¡± Kressa nodded. ¡°Tell it we¡¯ll get it whatever it needs.¡± She turned to her comm officer. ¡°Get a secure link to that computer, first priority, and then get me a channel to the fleet.¡± She cast a concerned look at Dahl and then returned to her station. While the comm officer established the link, Kressa checked on Telsin. He was pale, his breathing shallow, but he continued working. She touched Hartos on the shoulder and nodded toward the boy. ¡°See what you can do for him.¡± ¡°Ready, Bryant,¡± the comm officer said. Kressa turned to the comm pickup on her board. ¡°Connie, do you have the link?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got it, Kressa. Beginning rerouting.¡± Kressa looked at the computer board and watched in amazement as Connie began to reestablish the broken routing loops. She returned to her task of helping Telsin keep the loops intact. Behind her, Vel gave orders to the fleet. ¡°This is Commander Vel. The Cheops experienced a second attack by rebel forces. They attempted to break into our control systems, causing us to lose many of the fleet links. We are working to reestablish those we lost. Once the links have been reestablished, I will issue new orders. Until then, continue to act on previous orders and report on activity in your sector. Vel out.¡± Kressa turned her full attention to the work at hand. 6. One Hell of a Computer The next hour passed in a blur of activity for Kressa as Commander Vel and her allies worked to convince the Patrol fleet of a rebel uprising completely contrary to reality, and created such confusion and chaos that few of the enemy ships¡¯ commanders or crews had time to stop and wonder what was really happening. Kressa worked with Connie to help Vel retake control of the fleet. The commander sent several ships into harmless parking orbits and disabled them using command-level overrides put in place by paranoid Patrol engineers to foil mutineers. A few ships in the fleet had commanders sympathetic to the Vsunans¡¯ cause; they readily joined Vel¡¯s side in the battle. Others had enough vital crew members loyal to Vel to bring the ships to the Vsunans¡¯ side. However, a number of ship commanders caught on early to the fact that something was amiss and disconnected their ships from the fleet channel before the links could be secured, thereby removing any chance Vel had of controlling them. As the Esora forces continued to work, pitting Patrol vessels¡ªsometimes unwittingly¡ªagainst other Patrol vessels and coordinating ground attacks and defenses across the planet¡¯s surface, Kressa again found herself marveling at the depth and complexity of the plan. Early in the battle, the trauma team arrived from sickbay. They headed straight for their wounded captain but moved without question to tend Dahl and Telsin at a word from Vel. Whether they were loyal to Vel, knew how to take orders, or were simply doing their jobs as medics by tending to the most seriously wounded first, Kressa did not know, and she had no time to ponder it, for the medical team forced Telsin to abandon his post, leaving her alone to handle the job of holding the reroutes. Fortunately, the need for her to do so decreased steadily as the rebels¡¯ control of the battle increased, giving Kressa more time to dedicate to relaying Vel¡¯s requests to Connie. Then, suddenly, the link with Connie went dead. ¡°Commander, we just lost our tie to the Conquest¡¯s computer,¡± the comm officer reported before Kressa could. ¡°Something¡¯s jamming the signal.¡± ¡°Sensors, what¡¯s happening over Tranur?¡± Vel asked. ¡°Enemy vessel Emant is moving toward the city. Our destroyers Maj and ta¡¯Shen are within range.¡± Kressa frowned worriedly. The Emant was one of the Patrol cruisers whose captain had disconnected his ship from the fleet command channel. They must have picked up and traced the link between Connie and the Cheops. Vel studied the tactical display beside the bridge¡¯s main viewer. ¡°Order the Maj and ta¡¯Shen to intercept Emant, and have any of our fighters within range move in, as well. Try to knock out the jamming, and don¡¯t let the Emant target the Conquest.¡± She glanced at Kressa. ¡°We¡¯ll do what we can to take care of your ship, Bryant.¡± Kressa nodded and tried to ignore the horror¡ªand irony¡ª of the fact that Patrol vessels were being sent to protect her ship from other Patrol vessels, and there was nothing she could do to help. Connie would activate the Conquest¡¯s shields the instant she detected the ship was under attack, but Kressa knew they wouldn''t last long under direct heavy weapons fire from a Patrol cruiser. The Emant began to fire on the port from long range. Many of the cruiser¡¯s first shots were off target, with some of them hitting parts of the nearby city. Kressa listened to the reports of damage to the city and, for the first time, the cost of the rebellion to Vsuna¡¯s populace struck her. A lot of innocent lives would be lost because of the decisions of very few people. Would those innocents, and the friends and families they left behind, consider freedom from the United Galaxy worth it? An alert on Kressa¡¯s board jerked her attention away from her disturbing thoughts. ¡°Commander, several of the ships disabled by the fleet computer are trying to break their links.¡± She started working to try to hold them, but without Connie¡¯s help, Kressa knew she had little chance of success. ¡°The Emant¡¯s retreating from the Tranur area,¡± the rebel manning the sensors said. ¡°Minor damage reported to the port. One fighter down.¡± He paused. ¡°The Emant¡¯s heading for our position now.¡± ¡°Decided to come straight to the source, have they?¡± Vel said. ¡°Comm, tell our ships near Tranur to remain there to defend against any more threats to the Conquest.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got two more ships breaking from their assigned positions and heading our way,¡± the sensor operator said a heartbeat later. Vel sighed. ¡°Sounds like Emant¡¯s trying to lead a rebellion of its own¡ªagainst us. Comm, warn those ships back into position.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not responding to my calls.¡± ¡°As if that¡¯s any surprise,¡± Vel said. ¡°Bryant, are you holding those links?¡± ¡°So far.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve reestablished contact with the Conquest,¡± the comm officer said. ¡°Routing it to you now, Bryant.¡± Kressa had just enough time to draw a single relieved breath before Vel called her again. ¡°Bryant, see what you can do about getting me fire control on one of the disabled ships, preferably the Dora or Jassar.¡± Kressa relayed the request to Connie and glanced at the tactical display. Three enemy vessels were converging on the Cheops from different directions, but in the three-dimensionality of space, she was far from surrounded. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Helm,¡± Vel said, ¡°plot a course away from the incoming vessels that will take us within range of either the Dora or the Jassar. And make it quick, I want those incoming vessels to have to chase us.¡± ¡°Course plotted,¡± the navigator said a moment later. ¡°On the display. We¡¯ll cross within range of both vessels.¡± Kressa realized Vel planned to lure the ships pursuing the Cheops into range of the disabled vessels¡¯ guns. She turned back to her board, determined to get control of both the Dora and the Jassar. Moments later, she and Connie established the necessary links. ¡°Commander,¡± Kressa said, ¡°I¡¯ve got command of the weapon control systems on both ships. I can route it anywhere you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Send it to the weapons station,¡± Vel said. Hartos had returned to the station to direct the Cheops¡¯ offensive batteries once the sickbay personnel arrived to tend to Dahl and Telsin. Vel glanced at him. ¡°Can you handle fire control for two more ships?¡± Hartos gestured for one of the renegade Patrolmen to join him. ¡°Just get ¡¯em within range, Commander. We¡¯ll do the rest.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got two more ships coming our way,¡± the sensor operator said. ¡°Friendlies?¡± Vel asked with a hopeful rise to her voice. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, Commander.¡± ¡°See if you can find a couple of our ships that aren¡¯t too busy. Tell them to get out here. I think we¡¯re going to need some help.¡± ¡°The Emant will enter firing range in thirty seconds,¡± the sensor operator reported. ¡°Kressa,¡± Connie¡¯s voice drew Kressa¡¯s attention back to her board, ¡°are you in danger?¡± Kressa bit back a slightly hysterical laugh. ¡°Connie, we¡¯ve got five enemy vessels closing on us. I think you could say we¡¯re in a bit of danger.¡± ¡°Accessing tactical data,¡± Connie replied. ¡°Stand by.¡± Stand by? ¡°Connie, what¡ª?¡± A concussion rocked the Cheops. ¡°That was internal!¡± Vel said. ¡°Damage control, where¡¯d that come from?¡± ¡°Missile bay one. One of the missiles detonated in its launch tube.¡± Vel scowled. ¡°Security, send people to the missile bays. It looks like we¡¯ve got saboteurs.¡± She switched channels on her comm. ¡°Nait, cut power to all missile bays. Hartos, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re going to have to do without them.¡± Kressa looked at the tactical display. The Cheops continued to run from the pursuing vessels. Two of them drew within firing range, joined a moment later by the Emant. The energy from their pulse cannons pounded against the Cheops¡¯ shields. Hartos returned fire, concentrating on the Emant. A moment later, all three of the ships launched missiles, forcing him to turn many of the Cheops¡¯ weapons toward the projectiles. Several of them got through the covering fire. The Cheops shuddered, and damage lights began winking throughout the room. ¡°Comm, we need some help out here,¡± Vel said. ¡°Two of our ships are on their way, Commander, but they won¡¯t be in range for several minutes.¡± ¡°We may not have several minutes. Sensors, time to the Dora or Jassar?¡± ¡°The Emant will be in range of the Jassar in twenty seconds.¡± ¡°Hartos?¡± Vel called. ¡°We¡¯re ready, Commander.¡± The seconds ticked by as the Cheops led a running firefight closer to the apparently dormant destroyer Jassar. Kressa smiled grimly to herself, imagining the surprise of the attacking ships¡¯ crews when the supposedly inactive destroyer started shooting at them. And then, suddenly, inexplicably, as if someone had thrown a switch, the Emant and the other attacking vessels stopped firing. ¡°Commander!¡± the sensor officer called. ¡°All weapons systems on the five pursuing vessels just shut down.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Vel¡¯s surprised expression vanished as quickly as it appeared. ¡°Hartos, hit each of those vessels with a single warning shot and order them to stand down.¡± ¡°Kressa,¡± Connie said, ¡°are you out of danger now?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think we¡¯re going to be all right,¡± Kressa said. ¡°The attacking vessels¡­¡± Her voice trailed off as the significance of Connie¡¯s question, and the timing of it, worked its way through the profound relief she was feeling at their sudden change of luck. ¡°Connie, what in hell did you do?¡± ¡°I shut down the weapons systems on the vessels pursuing the Cheops.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°The fleet computer contains shutdown codes for all vessels.¡± ¡°I know that, but those ships aren¡¯t connected to the fleet computer,¡± Kressa said. ¡°How did you give them the command?¡± ¡°Via a standard comm subchannel.¡± ¡°That would work.¡± Vel stepped up beside Kressa. ¡°A program sent through a subchannel with the proper codes could work its way into a control node and trigger a shutdown. It would have to be a damned impressive bit of programming, though. Even the old man would have trouble putting together something like that.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Connie said. ¡°Connie, you created the program?¡± Kressa asked. ¡°I did. Based on my analysis of Dahl¡¯s programs and the Cheops¡¯ systems, and assuming the other vessels had similar systems, I was able to create the routine.¡± ¡°Commander,¡± Hartos said, ¡°the pursuing vessels are standing down. Orders?¡± ¡°Tell them to link into the fleet computer and stand by.¡± She turned back to Kressa¡¯s board. ¡°Compu¡ª Connie, you can use your program to disable the weapons on any vessel in the fleet, right?¡± ¡°Correct. Shutdown codes for all vessels are available.¡± ¡°Praise the paranoia of Patrol engineers,¡± Vel said, and then smiled at Kressa. ¡°That¡¯s one hell of a computer you¡¯ve got there, kiddo. It may have just won us this war.¡±