the back of your mind, if you will?”
“Understood, Admiral.” Eric rose to his feet. He saluted, then nodded to the spy. “Mr. Gordon.”
“I’ll be seeing you, Captain.”
Eric didn’t
quite
glare at the man as he left, bringing a smile to the spy’s face.
“That man wouldn’t survive a day in the Agency.”
“Possibly not,” Gracen shrugged. “However he does make a very nice flag Captain.”
“Everyone does pay attention when he shows up, don’t they?” Gordon chuckled lightly. “He practically oozes sincerityand honor, at that. I could wish for someone a little more underhanded in command of the
Odyssey
, but he’ll do.”
“Someone more underhanded might not have passed muster with the Priminae, let alone this Central character,” Gracen reminded him.
“True, but they might not have gotten us involved in an interstellar war either.”
“I originally thought that, but no,” Gracen said and shook her head. “I fear this was coming regardless. He just accelerated the program a little. It’s not a perfect situation, by any means. I could have wished that he’d gotten the intel and got the hell out…but given the newest intel the
Odyssey
brought back, saving the Priminae may well have been the best of all possible worlds for us.”
Gordon grunted, but didn’t deny the possibility. Pacifists though they might be, the Prims were well equipped and clearly capable of building on an accelerated schedule. He wasn’t sure it would matter, not given the deplorable numbers that the Drasin seemed capable of fielding, but any ally was better than none.
CHAPTER TWO
Interstellar Space, Near Formerly Uncharted Dyson Construct
“THE BIOLOGICALS ARE entirely out of control, Prohuer. If we do not shut them down soon, we’ll entirely lose any semblance of guidance.”
“You should relax, Ivanth,” the man in the dark uniform said, seated casually behind a metal desk. “I’ve read the reports, and you’re exaggerating the situation.”
“The reports are only half of it,” the younger man said earnestly, desperately trying to get his point across without disrespect. “They’ve begun annihilating non-Priminae worlds!”
“Uninhabited worlds, barely of any interest to us.”
“My Prohuer,” Ivanth said softly, “life-bearing planets are not so common in the galaxy as to be disposable.”
The man behind the desk chuckled lightly, smiling with an ease that belied the subject of their conversation. “This is a minor sector of an otherwise unimportant galactic arm, Ivanth. The Priminae are the only threat in the area, and they don’t even know their own history. We’ll have this cleaned up shortly and be back to civilization. Let the Biologicals have their fun.”
“Yes, my Prohuer.” Ivanth gave in, sighing. “What of the unknown?”
That caused the man to sit forward, templing his hands in front of him. “Yes, the unknown. I’ve reviewed the combat data we recovered from the Biologicals. They all match the ship that escaped us at the Hive.”
“It doesn’t match any Priminae ship on record. A new design?”
“No, I think not. The Priminae ships match records precisely,” the Prohuer said simply. “We’re looking at another source.”
“Our scans were conclusive,” Ivanth objected. “They were people.”
“Yes, yes of that I’m aware, and that is the only thing on this mission that troubles me,” the Prohuer admitted. “Obviously the Prim have allied themselves with another splinter faction of the People. We never learned why the Prim retreated into this back world sector of the galaxy, but apparently someone came with them.”
“That ship is clearly an example of a combatant species,” Ivanth said, confused. “That is clearly unlike the Priminae, and it seems odd that they would ally.”
The Prohuer sighed, shaking his head. “We have tracked the Prim across the lights of ten thousand stars and I am no closer to understanding them now than I was in the
“Understood, Admiral.” Eric rose to his feet. He saluted, then nodded to the spy. “Mr. Gordon.”
“I’ll be seeing you, Captain.”
Eric didn’t
quite
glare at the man as he left, bringing a smile to the spy’s face.
“That man wouldn’t survive a day in the Agency.”
“Possibly not,” Gracen shrugged. “However he does make a very nice flag Captain.”
“Everyone does pay attention when he shows up, don’t they?” Gordon chuckled lightly. “He practically oozes sincerityand honor, at that. I could wish for someone a little more underhanded in command of the
Odyssey
, but he’ll do.”
“Someone more underhanded might not have passed muster with the Priminae, let alone this Central character,” Gracen reminded him.
“True, but they might not have gotten us involved in an interstellar war either.”
“I originally thought that, but no,” Gracen said and shook her head. “I fear this was coming regardless. He just accelerated the program a little. It’s not a perfect situation, by any means. I could have wished that he’d gotten the intel and got the hell out…but given the newest intel the
Odyssey
brought back, saving the Priminae may well have been the best of all possible worlds for us.”
Gordon grunted, but didn’t deny the possibility. Pacifists though they might be, the Prims were well equipped and clearly capable of building on an accelerated schedule. He wasn’t sure it would matter, not given the deplorable numbers that the Drasin seemed capable of fielding, but any ally was better than none.
CHAPTER TWO
Interstellar Space, Near Formerly Uncharted Dyson Construct
“THE BIOLOGICALS ARE entirely out of control, Prohuer. If we do not shut them down soon, we’ll entirely lose any semblance of guidance.”
“You should relax, Ivanth,” the man in the dark uniform said, seated casually behind a metal desk. “I’ve read the reports, and you’re exaggerating the situation.”
“The reports are only half of it,” the younger man said earnestly, desperately trying to get his point across without disrespect. “They’ve begun annihilating non-Priminae worlds!”
“Uninhabited worlds, barely of any interest to us.”
“My Prohuer,” Ivanth said softly, “life-bearing planets are not so common in the galaxy as to be disposable.”
The man behind the desk chuckled lightly, smiling with an ease that belied the subject of their conversation. “This is a minor sector of an otherwise unimportant galactic arm, Ivanth. The Priminae are the only threat in the area, and they don’t even know their own history. We’ll have this cleaned up shortly and be back to civilization. Let the Biologicals have their fun.”
“Yes, my Prohuer.” Ivanth gave in, sighing. “What of the unknown?”
That caused the man to sit forward, templing his hands in front of him. “Yes, the unknown. I’ve reviewed the combat data we recovered from the Biologicals. They all match the ship that escaped us at the Hive.”
“It doesn’t match any Priminae ship on record. A new design?”
“No, I think not. The Priminae ships match records precisely,” the Prohuer said simply. “We’re looking at another source.”
“Our scans were conclusive,” Ivanth objected. “They were people.”
“Yes, yes of that I’m aware, and that is the only thing on this mission that troubles me,” the Prohuer admitted. “Obviously the Prim have allied themselves with another splinter faction of the People. We never learned why the Prim retreated into this back world sector of the galaxy, but apparently someone came with them.”
“That ship is clearly an example of a combatant species,” Ivanth said, confused. “That is clearly unlike the Priminae, and it seems odd that they would ally.”
The Prohuer sighed, shaking his head. “We have tracked the Prim across the lights of ten thousand stars and I am no closer to understanding them now than I was in the
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