entered the lounge and looked around. The chairman hoped the young Modos was not so foolish as to interrupt his meal.
The officer spotted the Chairman and immediately began to make his way over. Snatch Bait signaled one of his guards to intercept the lieutenant. He would be held and punished later for his lack of common sense, but for the moment the Chairman was intent on enjoying his meal. He took another sip of his cocktail. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the lieutenant talking frantically with his security officer. The security officer, for his part, seemed startled. This was Snatch Bai t’ s first inkling that something was terribly wrong. The security guard brought the lieutenant over to his table. There must indeed be a serious issue for such a breach of his privacy to occur.
“ Your honor, I beg forgiveness at this unseemly interruption of your mea l…, ” the young lieutenant began.
Snatch Bait waved his trunk dismissively .“ You are here. Stop wasting my time and tell me what was so important that you would risk your office r’ s commission . ”
The office r’ s Suhtii gulped .“ Sir, we have intelligence reports that our departure from Naanac has prompted action from the Naan Rebel Alliance. They are attempting to seize command and control centers in every major city, including corporate headquarters in Harromog . ”
Snatch Bait swore. It was unthinkable. He threw the glass of half-finished cocktail down. The sound of the glass shattering caused the three guards and the young lieutenant to step back.
“ Crush them , ” he said, softly, when he had calmed down. This was the first test of his authority as Chairman, and he could not allow a slave world to think he was wea k … especially not his chosen capital.
“ Sir ? ”
The Chairman looked up at the young lieutenant .“ What is your name ? ”
“ Si r … I’ m Lieutenant Breakwater of the 1 st of the 16 th Mobile Infantry, sir . ”
“ You are to report to General Moss onboard the Redclaw and deliver the following message: I want the Redclaw and Tidepool to break formation and return to Naanac. You, lieutenant, are to take command of an assault company and personally deal with the situation in Harromog. The rest of the planet is under the purview of the General. I want my capital back and I want a message sent that is clear and incontestable. Am I clea r‘ Captai n ’ Breakwater ? ”
***
Cat raced down the corridor at a brisk sprint. Unfortunately, the bad news they were expecting had finally come in. Modos Syndicate forces were responding in force to the ill-timed uprising on Nanaac. Word that the rebels were planning mischief leaked back to the Syndicate High Command a mere twenty minutes before the Modos flagship with the Chairman onboard entered a hyperfield conduit in route to GCP space. This allowed the Chairman on the flagship to receive and respond to the urgent message from the capital before he was out of communication range. Those twenty minutes caused the GCP Admiralty Board to reshuffle i ts carefully orchestrated plans.
“ Such are the hazards of war , ” Cat thought to herself, glumly, as she made her way to the primary landing bay onboard the GCP Yorktown . She knew no plan ever survived contact with the enemy, but this was lunac y … and she feared it might very well bear a price to be paid in blood. She would recall later how well-founded her fears were.
Only the microscopic ENOs had given the GCP advanced knowledge of the counter offensive. The tiny machines had relayed a message to the cloaked WhimPy-101 platform in Modos space. The WhimPy in turn relayed a message via a temporal hyperfield communication conduit opened between the two universes.
Rounding the corner, Cat was forced to wait for the reinforced blast door that gave access to the primary launch bay to open. The bay was filled with marines scrambling to get their various assault craft ready.
There were sixteen armored transports, each
The officer spotted the Chairman and immediately began to make his way over. Snatch Bait signaled one of his guards to intercept the lieutenant. He would be held and punished later for his lack of common sense, but for the moment the Chairman was intent on enjoying his meal. He took another sip of his cocktail. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the lieutenant talking frantically with his security officer. The security officer, for his part, seemed startled. This was Snatch Bai t’ s first inkling that something was terribly wrong. The security guard brought the lieutenant over to his table. There must indeed be a serious issue for such a breach of his privacy to occur.
“ Your honor, I beg forgiveness at this unseemly interruption of your mea l…, ” the young lieutenant began.
Snatch Bait waved his trunk dismissively .“ You are here. Stop wasting my time and tell me what was so important that you would risk your office r’ s commission . ”
The office r’ s Suhtii gulped .“ Sir, we have intelligence reports that our departure from Naanac has prompted action from the Naan Rebel Alliance. They are attempting to seize command and control centers in every major city, including corporate headquarters in Harromog . ”
Snatch Bait swore. It was unthinkable. He threw the glass of half-finished cocktail down. The sound of the glass shattering caused the three guards and the young lieutenant to step back.
“ Crush them , ” he said, softly, when he had calmed down. This was the first test of his authority as Chairman, and he could not allow a slave world to think he was wea k … especially not his chosen capital.
“ Sir ? ”
The Chairman looked up at the young lieutenant .“ What is your name ? ”
“ Si r … I’ m Lieutenant Breakwater of the 1 st of the 16 th Mobile Infantry, sir . ”
“ You are to report to General Moss onboard the Redclaw and deliver the following message: I want the Redclaw and Tidepool to break formation and return to Naanac. You, lieutenant, are to take command of an assault company and personally deal with the situation in Harromog. The rest of the planet is under the purview of the General. I want my capital back and I want a message sent that is clear and incontestable. Am I clea r‘ Captai n ’ Breakwater ? ”
***
Cat raced down the corridor at a brisk sprint. Unfortunately, the bad news they were expecting had finally come in. Modos Syndicate forces were responding in force to the ill-timed uprising on Nanaac. Word that the rebels were planning mischief leaked back to the Syndicate High Command a mere twenty minutes before the Modos flagship with the Chairman onboard entered a hyperfield conduit in route to GCP space. This allowed the Chairman on the flagship to receive and respond to the urgent message from the capital before he was out of communication range. Those twenty minutes caused the GCP Admiralty Board to reshuffle i ts carefully orchestrated plans.
“ Such are the hazards of war , ” Cat thought to herself, glumly, as she made her way to the primary landing bay onboard the GCP Yorktown . She knew no plan ever survived contact with the enemy, but this was lunac y … and she feared it might very well bear a price to be paid in blood. She would recall later how well-founded her fears were.
Only the microscopic ENOs had given the GCP advanced knowledge of the counter offensive. The tiny machines had relayed a message to the cloaked WhimPy-101 platform in Modos space. The WhimPy in turn relayed a message via a temporal hyperfield communication conduit opened between the two universes.
Rounding the corner, Cat was forced to wait for the reinforced blast door that gave access to the primary launch bay to open. The bay was filled with marines scrambling to get their various assault craft ready.
There were sixteen armored transports, each
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