Harriamon space. Apparently there have
been three more attacks on ships in the system. So far, whenever
they get there they find a wreck and no sign of the attacker.’
‘Nothing?’ Bashford said,
frowning.
‘Nothing at all. They used a
rather inadvisable warp manoeuvre to get to the last one within
forty minutes of receiving the distress call. Still nothing. The
press are running with various stories, including the Xinti and the
Ghost Fleet, of course.’
‘Getting there that quickly
there should have been something. Nothing I know of could get out
of sensor range that quickly. Something with that sort of
acceleration has a big emission signature.’
Gillian shrugged slightly.
‘Xinti reactionless drives don’t, and they had very effective
stealth systems.’
‘And the Ghost Fleet would just
vanish where they came from,’ Ella put in.
‘Except,’ Aneka said, ‘that the
attacks don’t fit the profile for the Ghost Fleet, do they? These
ships are destroyed; the Ghost Fleet disables the ship, kills the
crew in various horrible ways, and then leaves, taking a few people
when they go. And I don’t believe it’s the Xinti. I don’t think
it’s their style either.’
‘Currently it’s a mystery,’
Gillian said, ‘but Ape said we should be careful when we go home
and avoid letting anyone know exactly when we will arrive. He
thinks we could be a prime target.’
Aneka shrugged. ‘We should be
used to that by now.’
‘We should,’ Gillian replied,
‘but I, for one, will never get comfortable with the idea that
someone wants to kill me.’
Eastern City.
Wei Lin was a petite oriental woman who
managed to convey considerable authority despite being shorter than
Ella and Gillian. She came with the full ‘beautiful Chinese girl’
package, including waist-length, jet-black hair and dark brown
eyes, and she stood on the platform waiting for them with her hands
clasped demurely in front of her. There were also four Enforcers
behind her who snapped to attention as soon as Aneka stepped off
the train.
‘Greetings,’ she said in
perfect, unaccented English, ‘and welcome to the City of the East.
I am Councillor Wei Lin and I will be happy to be your guide
through our glorious city.’
‘Good… evening, I think,’ Aneka
said, since the little speech had mostly been addressed at her.
‘I’m Aneka Jansen, this is Doctor Gillian Gilroy, Ella Narrows, and
Leo Bashford. Doctor Gilroy and Miss Narrows are here to study your
culture and history. Mister Bashford and I are just the hired
help.’
Wei Lin’s composure slipped a
little, but she rallied quickly. ‘Of course.’ Her attention shifted
to Gillian.
‘Aneka is rather more than
“hired help,”’ Gillian pointed out. ‘She’s our advisor on the way
things were on pre-war Earth.’ She gave Bashford a quick grin.
‘Bash is just here because he looks pretty though.’
Wei Lin smiled; at least she had
a sense of humour. ‘Councillor Harper indicated that you would like
to see the city and one of our surface facilities, but it is early
evening here and I would suggest that you spend some time with our
archives tonight and proceed with your tour tomorrow. We have
prepared a meal of locally produced ingredients which we can serve
whenever you wish, and Councillor Harper suggested that we put you
up in Manu Dei’s suite aboveground.’ She glanced toward Aneka as
she added the last; she had obviously met Yrimtan at least once,
and that probably meant she was fairly high ranking.
‘I’m not her,’ Aneka said
flatly. ‘We were… related, but we’re very different people.’
The Councillor nodded. ‘You
appear to have a better sense of humour. Let us get you settled in.
We have historical information going back to the foundation of the
city, and more anecdotal material from before that. I believe you
will find it most informative.’
‘I’m sure we will,’ Gillian
said.
10 th September.
It was after midnight local time, but
no one
been three more attacks on ships in the system. So far, whenever
they get there they find a wreck and no sign of the attacker.’
‘Nothing?’ Bashford said,
frowning.
‘Nothing at all. They used a
rather inadvisable warp manoeuvre to get to the last one within
forty minutes of receiving the distress call. Still nothing. The
press are running with various stories, including the Xinti and the
Ghost Fleet, of course.’
‘Getting there that quickly
there should have been something. Nothing I know of could get out
of sensor range that quickly. Something with that sort of
acceleration has a big emission signature.’
Gillian shrugged slightly.
‘Xinti reactionless drives don’t, and they had very effective
stealth systems.’
‘And the Ghost Fleet would just
vanish where they came from,’ Ella put in.
‘Except,’ Aneka said, ‘that the
attacks don’t fit the profile for the Ghost Fleet, do they? These
ships are destroyed; the Ghost Fleet disables the ship, kills the
crew in various horrible ways, and then leaves, taking a few people
when they go. And I don’t believe it’s the Xinti. I don’t think
it’s their style either.’
‘Currently it’s a mystery,’
Gillian said, ‘but Ape said we should be careful when we go home
and avoid letting anyone know exactly when we will arrive. He
thinks we could be a prime target.’
Aneka shrugged. ‘We should be
used to that by now.’
‘We should,’ Gillian replied,
‘but I, for one, will never get comfortable with the idea that
someone wants to kill me.’
Eastern City.
Wei Lin was a petite oriental woman who
managed to convey considerable authority despite being shorter than
Ella and Gillian. She came with the full ‘beautiful Chinese girl’
package, including waist-length, jet-black hair and dark brown
eyes, and she stood on the platform waiting for them with her hands
clasped demurely in front of her. There were also four Enforcers
behind her who snapped to attention as soon as Aneka stepped off
the train.
‘Greetings,’ she said in
perfect, unaccented English, ‘and welcome to the City of the East.
I am Councillor Wei Lin and I will be happy to be your guide
through our glorious city.’
‘Good… evening, I think,’ Aneka
said, since the little speech had mostly been addressed at her.
‘I’m Aneka Jansen, this is Doctor Gillian Gilroy, Ella Narrows, and
Leo Bashford. Doctor Gilroy and Miss Narrows are here to study your
culture and history. Mister Bashford and I are just the hired
help.’
Wei Lin’s composure slipped a
little, but she rallied quickly. ‘Of course.’ Her attention shifted
to Gillian.
‘Aneka is rather more than
“hired help,”’ Gillian pointed out. ‘She’s our advisor on the way
things were on pre-war Earth.’ She gave Bashford a quick grin.
‘Bash is just here because he looks pretty though.’
Wei Lin smiled; at least she had
a sense of humour. ‘Councillor Harper indicated that you would like
to see the city and one of our surface facilities, but it is early
evening here and I would suggest that you spend some time with our
archives tonight and proceed with your tour tomorrow. We have
prepared a meal of locally produced ingredients which we can serve
whenever you wish, and Councillor Harper suggested that we put you
up in Manu Dei’s suite aboveground.’ She glanced toward Aneka as
she added the last; she had obviously met Yrimtan at least once,
and that probably meant she was fairly high ranking.
‘I’m not her,’ Aneka said
flatly. ‘We were… related, but we’re very different people.’
The Councillor nodded. ‘You
appear to have a better sense of humour. Let us get you settled in.
We have historical information going back to the foundation of the
city, and more anecdotal material from before that. I believe you
will find it most informative.’
‘I’m sure we will,’ Gillian
said.
10 th September.
It was after midnight local time, but
no one
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