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back. Lieutenant Commander Sarah James did not acknowledge his -
entrance by so much as the flicker of a slender eyebrow, but Knott was sure
she was completely aware of him. It pleased him that she was also alert enough
to realize he didn t want to interrupt the flow of her briefing.
 . . . particular attention, on our return to the
Invincible
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, to the ring around the gas giant, she said, indicating it on the holo-map
with her laser pointer.  There s every likelihood that the blockade runners,
at least, and certainly some of the raiders will try to hide there, taking
advantage of the way these fragments of rocks, ice, whatever can foul up
detection beams. She checked her watch.  We will be exiting Transit at eleven
forty hours. We depart at twelve hundred. Are there any questions?
No one responded. Knott rose from his seat and started forward.
 The captain will be addressing us, James said. Her small wing of twenty-one
rose from their seats and stood to attention. She saluted the captain when he
joined her at the front of the room and he returned it briskly.
 Thank you, Lieutenant Commander, he said, then, turning to the room at
large,  as you were.
They sat, readying their notepads in the event the captain had new data for
them.
 I have just received some new information from Captain Kaminsky of the
Aubrey that I thought you should be aware of.
Aubrey
 s comm detected the type of echo commensurate with the signature of a message
torpedo being skipped into Transit.
Knott looked out over the grim faces of his people.  All they know about it is
that it came from behind them. Which means it came from the
Maturin
, the
Indefatigable
, he paused, and anger sparked in his ice gray eyes,  or from us. Leading me
to believe that there is a strong possibility that the enemy has been warned
of our coming. Therefore, you must go with extreme caution. Assume that we are
not only approaching a dangerous enemy, but one that has been alerted.
He looked out over the men and women before him and took a deep breath. The
WACCIs were so vulnerable. They were virtually unarmed, relying on stealth and
ability to keep them safe. Sending them out naked to meet the enemy never made
him feel good. Today it almost made him feel like an executioner.
 Keep your heads up out there, he commanded. Then he grinned.  Or should I
say down. Come back safe.
Knott stood to attention and saluted them, they rose in a body to return it.
It was one of those rare moments when Knott and James and every man and woman
in that room knew, to the bottom of their souls, that they were part of
something greater than themselves. Knott s arm snapped down.
 Dismissed! James barked, breaking the spell. As the crewmen began to move
about she shouted out,  Be on Main Deck to check out your craft no later than
eleven hundred.
 Yes, sir! they shouted in response.
Knott raised his brows.  A little early, isn t it, Lieutenant?
 I figure it s better to put yourself through the tedium of checking things
out thoroughly, sir, than to worry about whether you should have when you
ought be thinking of something else, she said, smiling.
He nodded sadly, thinking of poor Raeder trying to build up morale in a
hopeless situation like this.  I suppose you re right, he agreed. He offered
his hand and she took it.  Good luck, Commander. Bring  em home safe.
 Yes, sir, she said.
 Hi, a quiet voice said from behind her as Sarah signed off on a release pad.
She turned to find Commander Raeder smiling at her.
Somewhat shyly, she thought.
 Just came down to wish you luck, he said, holding out his hand.
For a second she wondered if the scuttlebutt was true. If Raeder really was
some kind of spy-master come to aid Cynthia Robbins in her efforts at
sabotage. She shook his hand briefly.
 Thank you, Commander, she said.
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He blinked and looked at his hand.  I washed it, he said.  Really I
did.
Sarah smiled, she couldn t help it. The man played a very convincing wounded
innocent.
The mechanic said,  I have another, Lieutenant Commander, holding out the
notepad and stylus.
 I ll take care of that, Huff, Raeder said, taking them out of her hands.
I still don t like Speed jocks, Sarah grumbled mentally as he held the notepad [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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