Omega Force: Rebellion (OF11), стр. 20
"The most efficient way to gain the intel we require is to board one of the ships in question," Lucky said. This time, Mok spit some of his drink out.
"Board them?" he asked. "That's a bit extreme isn't it?"
"Only if you prefer to sit around guessing as to what the Machine intends to do with them," Lucky countered calmly.
"I assume you have a plan to get aboard an Eshquarian warship?" Fendra asked.
"We don't like to bog ourselves down too early with the details," Jason said airily. "We'll figure it out before we get there."
"Figure it out?" Fendra repeated as if she were trying out a phrase from a foreign language for the first time.
"The more I think about this, the more inclined I am to agree with you that real-time intel is needed," Mok said. "However, I think boarding, or at least attempting to board, is an unnecessary risk."
"You are entitled to your opinion," Lucky said.
"We'll leave tomorrow," Jason said, tossing back his drink and placing the glass on the side table. "Lucky would like some time to build a new arsenal in one of your engineering shops, and I want to familiarize myself with the ship types and formations we'll be seeing out there."
"I can provide that," Fendra said before turning to Mok. "Is there any chance we could do the extraction in time for me to accompany them?"
"It's likely we'll have the deactivation codes within the next few hours, so yes," Mok said. "I have to warn you, Fendra, that this crew is a bit…unpredictable."
"I can handle it," she said. "I'd take it as a personal favor, Captain, if you would take me with you."
"Look, Mok might vouch for you, but I don't have any reason to trust some Imperial spook aboard my ship and with my crew," Jason said. "Why do you need to come along?"
"Let me reword my request," Fendra said. "Either you allow me to come along or I won't give you the location of the fleet. You could spend the rest of your natural life scouring the Concordian Cluster without ever finding them. Take me with you and we can fly straight there, avoiding most of the pirate traps along the way."
"When you put it that way…welcome aboard."
6
"Councilman Scleesz…a moment, if you would."
"Yes?"
"I thought we might have a word in private before the closed session began," Admiral Didza said. The admiral was being put in charge of the space around Eshquarian Prime, and with the high-profile assignment, he'd been granted access to the High Council at a level most flag officers only dreamed of. The Machine itself had told Scleesz to make sure that Didza was given everything he asked for.
"I suppose there's time, Admiral. My office is this way."
Once they were through the security checkpoint and made it to Scleesz's inner office, the admiral became fidgety and uncomfortable. Scleesz watched him carefully for a few long moments to see if the admiral would crack first and speak. When he didn't, Scleesz deflated the tension by gesturing to a chair while he took the one across from it.
"What can I do for you, Admiral?"
"I've been told that you're…close…to the new king maker here on Miressa Prime," Didza said, choosing his words like a man negotiating a mine field. "That you seem to know when things are about to happen before anyone else."
"I'd say that those are gross exaggerations," Scleesz said. "I have the dubious honor of serving as chair on two separate committees and am privy to levels of intelligence most aren't. It's simply a matter of access to information. As for a new king maker here in the capital…I'd be very, very careful with talk like that, Admiral. Everyone and everything listens and carries tales on Miressa."
"I don't mean to insinuate anything untoward," Didza said, his words tumbling out. "I only wanted to ask if you perhaps knew how I was given this assignment. My rank is mostly honorary, something passed down in my family thanks to political connections and wealth, and I served my entire career as a low-level bureaucrat negotiating supply contracts for the Aracoria Shipyards. Now, I'm being asked to serve in a combat capacity as commanding officer of the Miressa Home Defense Force. That's quite an…honor…being asked to head up the defense of the capital world."
"You don't feel qualified to perform your duties, Admiral?" Scleesz asked. "You don't have faith that the high admiralty knows what they're doing when they choose personnel assignments?"
"I—"
"Perhaps someone has seen something in you that you do not realize you possess," Scleesz plowed ahead, trying to keep his expression and voice neutral. How had this bumbling, timid fool been given an admiral's crest, even as a legacy rank? He had no doubt his new master had put Didza in place for a specific reason. The Machine did nothing on whim or without careful consideration. The real trick now would be to see if he could discover what that was without bringing suspicion upon himself.
"That's…possible," Didza said, apparently for the first time considering he might have some use as something other than a place holder for a family name. "I did distinguish myself as an officer that put the interests of the ConFed above all when negotiating the costs of raw ore to our processing plants."
"Yes, I have no doubt that was noticed," Scleesz deadpanned. "As you know, the ConFed is in the midst of a restructuring when it comes to how military assignments are determined. Given the tensions in the quadrant as of late, leadership has decided that our fleet's highest ranks should be determined by merit, not a prize to be bought or won by wealthy families. Rest assured, Admiral, that if you were given this assignment, it was for good cause."
"I thank you, Councilman," Didza stood and actually bowed. "I won't waste any more of your time." The admiral spun on his heel and marched out of the office. The