Omega Force: Rebellion (OF11), стр. 34

"I finished my tour of the human's new planet as well as the new generation of starships they've been building at their two new shipyards," Kellea said, knowing the offhand comment was actually a request for a brief so that Seeladas wouldn't have to bother herself with the actual report.

"The new planet is called Olympus and it's to be a military stronghold now that Terranovus is being colonized at an accelerated rate by civilians. They purchased the entire star system from the Eiderans, who apparently were trying to negotiate a lease deal for resources when Earth offered them a lucrative trading partnership and hard currency for the ownership rights."

"The purchase and colonization of the new planet is completely legal?" Seeladas asked.

"Completely legal," Kellea assured her. "My guide did have to admit that the deal had been in the works for some time as the terraforming processors were already at work by the time the deal was finalized. The atmosphere was close, but they needed a few tweaks to make it ideal for their needs. They had five processors running for three years to get the job done quickly…the changes they're making will have minimal impact on the native plant and animal life."

"Five atmospheric processors?" Seeladas finally looked up. "How is Earth paying for all of this?"

"They've been working through the trade contracts that we've approved and negotiated on their behalf," Kellea said. "They're just really, really good at manufacturing things others want."

"So it would seem." Seeladas was clearly suspicious. "What of these new ships?"

"That's an entirely different matter," Kellea said. "While Earth accepted the restrictions we imposed on what sort of military hardware they could purchase, we never sanctioned anything they developed and built themselves. We didn't see the need at the time." She paused here, clearly uncomfortable.

"I don't know how they're coming up the curve so quickly, but their new Spartan-class destroyer could likely be a handful even for the Defiant."

"A destroyer against a battlecruiser?" Seeladas scoffed.

"It's a destroyer in tonnage only," Kellea said. "The ships are smaller, but the demonstration I saw of their destructive capability was truly awesome. They're also building their own class of battlecruiser, as well…they tell me it will be ready to enter service within the next two years. The weapons technology they're implementing isn't something they bought from the Eshquarians or ripped off from the ConFed. I recommend having our intelligence service see if there's another outside influence helping them out."

"Noted," Seeladas said. "You're sure their activity is well hidden? We can't afford to have them screw up our negotiations with the ConFed right now. If the capital caught wind that one of our probationary members was in the middle of an arms buildup— Actually, did they even say why they're pushing so hard to build their military?"

"Fear," Kellea said. "They didn't say, but I gather that the two attacks by armadas they couldn’t defend themselves against left a lasting scar on their collective psyche. They think the Ull will return at any moment to finish the job or that the A'arcooni might come back again. All of the designs I saw definitely felt like they were part of a defensive force more than an invasion fleet."

"The A'arcooni don't leave their planet, and the Ull are a weak, dying power nobody even cares about anymore," Seeladas said. "But that's not your concern. I'll approach Earth through the diplomatic channels and make sure they're not about to do something completely foolish with all this new power they've discovered. We can't forbid them from building a defense force but, hopefully, they'll understand the need for discretion."

"Because of the ConFed negotiation."

"I know you don't approve, Admiral, and that's your right." Seeladas stood and walked to the windows, looking out over the lake outside the building. "The ConFed will be the only remaining power in this quadrant soon. Let's just be grateful they approached us with offers of a treaty negotiation and didn't roll over top of us like they did with the Eshquarians. The Saabror will likely fall next, then the Galvetic Empire, all two planets of it, and, if we don't enter into some kind of deal, we'd be next in line."

"And if the ConFed catches wind that the humans are building a massive war machine at the same time we're negotiating an armistice—"

"It would reflect rather poorly on us, don't you think? So, we just keep your human friends as a relative unknown for now and hope some sharp-eyes auditor doesn't ask to see their assets in person."

"Of course," Kellea said, feeling a bit ill. She'd been told of Seeladas's reaching out to the ConFed for a truce through a friend in the intelligence service. In her heart, she knew this was a mistake, but it was not her place to question Seeladas Dalton.

"Now for the real reason I asked you here," Seeladas said. "The ConFed has been in the process of hunting down rogue Imperial Navy units that fled the battle for Eshquaria, but they haven't had much luck. I've offered our assistance as a show of good faith. I'd like you to take the Defiant and your taskforce out to the Concordian Cluster and interface with the ConFed fleet and help in the search."

"You want me to take a Cridal taskforce to help the ConFed hunt down and slaughter Eshquarians that escaped the invasion?" Kellea was dumbfounded.

"If you value your job, you'll learn to word your thoughts more carefully, Admiral Colleran," Seeladas said sharply. "Unless you're telling me that you wish to step down."

"Not at all, Premier," Kellea said carefully. "The Defiant can depart immediately, the taskforce is spread out throughout the cooperative and will take some days to recall. I shall have them meet me en route."

"That's more like it, Admiral. You are authorized to depart at your discretion. Dismissed."

Kellea walked out of the room feeling more uneasy than she had in a long time. She had to remind