Omega Force: Rebellion (OF11), стр. 8

to visit Noryant in person twice before that tanker arrived to pick up the fuel load, she's also been to three other worlds known to take in large numbers of refugees with no questions asked."

"What the hell planet does that?" Jason asked.

"New colonization where they need to boost up the numbers quickly. A planet has to have a certain population before it can apply for ConFed membership if the colony wasn't already approved through the council. The three planets that Ba visited are specifically looking for anybody with technical ability who could work in industry."

"The crew of an Imperial warship would nicely fit the bill for that," Jason said. "Spread the crews out over three planets, just dribble them in with the others moving through, and hope ConFed Intelligence isn't looking too hard at non-member worlds."

"It was a false hope, unfortunately." Kage brought up another screen with iconography on it that Jason didn't recognize. "Ba's cover is blown. There are certain telltale signs you learn to look for when you're in my business—er, former business—and I can say that ConFed Intelligence has already broken into her com unit and is tracking her just like I am."

"You're sure?"

"Quite," Kage said. "They've even begun suppressing outgoing messages she sends, trapping them in the public system. They're trying to isolate her, which means they're ready to make a move."

"How close are we to V'pal?" Jason asked.

"It's not as easy as that, Captain," Kage said. "We're only two days out, but the planet is in the process of being absorbed by the ConFed. They're still allowing normal traffic on and off the planet, but they have a lot of firepower sitting in orbit as they run down any Eshquarian stragglers who might cause them trouble later."

"Why would this Qazvi Ba pick a place like that to operate out of?"

"Hiding in plain sight, as well as access to resources and personnel the Empire would have already had there," Kage said. "Either way, they're closing in. She'll be hard to pin down, but I'm sure they already have agents on the ground hunting for her."

"So, what are our chances of finding her first?" Jason asked.

"They'd be better if you change course now and run the power up."

"Screw it, let's do it," Jason said, moving to the pilot's seat. "It's not like I was really looking forward to seeing Mok in the first place."

V'pal was as bad as Jason expected it to be from Kage's description. The scars on the land from deep step mines were visible from orbit when they could peek through the dingy brown clouds of trapped the particulates belched from stacks of the myriad industrial districts. The sprawling urban centers had the ubiquitous atmospheric processing towers that were repurposed after the terraforming process to scrub the air, but those remnants from the colonization of the planet were woefully inadequate to pull all of the pollutants out of the air. Most planets installed purpose-built machines able to pull the garbage from the atmosphere and pump out clean air, but V'pal hadn't bothered.

"What a shit hole," Crusher grunted.

"It's not good," Doc agreed, reading what the sensors were telling him about the planet. "But it's nothing we have to worry about for short term exposure. I wouldn't bother with any rebreathers or filtration masks."

"Good, because I wasn't going to," Crusher said. "In fact, do I even have to get off the ship?"

"Yes," Jason said forcefully. "Kage, we have a better location than just a planet yet?"

"I've narrowed it down," Kage said. "Remember that she's a high-level intelligence operative, so it's not going to be as easy as requesting a location trace off the Nexus hubs. She's still using standard Eshquarian equipment and tactics, however, so I've been able to cut a lot of the false leads out."

"Any idea if the ConFed has been able to do the same?" Jason asked, eyeing the armada of warships on his sensor display. So far, the ConFed ships were sitting in high orbit and taking no action to interfere with normal traffic to and from the planet, but that could change quickly. He didn't relish the idea of being trapped on the surface when they decided to set up a blockade to try and trap the Eshquarian spy they knew was there.

"Nothing I've been able to confirm. Normally, when we come to one of these third-tier worlds, I can tap into the underground right away and at least get pointed in the right direction if I spread enough credits around," Kage said. "This place is locked down tight now, and the ships above us are making everyone nervous. Nobody is talking to a newcomer. That alone tells me that ConFed Intelligence has probably already been trying to dig into black market slicers for information."

"You think this is a fake out?" Twingo asked. "Everyone converging on this one planet trying to find a single intel spook?"

"It's not as implausible as it seems," Kage said. "She's not likely able to tell us where the Eshquarian fleets are hiding, but she'll be a stepping stone into finding someone who can tell us, and the ConFed will know that, too. Their own intel service is at least as competent as the Empire's, and they have the luxury of not having just been invaded."

"That brings up a good point," Doc said. "Should we even land until we track her down? Once we're dirtside, we could end up trapped."

"I'll need to be on the ground," Kage said. "I've done all I can from up here."

"Call for a landing clearance," Jason said. "Get us as close as you can, preferably avoiding any of the major spaceports where the ConFed will be monitoring immigration control. The ground team will be me, Crusher…and Kage." As he said this, he couldn't help but look away from Lucky. The battlesynth was in his normal spot just behind and to the left of the pilot's seat, so he pretended to be fascinated by something on the right multi-function display so