Omega Force: Rebellion (OF11), стр. 9

The truth was that he'd prefer to have Lucky with him over the impulsive and unpredictable Crusher…the old Lucky. It shamed him to even think it, but since being stuffed into the new body, his friend had become a liability on operations and a distraction they couldn't afford.

"It is probably wise that you leave me behind," Lucky said quietly. The others looked uncomfortable and pretended to not be listening. Jason sighed, not wanting to debate the issue with him at that particular time.

"It's nothing personal, but you've had four episodes in the last six weeks where you've locked up without warning and stayed that way for days. I can't be worried about you and also be able to keep an eye out for ConFed agents. Until our team back at Mok's base figures out what the issue is, I'm afraid you're going to be sidelined for the time being. It's like when Crusher rejoined the crew a couple years ago, but he was fat and slow and generally useless—"

"Hey!"

"—until he was able to get back in some sort of shape. This isn't permanent, buddy, but it's for our safety as much as it is yours."

"I understand," Lucky said. His voice was flat and he made no further comment. Twingo just looked at Jason and winced.

That could have gone better.

Jason wanted to tell the unwanted guest in his head to shut up, but he had to speak aloud to do so. Instead he just concentrated on flying the ship along the path Kage had sent over to the pilot station for their entry vector. Unsurprisingly, the Phoenix's clean codes were quickly accepted by the automated orbital control system and the ship, now classified as a high-speed courier vessel, was immediately given clearance to deorbit and fly directly to a medium sized spaceport that was outside the city Kage had pinpointed.

"Crusher, Kage…go get ready," he said. "Once I land, I don't want to waste any time finding our target and getting the hell out of here."

"I will prepare your gear, Captain," Lucky said, following Crusher off the bridge. Doc slipped into the copilot's seat and assumed Kage's duties as the Phoenix slid down through the thermosphere and into the denser air below.

"What do you want us doing while you're away?" Doc asked.

"The usual," Jason said. "Be ready for dust-off, give Kage any support he needs, and keep an eye on the ConFed ships flying above us. If you see all the rats beginning to scatter from this smaller spaceport, you can bet they caught word that the blockade was beginning."

"Let's hope this is a quick grab and dash," Twingo said.

"If someone wanted to smuggle a bunch of people out of Eshquarian space, this is the place to do it," Kage said. The trio walked across the tarmac to catch the automated tram that ran on a circuit around the outer landing pads so they could get to the terminal. Along the way, they spotted at least a dozen ships that had all the telltale signs of being configured for smuggling, and they'd actually spotted two outfits they knew firsthand that specialized in trafficking beings across borders.

"You still think Imperial Intelligence hired a bunch of traffickers to shuttle their crews around?" Crusher asked. He hadn't been onboard with the theory since Kage had floated it out there.

"The more I think about it, the more sense it makes," Kage said. "The Eshquarian fleet masters are likely hidden in some deep, dark hole right now, trying to figure out what they're going to do. They could try and organize a counterattack, but they've completely lost the initiative, and just reclaiming the space around the capital world won't reverse what's taken place. Their other option is to disburse and hide, but eventually ConFed Intel will catch up with someone of high enough rank that will spill their guts in interrogation. Right now, I think the only safe play they see is to stash the crew among some backwater colony worlds for the time being just to give themselves some breathing room."

"If we could find this hypothetical meeting of fleet masters, we could feasibly make a case to them for the entire fleet," Jason said.

"No offense, Captain, but that was a stupid idea the first time you said it, and it isn't getting appreciably smarter the more you say it," Kage said. "What? I said no offense."

"He's right, Captain," Crusher said. "I may be just a dumb warrior at heart, but I played the politics game enough in my capacity as Archon to know that the top echelon admirals won't be willing to risk their lives or their ships for your cause. They're politicians at heart, not fighters or even idealists. Right now, they're paralyzed by fear, and when the clock runs out, they'll probably cut a deal with the ConFed to turn over their fleet in exchange for a cushy retirement on Aracoria."

"That's depressing," Jason said.

"Nobody is going to be willing to bleed in a war they don't even know they're in," Crusher said. "Right now, everyone is still reeling from the attack on Eshquaria, but even so, they're now trying to rationalize it in their minds to make it seem like it isn't really as bad as it looks. The longer this goes on, the more comfortable they'll be, and they'll even start to blame the Empire for its own demise. You know I'm right. Until this shit storm comes right over top of their homes, most people won't want to be involved."

"That brings up an interesting point," Jason said. "The Machine is a piece of software, virtually immortal as long as it has a compatible system to reside on. It could be playing a long game, and we'll all be long dead by the time it decides to make its next move."

"I doubt it after how brutal the attack on Eshquaria was. I'd also be careful about tossing that name around in that context when