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The least of which was there had never been any reason to test the automatic seals on the Rock s
sectional doors. The colony atmosphere, thank God, had never before been breached.
 You don t think it s a good idea? Tomas queried her when Sanders was out of earshot.
 To break open the colony to space&  Yumi shivered.  It seems like& suicide.
 If they get that close to us, then we might as well do it, Tomas advised, his tone unusually somber.
 If we don t breach the colony they eventually will. We might as well have the advantage of surprise and
take a bunch of them out at the same time.
With a momentary pang of terror Yumi understood he was right. It was the same kind of thinking that
wiped out a whole flotilla of Separatist ships at Colomber and helped turn the flow of the war. The
Separatists would, eventually, try anything to kill everyone on the Rock, so why not kill them first.
Yumi s stomach soured. War was ugly.
I m home, Daddy.
Raol read the short message and for the first time was able to relax. Whatever happened now Lilithia
was in the safest place possible. And with the alien ship on its way off-planet there was little more for him
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S.J. Willing
to do here. He d soon head back to the ship since he could monitor and conduct the war from there as easily
as he could from this claustrophobic control room. The rest of the control room staff he d sent back ten
minutes ago. All he waited for now was confirmation that Marcella was safe. Confirmation she d be
unlikely to give him.
I m coming back now, he returned quickly. Did Mim leave? He hadn t seen Marcella leave the ship,
but then she d deactivated the suit s tracking device. She could have left by any number of exits, including
the service doors, so he d lose her again.
Sadie s Hell, it was so frustrating.
She can t make up her mind. Lilithia s words held a universe of heartache and hope. If she goes I hope
we see her soon.
We will, munchkin, even if we have to cross the universe for her. Raol reassured the child, his own
heart skipping a few beats at the news. Keep the door locked and I ll be there in a few hours. And steer
clear of the frizzy lemonade and brownberry cream okay?
Okay, Daddy. Raol laughed, he could almost hear Lilithia s resignation at the high glucose ban. Bye,
love you.
Just as he was about to switch down the control center and instigate the room s self-destruct
programs Tarug s parting orders alarms went off on most of the nearby terminals.
Quickly he tapped his workpad. Milliseconds later the source for the alarm flashed onto his screen.
Raol sat back in the chair, unsure whether to be impressed, worried or relieved. The Bolgër had
managed to send a transmission through the transshield. Patching a link to the control room on the Ultimate
and the relief crew there he activated his comset.
 Hawks, did you get that?
 Copied and traced, sir, Hawks responded immediately.  I ve redirected squads Seven-Three-Two
and Fiver-Nine to the broadcast location.
 Good job. Raol was proud of his mens efficiency.  Get the transmission to the Tech boys and see if
we can find out what the locals have told the universe. I m on my way back now. ETA twenty minutes.
 Yes, sir.
One last look around the control room, then Raol hit the self-destruct sequence and left, making sure
the doors were command locked on the way out. There were certain people he didn t want getting into the
room and getting injured by the explosions.
One day, he swore to himself, this stupid war would be over.
But then, the real war would begin.
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Dante I
Taylah watched with an inner amusement as Yumi began to grow into her leadership. Before this
foray into Separatist territory she d been like a small child play acting the soldier bit. Now after several
conflicts he could see a hardened maturity, and solid efficiency, that could only come from combat
experience. Something you could only learn from knowing firsthand the gains, losses and the sheer
bloodiness of war.
Her growth now outpaced Willard at every step the eager, but barely tested, captain tried to make.
Similar to the way she dealt with Sanders and the remote detonator, she was winning the battle of wills
now, outmaneuvering the bewildered captain s logical arguments with straight forward bullheadedness.
Seeing this new Yumi wasn t just an interesting experience; it turned him on like crazy. He just hoped
no one noticed the effect she was having on him.
 And I tell you again, Captain, Yumi spoke calmly with the tone of one who wasn t going to be
denied.  If, as you say, we need to leave two people up here until all the civilians are safely lowered to
Sixteen and taken to secure quarters, then Tomas and I are the most logical choices. His battle experience
alone is far more than all of the Bolgër combined. And if anyone is going to give the authority to blow open
half the colony to space dust, then I, being Prefect-in-situ, am the highest ranking present and therefore
most suited to make the decision.
 But, ma am  Willard began.
 Tomas and I will remain here to ensure the Seps haven t tracked us. Yumi stared at him for a
moment, fixing her gaze on his erection. Her eyes burned with a fire as bright as Dante. Damn, he must be
showing his arousal far more than he wanted. Unfortunately that knowledge simply made the offending
appendage bigger and harder. Yumi was his fate, and far more certain than death at this point in time.
 Don t you think that makes much more sense, Tomas?
 Yes, Taylah choked, and then cleared his throat.  If anything should go wrong I believe I d be
much more effective at avoiding, delaying and hindering the Seps than any of your people. Not to mention
this would give him and Yumi a glorious thirty minutes or so of privacy. Going by Yumi s body language
they d need every minute of it.
 But, but Commander Mossiron 
  will deal. Yumi stalled the comment kindly but firmly.  Now, go finish what you started, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]