Metal Swarm - Kevin J. Anderson [213]
She didn't have the time for a protracted debate, though. Since her exec was still wrestling with his doubts, she reached a quick decision. 'I don't want anyone on my bridge who's having second thoughts about what I intend to do. Confine yourself to quarters and think about it, Mr Brindle. Run this decision through your moral compass. If things go badly, I personally guarantee that you will not be implicated in anything that happens next.'
Without a word or even a salute, Brindle left the bridge. Willis sat rigid in her command chair and nodded to herself. 'General Lanyan said the Chairman only sent him with a skeleton crew because he wanted to show off his big guns. I need to round up a full-blown boarding party to go mop up on the Jupiter.'
She got up from her chair and paced around the bridge. 'I want to talk to each of my Manta captains. Now. I don't know how many will need extra persuasion, but I'd like to do this smoothly and cleanly. These ten cruisers are carrying enough weapons that we sure don't want them getting mad at us.' She got an idea. 'Oh, and cue up that message we received from King Peter - the one calling for sanctions against the Hansa. Replay it for everyone. After the Usk massacre, we've got a whole new perspective on what he's saying.'
She tapped her fingers on the armrest. Since they had all sworn their allegiance to King Peter in the first place, she assumed she'd be able to sweet-talk most of them. Even Lanyan's hardliners aboard the powerless Jupiter might be 'reasonable', if she had enough time to work on them.
One hundred and thirty-one
Davlin Lotze
Klikiss battles continued to rage into the afternoon, and Davlin doubted their small group could remain successfully hidden until darkness, when the cover of night would help them get away. He broke the problem into its component challenges and solved one piece at a time.
Though shaking and exhausted, all six of them were ready to go. Davlin could see that none of them had any intention of surrendering, even Margaret Colicos. The wound on Robb Brindle's back obviously pained him but did not seem to be life-threatening.
'This place is a maze,' said Nikko. 'And I get lost in the best of times. How are we supposed to find the old buildings, then find a way out and sneak past all those fighting Klikiss?'
'I could project a likely path,' DD said. 'Once we re-enter the original ruins, I can find a more appropriate exit for us.'
Orli put a reassuring arm around the little compy, but didn't say anything.
DD guided them back to the old city. However, by the time they reached the weathered passageways, complete with bare-bones EDF conduits, electrical wiring, and intercom system, Davlin thought he detected a change in the Klikiss hive. Workers scuttled past, pausing only briefly to study the humans before shouldering them aside. Something was changing.
Listening to the clicking sounds, Margaret said, 'We have to get out of here. Soon. The breedex is about to finish destroying the other subhive.'
'Time to haul ass, then,'Robb said.
Davlin reached a decision. 'I know how to stall them -but I estimate there's only about a ten per cent chance this will work.'
'Ten per cent?' Nikko seemed disappointed in him.
'Better than zero per cent,' Tasia pointed out. She scratched her head and found a hard lump of leftover web material, which she discarded. 'What do we do?'
'You have to get outside, somehow. Make your way to the Osquivel and rescue the rest of the people at the bluffs. Tamblyn, Brindle, steal a Klikiss ground craft if you have to - you're smart enough to figure out the controls.' Davlin felt confident in turning over the responsibility to these two. They were certainly qualified to become 'specialists in obscure details', like himself.
'Sounds like you don't plan on meeting up with us again,' Robb said.
Margaret paused. 'I have no intention