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Chapters (50)
  1. Cover
  2. MARAUDER
  3. HISTORICAL ARCHIVES SUBSECTION C/5 category ALPHA
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. EPILOGUE
  46. TIME LINE
  47. SHOAL TRILOGY
  48. EVENTS FOLLOWING EMPIRE OF LIGHT AND PRECEDING MARAUDER
  49. Acknowledgements
  50. Also by Gary Gibson

Amazing to think some mere child could be so important. Cuyss eyes flicked back to Tarrant. Or that the contents of her mind could be so enormously valuable.

Gabrielle sensed a new tension in the air, which made the muscles of her belly tighten in fear. Cuys was making a point of not looking at her. Hes thinking of taking me away from Tarrant, she thought.

Perhaps I should remind you, Tarrant stepped closer to Cuys, his voice low and dangerous, that Otto Schelling will be here shortly. If anything were to go wrong, or if there were to be any . . . disagreements, then I feel sure he would be more than happy to provide the Accord as well as the surviving Uchidan states with the precise coordinates of your primary bases of operations.

The two men glared at each other above fixed smiles. Then light flared from behind them, and Gabrielle turned to see the dropship from which they had just disembarked lifting up and accelerating into the sky.

The tension broke, and Cuys laughed. Thats what I like about you, he said, grinning. Youre a snake, Gregor Tarrant, and too damn smart for your own good.

Tarrant took hold of Gabrielles arm, guiding her up a ramp and into the rear of the truck, where she took a seat on one of the two facing benches. A couple of the Freeholders meanwhile climbed into the front cabin, where Tarrant joined them, chatting with them briefly as the truck ground into motion.

He was going to take me from you, wasnt he? said Gaby, her voice full of scorn after Tarrant had stepped back through, to take a seat opposite her.

You heard what I said. He knows it would be over for them. He was just testing to see how far he could push me.

You dont feel even an ounce of regret for everything youve done, do you?

Its a fact of life that innocent people get hurt on the path towards a greater good, Gabrielle. I really wish it was otherwise.

He actually believes that, she realized. And there was nothing she could do or say that would change his mind or cause him to see things any differently.

She stared out of the window of the truck, thinking of the life growing inside her belly, and wondered if she would live long enough to ever see its face.

TWENTY-TWO

Megan

Megan boosted Sarbakshians jump-car high into Redstones stratosphere, the force of acceleration crushing her back into her seat. The pressure relented as the landscape became more curved, until finally the car reached low orbit and she became weightless.