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Back Marauder Save as PDF
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

We want you to incorporate that string in a microburst transmission and send it back to the Wanderer. If we get some kind of an acknowledgement, well know whether were on the right track or not.

<Thats going to drain even more power from the Beauregards reserves and delay our arrival. Youve already used up a lot of our energy stores with all those tach-net transmissions to Kjregrnnested.>

<We can live with a short delay.>

It took her a while to compile a return transmission incorporating Sifras handshake string. The message was large and complex enough to drain the batteries by nearly ten per cent when she sent it off in a single tach-net burst.

As soon as this was done, Megan severed her link to the ships primary systems. The petals slid back into the base of the chair as she stood up for the first time in some hours, rolling her shoulders and stretching her neck to try and unkink it. Sifra, thankfully, had long since left.

Bash walked on to the command deck just as she was stepping down from the chair. He was closely followed by Tarrant, wearing his pistol holstered by his side.

<I think its long past time you took a break,> sent Bash, glancing towards her. He looked a lot thinner than he had done just a couple of days ago, and there were dark circles under his eyes. <How about letting me take a turn?>

<Are you sure its not too soon? I can still>

<Goddammit, woman, Im not crippled. Youve been sitting in that chair for near as damn three straight days now. Go get some sleep.>

She nodded, and stood aside as Bash pulled himself into the chair without even meeting her eyes. The petals slid back up and around him.

<Hey,> Megan sent. <Are you going to be okay?>

<I told you to go and get some rest.>

<If you want to talk about>

<Sometimes, Megan, much as I love you, I reckon you talk too damn much. Did you know that?>

Megan stared at the closed petals for a moment, then found her way out of the command deck.

SIXTEEN

Megan

Megan slept for twelve straight hours before she awoke with a chill on her skin. She had dreamed of floating in darkness, listening to a voice that was like nothing she had ever heard before. It had been indistinct, as if she was hearing some muffled conversation through a wall.

Then the memory of the past few days came crashing back down on her. She lay there with her eyes still closed, wondering where she could find the will to survive the coming days, and where to . . .

An idea came to her.