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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

I like to think weve achieved some kind of mutual understanding, he replied, pausing by the exit. I like to think force is no longer necessary. And the reason I want you both there is that we have an idea about how to avoid the Kelvins fate.

<Hes up to something,> sent Bash. <I can feel it.>

<Even if he is,> sent Megan, a sour taste in her mouth, <theres not a great deal we can do about it.>

<How long before that lifeboat is ready?>

She smiled to herself. His earlier scepticism seemed to have faded entirely. <At least another couple of days,> she replied. <If we divert any more resources than we already have to the modifications, theyre going to start noticing.>

Megan? said Tarrant. Dont delay.

<Why not just tell me now?> she asked. <Why do I need to go anywhere just to be told something?>

Its not a request, said Tarrant, his voice edged with anger. Lets at least be civil. Half an hour, Megan, no later.

Knowing they had a plan in place made it easier for her to be civil. <Fine,> she replied. <Well see you then.>

SEVENTEEN

Megan

2763 (the present)

Three days after she and Bash had been forcibly taken aboard the system transport Liberia, now decelerating on its final approach to Redstone, Megan prepared to make her escape.

Throughout the journey, Luiz and Sifra had returned only rarely to the dropship in which she and Bash were held prisoner, and then only to let them eat and visit the head. It was fine by Megan, since it gave her endless opportunities to work out how to subvert and tap into the core programming of the two bead-zombies more thoroughly.

The control systems for both zombies had proved to be a rats nest of encrypted routines and command protocols, any one of which might alert Sifra or Luiz to the fact that they were being interfered with if she wasnt extremely careful. But, two days into the journey, she had finally managed to get one of them to unstrap itself and climb out of its acceleration couch. She remained, as ever, cuffed at the wrists and strapped into her own separate couch.

The sight of the creature under her direct control had made her weep with joy, but she knew the right time to make her escape was once they got into orbit above Redstone.

That meant, unfortunately, she was going to have to stay where she was for just a little while longer. So it was with considerable feelings of regret that she had the same zombie climb back into its acceleration couch and strap itself down.

Just another couple of hours, Megan, she told herself. Then were the hell out of here.

Luiz picked the worst possible time to enter the dropships cockpit.

What the hell . . . ? he said, staring at Megan. She was out of her couch, and already working at getting Bash free.