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Back Stringers Save as PDF
Chapters (64)
  1. FRONT COVER
  2. TITLE PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CHAPTER ONE
  5. CHAPTER TWO
  6. CHAPTER THREE
  7. CHAPTER FOUR
  8. CHAPTER FIVE
  9. CHAPTER SIX
  10. CHAPTER SEVEN
  11. CHAPTER EIGHT
  12. CHAPTER NINE
  13. CHAPTER TEN
  14. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  15. CHAPTER TWELVE
  16. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  21. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  22. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  43. CHAPTER FORTY
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  53. CHAPTER FIFTY
  54. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  55. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  63. CHAPTER SIXTY
  64. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

She tasked Izairis with moving the drive from the Odiat down across the docks and into the electrical space. Patton appeared shortly thereafter, spouting about a “Pickle Gambit” and how the Scythin were in for a rude awakening, but was persuaded to be silent and help Izairis.

Naecia was glad for the suit as it mostly alleviated the need for large cutting tools. Izairis had helped her siphon fuel from Aptat’s suit, and now she had a working magmafier. Which was helpful because the primary conduit was thicker than her leg.

The torch made quick work of severing the massive cable, then it was about unspooling the smaller component wires and splicing them to the Switch Drive itself. In order to do that, she had to rig up entirely new contacts on the drive end. The present ones were far too small to couple with the secondary cables, so she had to fashion sleeves that would go from small to big. Eight connections to build from scratch and almost no time.

Izairis and Patton were able to winch the drive onto a dolly and wheel it down into the energy corridor. The added benefit of the location was that they were largely hidden, so long as the Scythin didn’t start opening doors. Thankfully, those leading into the electrical maintenance area were marked NO UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS.

“How long did it take you to cross, Patton?” she asked while slicing insulation from around an unneeded cable on the other side of the conduit.

“A little less than two hours one direction, but I think the Scythin move faster than the transways. When I saw them coming the opposite direction, it actually overtook one of the transports from behind. So, call it ninety minutes from now?”

“Hundred cyclets give or take,” said Izairis.

“Ping his helmet,” said Naecia.

Izairis used her com to try hailing the helmet sitting atop Pickles on the other side of the city. She shook her head. “It’s gone.”

Patton mimed pouring out a drink onto the ground. “Respect.”

“Yeah,” Naecia said, accepting the shortened timetable like just another piece of bad news they’d grown accustomed to. “Here, take this.” She handed Patton and Izairis each a piece of the thick, flexible cable insulation. “I need six more of these, exactly the same. Tools are there. Can you do that?”