Read Earth Awakens (The First Formic War) for Free Online Page B

point out flaws, suggest refinements, help them avoid the same mistakes we made.”
    “Because when you say ‘flaws,’ or ‘refinements,’ all my father hears is ‘delays delays delays.’ You’re not consulting because you’d muck up his production schedule. You’d slow everything down.”
    “Yes, but going to market too soon, hurrying a glaser into production before it’s ready, that’s far more dangerous. This doesn’t make sense, Lem. This isn’t like your father. He’s never reckless.”
    “My father is eager to end a war, Benyawe. The glasers are his answer, whether they’re ready or not.”
    “They can’t possibly be ready. A year isn’t enough time. How could they have made the necessary modifications that fast without encountering glitches?”
    “That’s what you and I must prove.”
    “Fine. Take me to them. Dublin can come as well. We’ll inspect them. If there’s anything amiss, we’ll detect it.”
    Lem shook his head. “Close, but no. I’m going to inspect the glaser, and you’re going to stay here, watch a live feed from my camera, and tell me what I’m looking at. The glasers are being assembled in a manufacturing plant that isn’t on the company map. High-level clearance. You don’t have access. They’d frog-march you out of there before you got within a hundred meters of the place.”
    “You don’t have clearance either.”
    “I’m the son of the CEO. Everyone knows my face. They’ll assume I have clearance. And even if they are suspicious, even if they want to approach me and question my presence, they’ll be too afraid of offending Father to say a word. I’ll be fine.”
    “How will you get in the doors?”
    Lem pulled a small proximity chip from his pocket. “With this.” He slipped it into his wrist pad. “It will open every door in the company.”
    “I’m not going to ask where you got that or how much it cost.”
    “I bought it from one of Father’s former security officers.”
    “Former?”
    “He suddenly came into some money and decided to retire.” Lem rebooted his wrist pad so it would recognize the chip. “Watch the feed and walk me through the inspection. I’m going there now.” He turned and moved toward the exit.
    “You should have told me about the drones sooner, Lem.”
    He didn’t answer. He pushed open the door, deactivated his greaves, and leaped to his skimmer.
    He flew out of the dome and headed east, putting the city behind him. Father built the company’s tunnels outside of Imbrium in a wide intricate web far from the prying eyes of regulators. The plant where the drones were being prepped was down in the easternmost tunnels, where security was especially tight. Lem had visited it once before when he weaseled his way onto a tour the plant manager was giving Father. What Lem saw had impressed him: dozens of drones being armed with glasers, hundreds of assembly bots welding and cutting and drilling, an army of workers frantically trying to make Father’s deadline. It was a clear testament to how determined Father was in his cause.
    Lem’s guidance system spotted the landing pad, and he brought the skimmer down dead center. The pad sank below the surface and into the docking bay, where the docking bots grabbed the skimmer and slid it into a holding container. A tube encircled the cockpit and allowed Lem to exit.
    His earpiece was synched with his wrist pad, and he listened as it gave him directions from the bay to the foot tunnels. Dozens of employees were in the tunnels, going about their business. Lem walked down the center of the main passageway, head high, being as conspicuous as possible, moving with confidence, as if he had every right to be there.
    Ahead of him was the first automated security gate. Foot traffic moved through it uninterrupted, the scanners silently identifying every proximity chip that passed. Lem wondered what would happen if his chip proved to be a dud. Alarms? Sirens? Armed men suddenly at his side?
    He