Read Legion Of The Damned - 06 - For Those Who Fell for Free Online

been sprayed on, and there were four rows of ribbons over his left shirt pocket. Dark brown eyes stared out from under craggy brows. There was no preamble—just astraight-on attack. “Having hijacked thousands of ships, many of us expected the bugs to go on a rampage, attacking anything having strategic value. That hasn’t been the case. Rather than lash out, the Ramanthians have assumed what amounts to a defensive posture, and we think we understand why.
    â€œBased on what we know about the Sheen ships, which is a great deal since we still have the balance of the fleet, every single one of them is robotic. An approach that has certain advantages, but lacks flexibility, and runs counter to Ramanthian culture. That means the bugs have to retrofit all three thousand vessels before they can put them to use. No small task, and something that will be especially difficult without assistance from the Thrakies, who invented the technologies involved. That buys time, valuable time, which we can use to move against the Ramanthians. I guess that’s all, sir.More when we have it. My full report can be found on your comps under ‘Military Summary’ with today’s date.”
    Nankool thanked the officer and declared a bio break. Twenty minutes later, when the meeting reconvened, Chien-Chu noticed that Xanith, often referred to as Madam X, had disappeared. He wondered why.
    Once the strategy discussion got under way, a number of things became apparent, the first of which was that in spite of the fact that all of the armed forces reported to Booly, the navy was firmly in the lead. That was sensible because if the swabbies could find a way to defeat the Ramanthian fleets, there wouldn’t be a need for ground combat.
    What made less sense, to Chien-Chu’s mind at least, was the fact that Admiral Yato wanted to precipitate a series of large-scale space battles in hopes of cutting the enemy down to size before the Sheen ships could be brought on-line. The strategy wouldn’t work if the Ramanthians were smart enough to avoid it, which the industrialist believed they were.
    The discussion, which had come to center on how theConfederacy might draw the Ramanthians out into the open, had been under way for more than an hour when Nankool decided to intervene. “I’ve been watching my old friend Sergi Chien-Chu for some time now, and he’s starting to fidget. That usually means that he has something to say.”
    Most of the group chuckled, but the diminutive Admiral Yato didn’t, and the industrialist knew why. The regular officer considered Chien-Chu’s naval rank to be more honorary than real—and was nervous lest the ex-politician suck energy away from the strategy that he favored. Knowing that, Chien-Chu sought to disarm the naval chief while still getting his concerns across. “Thank you, Mr. President. As everyone here knows I’m a much better businessman than I am an admiral—which means that I tend to look at things from a slightly different perspective. And, while I see the necessity to draw the enemy out prior to the point when they can bring the Sheen vessels into play, I wonder if there isn’t something we should work on first.”
    The combination of self-effacing humor and the nod toward Yato’s point of view acted to mollify the admiral if not satisfy him. The senior officer forced a smile.
    â€œWhile the Ramanthians certainly qualify as an aggressive, expansionist race,” Chien-Chu continued, “those qualities are not responsible for this war.
    â€œThe bugs went to war because they were about to experience a population explosion so large that it threatens the well-being of the rest of their race, they knew we would perceive the situation as a threat, and sought to preempt an attack by us.”
    The industrialist paused to eye the faces around him. “I know you’re aware of all that—but I would like you to consider the