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

moment of silence, followed by an explosion of conversation, as everyone attempted to speak at once. Booly stood up. “Quiet! Let’s handle this one person at a time. Mr. President?”
    Nankool was nonplussed. “What are you saying,Margaret? That after decades of trying to come up with a means of faster-than-ship communications the bugs beat us to it? And they cobbled together some sort of super-radio that allows them to communicate from one end of the galaxy to the other?”
    â€œThat’s exactly what I’m saying,” the intelligence chief responded. “Remember that the equipment on Savas is experimental in nature and that the Ramanthian military hasn’t had a chance to assimilate the new technology yet. It won’t take them long to do so, however, and, once the bugs distribute workable units to their fleets, they’ll be able to fight a lot more effectively. So effectively that they will win the war.”
    There was another explosion of conversation, but Admiral Yato had a voice all out of proportion to his relatively small body and managed to cut through the chatter. “No offense, Margaret, but how reliable is your information?”
    â€œ Very reliable,” Xanith replied. “I can’t go into detail for security reasons, but suffice it to say that a Ramanthian air car crashed in the desert, two of their scientists were killed, and one of my operatives had the good fortune to reach the wreckage before the bugs did. Among the items recoveredfrom the crash site was a comp loaded with technical data. Not design information, but detailed notes and initial test results.”
    â€œBut what if that material is fake?” one of the staffers wanted to know. “We could waste a whole lot of energy chasing a technology that doesn’t exist.”
    â€œBut what if they’re real? ” Leeger countered. “A device like that would change everything. If they have it, and we don’t, the war is over.”
    Nankool looked at Xanith. “Margaret? What do you think?”
    The intelligence chief took a deep breath. “I trust the operative on Savas, and, while I can’t guarantee that the information isn’t part of some elaborate scam, that seems highlyunlikely. The scenario put forward asks us to believe that the Ramanthians knew exactly where my operative was, were willing to kill two valuable scientists to make the crash look real, all in an attempt to burn some of our bandwidth. I don’t buy it.”
    â€œSo,” Nankool said, “what would you recommend?”
    â€œAssemble a naval strike force, take control of Savas, and seize the research facility intact,” Xanith said levelly. “It’s too late to put a lid on the technology—but we need to have it.”
    Nankool nodded and turned to Yato. “How come I know you won’t agree?”
    The naval officer made a face. “We’re stretched tight, sir. Lord knows my people would love to get their hands on some sort of hypercom, but we don’t have any reserves. A battle group of that size is out of the question.”
    â€œAll right,” Nankool replied patiently, “what can you do?”
    One of Yato’s aides whispered something in the admiral’s ear, and the naval chief nodded. “We could scrape up a couple of troop transports, give them a destroyer escort to keep them company, drop the group in-system. That’s about it unless you want us to detach a strike force from one of the fleets.
    Nankool winced. He knew that all of the fleets were understrength and overcommitted. The president swiveled toward Booly. “How ’bout it, General? Could you spare some troops?”
    Booly nodded soberly. “Sir, yes sir. A battalion should do it. Assuming the navy can put our people on the ground near the objective, they’ll take Hagala Nor, and the hypercom. They’re going to need a ride home though—a battalion