has a soft spot for him. If she can get to O'Nay before those mugs in the SG do, perhaps the Emperor will dispense all charges against him and allow Hunter to stay a free man within the Home Planets system."
"It would make a fitting compromise," Erx agreed. "He could be happy there. I think ..."
Another explosion went off.
Still nothing...
4
The six ships that made the voyage on from the Home Planets had been divided among the army raised by the UPF. The ships had been named accordingly: Europa, Africanus, Pacifica, South Atlantis , and lndia-Nepuso .
The sixth vessel was called America . It was the flagship of the small fleet.
These vessels were solid, reliable and, in a strange way, beautiful. Compared to the current wedge designs, these were a bit more styled. Where the modern ships seemed intent on meeting every angle with another right angle, these ships tended to round off every curve and blend it into the body. The exteriors were a combination of brightly polished chrome and deep blue superaluminum. Many current warships featured dull gray finishes, sinister in appearance. Finally, the bubble-top control stations—they being the massive cockpits located just aft of the needle nose—were made of superglass, of course. But on these ships they were about twice the size of contemporary ion-powered cruisers, and the bubbles were flared back, not concentric, as with modern models. All this gave the ex-BMK ships a classic design.
The only negative in all this was that the original BMK garrison on Moon 39 had been equipped with twice the number of these ships when it was sent out to the Home Planets system so long ago.
The other six had been shot down during the war on Planet America and completely destroyed.
Steve Gordon's office was located on the sixth deck of the America .
It was a small compartment; extra room was a premium on the corvettes. The office barely held a desk, a few chairs, a couch, and a small lamp in the corner. A few pictures adorned the otherwise plain white walls. The rug was standard gray. The office was actually a half-sized re-creation of Gordon's suite inside Weather Mountain back on Planet America, right down to the three letters painted on his door: CIA .
Gordon had been one of the top men in that highly secretive intelligence-gathering organization back on Planet America. He'd been a key player in the stunning victory over the BMK forces of Moon 39. Now he was part of the United Planets' invasion force. His job would be to analyze any intelligence the UPF gained from its occupation of Xronis Trey. So far, that had been very little.
The CIA agent had spent most of the voyage out from the Home Planets in this tiny office, debriefing anyone who would talk to him in order to get a familiarity with life in the Galaxy beyond. To say his own life had changed dramatically over the past six months was like saying a star was hot. He was fifty-eight years old when he left Planet America. Balding, with a slight paunch, 40/70 vision, and a habit of getting heartburn with just about everything he ate. He'd lived his half century-plus within the time bubble that was eventually revealed to encapsulate the entire Home Planets system. As with all the soldiers in the newly formed UPF, there had been some concern as to what would happen to Gordon physically once the six ships of the invasion force broke out of the time-slowing bubble. Would he suddenly age a thousand years or more? Would he crumble away into a pile of dust and bones? Would anything happen at all?
Something did happen, and it was somewhat unexpected. Gordon actually grew younger. Within fifteen minutes of breaking through the invisible bubble—all that was heard was a loud pop that had somehow made its way into the America's , intercom system—Gordon's hair began growing back. His stomach began shrinking, and he was able to discard his eyeglasses. By the time the transformation was complete, his body was rock solid with
"It would make a fitting compromise," Erx agreed. "He could be happy there. I think ..."
Another explosion went off.
Still nothing...
4
The six ships that made the voyage on from the Home Planets had been divided among the army raised by the UPF. The ships had been named accordingly: Europa, Africanus, Pacifica, South Atlantis , and lndia-Nepuso .
The sixth vessel was called America . It was the flagship of the small fleet.
These vessels were solid, reliable and, in a strange way, beautiful. Compared to the current wedge designs, these were a bit more styled. Where the modern ships seemed intent on meeting every angle with another right angle, these ships tended to round off every curve and blend it into the body. The exteriors were a combination of brightly polished chrome and deep blue superaluminum. Many current warships featured dull gray finishes, sinister in appearance. Finally, the bubble-top control stations—they being the massive cockpits located just aft of the needle nose—were made of superglass, of course. But on these ships they were about twice the size of contemporary ion-powered cruisers, and the bubbles were flared back, not concentric, as with modern models. All this gave the ex-BMK ships a classic design.
The only negative in all this was that the original BMK garrison on Moon 39 had been equipped with twice the number of these ships when it was sent out to the Home Planets system so long ago.
The other six had been shot down during the war on Planet America and completely destroyed.
Steve Gordon's office was located on the sixth deck of the America .
It was a small compartment; extra room was a premium on the corvettes. The office barely held a desk, a few chairs, a couch, and a small lamp in the corner. A few pictures adorned the otherwise plain white walls. The rug was standard gray. The office was actually a half-sized re-creation of Gordon's suite inside Weather Mountain back on Planet America, right down to the three letters painted on his door: CIA .
Gordon had been one of the top men in that highly secretive intelligence-gathering organization back on Planet America. He'd been a key player in the stunning victory over the BMK forces of Moon 39. Now he was part of the United Planets' invasion force. His job would be to analyze any intelligence the UPF gained from its occupation of Xronis Trey. So far, that had been very little.
The CIA agent had spent most of the voyage out from the Home Planets in this tiny office, debriefing anyone who would talk to him in order to get a familiarity with life in the Galaxy beyond. To say his own life had changed dramatically over the past six months was like saying a star was hot. He was fifty-eight years old when he left Planet America. Balding, with a slight paunch, 40/70 vision, and a habit of getting heartburn with just about everything he ate. He'd lived his half century-plus within the time bubble that was eventually revealed to encapsulate the entire Home Planets system. As with all the soldiers in the newly formed UPF, there had been some concern as to what would happen to Gordon physically once the six ships of the invasion force broke out of the time-slowing bubble. Would he suddenly age a thousand years or more? Would he crumble away into a pile of dust and bones? Would anything happen at all?
Something did happen, and it was somewhat unexpected. Gordon actually grew younger. Within fifteen minutes of breaking through the invisible bubble—all that was heard was a loud pop that had somehow made its way into the America's , intercom system—Gordon's hair began growing back. His stomach began shrinking, and he was able to discard his eyeglasses. By the time the transformation was complete, his body was rock solid with
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