Read Online Visions of Peace by Matthew Sprange - Free Book Online

slowly open, Shaw noticed the Centauri staring quite openly at the Intrepide . As Turquon turned to follow the party into the outpost, he caught Shaw’s eye and smiled.
    ‘That is a nice ship. I have never seen one up close. I don’t suppose a reciprocal tour would be possible?’
    Shaw was a little startled by the Centauri’s directness and cast a look at Badeau, but she was already inside the outpost. ‘I, ah, don’t think that will be possible, Principal.’
    Turquon shrugged. ‘Such is my luck. Sent light years away to sign away an entire system, and I don’t even get a close look at one of the most beautiful ships flying.’ He smiled once more. ‘Don’t worry, Mr. Shaw. We Centauri are not here to take advantage of anyone, despite our decision to leave the ISA. I am not going to cause you any trouble.’
    After the Shadows’ assault on Quadrant 37, nothing had been left of the original Narn outpost but rubble. Having little to gain by picking over twisted metal and broken Narn bodies, the Centauri simply built their own outpost when they recovered the system. With a full war raging at the time, few resources were diverted into making the place little more than a relay station for communications between the invading fleet and Centauri Prime. A nod had been paid to the Centauri’s love of creature comforts but, at its heart, the outpost was little more than several spartan living quarters, a maintenance bay and a power station bolted to an operations centre. Even hydroponics were lacking here, and it soon became obvious to the Rangers that all consumables had been regularly shipped to Quadrant 37 from more prosperous worlds. For a system that held little importance beyond the strategic level, and with the Republic apparently reluctant to start a war any time soon, the Centaurum must have seen this as an expensive luxury. Perhaps here was a clue as to why the Republic had been so quick to relinquish control of Quadrant 37.
    The Rangers’ orders were to ensure the peaceful transfer of the system from Centauri to Narn hands, but this mission carried the implicit instruction to prevent any disturbance in the future too. This secondary goal merely called for a studious attention to detail while they were in the system, until the treaty of transfer was signed. The first would be a little more problematic, Shaw guessed, if the Primus and G’Quan high in orbit were to open fire upon one another. The White Star was the most powerful ship of its size in the galaxy, but a single vessel could do little if the two frontline warships engaged each other.
    Fortunately, that seemed unlikely. Badeau was pleasantly surprised that the Narn and Centauri delegates refrained from snide and pointed comments aimed at the other, though there was clearly no love lost between them. While she performed an extensive sweep of the outpost for potential booby traps, Badeau ordered Shaw to check personnel manifests to verify that all Centauri present were actually leaving. Suicide troops were more the style of the Narn back when the Centauri occupied their world, but nothing could be left to chance between these two governments. Anything could be used as an excuse for war later.
    Shaw’s duty was no more glamorous than Badeau’s, and he thought more than once that all those months training with the Denn’Bok might have been wasted if this is what Rangers in the field spent most of their time doing. Still, it was his first mission, and he had no intention of disappointing the Captain. No matter what duties she placed before him, no matter how dangerous, odious or just plain boring, he resolved to approach them all with the same zeal that had seen him through training. The personnel check first took him to the operations centre, where he downloaded the outpost’s records onto a datapad. Cross-referencing the records with those given to the Rangers by the Anla’Shok analysts on Tuzanor raised no alarms, though he was aware that the ISA’s