Broken Vision Read Free Page A

perusal of the
official report. His gaze passed over Alerik with barely a flicker, where he stood unnoticed behind
the two pilots. "And so the mighty are felled. One service class vessel, gentlemen? Of
indeterminate age? And he kicked your asses."
    "Magna cloud, engines powerful enough to perform fighter class maneuvers--the vessel
must have been reinforced to withstand the pressure, yet left to look like a mere transporter. Why is
that, I wonder? Stand down, boys." Alerik waved his hand as Corenna and Drakal leapt to attention.
He strolled across the room and dropped his hand-held vid screen on the wide table in front of
Sharm. "There are credits here, gentlemen, a lot of them. Magna is expensive and hard to obtain,
not to mention being a controlled substance. And we have an unrecorded flight plan through the
Grogon cluster."
    Commander Foster nodded. "Unfortunately, sir, we have a lot of those. The previous
governor didn't enforce Coalition regs."
    Alerik placed his hands on the table and leaned forward to fix his gaze on the two fighter
pilots. They were two of the youngest members of his team, but the best at what they did--arrogant,
fearless, supremely confident. Now they squirmed in their seats and shot each other uncertain
looks.
    "She out-maneuvered you, boys. Hard to believe. Hard to believe that anyone can
     out-maneuver a pilot trained by the Seventh Fleet."
    More looks, this time of comical horror. "She, sir?"
    Alerik shrugged. "It's possible, isn't it?" He didn't know why he'd attached a female gender
to the unknown pilot.
    "Of course, sir," Corenna hastened to agree but, as Alerik turned away, he saw the
skeptical grimace and head shake Corenna directed at Drakal.
    "That's all for now, gentlemen," he said. "You'll receive new assignments later today."
    "Your thoughts?" Sharm demanded as soon as the door closed behind the pilots.
    Alerik stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked on the balls of his feet. "That the Grogon
Asteroid Belt shields a host of unlawful activities behind a façade of ordinary commerce.
There's a bigger web of conspiracy, graft and intrigue here than we first were led to believe, and
this recent incident only reinforces my opinion. That vessel landed on one of the Pallas
asteroids."
    Sharm barked out a laugh. "But according to Governor Meelor, nothing ever happens
here."
    "Governor Meelor was a puppet of the large corporations. The welcome gifts I received
from each corporate chief were only a fraction of what they're prepared to offer. Most made
implications that came dangerously close to bribery."
    "With the exception of Janas Corporation."
    "With the exception of Janas Corporation," Alerik agreed. He gave a humorless grin.
"Janas begrudged even the nans they were forced to give me. Gifts and bribery were the last things
on Maegan Shale's mind."
    Sharm shook his dark head and rose to his feet. He was tall and elegantly slender, without
Alerik's muscled bulk. His facial features were perfectly sculpted, almost feminine in their beauty.
But his looks were deceiving. Without hesitation, Alerik would choose Sharm to guard his back
over anyone else in hand-to-hand combat. "Would have liked to have been there with you on that
one for the entertainment factor alone. Maegan was such a fireball at the academy, constantly
pushing at boundaries and challenging convention. Half the men in her class were in love with her.
The other half was jealous of her. And the women always seemed exasperated with her."
    "And her piloting skills?"
    Headed for the refreshment bar, Sharm jerked to a halt. "Balls of Sortor," he swore. He
pivoted to face Alerik and smoothed his already perfect hair. "She was exceptional. Near the top of
her class. I had her for one rotation. She quite possibly would have been top of her class if she
hadn't constantly resisted following orders."
    "She dropped out," Alerik said.
    On the heels of his quiet comment, realization dawned on Sharm's face. "She did, didn't
she? I remember now.