OMEGA Conscript Read Free Page B

Alliance forces streaming through it if you don't. I would suggest you take what you can and clear all of your people out of there right now. Without the portal they will have a security contingent coming in from the next sector, probably in the next few days. Get out and take your people to Effica, and don't tell anyone where you are going until after you have passed comm range. Have Jallis do the same, as they will be working their way over to him as well.
    "Oh, and go into the museum room where Marcos kept his treasures. Box up the AMP artifacts and bring them to Effica with you. There are some extremely important items in there that we may need."
    Layda sighed. "Aren't you the bringer of good news. I'll call in a few favors from freighter captains I know. We'll probably be moving close to a thousand people out of here. It will take at least half a day to coordinate that. I'll move the credits available that exceed what the tax logs say we have. It will take them some time to trace any of that down and we will have moved it elsewhere by then."
    I looked into the camera. "How many credits are we talking? We will have to buy food and supplies to last for a good while. Feeding a thousand people will be expensive."
    Layda smiled. "At the moment we have about one hundred fifty million in excess. That number is growing by close to a million a day now."
    Garrett remarked, "What? How much?"
    I cut in. "Transfer what you have. And see if you can divert incoming funds from some of those mines to the banks on Dallex. We can divert those funds again when we reach Effica. Call in a few favors from some of the governors you trust and make it worth their while. If we work this right, we might be able to keep a credit stream flowing as we are trying to figure things out. I know you have a lot to do, so get after it. We'll be in touch again as we are able."
    The comm went silent as I switched to a new channel. "Commander Rika, I have new orders for you. I need you to take every armed ship in our fleet and every soldier with a blaster and head to Effica. Do not reveal to anyone where you are going until you are out of comm range with Dallex. When you arrive, you will be under the command of Layda Tullis. You are to keep her and her people secure from capture by the Alliance until you hear differently from me."
    The commander replied, "I will follow your commands, my Emperor."
    I turned to Garrett. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that."
    I switched channels again. "Commissioner Bolis, construct a team of your top scientists and engineers and secure whatever computer and lab equipment you can move in the next two days. Commander Rika will be moving out with a fleet. I want you to have your teams and equipment ready for when he moves out.
    "This is a top priority, and it must be done discreetly. The fewer who know that you are going somewhere the better. If you must, spread around a story of a mission to a newly discovered planet on the edge of the Omega sector. Don't offer any further explanation. It's critical that you move as much as you can. You will be heading to Effica, and we will need to build and maintain an infrastructure that will support, let's say fifty thousand people. You have your orders, Commissioner. Please carry them out with haste."
    Garrett nodded. "Sounds like you are building a colony there."
    I half smiled in response as I opened a new comm channel to the commissioner of agriculture. If we were going to be living on Effica, we would need food for the long term. The commissioner's instructions were along the same lines as those given the commissioner of technology. Several more comm calls were placed before we moved out of comm range of Alpha Prime.
    A run back to the portal gate was our first course of business. We would have to make use of the Jess 's stealth capability to get close enough to the gate to see what we would be up against. Three days later we were parked just inside our maximum visual range.
    Garrett