The AI War Read Free Page B

of my life."
    The corsair shrugged. "No doubt." A palm-sized blaster appeared in his hand. "But your life is over."
    "Waa . . .
    The thin rel bolt flashed into the drugger's open mouth and out the back of his head.
    "Stupid," said KTran as the body tumbled onto the polished hardwood floor. It twitched briefly, then lay still.
    A shuttle appeared, silver hull filling the broad sweep of glass on the spaceport side of the restaurant. Pocketing his communicator, KTran walked past the corpse and tables to the window. Standing opposite the shuttle's open side port, he adjusted his weapon and fired.
    A wide hole blossomed in the glass. Taking a helping hand from the shuttle, KTran leaped aboard, the updraft tousling his hair. The lock closed behind him.
    "Status?" he asked.
    "Last shuttle's loading now, Captain," said the big red-bearded corsair. The two men stood alone in the cargo bay. They grabbed for the crashbars as the shuttle rose and banked.
    "And those cruisers?"
    "We'll be gone before they're in range."
    A moment later and they were on the ship's cavernous hangar deck. KTran jumped out as the lock cycled open, and ran past crew hastily unloading white duraplast shipping containers.
    Reaching the bridge, he stepped to the main screen and its view of STakport. The last shuttle was coming in, the combat cars following.
    "Enemy disposition, A'Tir?" he asked his first officer.
    "Coming in like the Wrath of S'Halak," said the slight brunette, watching her telltales. "Their shields are up, all transmissions are highspeed and battlecoded. Computer identifies as two PTan-class heavy cruisers and a R'Sal-class command dreadnought."
    KTran looked over her shoulder at the tactical readouts. "R'Sal class." He nodded, impressed. "That one alone could wipe us."
    "All shuttles are berthed, all combat cars secured," reported K'Lal, the third officer.
    "Atmospheric fighters approaching," said A'Tir, pointing at the telltale to her left. A phalanx of lavender crosses were moving across her left telltale. K'Tran read the intercept projection, then took the captain's chair.
    "Upshield, upship," he ordered. "Stand by all batteries, A'Tir, but don't jettison camouflage."
    "Lifting ship," said A'Tir, engaging n-gravs.
    The cruiser rose silently, S'Takport shrinking on the screen. "Coming within range of port defenses," said K'Lal. "They're waiting for us with all shields up."
    "Detonate series one blastpaks," ordered K'Tran.
    A circle of small, mushroom-shaped clouds sprouted around the port as preplanted charges atomized fifteen missile and fusion batteries.
    "Give me forward tacscan, A'Tir," said K'Tran.
    She entered a command, fingers flying over her keyboard. The green hills of S'Tak vanished from the main screen, replaced by a tri-dee tacscan of surrounding space. A profusion of green blips were moving out from the luminous white orb representing S'Tak. Farther out, beyond the third of the system's five planets, three red blips were coming in—headed for S'Tak much faster than the green blips were leaving it.
    Computer had flagged Victory Day yellow. It lay closest to the planet, moving toward the green blips.
    "We spooked lots of traffic," said A'Tir. "Looks like every ship insystem's heading for jump point, trying to get clear of any fighting."
    K'Tran nodded. "Let's join up. Plot for jump point, but keep our speed that of a respectable old agro freighter." He turned to K'Lal. "What's the civilian commtalk?"
    "Confusion. Questions directed at those Fleet units. Wild rumors." The young corsair smiled. "According to the latest, S'Tak was just taken by a S'Cotar nest."
    K'Tran shook his head. "How did those idiots win the war?"
    "Add our voice to the confusion, K'Lal."
    "Task force commander is calling Planetary Defense Command," said A'Tir, head slightly cocked as she listened to the thin, distant voices in her earjack. "Current sector PDC code, which we have."
    "Asking for an update and our description?"
    "Yes. Time for series two?"
    He