The Pathfinder Project Read Free Page B

final dominoes toppling.” His
expression soured, and he glanced down at the empty desktop in front of him
before shooting an angry glance in Valiana’s direction.
    “It is not our fault
that this is happening earlier than we anticipated,” she insisted defiantly,
sensing his outrage. “There will be a new American President soon, and
regardless of who wins the election, their new leader will undoubtedly begin to
increase the armaments on merchant vessels traveling throughout the solar
system.”
    “The victor will also increase
their military presence in outer space,” Durgon predicted. “We have stolen too
much from civilian vessels over the past few years. America as a whole might be
in steep decline, but their military is well-known to protect the weak and
defenseless. Here on Earth we will immediately dominate, but it will take time
for our starships to hunt down their space-borne defenses and eliminate all
capital ships.”
    “That isn’t what bothers me,”
Hobak decided with a deep frown. “What bothers me is Cassiopeia, the secret
project the Americans have had in development for more than a decade. They have
an entirely new form of Point-to-Point wormhole engine design under
construction at their base on the moon. Everyone who is officially asked will
publically deny it, but I know that it’s up there.” He leaned back in his chair
and stretched, pondering the matter a bit further. “I don’t like it at all,
because Cassiopeia is the project that is forcing us to act earlier than
planned. All our work could be for naught if they get that new system
operational before we’re ready.”
    Valiana shook her head. “ All of my contacts in the U.S. have claimed that the Americans are still more than
a year away from bringing anything substantive on-line,” she told him
sternly. “In the meantime they will have to rely upon standard Point-to-Point
transit like every other space-faring nation.”
    “The reports from your contacts
are probably one hundred percent accurate,” acknowledged Hobak, although his
mood remained restive. “That’s the problem. When the Americans have such tight
control over a project on the moon, it is easy for them to shut off information
leaks. The people up there,” he paused long enough to jerk a thumb toward the
ceiling, “are probably feeding the population down here whatever propaganda
that they choose to. After all, didn’t they originally say they were trying to
mine some sort of new ore? I now know that troublesome rumor to be
false. I also know they have an underground complex despite claims to the
contrary.”
    Taking a deep breath, Valiana
noted that her words failed to reassure him. Nevertheless she persisted. “Even
if the Americans manage to extend the range of PTP transit beyond our solar
system, where would such a ship go? To date, there is still no tangible
evidence of alien life beyond this planet.”
    “It is not their flashy new
transit drive that concerns me,” concluded Hobak with a restless sigh. “I am
worried more about the fundamentally new type of power source that they
must be developing in order to power it. Such an energy source could easily be
adapted for use in powering weaponry , and that would not bode well for
us. It could ruin everything, in fact.” The three of them fell silent for a few
minutes, deep in thought. Finally, Hobak looked toward Valiana as a sudden
thought struck him. “Were you successful with your assignment to plant an
operative in that moon colony?” he inquired.
    Her cheeks flushing red with
embarrassment, Valiana shook her head in response. “Their screening of
applicants for the science team is much too tight, even for us. Three years ago
we had a strong possibility in the making, but she was unfortunately rejected.”
The beautiful brunette shrugged helplessly. “It’s a bottleneck up there… they
don’t need people that often, and when they do they tend to select the best of
the best.”
    Hobak’s frown