Doom Star: Book 06 - Star Fortress Read Online Free PDF Page B

Cassius’s proposal?
    MARTEN: She’s right. (Points his thumb at Cone.) To them we’re animals to collar, geld, experiment on or insert in missiles as a biological weapon. They’re only a little better than the cyborgs because you can revolt against Highborn more easily.
    JUBA-RYDER: It is impossible to revolt once a person is altered into a cyborg.
    MARTEN: Osadar Di would disagree with you.
    HAWTHORNE: If I understand your point, Force-Leader, you don’t think I should meet with Cassius.
    MARTEN: (Shakes his head). The Highborn don’t know how to work with people. You can ask the Martians what they think about the super-soldiers. Before the Third Battle for Mars, Planetary Union personnel worked with Highborn. They learned to hate them to the same degree they hated Political Harmony Corps. The best way to deal with Highborn is from a distance as we did during the Cyborg Assault in the Jupiter System.
    JUBA-RYDER: I cannot agree. A principle of cooperation is learning by experience about the other. The more you know from personal contact, the closer you become to that person or people group. This is a priceless opportunity to learn more about the Grand Admiral.
    MARTEN: You weren’t listening. The more contact you have with some people—like Highborn—the more you hate them. Too much contact with the Highborn will make us forget the cyborgs until it is too late.
    JUBA-RYDER: That is an extremely negative view.
    MARTEN: (Laughs sourly).
    JUBA-RYDER: Did I say something humorous?
    MARTEN: My negative view has kept me alive in more than one situation.
    HAWTHORNE: To say your biography is remarkable is an understatement. And I accept your premise, Force-Leader. Yet these are tragic times that demand the unusual from all of us. Admiral Sulla and the Ultraists represent a grave threat to humanity. If Cassius will help us eliminate the Ultraist position among the Highborn—
    MARTEN: The Grand Admiral will not do anything for our good, at least not willingly.
    HAWTHORNE: I understand.
    MARTEN: Supreme Commander, I distrust Cassius’s motives because I do not know what they are. You should take as a given that he works counter to your position unless you have a concrete reason to believe otherwise. Even then, I wouldn’t trust him.
    JUBA-RYDER: No, I cannot accept such thinking. My proof is that he already helps us. Cassius desires the elimination of the cyborgs as much as we do. He acts in concert with us and thereby wishes a strong Social Unity, at least for now. Your advice is born from your fear of the Grand Admiral. He has personally threatened you. Oh yes, we know all about that transmission. There are many things we know about you, Force-Leader.
    HAWTHORNE: That’s enough, Director. Marten Kluge is here by my invitation.
    JUBA-RYDER: He was a Free Earth Corps soldier once, a traitor to Social Unity. I’ve been studying his file, including Hall Leader Reports concerning his profile. The man doesn’t have the first idea about loyalty. Wherever he goes, he brings disunion and death.
    HAWTHORNE: These past years we have all done things that we’re not proud of. Now we find ourselves allies against a hopeless future. The critical fact concerning Marten Kluge is that he has slain both Highborn and cyborgs. I applaud such deadliness and desire his advice concerning our common enemies.
    JUBA-RYDER: I’m afraid that I don’t know how to trust a traitor.
    HAWTHORNE: Your language is too strong. Curb it at once.
    JUBA-RYDER: I am at your orders, sir. But I wonder, has the Force-Leader taken a new oath yet to Social Unity?
    HAWTHORNE: He is here as a representative of the Jovians. No oath is needed.
    JUBA-RYDER: Has he at least denounced his former actions against Social Unity? He was a hero of the Japan Campaign, winning Highborn medals for murdering our soldiers. If he sits here with you, sir, I think the least he could do was foreswear his former actions and awards in Japan.
    HAWTHORNE: We have not spoken about such