DusktoDust_Final3 Read Online Free PDF Page A

night. Letsego hadn ’ t known him long but he knew that was what his commander wanted, Windcorp shut down for good.
    “ So you want us to follow the smugglers then, sir? I already have men in place to do so. Five are waiting at Base to begin tailing them. ”
    “ No, ” Burleigh said, deep in thought. “ This operation is too important. We ’ ve never had this chance before, to follow the smugglers before they make their pickup. We can ’ t waste it. ”
    Letsego didn ’ t know where this was going. “ What do you want us to do then, sir? I have my best men down there. ”
    “ I don ’ t want your best men down there. I want you. ”
    Letsego was taken aback. “ But sir- “
    Burleigh put up his hand. “ Staff Sergeant, I ’ ve made up my mind. And I ’ ve read your file. This is what you were sent here for, to stop these people. You have the most experience with undercover intelligence work, therefore I want you on the ground. I can ’ t trust anyone else with this mission. ”
    Letsego didn ’ t like this. He had been sent to Prospect to run the intelligence collecting operations, not conduct them himself. The captain was right, he had the most undercover expertise of everyone in the Prospect garrison. He had been on Mars before the uprisings had started. He had been undercover in the asteroid belts with the raider gangs. But that had been ten years ago. He had done no prep work for this.
    “ Sir, this is not a good idea. My men on the ground are perfectly capable of keeping an eye on them. I am more valuable here. Someone needs to be their eyes and ears. ”
    Burleigh was getting agitated. “ Staff Sergeant, I don ’ t know how it was in the South African army, but when a superior officer in the Peacekeepers gives you an order you say ‘ Yes, sir ’ and execute! ”
    So that’s how it’s gonna be then . “ Roger that, sir. ” Letsego snapped to attention and threw a crisp salute.
    Burleigh returned the gesture. “ Good. And Staff Sergeant …”
    “ Yes, sir? ”
    “ Wherever they go, you go. We can ’ t afford to lose this hand. Think of this as the ultimate hunt on the safari. ”
    Letsego did not appreciate the racial stereotype. He may be a black man from Africa, but he had never been on safari or even known anyone who had. All those animals were long extinct.
    But does he mean everywhere, he thought. “ What about the PDP, sir. Am I still bound by that? ” The PDP, or Prospect Denationalization Pact, was what gave UNEC authority on Prospect. It had been written to put an end to the Colonial Wars, where the colonizing countries of Prospect had gone to war over mining territory. The conflict had eventually spread to Earth. To put an end to the bloodshed, UNEC had made Prospect un sovereign territory. No nation could own a stake in territory on Prospect. Now the planet was divided up among numerous multinational corporations.
    The Peacekeepers were there for regulation, but their powers were still limited. Under the PDP, the Peacekeepers could operate overtly across the planet as long as they had the approval of the local corporate security firms. Covert Peacekeeper operations outside of UNEC jurisdiction were not allowed. UNEC took this regulation very seriously so they could keep their control of the planet legitimate. Letsego wanted to know if Burleigh was telling him to break the covert regulations.
    Captain Burleigh looked around the security room, then looked back at Letsego. He took a moment to phrase his next comment. “ Staff Sergeant Letsego, you will go anywhere and everywhere necessary in order to track these smugglers back to who hired them. Do you understand? ”
    “ Good to go, sir. ” So that’s how it’s gonna be. When the law isn’t convenient to us we’ll just ignore it.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

4: An Elegant Dance
     
    The Skylift was an amazing feat of modern engineering. Connecting Skylift Station with the surface of Prospect two hundred