Firemask: Book Two of the Last Legion Series Read Online Free PDF Page A

paused, waited for the outrage and shock to settle. He nodded to Penwyth, who set up his equipment.
    “Not only have convoys not been reaching us for more than two local years, but none of the starships offplaneting from Cumbre have returned, no matter what their destination within the Confederation.
    “We determined to find out, if we could, what was happening. We acquired a small transport, roboticized its controls, and fitted it with the most elaborate sensors we have access to. A second, manned ship completed the task force.
    “The first ship was programmed to follow the standard astrographic plots between Cumbre and Centrum, the Confederation capital. Most frequently, these plots pass close to Larix and Kura, with the third or fourth jump beyond Cumbre entering their system.
    “The first ship was to make a jump, then, immediately on return to normal space, launch a missile with stardrive capabilities. All data received by the ship’s sensors was to be ‘cast on a tight beam to the missile. If the datalink was broken, the missile was to enter N-space, and send out a targeting signal for the second ship to home on.
    “On the first jump, nothing happened, and the second ship’s crew signaled the first to make another jump. Again there was nothing untoward.
    “However, the third jump was very different. When still in hyperspace, the first ship was swept by detectors. When it exited N-space, it was immediately challenged. Since there was no crew aboard to respond, the ship was attacked.
    “I have full records of events to this point for anyone interested. However, the most important data is from this point forward.”
    He nodded to Penwyth, who touched sensors and the screen lit.
    “This,” Rao explained, “is a composite image from various sensors aboard the roboticized transport. Here, you can see a ship appear from hyperspace. This ship has been identified, plus or minus less than point-one percent, as being a Confederation
Remora-class
destroyer leader.
    “The flagship of Alena Redruth’s fleet is such a ship, the
Corfe.
    “This isn’t necessarily conclusive, however. Over two hundred of that class DL have been commissioned in the last twenty years, and some might have fallen into the hands of pirates, if such exist.
    “At this point, our transport has been electronically challenged, ordered to take up a certain orbit and prepare for inspection. The challenge is preemptory, and no part of the signal says who the challenging party is.
    “Of course, our ship failed to respond.
    “Now, you see three other ships, here, here, and here on-screen? These are very unusual, brand new
Nirvana-class
patrol boats.
    “Now, these ships are very new, very classified, and all are supposedly reserved for Confederation Home-world troops.
    “How my predecessor, the late
Caud
Williams, learned of their existence, how he was able to request some of them, is beyond my ken. But he did, and those ships were also on the
Malvern
, the mysteriously high-jacked ship, together with other supplies and more than seven hundred fifty fresh recruits.
    “Only three of those recruits, incidentally, were able to evade the ‘pirates,’ and make their way in a lifeboat to Cumbre. Two of them still survive, serving in the Force. The third man, an experienced Confederation soldier, absolutely identified one of the ‘pirates’ as being another Confederation veteran who’d left the service to join Alena Redruth’s forces. Unfortunately, this third man didn’t survive the recent … unpleasantness. However, his friends did, and one of them positively identified this soldier as being among the ‘pirates,’ and later saw him some months ago, as part of Alena Redruth’s staff when they visited C-Cumbre.
    “The reason that none of you have heard of these three is because the late Planetary Governor Haemer and
Caud
Williams ordered them to keep silent.
    “Those
Nirvana-class
ships, by the way, accompanied Protector Redruth on