Terra Dawning Read Online Free PDF Page A

her off, not kill her.””
    “That doesn't track for me, Task Commander,” Jance replied. “If they were only trying to scare her off, there are hundreds of less lethal ways to do it.””
    Warmake nodded. “Yes there are, but not too many of them are possible during a storm of that size. Even the floater that proved Addson's ultimate bane diverted after the collision. I don't know if you're familiar with floaters, but it takes a serious weather event to turn one of those aside.
    “At the time of the attack, three of the four quads of the sector were in the full fury of the storm. The storm itself covered the better part of nine sectors! That's the reason rescue attempts were so slow in responding; it was too dangerous for them to search until after the storm passed and by then the wreckage was spread over the entire sector.””
    “Are the pirates not listed as responsible for her death?” Jance asked.
    Warmake nodded. “Yes they are, like the passengers from the train, she was put in harm's way by the actions of the pirates. In both cases it proved lethal, thus ultimate responsibility must rest on the pirates. However, I would counter that she wouldn't have even been there if she hadn't been sent, at the last minute, by the Aerie Argassi APC.””
    Jance was thoughtful for a time. During her silence, the pilot reported that they'd arrived in Beta Quad. Below them was the solid form of a floater with the impact marks still showing on its side.
    “Is that the original floater?” Jance asked.
    Warmake nodded. “Yes, according to its logs, this is where the impact happened. On board cameras managed to capture most of what happened to Addson's skipper. Her maneuver was risky, but she did manage to evade the missile. If she would have started her leap even microseconds earlier, she would most likely still be alive.”
    “Doubtful, if she had survived the jump over the floater, the third missile would have launched and finished the job. No, once that system had been locked onto her, she was doomed. Which is why I disagree with your hypothesis; that system has four missiles.
    “Once the target is locked onto, the first missile launches. All of its data is passed to the three remaining missiles. If it misses, the second is launched. It hunts smarter, and so on, all the way to the last missile. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever survived the third missile. However, I don't think I've ever heard of a person in something as limited as a skipper surviving even the first one,” Jance explained. “That being said, I have to credit your hypothesis because the warhead of the missile that hit this floater had to have been greatly retarded.”
    “We credited the lack of damage to the floater to the fact of its construction. They have a duraluminum outer shell, over a tritium-fibersteel inner hull reinforced with magnetized Cryotanium polymer,” Warmake explained. “They're built to handle just about anything they can run into.”
    “Damn! That is really built, but even so, if the warhead was at full strength, it would have seriously damaged it. No, this warhead was all but disabled; hell it could have been disabled and the scoring we see is from the flight motor,” Jance replied. ““Thank you, Task Commander. I think perhaps I have enough to begin my investigations now. May we please return to Argassi?”
    “Of course, Commander. Would you also like the floater returned there for further investigation?” Warmake asked.
    “Yes, thank you. I would like to run forensic analysis for the impact site as well as the areas where the skipper hit.”
    Warmake typed in the request on his data pad, and below them the floater came to life. Without being told, the pilot also turned the craft and accelerated away from the area.
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    B edouin residence
    Command Pod Alpha One
    23 Apr. 10266 CE (AD)
    Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea
    Earth, Sol system
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    B en stood in the