The Landfall Campaign (The Nameless War) Read Online Free PDF Page B

if we ’ re having to constantly look over our shoulder. ”
    “ I hear what you are saying Cody, but if we ’ re to be realistic, I think you ’ re going to have to, ” Callahan replied after a few minutes of pushing his food round the plate. “ It all depends on what happens at Landfall. ”

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Three
    The Day Before the Storm
     
    Landfall Colony, 22 nd July 2066 (one day before the destruction of Baden Base)
     
    The New Andalusia mountain chain had been named by the first Spanish explorers to arrive on Landfall. They had founded Spain ’ s first colony where the mountains ran for six hundred kilometres east to west. There, near the centre of the range was Mount Hurtado, taller by a few hundred metres than those around, its slopes were gentle, flattening out onto a plateau more than five kilometres wide.
    It was the home of an establishment that was nothing to do with the Spanish colony.
     
    Alice Peats looked up as something buzzed past her ear. A small creature was perched on a branch staring down at her with beady little eyes. Its four wings were folded back into a ridge that almost looked like a shark’s fin. It dropped down onto the ground and started pecking at the crumbs from her lunch. She watched it for a moment with a slight smile on her lips before returning to her reading. After a few moments she felt something tugging the bottom of her trousers. It was the bird creature, investigating her clothes.
    “ Shoo. Shoo you little devil, ” she said flapping her hands at it. The bird creature took off with a squawk, landing on a nearby branch and scolding at her in a high-pitched voice.
    “ You have no fear of humans, do you? ” she asked it. The bird gave another squawk and flew away. “ At least not yet anyway, ” she added, half to herself. Her wristwatch gave a beep and she let out a regretful sigh before getting to her feet. Her holiday was over. Tomorrow she’d be returning to the Battle Fleet cruiser Harbinger , serving as the ship’s civilian language specialist. After the Mississippi incident the fleet had decided to send out a ship to find, and if possible, make contact with the Nameless.
    Nearly six months of searching hadn’t found the Nameless. Instead however on their first trip out they discovered something unexpected and extremely disturbing. The world of another alien race, one that on account of their shape, they called the Centaurs. What the Centaurs called themselves was anyone’s guess, and might well remain that way forever.
    Their world was a lush and fertile place, uncannily Earth-like from orbit, apart from the purple fauna. But they themselves were no longer there to appreciate it. As part of the landing party that had explored that world, Alice had seen the homes, businesses, shops and places of learning of the Centaurs.
    She’d also seen the camps, the ones in which the Centaurs had been systematically wiped out.
    No one knew exactly who destroyed the Centaurs, or why they had deemed it necessary to commit genocide on such a grand scale, but there had been a hint. A single picture, one that Alice herself had found. Had shown a starship of the same type that had clashed with the Mississippi .
    That was of course no proof that the Nameless had anything to do with Centaurs ’ destruction. Back on Earth there was no end of analysts, pundits, diplomats and various other ‘ experts’ who were quick to point that out. But a person didn’t have to be any kind of conspiracy theorist to see a link.
    They’d found a library and virtually cleaned it out. As Harbinger’s linguist, Alice had attempted to translate some of the Centaurs ’ books but without much success. Breaking into an alien language and breaking into a dead alien language, were two entirely different problems. Most of those books had been shipped back to Earth as soon as they had returned to Baden for resupply and maintenance. She and the rest of the civilians were punted down to