Part 23 (2/2)
”Yes, sir.” Emotion was seeping through, despite his s.h.i.+eld, and Corina read two that conflicted strongly. One was a pa.s.sionate dislike for her as an individual, but the other was more important to the Marine: his duty to the Empire, which she as a Ranger had the right to command.
That fact overrode his personal feelings. He would accompany the a.s.sault team not because she asked it, but because of his own conviction that it was part of his job as a Marine. In a flash of insight, Corina realized that Sunbeam had, perhaps without fully realizing it, given her a very accurate capsule description.
Greggson's work was truly all he had: the Corps was his entire life, nothing outside had any meaning whatsoever. She found herself pitying him as she and Medart left with his agreement, on the way to speak with the rest of the s.h.i.+elded ones.
The group that finally came together in Briefing Room One shortly after noon to form the a.s.sault team was an unlikely one, but the only one that would have any chance at all. In addition to those they'd first spoken to, the Rangers had found a nurse, an engineer's a.s.sistant, the s.h.i.+p's junior navigator, and four other Marine officers.
There was noticeable tension in the room when Corina called the briefing to order. They already knew the basic situation; she could go directly to the a.s.sault itself. ”I will be making a.s.signments based solely on s.h.i.+eld strength, as that is the only factor which will slow the Seniors to any degree. Ranger Medart, Colonel Greggson, and I will attempt to trace and confront Thark and his two chief lieutenants. I would like the rest of you to spread throughout the Palace, to find and eliminate as many of the others as you can. We will remain in touch as necessary by wrist communicators, which will be issued as soon as we are finished here.
”I have ordered a disruptor mounted on the lander we will be using.
Lieutenant DarLeras, Ranger Medart tells me you are a pilot; since we do not have such a specialist, I would like you to fill that position as well as the combat one you agreed to earlier. Will that cause you any problem?”
”No, sir. It just means I prep before we leave, rather than during the trip.”
Medart sent Corina a mental wince. *Make sure your restraints are tight. He took it easy on the way up because it was your first trip; he wouldn't be concerned about comfort on a combat flight even if he weren't battleprepped. Since he will be, we're going to have a rough ride.*
*He is still the only pilot we have, and it will be to our advantage for him to be prepped. He will have to take our limitations into consideration, however.*
*He will, since that's good tactics, but that doesn't mean he'll be gentle, especially if he has to do any dodging. Go on.*
”Unfortunately, Prowler will have to be destroyed to prevent its weapons from being used against us. Since I expect the crew to remain aboard, that means they will be killed. The others, Seniors and Sanctioners, will be in the Palace, and we must expect immediate opposition when we land.”
”What kind of armament does Prowler have?” Greggson asked.
”When I was last aboard, approximately a week ago, it had medium-power blasters. I believe its s.h.i.+elds are standard for that cla.s.s.”
”Nothing a disruptor can't handle, then. It'd take more than a week to mount heavy weapons.”
”He would depend more on speed and secrecy, even so,” Corina said. ”He wishes to take over; he will cause no more destruction than he must.”
”What about personal weapons?” Nevan asked.
”The Seniors will depend on Talent. Sanctioners, however, have only limited Talent, as a rule just telepathy and s.h.i.+elds, so they use and are quite familiar with distance weapons. Some have considerable skill, and those are the ones likeliest to be in Thark's group.”
Greggson frowned. ”No unTalented at all? I'd hoped we could supplement our few s.h.i.+elded people with a trained Security team, at least.”
”I do not believe he would take that chance,” Corina said. ”This is far too important to him; his attack force will include only his best people. A Security team would have little chance against even a Sanctioner's simple telepathy; no action can be taken without at least a fraction of a second's forethought.”
”d.a.m.n.” Greggson's voice was flat. ”That's out, then.”
”Hold on,” Hobison said. ”Emperor Chang?”
”Yes, Captain Hobison?”
”Identify Prowler, Irschchan registry, and give crew/pa.s.senger capacity.”
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