there," said Perseid. "Should be an interesting experience."
"Yes, sir," said Scott.
"I'm willing to bet it'll be full of surprises." Perseid glanced over his shoulder. "But you're ready for all that, am I right?"
"Absolutely," said Scott.
Perseid nodded. "You'll be our eyes and ears on Shard. Assuming the Reds haven't figured out a way to hide from you , too."
"It'll be a damn short mission if they have," said Scott.
"It'll be a damn short war ," said Perseid. " Or , best case scenario, we come out of this with more than just you able to see the bastards." He turned to Scott. "That's why Dr. Beauchamp will be watching your telemetry like a hawk, looking for irregularities. We need to know what makes you special when it comes to spotting the Reds."
"Okay." Scott couldn't say he hadn't seen this coming. Perseid had said from the start that he wanted to figure out Scott's secret power and put it to work for the Commonwealth.
"She'll do the same with the other pilots, too. We hope the data will lead to a breakthrough in seeing Red Battlenauts." Perseid leaner closer, meeting Scott's gaze. "That won't be a problem for you, will it?"
"No, sir." Scott shook his head firmly. "Not a problem."
"Because we absolutely need to spread your capability around." Perseid tipped his head to one side. "Because what if something happens to you?"
"I understand," said Scott.
"We've got one guy who can see the Reds. One guy with the fate of maybe the entire quadrant on his shoulders." Perseid narrowed his eyes. "Now what happens if we lose that one guy?"
"The quadrant is fluxed," said Scott.
"Totally fluxed." Perseid reached out for a handshake. "Which is why I called you up here. I wanted to personally wish you luck."
Scott shook his hand. "Thank you, sir."
"I realize this is a hell of a lot to put on one guy's shoulders," said Perseid.
"I can take it," said Scott.
"I know you can." Perseid tightened his grip. "Why do you think we've been putting the screws to you since you came aboard?"
Scott stopped shaking Perseid's hand. Suddenly, the grueling regimen of his life on the Sun Tzu made sense.
"It was a test?" Scott frowned. "And I passed?"
"What do you think?" Perseid let go of his hand. "Now go get ready for planetfall and show us what you're really made of. Show the whole quadrant ."
"Yes, sir." Scott saluted.
"We've got twelve hours of orbital reconnaissance," said Perseid. "Then you'll get your chance."
"I'll be ready."
"You better be." Perseid waved him off and turned to face the view of the approaching planet. "Of all of us, you damn well better be."
Â
*****
Â
After leaving the Command Deck, Scott went back to prepping his Battlenaut...but not for long. An hour later, he was summoned to a conference room by Captain Rexis.
When Scott entered, Rexis and seven other Diamondback officers were staring at a holo projection cube hovering over the big ebony conference table in the middle of the room. Right away, Scott identified what they were watching as video of the surface of Shard--a recognizable landscape of gray and silver shapes gleaming in the cold light of a pale yellow sun.
"Corporal Scott." Rexis gestured at the screen. "These are some of the first images from the A.I. probes sent to Shard."
Scott nodded and moved closer, watching the hovering cube as the video continued to play within its boundaries. It was like gazing into a cube-shaped window, following a scene near the planet's surface thousands of kilometers below.
"Take a good look," Rexis told him. "Let me know if anything jumps out at you."
Scott watched closely but didn't see anything unusual. The A.I. probe was shooting video from what seemed like a few hundred feet up, zipping along over fairly nondescript land undisturbed by artificial structures.
"What do you see?" said Khalil, who was sitting at the end of the table nearest to Scott. "An army of Red Battlenauts on the march?"
"Just metal," said Scott. "Lots and lots of
"Yes, sir," said Scott.
"I'm willing to bet it'll be full of surprises." Perseid glanced over his shoulder. "But you're ready for all that, am I right?"
"Absolutely," said Scott.
Perseid nodded. "You'll be our eyes and ears on Shard. Assuming the Reds haven't figured out a way to hide from you , too."
"It'll be a damn short mission if they have," said Scott.
"It'll be a damn short war ," said Perseid. " Or , best case scenario, we come out of this with more than just you able to see the bastards." He turned to Scott. "That's why Dr. Beauchamp will be watching your telemetry like a hawk, looking for irregularities. We need to know what makes you special when it comes to spotting the Reds."
"Okay." Scott couldn't say he hadn't seen this coming. Perseid had said from the start that he wanted to figure out Scott's secret power and put it to work for the Commonwealth.
"She'll do the same with the other pilots, too. We hope the data will lead to a breakthrough in seeing Red Battlenauts." Perseid leaner closer, meeting Scott's gaze. "That won't be a problem for you, will it?"
"No, sir." Scott shook his head firmly. "Not a problem."
"Because we absolutely need to spread your capability around." Perseid tipped his head to one side. "Because what if something happens to you?"
"I understand," said Scott.
"We've got one guy who can see the Reds. One guy with the fate of maybe the entire quadrant on his shoulders." Perseid narrowed his eyes. "Now what happens if we lose that one guy?"
"The quadrant is fluxed," said Scott.
"Totally fluxed." Perseid reached out for a handshake. "Which is why I called you up here. I wanted to personally wish you luck."
Scott shook his hand. "Thank you, sir."
"I realize this is a hell of a lot to put on one guy's shoulders," said Perseid.
"I can take it," said Scott.
"I know you can." Perseid tightened his grip. "Why do you think we've been putting the screws to you since you came aboard?"
Scott stopped shaking Perseid's hand. Suddenly, the grueling regimen of his life on the Sun Tzu made sense.
"It was a test?" Scott frowned. "And I passed?"
"What do you think?" Perseid let go of his hand. "Now go get ready for planetfall and show us what you're really made of. Show the whole quadrant ."
"Yes, sir." Scott saluted.
"We've got twelve hours of orbital reconnaissance," said Perseid. "Then you'll get your chance."
"I'll be ready."
"You better be." Perseid waved him off and turned to face the view of the approaching planet. "Of all of us, you damn well better be."
Â
*****
Â
After leaving the Command Deck, Scott went back to prepping his Battlenaut...but not for long. An hour later, he was summoned to a conference room by Captain Rexis.
When Scott entered, Rexis and seven other Diamondback officers were staring at a holo projection cube hovering over the big ebony conference table in the middle of the room. Right away, Scott identified what they were watching as video of the surface of Shard--a recognizable landscape of gray and silver shapes gleaming in the cold light of a pale yellow sun.
"Corporal Scott." Rexis gestured at the screen. "These are some of the first images from the A.I. probes sent to Shard."
Scott nodded and moved closer, watching the hovering cube as the video continued to play within its boundaries. It was like gazing into a cube-shaped window, following a scene near the planet's surface thousands of kilometers below.
"Take a good look," Rexis told him. "Let me know if anything jumps out at you."
Scott watched closely but didn't see anything unusual. The A.I. probe was shooting video from what seemed like a few hundred feet up, zipping along over fairly nondescript land undisturbed by artificial structures.
"What do you see?" said Khalil, who was sitting at the end of the table nearest to Scott. "An army of Red Battlenauts on the march?"
"Just metal," said Scott. "Lots and lots of
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