The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles #4, Retribution Read Online Free Page B

would matter if the Syndicate managed to form a beachhead and insisted on attacking the GCP through that beachhead.      
    It seemed to Ricky that the only chance the GCP had of winning this war was to redefine where the war got fought. This was an opinion shared by Admirals Faragon and Kimbridge. With luck, the information supplied by the ENOs would present a solution.
    A gentle tap on his shoulder got his attention. Honey, looking delectable in her blue skin and all-too-tight jumper nodded toward the chairman.
    "Am I boring you, Admiral Rockclam ? ” Snatch Bait said, with a hint of scorn in his voice.
    "Of course not, sir," Ricky answered.
    "And?" the chairman prompted.
    "Sir?"
    Honey handed Ricky a data pad and pointed to a paragraph that was displayed midway down the page. It detailed ship deployments from his sector. It also included the line "SLAP ME"
    Ricky raised an eyebrow. Honey sent a silent command to the data pad to flash the word "NOW".
    Ricky took the pad and backhanded Honey across the face. He hoped it wasn't too hard, but it had to be hard enough to put on a good show. Apparently it worked, because the chairman's face now sported a broad grin.
    Ricky held the pad up and looked across the room, totally ignoring the blue-skinned slave at his side.
    "Here are the numbers you were looking for sir and my apologies... this is the first time I have used this particular slave and it would seem obvious that its training is incomplete."
    Ricky pulled faint memories from the link he had with the real Rockclam. "We anticipate no problems meeting the deployment deadlines. As you know, the hyperfield jump limits that adversely affect the size of jumps moving into the galactic core are not a factor moving outward. Our forces should arrive at the staging area within the next two cycles. There are no anticipated deviations from the attack plan."
    “ What about in the target universe ? ” Snatch Bait asked .“ Our invasion force will be jumping in near a galactic core. My understanding is the more closely packed stellar masses occur, the more difficult it is to calculate extended jump coordinate s … and the slower one must travel . ”
    “ You are absolutely correct, sir. However, each universe has a wide variety of attendant galaxies. The size of the particular galaxy in which we are engaging in this hostile takeover is less than a third the size of ours. We will have no trouble calculating jumps of several thousand light years... even in the general vicinity of the galactic core . ”  
    " Excellent, Admiral," Snatch Bait said. He immediately turned his attention to the next admiral in the room and continued polling the various members of the board for their individual statuses.
    At long last the meeting was done. Ricky slipped away as fast as decorum would permit. Honey walked a respectful three steps behind him. He snapped his fingers and held up the data pad. She meekly took it from his hand. The ride down the turbo lift was conducted in absolute silence. Neither knew for a fact that the chairman didn't routinely monitor or record conversations within the Syndicate Center headquarters complex.
    Thirty minutes later the real Admiral Rockclam awoke with a bit of a headache in a corner booth of a dark drinking establishment he had no memory of entering. He was no stranger to this particular establishment, so he waved to the barkeep on the way out. He would settle his tab later, when his head was n’ t spinning so much.
    ***
    Fedom was a small creature from a small world located in what he considered to be the smallest and darkest corner of Modos-controlled space. Despite his size, he had big dreams. He dreamed of a time when he and his people were again free. This was a dream that he shared with countless others. The Modos Syndicate had come to their world many generations ago, and yet the memory of freedom remaine d … bitter and sweet and completely unobtainable.
    His people had tried to throw off their