Frontiers Saga 10: Liberation by Ryk Brown Page A

all that dollag meat down in frozen storage.”
    “Why the hell would he give you a bunch of Ghatazhak?” Jessica asked. “He didn’t think the Corinari were good enough?”
    “They have several thousand Ghatazhak in stasis,” Cameron told her. “They don’t know what to do with them.”
    Nathan noticed the confused look on Jessica’s face. “They are programmed somehow. It’s mostly to ensure their loyalty, but it’s also so they can overlook morality and ethics and do whatever the situation requires of them. Apparently, there are doubts as to whether or not that part of their programming can be undone. Until they are sure that the Ghatazhak are safe to return to mainstream Takaran society, they are keeping them all in stasis. Tug just figured we might need them. Turns out he was right.”
    Cameron looked at Jessica. “They were pretty amazing to watch in action.”
    “Scary would be a more accurate word,” Nathan added.
    Jessica looked at them both. “Yeah, they are impressive.”
    “You watched the recordings?” Nathan asked.
    “Just finished.” Jessica sighed. “You still should have told me,” she added, pointing an accusatory finger Nathan’s way.
    “Objection noted.”
    “So what are we doing?” Jessica wondered as she leaned back on the couch and got comfortable.
    “We were deciding what to include in the message to the Pentaurus cluster,” Nathan explained.
    “How about, ‘Help, send everything you’ve got’?” Jessica mused.
    “I was thinking of something a little more tangible,” Nathan told her.
    “We should include all intelligence we have on the Jung, the core, and Earth,” Jessica suggested, “as well as a log of everything that’s happened since we left the PC.”
    “We’ve already thought of that,” Cameron said.
    “Did you include everything about the Celestia?” Jessica asked. “Especially the part about her jump drive?”
    “Yes,” Nathan said. “Mostly, we were wondering what to suggest he send. Warships? Supplies? Manpower? Ordnance?”
    “Why don’t you just ask for more Ghatazhak?” Jessica suggested.
    Nathan looked at her, surprise on his face.
    “Hey, I saw the recordings. I mean, if they have them all lined up like fruit-ice, why not? Can you imagine what a few hundred of them could do?” Jessica laughed. “Let them loose on Earth, and watch the Jung run crying for mama.”
    “Are you serious?” Cameron asked. “Let them loose on Earth? You saw what they’re capable of, didn’t you?”
    “Yeah. One shot, one kill. Did either of you actually analyze their combat tactics?”
    Nathan and Cameron looked at each other sheepishly.
    “I didn’t think so,” Jessica scolded, leaning forward to sit on the edge of the couch. “Those guys prioritized their targets in the blink of an eye. They even took their shots based on target priority and maximum efficiency of execution. They left the enemy with zero time to react. It’s like they don’t have the proverbial ‘fog of war’. Those guys see and think with absolute clarity, even under fire.” Jessica leaned back on the couch again. “All those fancy moves? Hell, you can teach monkeys to do that. Those guys were fighting with their heads.”
    Nathan looked at Cameron and shrugged. “Okay, add ‘more Ghatazhak’ to the list.”
    * * *
    The four equipment-maneuvering packs attached to the base of the plasma cannon turret spat their jets of thrust into space as technicians guided the turret down into the Celestia’s open missile launcher bay. Repeated blasts fired from the thrusters as the maneuvering packs countered for the weak, yet ever-present gravity of Metis. Slowly, the plasma cannon turret settled onto the elevator platform that would normally raise a missile launcher up from its bay. The turret finally settled onto the elevator platform with a small thud that was felt only through the vibration of the bay’s deck plates. The technician guiding the turret’s ungainly descent stood at