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Confluence (A Linesman Novel, Band 3) - Softcover

Buch 3 von 3: Linesman

Dunstall, S. K.

 
9780425279540: Confluence (A Linesman Novel, Band 3)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0425279545 ISBN 13: 9780425279540
Verlag: Ace, 2016

Inhaltsangabe

In this captivating Linesman novel from the national bestselling author of Alliance, Ean Lambert finds himself caught in a dangerous fight for political power...
 
The lines. Mysterious yet familiar: the key to controlling every ship in the galaxy. Once they were thought of as tools, but since linesman Ean Lambert discovered strange new lines in an alien vessel, they have become so much more—symbols of a power too great to ignore.
 
While the Crown Princess of Lancia seeks to share the new technology, her father, the Emperor, has other plans. His latest political maneuverings seem to be tilting the balance of control to Lancia’s favor—a move that not all members of the New Alliance are looking upon favorably.
 
As tensions mount, Ean and his former shipmates must unite to avert a disastrous conflict: the princess working within the tumultuous Alliance, Ean seeking the help of the impatient alien ships, and Ean’s close friend and bodyguard, Radko, embarking on a mysterious and perilous mission.
 
But the biggest threat comes from an unexpected source. Someone is trying to take down the New Alliance from within—and will use anything, even the lines themselves, to ensure its destruction...

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

S. K. Dunstall is the national bestselling author of the Linesman series, including Linesman, Alliance, and Confluence.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

One

Ean Lambert

Ean Lambert's quarters on Confluence Station were in the same area as Jordan Rossi's, with a brand-new titanium-bialer alloy door between them and the rest of the station. The first apartment inside the blocked-off section had been gutted, and the newly opened space filled with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment, some of it of human origin, some salvaged from the damaged alien ships in the Confluence fleet.

It had been secure when Rossi was the only linesman here. Now, it was triply secure.

Ean gave it a cursory glance and turned to the more immediate problem.

His bodyguard, Radko, had inspected Ean's apartment with a thoroughness that bordered on paranoia. That was before she'd dropped the news that she wasn't staying.

"You're staying with the Lancastrian Princess."

Radko scowled at one of the screens. "It won't be for long."

Ean didn't know line one on Confluence Station as intimately as he did the line on the Lancastrian Princess, but he knew Radko, and he could hear a strong undertone of worry.

"But why?"

"Family business," Radko said.

Ean knew nothing about her family except that she was a distant relation of Crown Princess Michelle. "Will you be all right?"

"I'll be fine, Ean. So will you."

She shouldn't try to lie when the lines knew her so well. She was worried about something. And if Radko was worried, so was he.

The song of Confluence Station changed. Jordan Rossi, Yaolin's level-ten linesman, had arrived. This was Rossi's home, and the lines welcomed him.

"Be careful, Ean. Don't do anything-"

"Stupid?"

"Don't do anything that would upset Vega. At least, not until I get back."

How long would she be away? "I'll be a model linesman."

Ru Li, who-like the rest of Bhaksir's security team-was pretending to work at the screens while Ean and Radko talked, snorted. "That will be the day."

Bhaksir frowned at him before turning to Radko. "The shuttle is ready to depart. And Captain Helmo only has a small jump window. We'll take care of him for you."

Radko nodded and glanced at her comms. "Remember, Ean. Be sensible."

She took off at a run.

Ean looked around. Everyone in Bhaksir's team pretended to be busy again. There was an underlying hum of worry from line one. It echoed the worry from line one on the Lancastrian Princess, for Crown Princess Michelle was going home on family business, too. Her father, Emperor Yu, had demanded her presence.

"Will Radko be all right?"

Bhaksir shrugged. Ean was glad she hadn't tried to lie. He was glad, too, that Rossi halted in the doorway then. It stopped him from asking what the problem was with Radko's family. If she'd wanted him to know, she would have told him.

"This is cozy," Rossi said. "I go away for two days, and look what moves in."

Ean ignored him. Through the lines, he saw Radko run onto the shuttle. The bay doors closed, and air was being pumped out before she'd even clipped herself in.

Captain Helmo called as soon as Radko was back on her home ship. ÒWeÕre ready to jump, Ean.Ó

On board the Lancastrian Princess, Michelle patted Radko's shoulder. Radko tried to smile; couldn't. Something was seriously wrong, and Ean had no idea what it was.

"Ready." Ean pushed the worry to the back of his mind. Being distracted when you worked with the lines was a disaster waiting to happen. "Fergus?" Fergus was on the Lancastrian Princess.

"Ready." Fergus's line hummed with anticipation.

At least someone was happy.

The Lancastrian Princess was part of a fleet of six ships, joined together by the alien ship, Eleven. Until recently, they'd only been able to jump the fleet as a single entity. Then they had discovered that line seven could be used to allow a single ship to move on its own. They'd tried it before-of course they had-as often as they could get jumps. But every other time, Ean had been on the ship that had jumped.

Please let it work.

"Of course it will work," the lines told him.

Fergus started to sing.

Ean could see it as clearly as if he were on the Lancastrian Princess. The ship lines connected. Line seven to every other seven in their mismatched fleet of six ships and one station. He heard them as song, saw them as lines of light, different colors for each ship. Every line had a knot at each end, tying the ships tightly to each other. Ean smelled fresh bread, tasted it, as the colors ran together and turned white.

"Ready, Captain," Fergus sang.

"Prepare to jump." Helmo's voice was calm although Ean could hear the nervousness underneath. Helmo always said it wasn't the jump that captains worried about; it was coming out the other end.

Line nine moved the Lancastrian Princess into the void, with Fergus's line seven linking the fleet ships.

Line ten came in, and the Lancastrian Princess jumped.

Then they were out of the void. Helmo's relief swamped the lines momentarily.

Ean checked the lines on each ship in the fleet. All were good. All were strong and straight. The song of the Galactic News ship had changed. They had a new engineer on that ship. He was surprisingly strong. Ean hadn't realized he was a linesman.

The navigator on duty on the Lancastrian Princess said, "Confirming position 33.76785.23.45." The first digits were the sector-33 was Lancia.

It was the first time Ean had been in a different sector from the Lancastrian Princess since he'd started working for Lancia.

Helmo opened the comms to Abram Galenos, and to everyone on ship as well. "This is Captain Helmo, from the Lancastrian Princess, calling Admiral Galenos on Haladea III."

"Receiving your call loud and clear, and in real time," Abram said.

A spontaneous cheer went up from the listeners. For this was history. The first time two humans had ever communicated officially in real time between sectors.

"Ean?" Helmo asked.

Ean could hear and see the Lancastrian Princess as clearly as if the ship were nearby rather than half a galaxy away. Michelle and Radko were entering shuttle bay eight. Vega and two teams entered with them. He normally knew everything that happened on ship, so why hadn't he known about Radko?

"Ean?"

He dragged his attention back to his job. "Everything looks normal. Are you sure you have moved?"

He didn't need to ask, for the leaving of the Lancastrian Princess was already causing a flurry on both media ships. The producer on the Blue Sky Media ship was saying, "Find out where they went," while Coral Zabi, the reporter from Galactic News, said, "We're supposed to be part of the entourage. They could have told us where they were going."

Captain Helmo laughed. "Look at the view from outside this ship, Ean." He pushed the view through the comms to Abram, but not to Ean. He knew Ean would see it, anyway.

A purple-tinged planet. Lancia.

The shuttle exited from the ship, and Ean couldn't see Radko or Michelle anymore.

Back in the common outer area, BhaksirÕs team were swapping gossip with RossiÕs bodyguards. Bhaksir glanced at Ean and looked as if she was going to say something, then thought better of it.

Ean forced himself to break the awkward silence that had fallen. "We've still got full comms with the Lancastrian Princess. It's in real time."

Even if they got nothing more from the eleven-line ships, this one ability, that of being able to communicate instantaneously between galactic sectors, would revolutionize trade. Communication within sectors was instantaneous. But to relay a message to another sector, a ship had to jump into that sector first. Until now. The companies that made a fortune providing message ships would lose out, but everyone else would...

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Verlag
Ace
Erscheinungsdatum
2016
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0425279545
ISBN 13 
9780425279540
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
400
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Bear Family Records GmbH
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info@bear-family.de

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