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“Yeah,” he said sourly “I knohere we’re going May be a little dangerous getting there Ashford’s people are all through the drum”

“Not as many as there e started,” Amos said Bull didn’t ask what he meant

“Lead on,” Holden said “We’ll follow you”

Bull tapped his fingers on the joysticks Euts A shadow of confusion crossed Holden’s face Bull felt a stab of disgust with hier in order to draw Ashford’s attention, he was going to do it of his own free will, and he was ashas that he didn’t actually have any control over He didn’t knohat that said about hiood

Radio Free Slow Zone was in what had once been the colonial adned into the walls and bulkheads of the original ship, back when it had been the Nauvoo, and the amount of work it would have taken to strip the cubicles back until the space could be used for soiven it to Monica Stuart and her crew because it was a cheap favor So he did: a fa voice to helpplace for the full and fractured fleet

The broadcast studio was a sheet of forreen plastic that sohts were jerry-rigged and stuck to whatever surfaces cah he didn’t know many of them Monica Stuart, of course Her production team was down to an Earther woman named Okju and a dark-skinned Martian called Clip Holden had called his crew there, but they hadn’t arrived yet

Bull considered the space from a tactical point of view It wouldn’t be hard to block off accessways The little half walls provided a lot of cover, and they were solid enough to stopthrowers An hour or tith some structural steel and a couple welders and the place could be almost defensible He hoped it wouldn’t need to be Except that he hoped it would

“We went black as soon as the fighting started,” Monica said “Thought it would be better not to go off half-cocked”

“Good plan,” Bull said, and his hand terer and fumbled to accept the connection Corin’s face flickered to life She looked pale Shell-shocked He knew the expression

“How bad?”

“I’ve got about thirty people, sir,” Corin said “Armed and armored We control the coot control of the transition points, he mostly fell back”

“Pa?”

“Alive,” Corin said “Pretty beat up, but alive”

“We’ll call that a win”

“We lost Serge,” Corin said, her voice flat and cal by reflex and pushed it back Later He could offer sy

“All right,” he said “Bring whoever you can spare to the colonial adot, bring them here”

“New headquarters?”