Wing Commander #07 False Color by William Forstchen (best books to read in life .txt) 📕

to invest in a new outpost there. Hellhole's strategic position squarely on the border between Landreich and the nearest Cat colony had made it useful to the Republic's war effort. But that same position made it just as valuable to the Guild. Once it was certain the Landreich wouldn't be coming back, Zachary Banfeld's people had moved in to set up a base of their own on the single marginally habitable planet that circled the binary system.

Now, sitting at his desk in the office reserved for his use when he visited the Hellhole base, Banfeld was feeling frustration and worry. Bonadventure had brought him back after the abortive fighting at Vaku, and remained in orbit overhead. But though this base was a secret, known only to a few key men in his organization, Banfeld was concerned about the possible fallout from the failed attack.

"Are you sure you can't get Highwayman ready any faster?" Banfeld demanded of the man sitting across from him. "The clock is ticking."

"Can't move any faster," Antonio Delgado told him. The commander of the Guild's secret base on Hellhole was a large man with a bristling black beard and swarthy skin. He accorded little respect to anyone, even the leader of the Guild, but he could get away with it. He was one of Banfeld's best base commanders, even if he had joined up with the Guild less than three years back. Before that he'd been a mercenary resistance leader Banfeld's people had dealt with during the Cat occupation of Siva. "Not if you want the cloak working. Three days, minimum."

"Three days," Banfeld repeated, getting to his feet and pacing restlessly across to the window that overlooked the tarmac where a small party of base workers were busy opening up the access ports along the sides and stern of the scoutship Highwayman. Banfeld knew Delgado was right about the estimated time to complete the work, but that didn't make him any less anxious.

The battle in the Vaku system had shaken the privateer leader badly. After making his plans so carefully, his strike force had been thoroughly rebuffed, and a quarter of his best pilots had been lost before they'd been able to disengage from the unexpectedly potent supercarrier. Now there was no question of trying again, not with his available resources. Banfeld hadn't become a power in this sector of space by throwing good money—or men—after bad. But the trouble was that there were sure to be people on that carrier who knew about Bonadventure. That meant his connection to the attack might come to light, and that would threaten his cozy position inside the Landreich.

And by the same token all the original reasons for taking that carrier out of action still remained. If the Landreich gained the upper hand in the arms race against Ukar dai Ragark, there was an end to the healthy profits the Guild had enjoyed. Especially if Max Kruger declared war on the Guild in retaliation for their attempt to hijack his pet project.

The only way to deflect the double threat was to get the Landreich embroiled in combat now. Kruger wouldn't have time or resources enough to go after the Guild once he had Kilrathi ships knocking on his front door. In fact, he'd need the Guild, with its black market contacts and its pipeline to the arms dealers Kruger relied on back in the Confederation. It was just possible that by the time the dust cleared Max Kruger would owe too much to Banfeld to move against him . . . but only if Ragark struck now, before the Landreich could respond to the news of the attack on the supercarrier at Vaku.

There was only one way to guarantee that. Banfeld would have to reveal what he knew to the Cats. News of a supercarrier fitting out inside the Landreich, a Cat supercarrier at that, would probably be enough to goad even a cautious leader like Ragark into action. And, if not, there was that other tidbit of information, news that there was also an Imperial heir alive and well on that same vessel. That was sure to interest Ragark. And hopefully it would lead him to strike now, while he could still catch the carrier at Vaku and eliminate it with a raid in force.

That should precipitate a very nice little conflict. The confees, Williams and Mancini, might not be too happy to see the fighting start so soon. Y-12 and the Belisarius Group were trying to control the timetable for events out here very carefully, although Banfeld wasn't entirely sure why. He only knew they were taking the long view.

But the long view was something the Guild could no longer afford. Highwayman had to be readied for launch as quickly as possible so that Banfeld could act before the effects of the battle at Vaku overwhelmed everything he had worked his entire life to build.

If Bonadventure was the crown jewel of the Guild fleet, Highwayman was its best-kept secret. It had taken plenty of bribe money to obtain a surplus stealth generator big enough for a scoutship, but the money had been well-spent. Highwayman could slip across the border and back without being spotted by outlying patrols, and that meant that Banfeld could get to Baka Kar and get in touch with his contacts in Ragark's government without exposing himself to any trigger-happy Cats who might not understand the finer points of keeping private channels open between enemy states, Ragark's Economic Minister, Baron Ghraffid nar Dhores, had found it highly profitable to cooperate with the Guild from time to time in the past. He would see to it that Ragark learned what he needed to know.

Then rest would follow easily enough . . . and maybe, just maybe, the Guild would see its way through the crisis intact. The alternative was unthinkable.

Commander's Office, Guild Base Hellhole, Hellhole System 1645 hours (CST)

Antonio Delgado locked the door behind him as he entered the tiny office that