First Strike Read Online Free Page B

be said about the Association, they built starships to last. Some of their ships were thousands of years old. “None of them have any obvious connection with Earth – originally, we intended to learn what we could from them and then press them into service as training vessels. Now… we have another use in mind for them.”
    “You want me to go play at being a pirate,” Joshua said slowly. “And what happens when we run into a real warship?”
    “We don’t expect you to take and hold territory,” Sampson said. “We merely want you to engage in commerce raiding and cause havoc, enough to force the Empress of the Hegemony to divert starships to hunt you down. If they start losing control of their borders, they’re going to lose a great deal of face in front of the other powers. Their nature won’t allow them to swallow the losses and concentrate on Earth.”
    “You hope,” Joshua reminded him. “A plan where everything   has   to go right is a plan doomed to failure.”
    Sampson ran his hand through his hair. “I know,” he said, his eyes meeting Joshua’s. “It gets worse. We cannot afford to be linked to you – human mercenaries and pirates are one thing, but Earth itself… if the Galactics blame us for your attacks, our political position will be gravely weakened.”
    “They might join the war on the Hegemony’s side,” Joshua said. “Or put pressure on the Association to respond to the crisis.”
    “They might,” Sampson said. “If you do this for us – and there are few others with the knowledge necessary to fit into the underside of Galactic society – you will be completely expendable. Should you be caught… well, you’re already an outcast on much of Earth. We’ll disown you and your crews. We’d much prefer it if you had alien crew members…”
    “Or that we were never caught at all,” Joshua said. “Do you want us all to take suicide pills with us?”
    “Implanted vaporisers,” Sampson said. “Ideally, there should be nothing left of you and your ships if they capture you. And there’s another problem.”
    Joshua smiled. “ Another   problem?”
    “I can't give you good officers from the Navy,” Sampson said. “We only have a limited supply of trained personnel and we’re going to need all of them for the coming war. I have taken the liberty of preparing a list of possible candidates for the operation, men who may be good at what they do, but have problems relating to discipline. Some of them would be better off in the brig than in space. Hell, some of them   are   in the brig. You can take as many of them as you want, but watch your back.”
    He passed over a datachip, which Joshua took and pocketed. “It’s a shitty job,” Sampson admitted. “If you get caught, the Galactics will be merciless and there will be no way that we can defend you. This could easily turn into a suicide mission. We can't even give you enough supplies to keep your ships operating for long.”
    “That won’t be a problem,” Joshua assured him. One advantage of the Association’s technological gifts to the rest of the galaxy was that most spare parts were standardised. The Hegemony produced the same equipment as the other powers, even if they placed their own stamp on their starships. “I assume we’re not getting much of a war chest as well?”
    “We’ve got you some untraceable funds,” Sampson said. “Anything after that…”
    “Piracy had damn better pay for itself,” Joshua agreed. He looked back at the Admiral for a long moment. “Can we actually win this war?”
    “Maybe,” Sampson said. “I...have reason to believe that the Hegemony is increasing its efforts to penetrate our security. They believe in divide and conquer – it’s quite possible that they have been trying to make contact with one or more nations on Earth and offering them a deal that allows them to maintain their independence, as long as they help the Hegemony against Earth. We   think   that we