Lea nodded, trying not entirely successfully to keep the moisture out of her eyes. "I understand, Ravagin. I'll make them pay it back, too, in some way that'll benefit the entire Corps. Count on it."
"Yeah." He got to his feet. "If that's all, then, I still have a report to fill out."
"The hell with the report," she said. "It's a beautiful day out there—go out and enjoy it while it lasts."
He pursed his lips. "All right. Yes, I think I will."
She attempted a smile. "It's the least I can do. And Ravagin... thanks. They owe you a Big One, too."
"Sure." A Big One, he knew, that he would probably never get around to collecting. But it was the thought that counted. "Talk to you later. Bye-and-luck."
Chapter 3
Triplet, on first impression, was a distinct disappointment.
The minor-class starport they came down at was bad enough, in Danae's opinion; haphazardly designed and stuck twenty-five kilometers away from the nearest real city like an architectural leper.
But the nearby buildings of Triplet Control that were visible through the starport lounge's window were even worse. She'd seen military camps before, but even by those dubious standards this one didn't measure up. The main Triplet Defense building was a massive chunk of masonry that looked like it had been thrown together under combat conditions. A half kilometer further north, the Crosspoint Building was a little better; but any improvement in design was more than made up for by the fenced-in perimeter surrounding it...
Involuntarily, Danae shivered. The three-hundred-meter-wide defensive ring around Threshold's Tunnel was called the Dead Zone, and was allegedly the most airtight perimeter anywhere in the Twenty Worlds. She didn't know any of the details... and gazing at the oddly indistinct view beyond the Dead Zone's outer fence, she decided she didn't want to.
"Ms. Danae Panya?"