" Let me worry about that part, Commander, and you and your people can worry about your part. Which looking at that map of yours might need some worrying about. "
Isenfrii smiles, a little, again, and fetches pen and paper. Scratches the scraghound behind the ears, absently.
" Putting a lot of faith in my ability to extend trust to a woman whoose primary inducement to trust is the depth of her bank account rather than details and specifics "
" Hey, you signed the contract. 'I can't explain, don't ask' was part of the contract. Once we're through and it's all done, you and all your people can walk away rich and if you aren't overburdened with a surfeit of insight, anyone wanting to do so can't exactly claim you were responsible either, right? "
" See, that would be another reason not to trust you. The vaguely frightening implication that there's things I could end up being responsible for allowing "
" You know what I mean! "
" I think me not knowing is part of the whole point, Miss "
" Gah! "
Ink drops into silence. Asshole chessplayer conversationalist. The Commander finishes his missive. Dries it out and sands it down and rolls it into the scraghounds message tube. Adjusts its collar.
" Well, we've come this far " he continues. " Might as well see it through. I owe the old man that much. "
--
>>6117322ATN MARKHAN,
RECIEVED MESSAGE.
GOOD BATTLE, WELL FOUGHT.
ENEMY SUPPLY CAMP ESTABLISHED AT POINT MIDNIGHT BLUE. MULTIPLE COMPANY CAPTIVES HELD THERE FOR TRANSFER ELSEWHERE.
TAKE BANNERS AND ADVANCE FOR FIELD ENGAGEMENT AT SPEED.
ENEMY MARCH COLUMNS SIGHTED ADVANCING FOR ENCIRCLEMENT. PREFERABLY, BE FASTER THAN THEM OR YOU MAY SUFFER MISFORTUNE.
TRAP PRESENCE AT MIDNIGHT AGAINST ROCKTEETH, SCATTER FORMATIONS, BURN SUPPLY CACHES, RESCUE CAPTIVES.
AFTERWARDS, WITHDRAW TO HAZESHIMMER BEFORE ENEMY PINCER PRESENCE PINS YOU. AM SENDING ENGINEERS SECTION TO PREPARE DEFENSIVE LINE. HOLD HAZESHIMMER FOR SEVENTY-EIGHT HOURS, THEN BEGIN BANNER BY BANNER WITHDRAWAL TO COMPANY HQ.
WILL SEND ADDITIVE SPECIFICS LATER.
-CMND ISF
