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"Lord, I know that is not long for us, but these Tiri seem to progress so much faster. Do you not<br />
think they would have built at least a sensor platform? We should be seeing something at least.<br />
Perhaps we should pause here and send scouts ahead?"<br />
She knew the last was a mistake the second she said it. Stopping in the pursuit of fleeing cattle<br />
was tantamount to suggesting that they were all cowards; unfit for the hunt that was underway.<br />
Thuva bowed her head as Lortal's right optic sensor extended slightly. Two of the engineered<br />
personal guards hunched slightly, their disruptor nozzles aimed towards her.<br />
"Thuva, you are young, and that is the only reason I will not feast on your flesh tonight. You will<br />
take a Claw of ground troops and proceed to secure the fourth planet."<br />
That planet didn't even have an atmosphere capable of supporting sentient life. At least none that<br />
the Bak'ra had ever come across, it was the third planet that showed the most promise from this<br />
far out. Accepting her banishment, Thuva bowed and walked backwards away from her Lord.<br />
She was lucky to be alive.<br />
-------------------<br />
Julie bit her lower lip, watching the plot ahead of her intently. The Expeditionary Fleet was<br />
twenty minutes away and behind them, in missile range. The two fleets, if one could call them<br />
that, were beginning to exchange missile fire. For every missile that the Guardians sent back<br />
towards their pursuers, nearly forty would answer them.<br />
It wasn't quite as hopeless as the numbers suggested though. Julie knew that Tiri technology was<br />
more advanced than the Bak'ra in electronic counter measures and missile technology. Still, she<br />
winced as missiles began to slip through the counter fire and detonate near the oncoming<br />
Guardians.<br />
"Range?"<br />
Clarice looked up from her station and answered, her voice steady and professional.<br />
"Two million kilometers, Guardian."<br />
Soon the Guardians would arch up "over" the waiting Home Fleet, and it would be their turn.<br />
"Any sign they've spotted us or the sensor sphere?"<br />
"None, Ma'am."<br />
Julie knew that of course, but she'd learned from watching Emily that the best way to keep<br />
people from freezing up was to keep them occupied. There was no way she could handle all of<br />
<strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>'s systems in the coming battle, but she could direct them. Her crew would have<br />
to make certain those systems kept working though.
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