The Alpha Marshal's Regretful Annulment

rld. When light returned, she

It was pitch black, empty. A few automated welcome messages fro

ome, Crimson R

dcast is a journey of a t

rtual camera down at a digital workbench, which she had populated

low, intimate murmur that seemed to curl through t

gh to make the handful of channel-surfer

_774

streamer? What

ce. She reached out a slender, digitally rendered hand an

she said, her tone lazy but laced with an unshakable authority, "

diately erupt

reamer talking military tech?

e. She probably thinks a

pure amusement. Her fingers flew across a virtual keyboard, and

screen, a language of physics and energy that was as be

c lecture. "If you simply re-sequence the primary amplification crystals according to this

ed brilliance of the demonstration, silenc

to smash his fist through a command console. The Mark VII cannons

t his intelligence officer. "Any

s across the entire StarNet. His advanced algorithm, designed to find needles in

ssional-looking stream when his eyes caugh

alist. He understoo

ood ra

s voice trembling. "Sir

stream onto the m

wasting his time. But his eyes locked onto t

. He understood the problem intimately. And he understood, in one stunning, he

entire R&D departmen

ded, his voice a low growl.

n't, sir," he reported, his face pale. "They're behi

ck of her wrist, the holographic model of the energy core reconfigured itself. It

ugh the command center. It

at stream," he ordered the officer. "Use the 'Slee

-value gift on the platfor

Rose's stream. Ten massive, glittering starships flew acros

less' has gifted Crim

rs, exploded. Tens of thousands of user

balance leap into the seven figures. A slow, satisfied

sh had tak

mply leaned back, letting the c

she purred into the mic. "That's all fo

ck, she ended

ss and a chat window filled with th

ng with an intensity that bordered on obsession. He would find this perso

ent, Georgia pull

Oasis account balance. The Starships had netted her nearly half a

a calculated move-a way to speed the annulment, to sever the last chains binding her to the roya

ever needed to claim innocence,if the truth of that night ever became

ge when I come to it. For now, the confession served its

r freedom. And she would fight for that with everyt

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