humanity. They would not be destroyed; their pipettes and flasks could continue to produce what they had come to think of as their children. But from now on they would have to walk with naked faces among men and each other.
Altair assumed the cost of rebuilding Kassa and reparations for the dead. In exchange they gained the secrets of robotics, extending the strength of their feet without increasing their payroll. From anyone but Altair’s point of view, it wasn’t a particularly fair deal, but nobody was heard to complain.
Prudence was offered an admiralty, the head of the scout division. Stanton begged her to take the job, sending her a personal comm from his hospital bed where he was recovering from radiation burns. When she turned it down, they offered her a captaincy and a scout boat. When she turned that down, they bought her a new freighter, a University Exploration commission, and threw in a tax-free trading license to boot.
She was in the process of turning that down, until Kyle caught up with her. Weeks of high-level meetings and state functions had kept him away. She didn’t mind. It was her turn to wait for him.
Even though she had been waiting for him her whole life. She just hadn’t known his name before.
“I don’t want a ship, Kyle. I’ll stay here, with you. Altair needs you as much as I do.” They had promoted him to the head of Interstellar Intelligence Agency, a new organization charged with rooting out the leftover League cells scattered through the sector.
He picked her up in his arms, spun her around, laughing.
“They don’t need me. A stuffed shirt could do this job now. I resigned this morning, Prudence. I came to tell you: I’m coming with you.”
“A fast moving and cynical who-done-it, thriller, political novel, and space opera all rolled into one, with a touch of romance as well, where you can't help cheering for the protagonists, even as you wonder exactly how they'll manage to pull it out.”
“Takes the tried-and-true motif of space traders … and embroils them in a web of conspiracy worthy of John LeCarre himself…. I haven’t had my spine chilled by paranoia this strong since I first read Frank Herbert’s
“Layers of intrigue unfold in this star-spanning tale of a far-flung humanity.”
M. C. PLANCK lives in Australila.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE KASSA GAMBIT
Copyright © 2012 by M. C. Planck
All rights reserved
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, Inc.
CIP DATA TK
ISBN 978-0-7653-3092-5
First Edition: January 2013
Printed in the United States of America
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