"William C. Dietz - By Force of Arms" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dietz William)

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATfcS Oh- AMERICA

10 98765432 1

For my dearest Marjorie ... Here's to the Lizard!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My thanks go to Joel Davis, co-author of Mirror Matter
for the concept of "White Holes," and how to harness
them, to Dr. Sheridan Simon for his help in building this
particular universe, and legionnaires past, present, and
future. Vive la Legion.

1



file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/D...C.%20Dietz%20-%20By%20Force%20of%20ArmsUC.txt (1 of 230) [2/6/2004 5:15:38 PM]
 file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Desktop/William%20C.%20Dietz%20-%20By%20Force%20of%20ArmsUC.txt

Distasteful though it may be, one stroke of the as-
sassin's axe may have an effect greater than that
produced by a large number of troops.

Grand Marshal Nimu Wurla-Ka (ret.)
Instructor, Hudathan War College
Standard year 1957

Planet Earth, the Confederacy of
Sentient Beings

The assassin moved quietly, as if her life depended on it,
which it definitely did.

The house had been constructed more than five hundred
years before, back when Portugal was a nation rather than
an Administrative Region (AR), and the floorboards had a
tendency to squeak.

The killer paused for a moment, assured herself that it
was safe to move, and gestured to her companions. They
wore black hoods, black bodysuits, and black slippers.
They glided over the hardwood floor.

A shaft of sickly yellow moonlight came down through
the transparent bubble roof to pool on the rumpled bed.
Maylo Chien-Chu was awake, staring up through the plas-

2 William C. Dietz