Free Seeds of Earth by Michael Cobley Page B

powered descent seems toe swift and steep until it slows dramatically, braking on columns of force that ripple the air beneath its fuselage. Engines drone and moments later the Achilles settles down gently on its landing gear.
    LEE SHAN: The Achilles is one of two fast picket boats that the cruiser Heracles possesses, both of which can be deployed for combat as well as peaceful purposes, as well as the ship's pinnace, the Hermes. The Heracles, of course, was recently on duty in the Yamanon Domain as part of Earthsphere's military commitment to the Hegemony-led Freedom Alliance, taking part in the overthrow of the brutal Dol-Das regime, and . liberating scores of worlds. We at Starstream salute the bravery of all Earthsphere and Hegemony forces still engaged in pacification operations in the Yamanon.
     
    In the kitchen of a farmhouse built into the side of a hill southwest of Hammergard, Theo Karlsson stared at the portable vee with a mixture of amusement and unease while Rory and the rest of the loader team guffawed.
    'We salute the whit?'
    'Ah, the brave troops, Rory, for whom we must be joyously united in support!' said Alexei Firmanov.
    'Da, and not forgetting the songs,' said his brother, Nikolai. 'Heroic songs that we all sing while waving flags, lots of flags.'
    Rory squinted at the two grinning Russians. He was a short wiry Scot with unkempt sandy hair and a pair of ice-blue eyes that were full of misgivings.
    'You're yanking ma chain, the pair of ye.'
    'They're not, Rory,' Theo said. 'All this saluting the troops, waving the flag and singing songs - it is common to authoritarian cultures, like Soviet-era Russia back on Earth.'
    'Ah, right, ancient history, aye.' Rory sniffed. 'So is th; it how Earth is, the now, Major? I thought they've got elections and all that...'
    'There were elections during the Soviet era, too,' said Alexei. 'But there were no alternatives to the Part? 's candidate and all the media were tightly controlled,' He glanced at Theo. 'Is it like that on Earth, Major?'
    'I'm not entirely sure,' he said. 'But going by radio reports, the political mainstream across most of Earthsphere seems to be pro-Hegemony'
    Nikolai nodded vigorously. 'Is right - have they not elected a woman as interim president, and she's supposed to want to pursue more independent courses?'
    Rory laughed. 'Aye, and then we pop up in the Hegemony's back yard, like helpless wee puppies! I bet they're using us tae make sure she toes the line!'
    Theo grinned. Rory, my boy, he thought, you're definitely one of the sharper tools in the box.
    Just then, Janssen and Ivanov entered by the kitchen's rear door, the former dumping a bag of tools noisily on the tiled floor, the latter handing Theo a large cluster of keys.
    'That's the last of the false walls up,' Ivanov said, loosening his heavy work jacket. 'We restacked the crates and old Tove helped us dirty up his barn floor again.'
    Theo laughed. 'Once he quarters his baro in there for a night or two it'll be more than filthy enough.' He looked at Janssen. 'Any news from the others?'
    'Maclean and Bessonov finished up in the last halfhour,' Janssen said, tugging off his brown woollen hat and scratching his scalp through wild black hair. 'But Hansen's team was held up by a cracked loader axle. They're going to be another hour at least.'
    Nikolai shook his head. 'What's that old saying? "No plan survives contact with the enemy" . . .'
    'Right, here we go!' said Rory loudly. 'That's him now, look . . .'
    LEE SHAN: And now Ambassador Horst descends the gantry to meet the vice-president, John Balfour. They shake hands, then Vice-President Balfour introduces him to the president of Darien Colony, Holger Sundstrom, who is confined to a wheelchair due to a spinal injury considered untreatable by the colony's medical establishment until now.
     
    Video (low functionality) The ambassador is a tall, grey-haired man with a straight-backed posture and lean but kind face. He smiles as he comes face to