ALJ Chpt 55

frameless|right|300px|link=A Long Journey
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==Chapter 55 - A Long Journey==
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28 August 2786
Morgan's Holdfast (Tortuga Dominion)
"This Baron Whister fellow and his people, any redeeming qualities among them?" Lieutenant General Samuel Mitchell asked
"Not a one. Slavers and they are a cruel bunch too. We have tangled with them before. Complete waste of oxygen and a drag on the gene pool." Major Jameson replied
"So, the worst sort. How would you handle them?" Lieutenant General Mitchell asked
"Throw them out the airlocks. I doubt they are even worth anything as fertilizer for the soil, probably poison the ground they were buried in. The bigger problem is what about the poor folks they held now that we have taken them? They were based on New Gascony, which is on the other side of the Dominions. Granted they were not the only band on New Gascony, I think two to three more bands there. Slavers are the absolute worst out here though. You said they brought a Dictator and two Lion Dropships with them, that means they are still holding some people to guard their holdings. The biggest problem is, he had to have permission to even launch this attack, that means big trouble, Duke Leo is pissed and it is just a matter of time before he brings his troops out here. They are several Regiments strong." Major Jameson said
"I wish they would try that. The next Tracker should be complete real soon and out here with you also. It is so much easier taking them out before they even reach the atmosphere. Wishful thinking is over and back to the immediate problem at hand. I am not too keen on just tossing folks out airlocks. I guess we can drag them back to the Federated Suns and turn them over. We will call it an anti-piracy sweep." Lieutenant General Mitchell said
"Then you get into trouble for launching that sort of operation without telling the AFFS and possibly having to explain why you were even out this far." Major Jameson replied
"I will handle that when the time comes. We will bring them down and then pack them into my Dropship for transport. We will leave their Dropships and equipment here for now but I will take the Invader Class Jumpship back with us, worst case, we sell it to the AFFS for a tidy sum. Recoup some of the money my pop has been spending like a madman." Lieutenant General Mitchell said
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Cephei (Unclaimed)
"It just makes no sense for the SLDF to station two Caspar Drones way the hell out here. There has got to be something else in this system they wanted to make sure no one could get to, not without paying a steep price for it." Captain Harvey Banner said
"And you want to take a Dropship over to the habitable planet and run scans on the surface. This is not the first time you have asked to do so." Major Patricia Flores replied
"Yes, ma'am, I do. It's a week, maybe two to fully scan the surface. Look on the bright side, it will shut me up about it." Captain Banner said
"Okay, get it done. At least I will not have to hear another word about the damned notion. That New Syrtis Carrier is more than enough reason to station those Caspars here." Major Flores replied
"Thank you, ma'am. When I am done, you will never hear another word about it." Captain Banner said with a huge grin.
"Just get it done and then back to work." Major Flores replied
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