The Alpha Protocol: Alpha Protocol Book 1 Duncan Hamilton (affordable ebook reader .TXT) 📖

of human fuss over a while back? I think they might have left this here purposely for us to find.’

Price raised an eyebrow. ‘What about the agitator Smith found here?’

Samson didn’t know what to say to that. ‘Maybe it’s common technology for them? They might not have realised that we don’t already have it. Or maybe it’s not quite what we think it is.’ Maybe, maybe, maybe. Samson wondered if he was being overly paranoid. Nothing had gone wrong with Smith’s drive so far, and it sounded like he’d used it plenty of times. It was a risky thing to have done, no matter how confident Smith was of his testing methods. He could be right in thinking that it was simple technology for the aliens, but perhaps there was a reason they’d given it away. He’d certainly pass his observation up the food chain with the details of Smith’s toy.

‘How far into the ship did you go?’ Samson said.

‘Engine rooms, and that was it. Reckoned it was best to get out with what we had while we could, then come back later for more.’

‘I don’t like venturing in too far until Smith sets up our scanner,’ Price said. ‘We’re cut off, and too far from the ship if the aliens turn up again. With the radio interference, we’re blind.’

‘Agreed,’ Samson said. He reckoned the others thought he was being paranoid, but there was something about the ship that didn’t feel right. Why was the scouting ship there, if not to keep an eye on everything? He supposed they might have been caretaking it until a proper recovery vessel could arrive, but it had been here for weeks now, at the very least. Surely they wouldn’t have left it there so long—with their Nexus technology, they could get here far faster than a human rescue vessel.

Being cut off from comms was a strange, disorientating feeling, and might have explained his heightened paranoia, but right now, the first he would know of the alien warship’s arrival was when it started blasting at them from orbit.

His temptation to venture further into the ship was tempered by the danger, and the possibility that there was nothing here the aliens did not want him to find. Am I overcomplicating this? he wondered. Why would they bother taking the chance, and what value was there for them in luring a few humans down to the surface? There were plenty of places they could take prisoners, scattered across the Frontier, where their disappearance would go unnoticed.

It didn’t make any sense, and while he felt it was justified being paranoid given the circumstances, Samson had to admit it was a stretch. The aliens would have to be fools to set up a trap like this. The cost in lost hardware and lives alone would prohibit such an action by any human sensibilities. Then there was the risk of losing tech. Even if something was commonplace to you, surely you’d guard it against an unknown enemy until you were certain they already had it?

The roar of engines filled the air, startling Samson. His heart leaped into his throat. ‘What the hell’s going on?’ he said. He turned to look back out of the opening in the hull, and saw the Maggie pull into position alongside and hover, kicking up a cloud of dirt and debris.

A hatch opened in her side, and a telescopic boarding platform slid out. Smith appeared in the open hatch, and started shouting. His words were relayed an instant later through a speaker, but there was enough of a delay to make it seem comical. His message, however, was far from that.

The alien warship had arrived in the system.

As soon as the boarding ramp reached them, Samson ordered everyone onto the Maggie. As he ran across the ramp, he cast a look skyward, and wondered how far off that ship was. What would they think when they realised their tech had been taken? He allowed himself a smile, and hoped they’d be able to get the scout ship out of the system.

39

The SBB was waiting for them in orbit when the Maggie broke free of the planet’s atmosphere. Samson was well aware he had failed in his mission to keep the crash site secured, but all things considered he didn’t see what else he could do. He reckoned he was doing pretty well in bringing back their prisoner and, with luck, the intact scout ship. At the very least, he reckoned that put him out ahead. Getting it all back was going to be easier said than done, however.

In the excitement of their swift evacuation from the planet, Samson and Price found themselves up on the Maggie’s bridge with the rest of the crew. Smith had been fastidious in keeping them away from any of the ship’s control sections, and Samson had wondered if that was for a reason. He knew next to nothing about the Maggie and her capabilities other than what he had witnessed first-hand, but he suspected Smith was hiding a few toys that he didn’t want anyone to know he had. Now Samson could see that was exactly it—he was standing in a veritable treasure trove of the type of equipment that could only be stolen or bought for the type of price the Navy would never be willing to pay.

As he looked about and feasted his eyes on what surrounded him, Samson wondered how much of it came standard on an Excelsior Bay. Probably not the units stamped with ‘Property of the Terran Union Navy’. The bridge curved around the Maggie’s nose, with the front half of the wall given over to a viewscreen. All the data panels and screens were framed in heavily lacquered walnut, while the other surfaces were covered in wine-coloured carpet. It was a plush, luxurious surround, and it continued to defy Samson’s expectations of how a pirate would live.

‘Well, all my secrets are out for you now, Samson,’ Smith said. ‘Feels like I’ve my