The Fifth Golden Age of Science Fiction MEGAPACK ®: Lester del Rey by Lester del Rey

Author:Lester del Rey [del Rey, Lester]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: short stories, science fiction, pulp fiction, sci-fi, classic
ISBN: 9781479403011
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2014-06-05T16:00:00+00:00

A headline glared up at him, catching his attention. He started to skim the story, and then read it thoroughly. Things weren’t going at all as he’d expected in the Outer Worlds, if the account were true; and usually, such battle reports weren’t altered much.

The aliens had developed a union of their own—if anything, a stronger one than the humanoids had. Apparently they’d chased the Federation ships into some kind of a trap. Losses on both sides were huge. And raids had begun on all the alien and humanoid planets.

He scowled as he came to the latest developments. One section of the Federation fleet under Sra of Chumkt had pulled out, accusing the faction headed by Barth Nevesh of leading the aliens to the humanoid rendezvous. Kel’s leader had gone after the deserters, fought it out with them in the middle of the larger battle, killed Sra, and declared himself the head of the whole Federation. It was madness that should have led to complete annihilation; only the fumbling, uncoördinated leadership of the aliens had saved the humanoid fleets. And now the Federation was coming apart at the seams, with Barth Nevesh frantically scurrying around to catch up the pieces.

Duke read it through again, but with no added information. It was a shock to know that the aliens had combined against the humanoid Federation. Still, looking back on that, he could begin to see that they would have to, once they knew of the Federation. But the rest of the account—

Flannery’s words came back to him. The director had been right. His prediction was already coming true, after only three days—unless he had either had prior knowledge or juggled things to make it come true! Duke considered it, but he could see no way Flannery could either learn or act in advance of the arrival of the ship on Earth. The Federation was farther from Meloa than from this planet. He’d been forced to depend on the same accounts Duke had read in the papers on board the ship.

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