Intermezzo

Christina Ulfsdotir noted with some consternation that the TSS Hammerhand still hung in space close to Theta 47.

Her paid traders had never reported back and she assumed they had failed with their mission. What had started as a diversion was now the only plan she had left.

Behind her, on Earth, Red News was using Arthur Wallman's newscasting corporation to carve large chunks out of her media empire. She lost market shares by the month. Visibly so. So visibly in fact even smaller, local independents dared challenging her.

For the fucking second time! The asshole stole my audience with his damn Otherworld Disclosed, and now this!

It had to stop, but as long as Arthur Wallman was believed to be alive it would never stop. People were already saying she'd lost it when they thought she didn't hear. She would show them the real loser.

She used the fact that while taking a ship through the Gate was strongly discouraged it wasn't explicitly forbidden. Shuttle dropping without a way to return was. That meant they were forced to bring drop tanks at an added, outrageous cost. They had.

They shuttle dropped five shuttles, three carrying men and women and two for the drop tanks and the highly illegal equipment she had brought. Illegal on Earth, but not illegal here. The idiot laws even forbade that she be tried in court for bringing weapons she obviously must have bought on the other side of the Gate. Well, coming to Otherworld certainly killed any chances she had to get another of the juicy government contracts, but Red News were doing a good job at that anyway.

When they made surface she would make sure they found the little worm. A force of forty men and women ought to be enough to avoid anything as awkward as the rumored incident in Verd. She toyed with the thought of having Gudrun killed but in the end Christina decided against it. If the surviving assassin was found the girl could come in handy on this mission. After all, killing her could wait.