The Tau Ceti Agenda
by
Travis S. Taylor
Table of Contents
One lone operative against a star-spanning
conspiracy to control the fate of the human race!
THE TAU CETI AGENDA
Travis S. Taylor
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are
fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2008 by Travis S. Taylor
A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
www.baen.com
ISBN 10: 1-4165-5539-0
ISBN 13: 978-1-4165-5539-1
Cover art by Kurt Miller
First printing, May 2008
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: t/k
Taylor, Travis S.
The Tau Ceti agenda / Travis S. Taylor.
p. cm.
"A Baen Books original"—T.p. verso.
ISBN 1-4165-5539-0
1. Presidents—Election—Fiction. 2. Space
warfare—Fiction. 3. United States. Central Intelligence
Agency—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3620.A98T38 2008
813'.6—dc22
2008002988
Printed in the United States of America
Baen Books by Travis S. Taylor
One Day on Mars
The Tau Ceti Agenda
Warp Speed
The Quantum Connection
with John Ringo:
Vorpal Blade
Manxome Foe
Claws That Catch (forthcoming)
This book is dedicated to all of
freedom's veterans—past, present, and future.
Prologue
"With just three days until the election, it's anybody's guess as to who will take the White House. The polls are solid in most precincts, and the election is likely to hinge on central Florida and Luna City. At this point, the Indies can't take the election, and the race has come down to two parties this time. Will the Dems' nominee, Senator Rita Webb from Queensland, knock down the incumbent, Republican candidate President Alexander Moore? Stay with Earth News Network for up-to-the-second election coverage . . . ."
Chapter 1
October 31, 2388 AD
Tau Ceti Planet Four, Moon Alpha, aka Ares
Madira Valley Beach Spaceport
Saturday, 5:00 AM, Earth Eastern Standard Time
Saturday, 1:00 AM, Madira Valley Standard Time
Kira, behind you! The artificial intelligence voice rang loudly in her mind.
Kira watched the glare in the computer monitor as it suddenly darkened, and the reflection of a soldier filled the screen. She clicked off the direct-to-mind link to the Separatist ship's computer manifest that was displayed virtually around her head and prepared herself for action. She had successfully managed to board the ship, stow away long enough to hack into the Separatist control database, and download what she felt would be extremely important intelligence data on the Seppy regime plans. The plans might enable the United States to counter them—if she managed to escape the ship with them. The Separatist soldier sneaking up on her from behind probably intended to prevent that.
Quickly, Kira ducked and then back-kicked the man in the shin. With a swift and fluid clockwise turn, she slammed an elbow into his rib cage, forceful enough to crack bone, and followed with a backfist to the face.
"Uh!" the man grunted, but he somehow managed to stay on his feet and lunged toward her with blood starting to trickle from his lower lip.
He was a fairly large man. Kira surmised that he was most likely of full-blooded Martian lineage because of his pale skin and dark hair. From the size of his midsection, she also guessed that he had never missed a meal.
The bigger they are . . . , Allison started.
The harder they hit, Kira finished, as she attempted to sidestep his advance, unsuccessfully.
The force of his lumbering weight was enough to push Kira off balance and to the ground underneath him. The man probably assumed that he was going to use his size to overpower Kira easily—a mistake often made by large men when it came to women—because he tried to grapple with her and force her into a bear hug on the deck. But Kira knew better than to let that happen and forced herself up from the floor onto all fours and threw her head backward into the man's nose twice.
"Goddamn bitch!" he screamed. He grabbed at his broken nose with both hands while sending an alert via his direct-to-mind, com- net connection.
Security detail to maintenance office 13B on hangar deck C. Alarm klaxons sounded and filled the ship with flashing yellow lights.
The backward head-butt had stunned the man slightly and enabled Kira to work one of her legs free enough to direct a sweeping kick to his crotch with the heel of her foot. The blow to the man's private parts made him let go of her completely and clutch himself in pain instead.
Kira crawled like a bear from underneath him to avoid several telegraphed punches in her general direction as he recovered. She jumped to her feet only to find that a security guard was coming through the doorway and was raising the bad end of a stunner toward her. The young security guard hesitated too long before pulling the trigger, allowing Kira to slip under his line of fire. The blue electric bolt whizzed past her head, causing her hair to stand on end. The bolt made contact with the clumsy man behind her and incapacitated him. He convulsed from the stunning electricity dancing down his body and collapsed.
Kira spun around, placing her back to the security guard, while at the same time grabbing his wrist—the one with the stunner in it—with both hands. She then turned his hand, palm upward, and yanked his arm down, forcing her body upward and pushing her right shoulder against his elbow. The elbow snapped through at the joint with a clean break, causing the guard to drop the gun with a wail of agony and surprise.
Before he had time to complain a second time, Kira rammed her left elbow through his nose twice, rendering the young man bloody and unconscious.
Get his gun, Kira! Allison said into Kira's mind. I can hack the ID code.
Got it!
Kira hefted the stunner in her left hand, feeling the weight of it. The small red light on the safety lock flashed yellow twice and then turned green.
The ID code has been overridden, Allison assured her.
Good.
Kira poked her head around the doorway. The hallway was dimly lit with the flashing yellow security lights but was otherwise typical of any Separatist battle cruiser, except for the fact that there were three men and two women in uniform rushing toward her with firearms at the ready. And Kira was pretty certain that they weren't holding stunners. If only there had been a way to sneak on board through the ship's security with her handgun, she wouldn't have felt as vulnerable as she did with that damned range-limited stunner.