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FLASH

L. E. Modesitt, Jr.




TOR
A TOM DOHERTY ASSOCIATES BOOK
NEW YORK




This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.
FLASH Copyright й 2004 by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Edited by David G. Hartwell Book design by Mary A. Wirth
A Tor Book Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010
www.tor.com Torо is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Modesitt, L. E.
Flash / L. E. Modesitt, Jr.Ч1st US ed.
p. cm. "A Tor Book." ISBN 0-765-31128-3 EAN 978-0765-31128-3
1. AdvertisingЧFiction. 2. Political campaignsЧFiction. I. Title. PS3563.O264F58 2004 813'.54Чdc22
2004009861
First Edition: September 2004
Printed in the United States of America
098765432 1




For Catherine and Eric,
lovers of large dogs and larger dreams




Chapter 1

Cracckk!
"Down!" Down! At the sound of the ancient slug-thrower, I dropped flat onto the squashed soyl plants at the edge of the field. The illegal cropsЧsoyl and caakЧwere mostly shielded by the taller overgrowth of what had once been part of a rain forest. My three companies were spread along nearly a kay from north to south so that the illegals didn't get past. CI wanted a bunch for interrogation. Somewhere to the west of us was the Berbice River, but that didn't matter. Everything around us was wet. Nothing ever dried out, not even the tropical uniforms that were supposed to wick away moisture while providing impact protection. They did neither all that well, and certainly didn't do anything to stop the sweating.
Someone might have said that the pattering sound of slugs shredding the taller soyl plants to the east of where I lay sounded almost like rain. It didn't.
Air, Bravo two. Nothing. The uplink was dead.
I clicked the implant to alt ... static-filled, but there. Not supposed to have static on satellite-combat links. Right. Air, Bravo two.
You're breaking up, two. Try main.
Idiots! Would I have boon on alt if main worked? Negative. Main dead. Need CAS. Coordinates follow.