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.""We don't have any wyvern food," the skipper temporized."As hungry as the poor thing is, it'd eat salt beef right out of the cask,"the mermaid answered, bitterly."You've been treating them horribly.""Chief?" the skipper asked."We were boiling up lunch when it landed, sir," the chief replied."I don'tknow how far along it got, but when you sounded general quarters, they'd haveput out the fires.""Get below," the skipper said."Get the cooks up here with whatever theyhave."No more than five minutes later, as the wyvern was trying to figure out how toget past all the rigging to get to the tender sailor snacks below, the chiefcame up followed by a party carrying joints dripping water on the snowy deck.They carefully crept up to the rear and the chief ran forward, hurling ashoulder of beef onto the quarterdeck.The wyvern jumped on it as if it were starving, which it was.Wyverns used anenormous amount of energy in flying and they needed huge quantities of food tosustain them.Their normal "field" rations were a mixture of soybeans,cornmeal and oils for fat energy.The only way they could be induced to eatthe mess, especially at sea where they were as susceptible to mal de mer ashumans, was by liberally lacing it with ketchup powder.The fleet had been outof ketchup for days and the wyverns had been off their feed even before thedebacle of the morning.Ignoring the heavy salt brine that the beef had been pickled in, the wyvernstarted tearing off strips of flesh, bolting them down as fast as it could.When all the easily removed meat was stripped off, it looked down at the chiefand mewled piteously.One after another of the chunks of beef and pork were thrown up to thequarterdeck until at last the wyvern was barely picking at them.At that pointthe chief took a coiled line from one of the waiting sailors and walked up thesteps to the quarterdeck.He cautiously edged up to the wyvern and ran theline under its halter, securing it with a fast bowline, then tossed the coilof rope to the sailor he'd taken it from.Quickly, other sailors ran up to thedeck and tied ropes to the wyvern's halter, harness and huge, birdlike legs.In minutes the wyvern was secured in place.It didn't look as if it minded.When it had finished turning over the bones rolling on the swaying deck ittucked its head under its wing and promptly went to sleep."Told ya," the mermaid said, when the wyvern had obviously settled."Thank you," the skipper replied, dryly."Okay, let's get these sails trimmedand get back under way!""The fleet's about sixty klicks southeast," Elayna said."Them that's left."* * *"Marshal! Great news! The UFS fleet is practically destroyed, they'reretreating on every front!"Page 42 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlChansa looked up from his paperwork at his chief of staff and grunted.ABC Amber Text Converter Trial version,http://www.thebeatlesforever.com/processtext/abctxt.html"How many carriers did we get?" he asked, leaning back in his chair, whichcreaked.Marshal Chansa Mulengela was huge, two and a half meters tall and broad inproportion.The small office that he had appropriated in the bowels of theCouncil facilities made him look bigger.And, despite the news, he didn't lookhappy."It looks like four," the chief of staff said, wondering what it would take toget the Key-holder to smile."The way is open for the invasion fleet!""Only four?" Chansa growled."Damn.""Reports are still trickling in," the chief of staff noted."We might havegotten the fifth as well.""There's still theHazhir down in the Isles," Chansa noted."You can be sure that even an idiotlikeDraskovich will recall it.""It's been modified," the chief of staff noted."Their Buships does notconsider it combatworthy." The chief of staff shrugged."Their Buships is as stupid as you are, then," Chansa growled."It's beenmodified by that asshole, Shar Chang.If he's put in modifications, you canguarantee they're going to make it more combatworthy, not less.What about thestrike on the headquarters?""It appears that was successful as well," the chief said."It was on fire whenthe wyverns withdrew.They reported that there was a great dragon there, one that we didn't knowabout from intelligence reports.""What about intel from the headquarters?" Chansa asked."What are we gettingfrom there?""The chain is long on that source, sir," the chief reminded him."We probablywon't have anything for a couple of days.""Stay on it," Chansa said after thinking about it for a moment."I won't behappy about launching the full fleet until we've run down their last carrier.Where did they retire to?""South, sir," the chief replied, glancing at his notes."The orcas report thatthey've been driven off, so we're not sure exactly where it is.And there's astorm coming into the area so it's unlikely we can press action immediately.""Where's theCanaris?" Chansa asked."Moving north along the Norau coast, headed for the Granbas rendezvous.""Signal them to stand off the coast," Chansa said."I don't want someonefiguring out a way to take them out.""Yes, sir.""Go," Chansa said, looking at the paperwork on his desk."I've got otherthings to handle."* * *As luck would have it, the admiral could be seen not too long afterwards,circling the madly burning building, his staff clustered around him."General Talbot," the admiral said, approaching him when he noticed him, andthe cluster of officers around him.The admiral took in the burned arm andshook his head."I'd have thought you'd be long gone by the time the firstbomb hit.""My ensign was upstairs," the general replied with a shrug."I wasn't going toleave her to burn.""No," the admiral said, his jaw working."But I wonder, how did you divinethat there would be an attack on this building?"Page 43 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlEdmund sighed and shook his head wearily."Remember what I said about studyingwar? I was doing that when you were going through potty training, Admiral.Attacking the headquarters, given that most of your ships were at sea, wasthe obvious choice.I'd have probably hit the warehouses instead, but that'snot how Chansa thinks.The first time I saw this building I thought: What alovely target."ABC Amber Text Converter Trial version,http://www.thebeatlesforever.com/processtext/abctxt.html"How did they manage to find it, then," General Kabadda snarled."Because your whole damned base is lit up like a Yule Tree," Edmund sighed."Ever heard the term'blackout'?" he asked, then shook his head at the sign of bewilderment ontheir faces."Lord, give me strength
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Tematy
IndexLumley.Brian. .[Psychomech.03]. .Psychoamok
Jeffries Sabrina Lord 03 Niebezpieczny lord
Coulter Catherine Gwiazda 03 Gwiazda z nefrytu
Łajkowska Anna Wrzosowisko 03 Cienie na wrzosowisku
Coulter Catherine Baron 03 Szalony baron
Fiora 03 Fiora i papież Benzoni Juliette
Marlowe Mia Dotyk 03 Dotyk oszustaS303
Flanagan John Zwiadowcy 03 Ziemia skuta lodem
00153 bad9d5519c46954f7203237de (2)
Lee Child Ostatnia sprawa