{"id":254595,"date":"2026-07-13T03:39:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T00:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/blade-through-the-heart-carrie-vaughn\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T03:39:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T00:39:48","slug":"blade-through-the-heart-carrie-vaughn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/blade-through-the-heart-carrie-vaughn\/","title":{"rendered":"Blade Through The Heart – Carrie Vaughn"},"content":{"rendered":"
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But over comms I tell her, \u201cI\u2019ve got this.\u201d And what do you know, she backs off. I pop open my faceplate and try to look nonthreatening, even while I\u2019m keyed up and stressed out and wearing a combat-grade hard-shell environment suit. Avery\u2019s fists are closed, and she\u2019s got this jaw-clenched expression of desperation, like she thinks she\u2019s going to have to fight me, however useless that would be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Commander Graff of the TGS Visigoth. This is your rescue.\u201d She breathes out a sigh and drops to her knees. We don\u2019t have enough water and ration bars for everyone, but we distribute what we have, just to get people woken up and on their feet. This many hostages changes our escape plan. I don\u2019t think we can bring everyone back to the tower roof for extraction by shuttle.<\/p>\n

The bombardments are getting closer, and the periodic explosions rattling dust from the ceiling aren\u2019t helping anyone\u2019s mood. I dig into my very good memory to review the schematic of the tunnel systems, various ingress and egress points, whatever reconnaissance could tell us. We\u2019d skipped ground-level exits before, assuming they\u2019d be too well guarded. I send Brown to scout ahead to find the path of least resistance, with instructions on where the likely exits are.<\/p>\n

I tap Xun\u2019s shoulder. \u201cSee, that right there is one of my enhancements. Detailed instant memory access? That\u2019s artificial. You didn\u2019t even ask.\u201d She stares. \u201cI just always thought you had a really good memory.\u201d \u201cI do.\u201d I\u2019m a little offended. \u201cYeah, but not like artificially good.\u201d If I\u2019ve had it my whole life, is it even artificial? Avery explains the extra people. They folded a group of Trade Guild diplomatic observers into the medical unit when fighting broke out.<\/p>\n

They were two hours from a planned extraction when the fortress people captured them. \u201cI\u2019ve got four injured,\u201d she says, when I ask for a briefing. \u201cThree ambulatory, but one has a broken leg. Stable now, but\u2014\u201d \u201cRight. It\u2019s fine, this is just the kind of thing we do.\u201d More complications. Wouldn\u2019t want the job to get too easy, right? Kind of thrilling, facing a challenge I know we\u2019re prepared for. Everything would have to go just right for us to pull this off. So we have to make sure it does.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there\u2019s just three of you!\u201d She sounds skeptical. I\u2019m really tired of skepticism just now. \u201cYou\u2019ll have to trust me. We\u2019ve done this before.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m just \u2026 depressed that this kind of thing happens that often.\u201d Yeah. \u201cWe need to work out a marching order.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Thank you for buying this Tor Publishing Group ebook. To receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters. Or visit us online at us.macmillan.com\/newslettersignup For email updates on the author, click here. 1kitap1.com\/en The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied so that you can enjoy reading it on your personal devices. This e-book is for your personal use only. You may not print or post this e-book, or make this e-book publicly available in any way.<\/p>\n

You may not copy, reproduce, or upload this e-book, other than to read it on one of your personal devices. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author\u2019s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillan.com\/piracy. 1kitap1.com\/en The three of us perch on a ridiculous tower on an impregnable fortress on an inhospitable planet at the start of an unexpected war.<\/p>\n

Bombardments pound back and forth on the front lines some ten kilometers away, with primitive gunpowder-launched projectiles, the shit people used to mix up by hand and shove into iron tubes with sticks. It sounds like endless thunder. \u201cIs this a joke?\u201d Xun asked when we reached the tower after our insertion a few kilometers back on the mountain and got our first look at the local infantry: maybe fifty guys in homespuns carrying spears and swords.<\/p>\n

We have stun pistols and plasma weapons. We could take over the whole region without effort. \u201cIt\u2019s feudalism,\u201d Brown answered. Xun huffed. \u201cYeah, but why?\u201d \u201cBecause when you have a planet like this with shitty conditions and not many resources, people band together for protection, and then one guy takes over everything, and\u2026\u201d He waved his hand at our surroundings, a wordless conclusion. Except usually, you get a few guys trying to take over everything, and they start fighting with each other, and the Trade Guild medical outreach mission that was here trying to vaccinate children and teach about clean water gets caught in the middle and taken hostage.<\/p>\n

The Visigoth crew has a pretty specialized skill set, getting into and out of situations like this, both in space and on the ground.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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