With a sigh, she bent over and scooped up as much of the money as she could carry in her hands. She’d see if Trey could give her enough SmartCoin to rent a 3D printer long enough to make a cheap gun. Even if she had to borrow the money against her future pension checks, it would be worth it.
The first hint of trouble to reach Rubinelle was the loss of contact with the recon dirigible floating gracefully over western Nigeria/eastern Benin. After collecting the available facts, including the last video transmissions from the airship, she got the empress and the chief of staff of the Air Force and the BrainTrust Expedition Commander on a video call. “We have trouble. The Chinese have apparently decided to ally with the Imam. We might be facing a serious threat.”
The image on Rubinelle’s pho
