Where Legal Eagles Dare: An Opco Boone Adventure: Difference between revisions

Where Legal Eagles Dare: An Opco Boone Adventure (view source)

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-{{a|opcoboone|}}{{smallcaps|As a blood-red sun}} dipped to the rim of the world, they watched the procession thunder across the desert, a mile below. An eighteen-wheeler Double-O battle-truck flanked by a pair of [[COO]] picket-class gunships hurtled along a dirt track. The track snaked away for ten flat miles through desiccated scrubland towards a low-lying, dusty settlement.
+{{a|opcoboone|}}{{smallcaps|As a blood-red sun}} dipped to the rim of the world, they watched the procession thunder across the desert, a mile below. An eighteen-wheeler Double-O battle-truck, flanked by a pair of [[COO]] picket-class gunships, hurtled along a dirt track that snaked away for ten flat miles through desiccated scrubland towards the Settlement.
 <div style="text-indent: 20px; margin: 0; padding:0;">The watchers stood on an arête, 4,000 metres above the plain. The tallest of them was shrouded in a billowing canopy. The outriders either side of him straddled dirt bikes.
-The three watchers took it all in. They scanned the Settlement. Aside from a curlicue of smoke, tainted pink in the dying sunset, rising from its central boilerplate processing complex all was quiet. The seven gaunt baffle-towers that ringed the citadel at equidistant points remained dark. ''But for how much longer?'' They exchanged glances. They ''knew''.
+The three watchers took it all in. They scanned the Settlement. Aside from a curlicue of smoke rising from its central [[boilerplate]] processing complex, all was quiet. The seven gaunt baffle-towers ringing the citadel remained dark.
-Dusk drew in. Presently, the baffle-towers flashed coordinated pulses of light: ''three long, three short, three long''.
+''But for how much longer?''
+The watchers exchanged glances. They ''knew''.
+Dusk drew in. Presently, the baffle-towers coordinated and flashed nine pulses of light.
 The tall one pointed and said, “That’s it. That’s the signal. It is time.”
@@ Line 15: / Line 19: @@
 “Yes, Algy, I’m sure: S. O. S.”
-The right-hand rider spoke: “But, boss, that’s “dash-dash-dash, dot-dot-dot, dash-dash-dash”.”
+The right-hand rider spoke: “But, boss, that was ''dash-dash-dash—dot-dot-dot—dash-dash-dash''.”
 “Right, George.”
-“But that says, “O. S. O”.”
+“But that says, ''O. S. O''.”
-“It’s a typo, I should think.”
+“Oh. Right. Odd. Must be a typo.”
-“Wait! Look!”
+“Wait! Look!” cried Algy. “There’s more!”
-The towers were re-energising and beamed out some more. this time the message was longer. ''Dot-dot-dash-dot—dash—dot-dash—dash-dash-dash—dash-dot-dot''.
+The towers were re-energising. The beamed out some more: this time a longer string. ''Dot-dot-dash-dot—dash—dot-dash—dash-dash-dash—dash-dot-dot''.
 George rifled through her code book. Her brow furrowed.
@@ Line 33: / Line 37: @@
 “It’s — um — well this is odd. ''[[For the avoidance of doubt|F—T—A—O—D]]''”
-“What can it mean? It’s gibberish, Commander!”
+Algy quailed. “What can it mean? It’s gibberish, Commander!”
-But Boone knew it was not gibberish. It was a sign that conditions in the Settlement were worse even than he feared. “Oh, for heaven’s ''sake'',” he muttered. “We’ll be here all day. You two had better get on with it.”
+But Boone knew it was not gibberish. It was a sign that conditions in the Settlement were worse even than he had feared. “Oh, for heaven’s ''sake'',” he muttered. “We’ll be here all day. You two had better get on with it.”
 The two outriders kicked over their motors, gunned their engines and cleared the peak: one went left, one right. They scrambled down the scree.
 Still on the ridge, Eagle Squadron Commander [[Opco Boone]], LL.B, stepped towards the cliff-edge.
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