The Weltall File

Table of Contents PROLOGUE TEN DAYS EARLIER CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE CHAPTER THIRTY THEWELTALLFILE A GORDIAN DIVISION NOVEL DAVID WEBER & JACOB HOLO The Weltall File David Weber and Jacob Holo COME FOR THE GAMES. STAY FOR THE MURDER.A mystery in the Gordian Division universe.The Weltall Tournament’s professional VR games were supposed to be a symbol of cooperation between SysGov and its militaristic neighbor, the Admin. But that was before star Admin player Elly Sako received a death threat, written in blood next to a copy of her own severed head. The Admin’s Department of Temporal Investigation swiftly seizes control of the crime scene, and the tournament transforms into a flashpoint of charged politics and conflicting jurisdictions.SysPol Detective Isaac Cho and DTI Special Agent Susan Cantrell—partners in the officer exchange program—are sent in to take charge of the investigation and bring the situation under control. But solving this mystery won’t be easy, and the pair struggles to determine who is telling the truth. A jilted relationship between players soon explodes into signs of a far-reaching conspiracy, and the two detectives find themselves racing against time before the tournament ends.Because the killer will be the only one who wins, should they fail. IN THIS SERIES by DAVID WEBER and JACOB HOLO The Gordian Protocol The Valkyrie Protocol The Janus File The Weltall File BAEN BOOKS by DAVID WEBER HONOR HARRINGTON: On Basilisk Station The Honor of the Queen The Short Victorious War Field of Dishonor Flag in Exile Honor Among Enemies In Enemy Hands Echoes of Honor Ashes of Victory War of Honor Crown of Slaves (with Eric Flint) The Shadow of Saganami At All Costs Storm from the Shadows Torch of Freedom (with Eric Flint) Mission of Honor A Rising Thunder Shadow of Freedom Cauldron of Ghosts (with Eric Flint) Shadow of Victory Uncompromising Honor To End in Fire (with Eric Flint) EDITED BY DAVID WEBER More than Honor Worlds of Honor Changer of Worlds The Service of the Sword In Fire Forged Beginnings What Price Victory? MANTICORE ASCENDANT A Call to Duty (with Timothy Zahn) A Call to Arms (with Timothy Zahn & Thomas Pope) A Call to Vengeance (with Timothy Zahn & Thomas Pope) A Call to Insurrection (with Timothy Zahn & Thomas Pope) THE STAR KINGDOM A Beautiful Friendship Fire Season (with Jane Lindskold) Treecat Wars (with Jane Lindskold) A New Clan (with Jane Lindskold) House of Steel: The Honorverse Companion (with BuNine) The Sword of the South Empire from the Ashes Mutineers’ Moon The Armageddon Inheritance Heirs of Empire Path of the Fury In Fury Born The Apocalypse Troll The Excalibur Alternative Oath of Swords The War God’s Own Wind Rider’s Oath War Maid’s Choice Hell’s Gate (with Linda Evans) Hell Hath No Fury (with Linda Evans) The Road to Hell (with Joelle Presby) WITH STEVE WHITE Insurrection Crusade In Death Ground The Shiva Option WITH JOHN RINGO March Upcountry March to the Sea March to the Stars We Few WITH ERIC FLINT 1633 1634: The Baltic War WITH RICHARD FOX Governor The Weltall File This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. Copyright © 2023 by Words of Weber, Inc., & Jacob Holo All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form. A Baen Books Original Baen Publishing Enterprises P.O. Box 1403 Riverdale, NY 10471 www.baen.com ISBN: 978-1-9821-9265-5 eISBN: 978-1-62579-916-6 Cover art by Kurt Miller First printing, June 2023 Distributed by Simon & Schuster 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Weber, David, 1952– author. | Holo, Jacob, author. Title: The Weltall file : a Gordian Division novel / David Weber & Jacob Holo. Identifiers: LCCN 2023002644 (print) | LCCN 2023002645 (ebook) | ISBN9781982192655 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781625799166 (ebook) Subjects: LCGFT: Science fiction. | Novels. Classification: LCC PS3573.E217 W45 2023 (print) | LCC PS3573.E217 (ebook) | DDC 813/.54—dc23/eng/20230203 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023002644 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023002645 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Electronic version by Baen Books www.baen.com This one is for Jim Baen (1943–2006), the friend, editor, and mentor who founded ENTER THE WELTALL TOURNAMENT AND BECOME A PART OF HISTORY! DID YOU KNOW? The