A Peripheral Affair by George RR Martin

Author:George RR Martin [Martin, George RR]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 6493442
Published: 2011-09-22T01:31:16+00:00

* * * *

Garris went to his cabin and thought through most of his sleep shift. It got him precisely nowhere. When he finally returned to the bridge, the Mjolnir was four hours out of Duncan's World, and the situation was getting tense.

A stack of reports was sitting on his command console. He read them one by one, starting from the top. Admiral Mandel had beamed the KwanDellan regional capital on ArsashNag and had demanded that the Defiance be returned. The local BrotherWorlds administrator had been baffled at first, then amused, and finally indignant. The session had ended with the admiral shouting threats.

Mandel had issued orders for the Periphery Defense Force to abandon its detection web, and reform into two battle fleets. The admiral was still unwilling to risk an out-and-out attack on the KwanDellan, but he wanted to set up blockades of the two nearest BrotherWorlds colonies. Since the KwanDellan had no warships in the region, it seemed like a safe maneuver.

The bottom report wasn't about Mandel at all, which Garris found to be relieving.

The report said that Hollander, the crewman late of the Defiance , had no living relatives. But he did have a girl on Last Landing. Fleet personnel had tried to locate her to break the news, but without success. It was reported that she had gone off-planet, although she left no forwarding address.

That was unfortunate, Garris thought. She'd get the news eventually no matter where she went, of course. But there was no telling how, or when. A fleet representative might have been able to break things more gently. Terrible timing, it seemed—

He frowned in midthought. An odd suspicion had crossed his mind. He looked around for that file on Hollander he had intended to read once.

It was still on the console, covered by a pile of more recent documents. Garris brushed them aside and leaned back to read the file.

He smiled a bit as he perused the first page. Then the smile widened to a grin, and he chuckled softly to himself. He flipped through it page by page, still grinning.

Around page four, the grin faded and was replaced by a look of concern. He continued to read with mounting horror.

When he finished, he slapped the file down on the console savagely, straightened, and bellowed across the bridge at the startled comm man. “Get me Mandel. At once,” he yelled.

The admiral finally appeared on the Mjolnir viewscreen, harried and angry. “I hope this is important, Garris. I don't have time to argue with you. Coordinating a fleet in battle is a full-time job.”

“You're making a terrible mistake, sir,” Garris said. “Stop the mobilization. I've figured it all out. The KwanDellan have nothing to do with it.”

“Nonsense,” Mandel snarled. He pointed a finger at the screen. “I warn you, Garris, I won't tolerate any insubordination on your part. I'm the commandant in this sector, and I'll make the decisions.”

The admiral turned as if to signal to end the connection. Garris yelped loudly and shot from his seat.

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