Arsenals of Death (Doomsday War Book 2) by Richard Tongue

Author:Richard Tongue [Tongue, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Mendoza sat at the conference table, a nervous Caudwell sitting to her right, Fawcett on her left, a scattering of other reserve officers gathered around. She glanced at her watch, then across at Fawcett, who shrugged with a smile. Cole was late, though she hadn’t really expected anything different. If the man truly believed that he held all the cards, he’d act accordingly.

“Anyone want to get something to eat?” she asked, breaking the tension. “It’s way past time for dinner, and I’m saving the humble pie for the Senator.” She looked at Caudwell, then said, “Relax, Nate. It’ll be fine.”

“I admire your optimism, but I don’t think I share it,” he replied. “We’ve waited a long time for this opportunity, and I never thought we’d get it. Now it could all get thrown away because you talked back to a Senator.”

“He puts on his pants one leg at a time just like you,” she retorted. “That’s the problem with the Confederation. When these people started becoming special, started giving out the idea that they were somehow better than the rest of us, everything started to fall apart.” Shaking her head, she added, “They aren’t better than us. Quite the reverse.”

“Tell them that,” Caudwell quipped.

“She’s right,” Fawcett said, rubbing his wrists. “There’s something very wrong here, and I seem to remember swearing an oath to protect the people of the Confederation from all threats, internal and external. There are worse things out there than the Tyrants. Read a history book sometime. We’re quite capable of conjuring up our own oppressors.” He looked at Caudwell, and said, “Just what did you mean by ‘opportunity’, anyway.”

“A chance to show what we can….”

“Oh, knock it off, Nate, I think we’re a way past that,” Mendoza said. “It’s pretty much what you thought, Lieutenant, except that we’re not stupid enough to try and declare independence in the middle of a fight for our lives. Once this is all over, there are going to be some changes, but that’s for another time.” She looked at Solis Station, slowly drifting through space, and said, “It’s so damned fragile. All of it.”

“You might care to remember that the next time you try some sort of insane stunt,” Cole said, striding into the room, flanked by a pair of over-muscled aides. “I am tolerating this meeting, ladies and gentlemen, but my time is valuable, so I will get right to the point.”

“Sit down,” Mendoza said. “And send your thugs away.”

“My aides will remain here,” he replied. “And let me tell…”

“Senator, someone set you up,” she said. “Aren’t you interested about that? Admiral Liu obviously assured you that you would be perfectly safe here, and yet we came under attack, an attack almost certainly launched from the system to which you dispatched Xenophon and her crew,” Mendoza began.

Glancing at her, Fawcett said, “Not to mention the unlawful detention of Lieutenant Bryant, Ensign Nguyen and myself. Senator, we’ve got enough on you to see you thrown out of the nearest

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