David Weber - Honor Harrington 09.6 by The Service of the Sword

Author:The Service of the Sword [Sword, The Service of the]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

” … so, Ms. Hearns,” Commander Watson said, leaning back in her chair and propping her elbows on its arms, “are there any questions?”

“I don’t believe so, Ma’am,” Abigail replied after a moment’s thought. The exec gave a good brief, she thought. She still might not think very much of Captain Oversteegen’s decision to send her down to Refuge, but she felt confident she understood what she was supposed to do once she got there.

Watson studied her for a moment, then frowned ever so slightly.

“Is something troubling you, Ms. Hearns?” she asked.

“Troubling me?” Abigail repeated, and shook her head. “No, Ma’am.”

“I wasn’t asking whether or not something about your instructions troubled you,” Watson said. “But, frankly, Ms. Hearns, I believe that something rather more fundamental is troubling you. And I’d like to know precisely what it is before I send you off groundside out of my sight.”

Abigail gazed at her, and behind her own calm expression she took herself sternly to task. Tester, the last thing I need is to sit around sulking like a schoolgirl just because the Captain hurt my feelings! she thought. And just my luck the Exec should decide to call me on it!

She considered denying Commander Watson’s charge, but she wasn’t about to compound her fault by adding lying to it. And so she drew a deep breath and made herself meet the exec’s eyes levelly.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am,” she said. “I don’t mean to be overly sensitive, but I suppose that’s what I’m being. It just … bothers me that the Captain never even seems to have considered assigning this to anyone else.”

“I see,” Watson said after a few thoughtful moments. “What you’re saying is that you resent the fashion in which the Captain seems to have chosen you for this role because of your social and religious background. Is that a fair assessment, Ms. Hearns?”

There was no condemnation in the exec’s cool voice, but neither was there any encouragement, and Abigail drew a deep breath. She started to defend herself by denying that she “resented” anything, but that would have been another lie. And so she nodded, instead.

“It sounds petty when you describe it that way, Ma’am,” she said. “And maybe it is. I know there certainly have been times since I first reported to the Island that I’ve been overly sensitive. At the same time, and without seeking to justify myself, I do believe the Captain has made certain assumptions about me and about my beliefs based upon my planet of origin and religion. And I also believe he chose me for this particular assignment at least in part because he considers that the logical person to make contact with a planet full of religious reactionaries is … well, another religious reactionary.”

“I see,” Watson repeated in exactly the same tone. Then she allowed her chair to come back upright and leaned forward, planting her elbows on her desk and folding her forearms.

“I doubt that that was an easy thing for you to say, Ms.

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