Democracy: Book 01 - Democracy's Right by Christopher Nuttall

Author:Christopher Nuttall [Nuttall, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-07-25T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“Do you trust her?”

Daria nodded, although her eyes were hard. “I think that she is about as trustworthy as any member of the Thousand Families ever gets,” she said. Colin snorted. That wasn’t a particularly strong recommendation. “On the other hand, we do have testimony from her former crew and they think quite highly of her. She’s no Bleeding Heart” – the term for an aristocrat who set out to improve the lives of the poor, if they wanted it or not – “but she’s definitely someone we can work with.”

“We can also keep an eye on her,” Anderson said, reluctantly. He’d been one of the strongest voices arguing against keeping Lady Hannelore Ellicott-Chatham anywhere near the rebel fleet or the Popular Front. “If she decides to do something stupid, we don’t give her a second chance.”

Colin nodded. “Agreed,” he said. He looked up at Cordova, who was perched on a stool that allowed him to display his latest uniform to best advantage. Colin suspected that, if one of Imperial Intelligence’s assassins managed to get into the room and opened fire, Cordova would be the first target. He had the most striking appearance. “And how do you feel about her?”

Cordova didn't look surprised at the question. “She has a great deal of potential,” he said. “If she’d had the resources of the Roosevelt Family behind her, she would have gone far. And she reminds me a little of myself, someone who was always held back by law and custom. I thought that I would give her the opportunity to rebel.”

Colin smiled. Unless he missed his guess, Cordova found Lady Hannelore – she would have to ditch the title if she wanted to join the Popular Front, at least in public – attractive. He supposed that he couldn't blame him, not when she was pretty and charmingly intelligent to boot, but it risked opening up a security breach. He didn't need Anderson to remind him of the time that Imperial Intelligence had used pillow talk between an officer and his mistress, who was working for Imperial Intelligence, to condemn him for aiding and abetting criminal acts against the Empire. The story had broken up relationships all over the fleet.

“We will see how she works out,” he said. He looked over at Colonel Frandsen. “How are the first batches of new recruits working out?”

Frandsen considered. It wasn't usual for a Colonel to take part in training recruits – normally, even in the Marine Corps, they would rarely see anyone higher than a Captain until they had graduated – but nothing had been usual since they had rebelled against the Empire. Besides, Frandsen had insisted on monitoring the training himself and Colin hadn’t had the heart to refuse. They couldn't afford mistakes caused by inexperienced officers and Frandsen had two tours at the Marine Corps Training Centre under his belt.

“Well enough,” he said, after a moment’s thought. “They’ve definitely got the promise. We weeded out a handful of trouble-makers and people who simply couldn't follow instructions and the remainder are undergoing heavier training now.

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