Forged by Battle (WarVerse Book 1)

Author:Loller, Patrick J. [Loller, Patrick J.]
Language: eng
Format: azw
Published: 2014-12-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 32

Johnston

Johnston slammed his fist down onto the table, knocking coffee onto his datapad.

"How the hell have we not found anything?" he snarled, the words barely audible.

McKinley stood stock-still across from his deck, his eyes focused on a spot just above the captain's head, his hands at his sides.

"Relax, Chris." Johnston waved a hand at his XO. "You are the only bloody officer on this ship I can trust. Don't lose your spine on me now."

The XO followed orders by putting his hands behind his back and moving his right foot so he was standing at parade rest. Johnston knew this was the best he was going to get out. McKinley took the failure to find anything as a personal one, and it would take more than an order from Johnston to assuage that sense of pride.

"Everyone has been accounted for. We did the muster twice, and had the ship's AI check on every personnel AMI unit. Doctor Kerrigan has positive ID on every one of her patients as well as Lieutenant Barkhorn, who was wounded fighting the fire."

"Barkhorn is on the fire suppression team?" Johnston raised an eyebrow.

McKinley shook his head, "Negative, he was in the corridor and assisted the team. He was burned by a… uh... backblast."

"I never know whether to give that man a medal or an arse chewing." Johnston sighed.

McKinley's lip twitched, the equivalent of an explosive laugh from the statue of a man.

"He does seem to put himself in dangerous situations, sir."

"Is he still flight-ready?" Every member of his crew was important to Johnston, but he found himself growing found of the young pilot and the strange quirks that brought him across his desk.

"Doctor Kerrigan has had to threaten sedation several times to keep him from doing just that, sir. Though she assures me he will be ready before we are out of warp."

"Well, definitely a medal, then." Johnston shook his head. "Did we discover the source of the fire?"

"Negative, sir. There was no break in any of the life support lines, and the engineers who went through the damage found no battle damage. They are stumped, sir."

"This stinks of magic," Johnston growled. "Double the watch, place guards on all sensitive areas, and make sure no one goes anywhere alone. If we have an infiltrator on board..." He did not need to describe how easy it would be to destroy their ship while they were underway.

"I'll make sure it gets done."

"I believe you will, Chris. Dismissed."

His XO snapped to attention and exited the chamber, leaving him alone with his thoughts. The headache had wormed its way back into the usual spot, and he looked through his desk for the injector. He would rather fight against impossible odds with a terrestrial enemy than square off against magic he couldn't understand. Going toe-to-toe with another ship was easy; thinking of the thousand ways unknown magic could destroy his ship was another matter.

Johnston leaned back in his uncomfortable chair and thought about how to proceed. Vincent Barkhorn was really starting to come across his desk more than he would have liked.

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