Hunter's Star (Colonial War Book 4) by Richard Tongue

Author:Richard Tongue [Tongue, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2022-08-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

​“Are you sure about this?” Riley asked, looking at Hunter with a frown. “It’s one hell of a gamble, and it’s way outside our mission profile. He’ll, it’s a lot more like the sort of stunt that Hawke would have pulled.”

​“You think I should pull back?” Shaking his head, Hunter replied, “That just isn’t an option, Mike. There’s no way out of this, we’ve got to press on. And that it isn’t something I would normally do is a substantial bonus. Given that there is every chance those bastards managed to get hold of my psych profile.” He grimaced, then said, “Those files should have been deleted, not left out for the enemy to steal.”

​“There’s some logic to that, I guess, but do you really think that we’ve got the strength to pull this off? Three ships, one company…”

​“Three ships that did well in battle their first time out, and we only sustained four casualties on the surface, only one of them fatal. Amazing, given the circumstances of the drop.” He paused, then said, “There just isn’t any other choice. We retreat, the war’s over.”

​“And we go to the peace table.” Riley sighed, then said, “Maybe that would be for the best anyway. Maybe after all of this madness, all of this insanity, anything that gets us out of the nightmare is a blessing.” He looked at Hunter, then said, “Do we really want to extend this war?”

​“If it was just the Federation, but it isn’t. The Olympians aren’t out for strategic gains at the negotiating table, they’re out for genetic conquest, and the Free Worlds are their target. You can bet that the first thing our glorious leadership will concede are our treaties out here. Which will leave them open to assault and invasion. They’ve been our allies…”

​“After a fashion.”

​“As I said, they’ve been our allies for decades, and I don’t intend to turn my back on them now. We’ve got to beat the Olympians, whatever the odds. I agree that we can’t possibly do it with the ships we have at the moment, so we’ve got to find a way to get those bastards back home to send us the reinforcements we need, ships that will actually be able to stay out here for long enough to make a difference.”

​“It all makes sense, Jack, I don’t deny that. I just think that it is one hell of a gamble, and while it has a hell of a payoff, the odds are too rich for me.”

​Looking at him, Hunter said, “You aren’t going.”

​“What? Look, I was bluffing, I don’t actually want a transfer, I’ve only just got myself comfortable in my cabin. The crew…”

​“It’s not permanent, just temporary,” Hunter said. “I’m sending you to Hyperborea with Kruger.” Before he could protest, he added, “Look, if I had a senior Hyperborean, I’d send him. He at least has a good enough reputation that they’ll listen to him, but you know everyone out there as well as I do. You know where the bodies are buried and you know who can get things done.

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