Mayhem: Book 6: Blood and Metal by Will Crudge

Author:Will Crudge [Crudge, Will]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-08-22T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

Admiral Carrington stood with his hands clasped in the small of his back as he looked out of the viewing wall in the VIP lounge. It was his favorite place to meet and talk to his favorite subordinate, Jason Renault. Jason sat on the plush couch, as was his favorite spot. Even as an admiral, Jason was assigned a sparsely adorned flagship. Jason craned his neck around the luxurious space and wondered how comforting Nemesis could really be if only he had time to keep it docked long enough to take on some creature comforts and updated decorum.

The old titanium battleships may have been the most dangerous vessels in human history, but only Fenrir was adorned with modern motifs. As the former flagship of the Norse Royal family, Fenrir had the creature comforts worthy of the king, who ceremoniously took the ship out for diplomatic tours. Invincible, however, was maintained as a museum ship with the sparse exposed conduits and lack of adornment one would expect from a warship. However, Nemesis was the least adorned of the armada.

Having sat incomplete for three centuries and then pressed into service abruptly, Nemesis still had the occasional missing deck plating or bulkhead panel. Nothing a maintenance or engineering bot wasn't designed to do was still incomplete. With a war raging, Jason knew one couldn't just pull into port and request an interior designer.

"These pirates are a problem, Jason," Carrington broke the silence. Jason lifted his head to lock eyes with the senior admiral, but he was still standing, glued to the cosmos.

"When we inevitably go on this offensive that the government is pushing us towards, there won't be many naval assets left behind to police the star ways," Jason added.

"If the Admiralty would only prioritize recruiting and expanding the Coast Guard, then this wouldn't be so much of an issue. I just can't get them to listen to reason," Carrington said before finally turning to reveal a frown.

"What are we supposed to do about it, sir?" Jason asked plainly.

Carrington shook his head and sighed. "I was hoping the illustrious Rear Admiral Jason Renault would know the answer because I don't,"

"To make things worse, the government doesn't want the general public to know that there's been an unknown human civilization out there for generations, and from what we've gleaned from our intel assets, Apex may be in league with some of them," Jason added.

"Not just 'maybe,' Jason," Carrington said. That made Jason raise his eyebrows. "That AI abomination, called the Remnant, has confirmed it,"

Jason shook his head this time. "Sir, are we sure he can even be trusted? He tried to kill my crew,"

"Perhaps," Carrington said decisively. "But as of yet, every shred of intel he's given us so far has been confirmed,"

Jason drifted into deep thought as the implications spun through his mind. If the Admiralty had no stomach to face down an aggressive human civilization for fear they'd lose public support, then piracy would certainly surge, and thousands of civilians would be vulnerable.

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