Prince Dominator (The Prince of Britannia Saga Book 8) by Fred Hughes

Author:Fred Hughes [Hughes, Fred]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Theogony Books
Published: 2024-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11: Meetings

Britannia System

Empire Date: August 1045

Hazard did something the next morning that was totally out of character for him. He slept in. He needed to. He and Hiroko had “talked” well into the early hours of the morning, and both were exhausted. Knowing people would become concerned when he didn’t appear at 0600, the normal time he’d be in his office, Hazard had sent a text informing the staff he’d be sleeping in. He ordered them to wake him at 0800 if he wasn’t already up.

The dining room was full when Hazard walked in at 0745. Snake Atwater, never an early riser, sat next to Doc Warren. Both were eating breakfast. I’ve got to ask Hiroko if something’s going on between those two. Also at the table were Captain Alice Blom, his chief of staff; Commodore Dorothy Evers, who currently commanded Task Force Lovat; Commodore Gordon Chesser; and Captain Børge Moen, Lovat’s captain.

“I hope everyone rested well,” Hazard said as he entered and walked to the head of the table. Everyone started to rise. “Please, remain seated,” Hazard said as he waved them back into their chairs.

“Cecile’s fixing your breakfast, my prince,” Oliver Kendrick informed Hazard as he filled his coffee cup.

Hazard was just taking his first sip when Mike Sondheim entered. He noted Mike wore a Marine dress uniform. “All gussied up, Mike?”

“Have to be. The commandant will attend today’s first meeting, and I’m sure he’ll bring the bald-headed SOB who’s the master sergeant of the Corps with him. I can’t let him show me up.”

“It isn’t often we see you in uniform, Master Gunner,” Snake said.

“As sharp as the uniforms are, I don’t much like strutting around like a peacock,” Mike muttered. He turned to his prince. “Harvey and Beth have the shuttle ready to carry us to the palace. He’s already gotten clearance, and it’s only a five-minute flight. Figure five minutes to load, and another five to unload, so we need to leave by 0845.” Staff Sergeant Harvey Grub and Sergeant Beth Gibson had been Hazard’s pilots when he’d commanded the destroyer Cheetah. Mike had integrated the two into Team Hazard when they’d brought the severely wounded Hazard King home after the Battle of Tarrant.

“We need to eat up, then,” Hazard said. “I hope no one minds if I conduct a little business while we’re at it?”

Murmurs of, “Of course, sir,” raced around the table.

“Good. Børge, what’s Lovat’s status?”

“We finally got her into one of the space docks for repair and refit,” the carrier’s captain reported. “It took a little arm twisting. The dock manager didn’t like his carefully orchestrated docking schedule thrown into disarray.”

“But you got her docked, correct?”

“Oh, yes, sir. I sent a message to Commodore Drake, and within fifteen minutes, the dock commander was pulling a cruiser out of the dock, and in we went. Once everything was secure and we connected to dock power, we shut everything down, and I sent the entire crew on two weeks’ leave, just as you ordered.

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