Return Fire (Earth at War Book 3) by Rick Partlow

Author:Rick Partlow [Partlow, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pramantha Publishing
Published: 2020-12-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“Is this alcoholic?” I asked, staring into a bowl of something as red as blood. I was hoping it was alcoholic and not actual blood. With the Skrith, you couldn’t be sure.

“I think so,” Garcia said, taking an experimental sip and making a face. “Not good alcohol, but probably alcohol.”

He looked like he needed it. The vote had been called shortly after I’d come back down the stairs, and each delegation had retired to private rooms to discuss things amongst themselves before casting their votes via an electronic system. That had been nearly two hours ago and I was about to fall asleep waiting for them.

I thought about whether I should try it. I hadn’t drunk anything alcoholic in a long time. I hadn’t known for sure whether I was an alcoholic but didn’t want to take the chance and I’d quit, cold turkey. But shit, this was some sort of alien blood liquor. I sipped from the bowl, wishing the Skrith used cups. I felt like I was drinking the last of the milk from the cereal when I was a kid. If the milk had been a wine cooler. I made a face at the taste, but kept sipping because what the hell else was I gonna do?

“I don’t think my dad waited this long to find out the results of the 2000 presidential election.”

“Don’t like computer voting,” Garcia said, taking another drink. “Too easy to hack.”

“I’m fairly sure they’d know if their votes were hacked,” Olivera said, perhaps too tired or maybe too testy to have a sense of humor about much of anything.

“You did your best, Clanton,” Garcia went on as if he hadn’t heard the general. “It wasn’t a bad speech.” He thumped his chest with a fist. “From the heart. I liked that.”

“We need to get going,” Julie fretted, checking her comm unit for the umpteenth time, and the third time in the last twenty minutes. “God knows how long we have before the Tevynians arrive or what the hell is going on at home.”

“I already have Colonel Brooks loading the Rangers up on Shuttle Two,” I told her. “Pops and the team are going to accompany us back to the port after the vote.”

“We can’t leave before the vote’s announced,” Garcia told her.

“What difference does it make if we know they’ll be voting against us?” she demanded, an edge in her voice I knew she was already regretting. I squeezed her hand and she sighed. “Sorry, Mr. Secretary.”

“Yeah, we know it’ll go against us,” he admitted. “But in my job, you have to take the long view. Maybe someone will change their mind tomorrow, or maybe five years from now.”

“If we head back to face everything the Tevynians have left with just the Jambo,” I said, “I don’t think we have a long view.”

“Maybe not, but that’s you guys’ game. This is mine.”

A door scraped open across the hall and the delegations filed back into the room. No one spoke until they

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