Rift (The Resistance Book One) by Nathan Hystad

Author:Nathan Hystad [Hystad, Nathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Woodbridge Press
Published: 2019-01-19T22:00:00+00:00

14

Jarden

Jarden Fairbanks lost his smile for the first time in weeks. Someone had been snooping, and he didn’t like that one bit. They were on schedule, the pilot would be arriving in a couple of weeks, and he’d be reunited with them soon. Yes, soon.

The key to his plan was no one from the outside learning what he was doing out here in the middle of nowhere. Everything was hinging on their anonymity.

Jarden scanned through the alerts and found it. Someone from Stellae had done the prodding. He’d set up alarms on multiple files on the Earth Fleet’s internal Interface, accessible only to select officers and the Council. It had to be Jish’s lackey Tob, the sniffling rat.

It didn’t mean anything. So they’d found the funds being moved around. It didn’t mean they knew where he was, and they were running out of time. He had a month to wait them out; then he would be gone, aboard his beautiful Eureka.

He was alerted that someone was at his door. “Enter.”

A woman in her mid-thirties entered his office, wearing her new uniform, every inch of it perfectly pressed and white. “Sir.” She saluted him, and he waved her off. It wasn’t necessary to salute the Fleet Council, though most officers did so out of respect.

“Hello, First Officer Barkley.” Her left eye twitched as he said her title. “Or do you prefer Heather?”

She smiled at his casual use of her first name, and he liked her more for it. “Heather is fine. What can I do for you, sir?”

Jarden motioned for her to have a seat at his desk. “Heather, we’re coming to the end of our deadline, and if I’m to believe all the reports I’ve been given, the ship is fully operational.”

She nodded but didn’t speak.

“Is that correct?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. We’ve tested a wide array of functions, even some of the more unorthodox ones in the blueprints, and everything is to specifications. Eureka is functional and ready for your mission. Captain Young is pacing around wondering where he’ll be leading it,” Heather said.

Jarden noticed she was sitting straight-backed, only half on the chair.

“And you?” he asked, feigning mild disinterest as he swirled the last melting ice cube around the bottom of his glass.

“I’m excited to find out as well, sir,” came her answer.

“What do you think of Young?” he asked, this time staring her straight in the eyes. Jarden knew he was an imposing figure, even though he was well over a hundred years old and appeared frail to the younger crew member.

“I… uhm… Young is…” Heather stammered.

“Young’s an idiot, isn’t he?” Jarden offered.

“I wouldn’t say he’s an idiot, sir. He’s a very capable captain,” she said with the hint of a smile.

“Regardless, I want you to know you have a spot on my crew.” He needed some loyalty when they all found out what was really happening, and he needed this one to be on his side.

“Thank you, sir.” She sat up straighter, if that was possible, and he leaned forward.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.