Starcruiser Polaris_He Never Died by Richard Tongue

Author:Richard Tongue [Tongue, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Publisher
Published: 2017-11-18T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

 “Wing Commander?” Commodore McKinnon asked. “Could I talk to you for a moment?”

 “Of course, ma’am,” he replied.

 “In private,” she said. “We have secured a suite on the ground floor. One of the perks of having a unified delegation.” She looked at the rebel group, walking out of the hall, none of them willing to talk to the others, and continued, “How they expect to get anywhere with that sort of attitude I don’t know. None of them have anything resembling a coherent plan for the future of human space. They’re at risk of letting the Federation win by default.”

 “Commodore Curtis won’t let that happen,” Kani said, allowing his erstwhile senior officer to take the lead. “If I overstepped my mark earlier, I apologize, but I felt it necessary to allow Joe’s last words to be heard. I truly believe they speak for the bulk of our people.”

 “I agree,” she said, “though I don’t think you’ve made a friend of Admiral Crawford. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, long term. His influence back home is deteriorating rapidly. Ours is on the rise.” With a smile, she walked down the corridor, a pair of guards at a discrete distance, and said, “We took a gamble, and it paid off.” Glancing at Kani, she added, “I had wondered about you, Win. You’ve been acting as though you’re one of the rebels. I’m aware that more than a few of our people have joined their cause, but….”

 “The enemy of our enemy, Commodore. And with all due respect, Commodore Curtis and his son are two of the finest tacticians I’ve ever seen. I don’t think anyone else could have pulled off some of the stunts they pulled. And I include myself in that.”

 “From the reports I’ve seen, you are far too modest,” she replied, pushing open a door to reveal a near-empty room, only a handful of chairs and a table inside, the walls burned and blackened, the window hastily repaired. “Apparently they tried to hold a few ringleaders here while the riots were taking place, and the locals found them. As a result, we’re paying a lot less for the room than we otherwise would. Have a seat.”

 Kani sat in the nearest chair, and said, “I think you have several excellent people on your ship to take over from Joe Kowalski, ma’am. If you need to talk to me first...”

 “No, no,” she said, shaking her head. “Not that at all. I’m not concerned with that at the moment. What I am concerned with is you. That speech you made won you a lot of friends, Win, perhaps more than you know, and it’s going to have an effect upon your future. I need to ask now whether or not you have considered a political career.”

 “Not at all, ma’am,” he replied. “Though it is only fair to tell you now that I do not intend to remain in the military upon the cessation of hostilities. I’ll continue to serve until they are over, of course, but after that, I think I’ve flown my last mission.

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