The Orion Front - A Hard Military Space Opera Adventure by M. D. Cooper

Author:M. D. Cooper [Cooper, M. D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Wooden Pen Press
Published: 2019-03-13T16:00:00+00:00

WAR TABLE

STELLAR DATE: 10.11.8949 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: ISS I2, Airtha

REGION: Huygens System, Transcend Interstellar Alliance

“My father has asked me to return to Khardine,” Sera said without preamble as she strode into Tangel’s kitchen.

Krissy and Tangel were already present, a glass of wine before each, and a bowl of fruit on the table between them.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” a male voice said from her right, and Sera spun to see Jason leaning against the counter, a cup of coffee nestled between his fingers.

“Put that down,” Sera said, gesturing to the cup he held.

“Why?” he asked as he complied, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Sera didn’t reply, instead rushing forward and crashing into him, her arms encircling his chest as she pressed her cheek into his.

“Stars I’ve missed you,” she whispered fiercely.

New Canaan’s governor chuckled softly. “It’s only been a few weeks.”

“A few too many,” Sera replied.

“Well, I came as soon as I heard about your sisters. How are you holding up?”

Until that moment, if anyone else had asked, Sera would have said she was holding up just fine, and she wouldn’t have believed it to be a falsehood. She’d decided not to talk to Helen, and was optimistic that, together, Earnest and Finaeus would be able to save Seraphina and Fina the same way they’d saved Cheeky.

But when Jason voiced the question, a shuddering sob escaped her lips and she felt the energy drain from her limbs.

“I got you,” Jason whispered in her ear, the strength that flowed from him through those three words immediately reversing the weariness that threatened to subsume her.

“So you really came because you heard about my sisters?” Sera asked, forcing herself to regain some measure of composure as she stepped back and searched Jason’s eyes for any sign that he was joking.

“Of course,” he replied. “I made excuses that I needed to be here for reasons of state, but those are secondary. This has all got to be hard on you…a lot of family stuff.”

Krissy gave a rueful laugh and shook her head, but didn’t speak.

Tangel chuckled as she poured another glass of wine and handed it to Sera. “I don’t know when Jason became so understanding, but I wish it had happened sooner.”

“Pardon?” Jason asked, simultaneously laughing while shooting Tangel a glare. “I’ve always been understanding, you just needed a firmer hand.”

Tangel snorted, and Sera glanced at Krissy to see what she made of the byplay.

“Don’t look at me.” The admiral held up her hands. “I’m the newcomer here.”

“You’ve known me for a long time,” Sera countered.

Krissy took a sip of her wine, giving her cousin a measuring look. “I suppose. Though you’ve rather surprised me of late—especially with how readily you gave up the presidency. You fought pretty hard for it after your father was killed.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to let Adrienne take the reins…if for no other reason than I would have killed him before long.”

“Not if I got to him first,” Krissy retorted. “Pretty sure he was in the Grey Division’s pocket. I plan to find out for sure, one way or another.

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.