The Way of the Warrior Vol. 1: A Phoenix Empire Novel by Dietmar Wehr

Author:Dietmar Wehr [Wehr, Dietmar]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Non-Linear Visions Inc.
Published: 2025-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty:

Being a minor cog in a huge machine meant that big news usually reached everyone else before it reached you. Krieger already understood that dynamic when he finally did hear about the bad news from the spinward frontier and the 13th Fleet, or the Hard Luck Fleet, as it was being referred to now. There had been a major confrontation with raiders. Rumors of the encounter ranged from six ships on each side to twelve ships on each side to six raiders versus twelve GPRN ships. The latter rumor turned out to be true. All twelve navy ships (eight heavy cruisers and four battleships) were either crippled or destroyed. One raider ship was severely damaged, but the raiders destroyed it after evacuating their people. The speculation around the building was that Ming would be relieved of his position as Fleet Commander. Krieger suspected that Ming would probably welcome that change. Another rumor was that several flag officers who had been offered Fleet Command of the 13th had declined the offer because the position now seemed like the kind of assignment that would either get them killed or ruin their careers. Krieger wondered how the Protector-in-Chief was handling this problem.

How the hell do I handle this problem? Corloff put the data tablet he’d been reading down and closed his eyes. Running the Grand People’s Republic was far more challenging and stressful than he had imagined and the rest of the Committee of Protectors weren’t any help. Each of them had their own egos and personality quirks that had to be kept in check without being too heavy-handed about it. Sometimes, he felt as though he had a tiger by the tail. Who was it long ago who said that revolutions often end up destroying the man who started them? If I’d known about how serious this raider threat was before we took over, I’d never have pulled the trigger.

[The Chief of Space Operations is here.] Corloff acknowledged the mental message from his avatar and told it to send the officer in.

Grand Admiral Yeager’s expression as she entered the office told Corloff that she wasn’t happy about the situation the Republic faced either.

“Have a seat, Grand Admiral.”

“Thank you, Protector-in-Chief Corloff,” she said in a tone that bordered on the perfunctory. Corloff took note of it but couldn’t find the energy to be offended by it. He now regretted insisting that everyone address him by his full title at all times. He didn’t wait until she was seated.

“I’ve read the latest report from the spinward frontier. Ming needs to be replaced. That much has been decided by the Committee, but we can’t relieve him of command until we send a replacement! Why haven’t you found one yet, Grand Admiral?”

Yeager sighed. This wasn’t the first time the two of them had discussed this problem. “I’ve offered command of the 13th to seven flag officers, and all of them have turned it down. As you know, the 13th Fleet was considered a career dead-end destination even before the Raiders appeared.

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