Veterans Wrath (Veterans Code Book 5) by Walker John

Author:Walker, John
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-03T00:00:00+00:00

***

Cassius fumed as he boarded the shuttle bound for the station. Security personnel took much longer than they initially promised to clear the area for his arrival. By the time he left, he’d already been forced to take three meetings remotely. It made him feel like a proper coward, one forced to cower aboard a warship.

Amoni recognized his mood and kept quiet throughout most of the journey. Even traveling from the ship to the station took another hour and twenty minutes. That was due to the fact that the warship wished to remain far enough away from the structure to provide some defense should an attack come.

Why do they all think the Xinthal are going to be aggressive? We’ve had no formal declaration, no statement of intent, no communication at all! Cassius understood the Xinthal seemed to be the type of culture that would tell the universe they were going to start fighting, because they wanted them to be ready.

Granted, the invasion came out of nowhere. They swept through Federation space rather quickly, but that was before they respected humanity’s military might. Once they got a taste of it, their tactics changed slightly. They stopped being quite so secretive about their assaults, making a show of each fight.

Or at least, that’s what he took away from the documented events.

Amoni touched his arm. “We’re almost there. You’ll be amongst the ambassadors in no time.”

“Good.” Cassius stared straight ahead. “It’s about time. This delay has been intolerable. And what if the Xinthal had arrived while the guards scoured the station? They would’ve thought we were being ridiculous, especially considering this is our territory. We, of all people, should have been able to trust it.”

“You know there are many reasons,” Amoni said. “You should be grateful for the vigilance of these people. They have the best interests of the Federation at heart. And you, to be perfectly honest. Without them, we might be walking into anything. The ambassadors are hardly the target you would be.”

“So what? You think there are Xinthal agents waiting at the station? When they’ve never exhibited that sort of subterfuge before?”

“Times change. Desperation turns into something else.” Amoni shrugged. “I cannot say why they might alter their tactics, but this is why we have security people. And why we’re supposed to trust them, if at all possible.”

“We just spoke about how we can’t trust anyone!” Cassius clenched his fists. “And now… oh… it’s pointless.” He let out a heavy breath. “When we get to the station, I suppose it won’t matter anymore. We’ll make this work, then get on with our lives. This is a small inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. I will endeavor to…”

The shuttle came close to the hangar. A series of lights flickered off to the right, interrupting Cassius mid-sentence. He turned to look, squinting to make out some detail of whatever might be happening. Amoni did the same. They both turned to one another, as if intent on asking what they saw.

Another bright flash caught their attention, though it only engulfed the sides of the viewscreen.

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