Cast Adrift, #1 by Christopher G. Nuttall

Author:Christopher G. Nuttall [Nuttall, Christopher G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Interstellar War, alien contact, space war, Space Marines, Nuttall, galactic empire
Publisher: Christopher G. Nuttall
Published: 2021-03-26T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Landing Field, Delaine

Naomi couldn’t help a pang of guilt as she scrambled out of the shuttle and took her first breath of the planet’s atmosphere. It smelt vaguely distasteful, something she’d found to be true of most planetary atmospheres, but it wasn’t the sterile air she’d breathed for the last three weeks. Her crew needed a break, but she couldn’t afford to let them have more than a few hours each ...not when they were on the edge of a warzone. She felt worse as she spotted the governor, hurrying towards her with arm outstretched. If her crew couldn’t take shore leave, she damn well shouldn’t be doing it either.

“Mr. Governor,” she said. She started to bend into the posture of respect, then remembered herself and shook his hand instead. Somehow, she’d expected an Alphan rather than a human. He was younger than she’d expected, his face rugged rather than classically handsome. “It’s good to meet you.”

Governor Aakar Singh nodded as he squeezed her hand gently, then let go. “It’s good to see a warship too,” he said. “Things are a little unsteady right now.”

Naomi nodded. She’d feared the worst, when they’d emerged from the crossroads. Her imagination had suggested all manner of possibilities, ranging from the planet being invaded and occupied to the entire surface being scorched clean of life. Genocide - and ecocide - were against interstellar conventions, but the enforcers were gone. It was only a matter of time until the more barbaric races realised there was nothing holding them in check.

“I downloaded a briefing, but I’m interested in your impressions,” she said, as she allowed him to lead her towards the control tower. “What do you think is happening?”

“It feels as if they’re biding their time before an invasion,” Governor Singh said, stiffly. “My staff have catalogued hundreds of sightings of alien starships - warships - that date back well before independence. The first confirmed sighting took place a week after the war came to an end. Since then, their ships have cruised in and out of the system seemingly at will. They know we cannot go after them.”

He pushed open the door, motioning for her to enter the small dining room. “They pulled out when a warcruiser flew through the sector,” he said, “but they didn’t stay away.”

“So I heard,” Naomi said.

“It’s the same story everywhere,” Governor Singh said. “You know there’s a dozen systems that are disputed, for want of a better word? We have colonies, some of which are independent; they have colonies, which may or may not answer to their homeworld’s government. They’ve been increasingly aggressive, insisting on searching ships and settlements and - sometimes - suggesting the settlers go elsewhere. The refugees out there” - he waved a hand at the wall - “come from the disputed zone. They literally have nowhere else to go.”

“Shit,” Naomi said.

“I understand you brought weapons,” Governor Singh said. “Enough to hold the surface?”

“Enough to deter them from dropping KEWs, I hope,” Naomi confirmed. “A lot depends on just what happens, Mr.

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