Damnation by Johnson Jean

Author:Johnson, Jean [Johnson, Jean]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780425277874
Publisher: Ace
Published: 2014-11-25T08:00:00+00:00

JUNE 8, 2499 T.S.

BATTLE PLATFORM AMAZING GRACE HOPPER

Breathing deep, Ia squared her shoulders and braced herself. The side entrance to the Damnation’s main boardroom was off the main corridor, but at least it did have an alcove she could partially hide in while the last of her crew entered through the main doors several meters away. Once again, the ship was on full lockdown, and every member of her crew had been ordered to attend. Not because anyone had broken a law . . . yet . . . but because this was a speech, an explanation, which Ia owed to the men and women serving under her.

When the last man had entered, and the main doors had slid shut, she counted to fifty, then took another deep breath and palmed her door open. Her Dress Black jacket had the minimum of glittery on it, but the fact she was wearing it instead of her more casual Grays pulled everyone inside onto their feet at Attention.

“At Ease, and be seated,” she directed them.

A week’s worth of “normal” sleep schedules—aided by drugs and monitoring at first—had removed some of the shadows from under her eyes, but she still felt the weight of Time pressing down on her. Taking her place in front of the center chair at the head table, Ia waited for the men and women around her to settle into place. She remained standing, however.

“I gave you all a promise when I first took on this crew,” Ia stated, meeting a pair of eyes here, a curious gaze there. “I swore that when I had the time for it, I would let you know in advance not just what we will be doing, but why we will be doing it. You are all about to be aural witnesses to the worst call I will have to make in the entire span of my career. Out of respect for the sacrifice which is about to be made . . . you will be silent, and hold all comments, questions, and noises until after this call is finished, and I have explained that very important why to you.”

Seating herself, she tapped the controls on her arm unit and hooked her headset over her ear. The ship’s fully repaired hyperrelay hub came to life under her remote-linked command, reaching out through hundreds of light-years of distance. She tapped into the boardroom’s commsystem, letting the 160 members of her crew listen in as the ping signal bounced and waited, bounced and waited.

It took a full minute to receive a reply. Ia held up her hand for patience as her crew started to move restlessly. A male voice finally answered. “Var shou-desth, oua v’T’tun S’Naith Qi-el, harba voudas?”

“—Give me that!” a female voice asserted. “This is the Imperial Warship T’tun S’Naith Qi-el, and the Terran Merchant Reserve Bee’s Knees. We are under a Quarantine Extreme lockdown. Who is calling us, and what is your position?”

“This is General Ia, head of the combined Alliance Armies. Leftenant Na’Shouen will know of me as the Sh’nai Prophet of a Thousand Years.

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