Storm Surge by Anderson Taylor

Author:Anderson, Taylor [Anderson, Taylor]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

21

////// Adar’s Great Hall

Baalkpan

April 24, 1944

“A most interesting development,” Adar observed, handing the message form to Commander Herring, who held it close to read. It wasn’t lost on anyone that Steve Riggs had given it to Captain Reddy first, as soon as he, Sandra, Courtney, Chack, and Chief Gray arrived in the War Room. It was a small gesture and wouldn’t have even been noticed before, but Matt didn’t like the way “factions” seemed to be developing at the highest levels of the Alliance. He saw Alan Letts frown, probably for the same reason. Matt had finally talked Alan into returning to his duties, and Adar had been effusive in his apologies. The ’Cat really did think of Alan and his wife and daughter as the children he’d never had, and once Alan was convinced of that, he forgave Adar’s attempt to protect his conscience. But as a condition for returning to the Great Hall, he’d demanded a promise that it would never happen again. Adar contritely agreed. “These inhabitants of the island, this ‘Diego Gaar-cia,’ or ‘Laa-laanti,’ as they apparently call it, are of particular interest,” he continued. “That they survived, isolated, on that tiny speck of land so long, beyond reach of any of our kind, is astonishing.”

“It is indeed, Mr. Chairman,” Courtney Bradford gushed. “Why, just think of it! If they’ve preserved any rites and traditions of your ancient homeland, not to mention anything resembling a pre-exodus history of your people . . . I simply can’t wait to meet them!”

“Nor can I,” Adar agreed in a strange tone. “Nor can I wait to meet these representatives of this ‘Republic’ from southern Africaa.” He blinked rapidly in a way reminiscent of the old, enthusiastic Adar Matt remembered. “They too may have preserved a chronicle older than ours.” He looked at Matt. “Despite what you call the historicaal inconsistencies with your own past, that Cap-i-taan Gaarrett described.”

“Those ‘inconsistencies’ may provide the ultimate clue to complete my theory regarding how we got here in the first place,” Courtney enthused. “I may almost have an answer at last!”

Sandra looked at him curiously, but before Courtney could divert the meeting with a distracting, if likely fascinating, dissertation, Matt interrupted. “Maybe most important is that we have new allies we never knew about, and that this Miyata guy has intelligence on the target for our raid.”

“If the Jap bastard can be trusted,” Gray grumped.

Matt looked at him and nodded gravely. “If,” he agreed.

“We’ll have to evaluate that when we meet him,” Herring said, “but the circumstances of his arrival among these . . . southern folk seem to weigh in his favor.”

Matt raised his eyebrows. Did Herring just give a Jap the benefit of the doubt? He shook his head. “Yeah, well, when we meet him. First things first. When do we leave for Andaman? Time’s running out for Pete. Spanky says Walker can be ready for sea in two days. It’ll be a tighter squeeze for Mahan and S-Nineteen, but Laumer and Brister say they’ll be ready one way or another.

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