The Dawn of Supremacy Part One: Revelation (VEX Universe Chronicles Book 1) by F.A. WHITTAKER

Author:F.A. WHITTAKER [WHITTAKER, F.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-10T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

A Fine Piece of Kit

“Nothing’s happening, Commodore,” Torry said. “We simply can’t locate those starships. Perhaps they don’t exist.”

“I’m sure they do,” Louise said, punctuating her insistence with a sharp nod.

“Yes, but how many more rotations can we afford to spend looking for them?” Torry said.

“We-e-ell,” Jared drawled, standing up and stretching his arms above his head, “who’s ready for a bit of fun?”

“Pardon me, Commodore?” Louise said.

“Who’s ready for a bit of fun?” Jared repeated. “I think the empress should be prepared to talk to me now. It’s been a few rotations. We never did expect it to last this long. The population is hurting.”

“What makes you think the empress would want to talk to you, Commodore?” Commander Yamaguchi asked.

“I’m going to invite her to dinner, Commander, and I’ll ask her then where Louise’s starships are.”

“Even if you succeeded in getting her to talk to you, Commodore, I hardly think she’s going to tell you where those ships are,” Louise said, injecting a modicum of skepticism into her normal display of inscrutability by ever so slightly lifting her eyebrows.

“We’ll see, Lieutenant,” Jared said. “But in the meantime, I’d like you to do some research for me. Captain Lynne will brief you on what I’m looking for.”

“This has anything to do with getting the empress to talk to you, Commodore?” Louise said, her eyebrows now at full extension.

“Not exactly, but, ultimately, it’ll make the mighty empress love me to death,” he said with a very straight face.

Louise didn’t join the others in laughter. That was clearly beyond her emotional range. Instead, she sought Torry’s opinion via an enquiring glance in her direction. Torry in turn responded with an energetic series of thumbs-up jabs, which prompted another round of laughter in the room. Somewhat distracted by the levity, but seemingly satisfied, Louise finally acknowledged Jared’s request with a quick bob of the head as her facial expression reverted to bland form.

Still harboring a few residual chuckles from the brief but entertaining exchange, a first where Louise was concerned that involved any form of humor, Jared then turned to Lieutenant Heckstein and said, “Lieutenant, ask Major Padilla and Master CPO Nalini to report to me immediately.”

Major Vernon Padilla, the commanding officer of Task Group Three’s security and intervention battalion of five hundred fleet marines and their officers was first to arrive. He was a big man of mostly Latino ethnicity. Just seeing Major Padilla in his casual shipboard outfit would normally be enough to unsettle the poor soul who wasn’t aware of his affable personality. In his full armored combat suit, he could frighten the dead.

“Yes Commodore?” he said in his booming baritone, saluting smartly as he entered the operations center.

“Major, are New London’s two RDMFs ready for action?” Jared said.

“Absolutely, sir. All maintenance and testing cycles have been completed. They’re as ready as they’ll ever be.”

“Okay, I’m going to ask you to perform some minor surgery on one of them,” Jared said. “I require a small, intimate dining room built.

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