Wing Commander #02 End Run by William R Forstchen

Author:William R Forstchen
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Wing Commander
ISBN: 9780671722005
Publisher: Baen Pub. Enterprises
Published: 1994-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

"Bear."

Jason looked up to see Tolwyn standing in a side corridor motioning for him to follow.

Jason walked down the hallway and followed Tolwyn into a small wardroom, the Admiral closing the door behind them.

"Have a seat, son."

"I've got to get my captain back to the ship."

"It'll wait."

Tolwyn went over to a side cabinet, pulled out a small bottle, and poured himself a drink. He looked over at Jason.

"Sorry, bad manners, you've got to fly."

"It's all right, sir, I'll have a good stiff one once I'm back on Tarawa ."

"It's a hell of a mess I got you, Starlight, and Doomsday into," Tolwyn said quietly. "I had no idea about the Tarawa 's mission when I was asked to pick out my best people for a new command. I thought I was doing you a favor."

"It's all right, sir," Jason said quietly.

"No, damn it, it's not all right," Tolwyn snapped. "The military lives and dies by its oaths and promises.

You pledge to serve and obey. For some countries, in some wars, that's as far as the deal goes. If you, her warriors, get lost, or taken prisoner, and it's expedient for a bunch of lousy politicians to turn their backs on you and forget you, well that's all right. But a country that does that to its soldiers is nothing better than a whore and its leaders should be dragged out and shot."

"I wouldn't say that in public if I were you, Admiral."

Tolwyn smiled. "But I can still think it. A system worth fighting for makes the pledge go both ways. You fight for us, but by God we'll sacrifice everything we have to get you back. If you're willing to risk your life to protect us, then we're willing to risk all our treasures, our careers, everything to bring you back.

No one gets left behind, ever. A country that abandons its soldiers and does nothing to save them isn't worth a pinch of owl dung."

Jason was quiet, realizing yet again why he would not hesitate to lay down his life for this man.

"I feel like hell over this deal, Jason. The Confederation is in desperate straits. A year ago it looked like we were finally getting the edge, but you know as well as I that the last year's been a disaster. If we don't turn things around, and damned fast, the Kilrathi will be dictating peace terms in the burned out wreckage of Confederation Headquarters back on Earth. That's why Banbridge decided to make you expendable.

That's what the Tarawa and other ships like her were built for."

"I understand that," Jason said quietly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.