Better late than never. This is the first of three chapters that I’ve had to go back and rewrite because I realized I’d written myself into a corner by not giving some background. What I didn’t anticipate was having Myrtle the Evil Muse saddling me with a character who I never considered having to write. I have a feeling this book is going to be “interesting” as I get further into it. Anyway, the usual disclaimers apply. Please remember this is the rough draft and no form of editing has been done. There will be changes before the book goes to press. Now, with that said, here’s the snippet.
Seven
FNS Windwalker
Fuerconese Naval Light Cruiser
Captain Travis Locke reread his latest orders and then leaned back. Part of him felt relief to know FleetCom appeared to be taking the situation within the Bennington System seriously. Another part wondered if they really were. To say his orders seemed at odds was putting it mildly. But then, this wasn’t the first time he’d wondered if the powers-that-be, no matter who they might be, really understood the situation his command faced.
A soft rap sounded at the door to his ready room and he looked up. A slight smile touched his lips at the sight of the newcomer. Major Kelton Weller wore the daily uniform of the Fuerconese Marine Corps. His close-cropped hair was no longer as dark as it had been when they first met. But then neither was Locke’s. More than thirty years had passed since their days at the Academy. They’d started their careers together and, unless something unexpected happened, they would end them together. They planned to retire to Fuercon where their wives and families awaited them.
It couldn’t happen soon enough.
“Have a seat, Bull.” He waited until Weller moved further inside the ready room before punching in the command to not only close but lock the hatch.
Weller arched one dark brow in question as the latch snicked shut. Instead of asking any of the questions Locke knew he had, the major settled back in his chair and waited with a patience born not only of their long friendship but of trusting the ship’s captain to get to the point as quickly as possible.
“A dispatch packet arrived from FleetCom earlier.” Locke slide a datachip into the ‘reader and pulled it up. Without looking down, he entered a command and FleetCom’s wallpaper appeared on the holo screen behind his desk.
“New orders?” Weller’s deep voice held only curiosity.
Locke nodded. “Seems they are actually taking our concerns about Bennington seriously.”
Weller leaned forward, his dark eyes sparking with interest. “Really? I figured they’d wait until we had another incident to report before event taking notice of our reports.”
“So did I.” Locke blew out a breath. “Seems we aren’t the only ones reporting problems in the system. From what Admiral Tremayne says, our allies have reported similar incidents with similar responses from the system government.”
“Damn.” Weller gave a low whistle before shaking his head. “What’s her take on the situation?”
“Guarded is the best way to put it.”
Weller nodded, understanding what Locke didn’t say. Admiral Miranda Tremayne built her reputation as one of Fuercon’s most talented naval strategists during the last war. She saw not only the short-term but long-term implications of actions taken by the enemy and Fuercon’s responses. When the previous administration announced the ill-fated ceasefire with the Callusians, she’d been one of those brave enough to not only speak out against it but to resign her commission and run for political office to help change the face of Fuercon’s politics. She’d played politician for only a short time before being recalled to duty when the Callusians blatantly violated the peace treaty. She had been one of those instrumental in defeating the enemy. If she was worried now, neither would question her reasoning.
“And our new orders?”
“Close to what we recommended. We are to maintain our position on this side of Bennington space and continue to monitor the sector. If we pick up another distress signal, we are to locate it, contact Bennington Space Control with the information and request they dispatch ships to support the vessel immediately. If they fail to do so, no matter what the reason, and if we have reason to believe that failure could result in the loss of life or worse, we have orders to intercede. We can go as far as to engage the attacking ships until they retreat but we may not pursue unless they present a clear and present danger to someone else. We are to remain in position to protect the ship and its crew and cargo until Bennington responds. Then we are to return to this side of the line.”
Weller frowned and, for a moment, it looked like he might say something. Instead, he inhaled deeply, holding that breath for a long count of ten before exhaling. Locke waited, recognizing his Marine commander’s frustration, one he shared. But he also understood why Tremayne phrased their orders the way she did. The Bennington System was nominally one of Fuercon’s allies. The treaties between the two systems clearly spelled out what they could or could not do without official permission from the system government.
“And if they don’t respond before the attacking ship or ships return?”
“She leaves that to our discretion, reminding us that we have a duty to protect not only citizens of Fuercon but our allies as well.”
“Interesting. She’s giving us permission to do whatever is necessary to prevent the crew and passengers from being killed, kidnapped or enslaved. But she also does it in a way to remind us that it is our asses if we aren’t careful because of the treaty.”
“Not only that, Bull, but I have a feeling this was her subtle way of reminding us about Midlothian’s betrayal of Fuercon and our allies during the war.” He shook his head, remembering how hard that betrayal hit some of his crew who came from Midlothian. They, along with the vast majority of the system population hadn’t turned their backs on the allies. The betrayal came at the hands of certain members of their government and it came close to costing all of them their freedom and quite possibly their lives. “I have to admit, this situation does have that same feel to it.”
Weller nodded. “Here I thought I was the only one drawing that comparison. Not sure I like knowing you do as well, Jammer.”
“Tell me about it.” He gave a rueful chuckle.
“There’s more, isn’t there?”
“There is. First are your LACs. I want them on standby and ready to launch with minimal notice. If this is about to go into the crapper like I think, they are going to be our first line of defense. Even if whoever’s behind what’s happening in Bennington space is smart enough not to bring the fight directly to us, I’ll want those LACs running interference if we have to enter Bennington space to stop an attack.”
“Understood. I’ll see to it as soon as we’re done here.”
“Thanks. The one good thing I got from our orders is that we aren’t going to be the only ones having to worry about the situation in Bennington. FleetCom is sending the Ulysses and the Chimera, as well as the support ship Aenead. Together, we will form Task Unit Alpha Niner Omega. Windwalkerwill be the flagship and I have command of the unit. You will be the senior Marine CO.”
For a moment, Weller said nothing. Instead, he reached up and rubbed his chin, his eyes dark as he considered what Locke said. Then he blew out a breath, much like Locke had when first learning of their new orders.
“They’re expecting trouble then and want us to have the firepower necessary to deal with it.”
“That’s my take on things.”
“But?” The major studied his friend, concern reflected in his green eyes.
“There’s more and you really aren’t going to like. Hell, I don’t like it and I’m wondering if certain members of FleetCom have lost their minds.”
Weller arched a brow in surprise. In all the years they’d known one another, he rarely heard Locke questioning their orders. That he did now worried him, especially since he saw Locke’s concern written plainly on the captain’s face.
“I have a feeling you’re underselling just how much I’m not going to like what you say next, Jammer.”
Locke chuckled softly and nodded.
“That’s probably because I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this next bit.”
“Just tell me. The sooner you do, the sooner I can file my protest with Okafor if necessary.”
Locke quickly punched in a command. A moment later, the holo screen displayed what looked like a roster of some sort. Weller leaned forward, studying it. When he sucked in a breath, Locke nodded, his expression resigned.
“We knew we were in the rotation for an Academy training cruise,” he said. “I didn’t think they’d go ahead with it under the circumstances.”
“Can we suggest, respectfully of course, that they change their damned minds?”
“I wish.” Locke stood and moved to the door, opening it long enough to ask someone beyond for coffee for the two of them. Then he returned to his desk, leaning against it instead of taking his seat behind it. “Unfortunately, FleetCom anticipated our reaction and addressed most, if not all, of our concerns.”
He reached behind him and input another command, this one advancing the “page” to the next one. He didn’t need to look to know what it said. He’d practically memorized it waiting for Weller to join him. FleetCom understood they would have concerns given the potentially volatile situation in the Bennington System. However, it was important for the cadets to see what service on the fringe of a potentially hostile system could be like before graduation. They trusted him and Major Weller to do everything possible to keep the situation from escalating and to keep not only the cadets safe but the entire task group.” He rolled his eyes. “I refuse to call three ships and a support vessel a task force.”
“What the hell are we supposed to do with six cadets, especially if we have to engage whoever the hell has been attacking ships inside the system?”
“We’re to teach them what it means to be assigned to a working cruiser in a situation where things can go south at any moment.” Whether they liked it or not.
“And I guarantee you’re going to dislike the situation even more when you take a good look at the list of cadets, Bull.”
Weller’s eyes narrowed as the holo screen once again shifted to the roster of names. He studied them for a moment before shoving to his feet. Locke’s brows arched high on his forehead as the major began cursing with the imagination only a battle-hardened Marine possessed. Fortunately for both of them, no one else was present to hear him commenting on the parentage, sanity, and more of their senior officers. Not that Locke blamed him. Several of the names stood out for him. But he knew one in particular would catch Weller’s attention.
“Damn it, Jammer, do they have any idea the can of worms they are opening up?” Weller dropped back onto his chair and cursed once again.
“Probably, but tell me what has you so worked up. I figured you’d have concerns about Shaw’s son being onboard.”
“Concerns?” Weller’s laugh was anything but humorous. “Let me count the ways I’m concerned. First, he’s a bloody cadet and we’re in a situation right now that could explode into a full-blown battle any moment. Second, his mother is the new CO of 7thDiv, the newly promoted CO. Third, his grandmother is the XO for Okafor. Fourth, his grandfather might be retired but he scares me as much as they do when it comes to family. Fifth, sixth, seventh, and so on, if anything happens to him, we—and I do mean we—will have to explain to the former SMMC, Edita Anisimova, to Major Adamson, to Captain Connelly, and to the entirety of the Devil Dogs what happened and why.”
He scrubbed his hands over his face and Locke wondered if he might not be considering the possibility of jumping ship. Not that Locke blamed him.
“And?”
“And Shaw’s father happens to be onboard Windwalker right now.”
“What?” Locke couldn’t believe it. “What do you mean his father is onboard? I thought the father was out of the picture, probably dead.” Like so many others during the last war.
“I wish.”
Locke frowned. The frustration in Weller’s voice warned him he wasn’t going to like what his friend said next. Damn it, what had he done to deserve all these headaches on his last tour of duty?
“You really don’t know?” Weller looked at him, waiting for him to respond one way or the other. “Kristof Grantham.”
Locke didn’t react for a moment. Then he bit back a curse. Kristof Grantham was one of three reps for a weapons developer trying to convince FleetCom to give them a contract to update some of the older ships in the fleet. Because they trusted Locke not to tip their hand and to keep the three out of the way while FleetCom completed negotiations with another developer, they’d shipped the three off on Windwalker to observe some of the conditions the ships operate under. Of the three, Grantham had been a problem from the time they came onboard, demanding special treatment from the crew, full access to areas of the ship he had no reason to be in, to causing problems by trying to access the ship’s databanks without authorization. The only reason he wasn’t already warming a cot in the brig was because FleetCom promised to take Grantham off his hands shortly.
And now the man’s very clearly estranged son was about to come onboard. Was there a bigger formula for catastrophe? If so, he didn’t know what it might be.
“You get on the horn to Okafor and I’ll contact Tremayne. I have a feeling they don’t know about our guests.” And, if they didn’t, he wanted to know why. “Not that they’ll have time to respond before the cadets arrive with the rest of the contingent.” Which also included the new ambassador to the Bennington System.
“Yeah.” He stood and moved closer to the holo screen, as if by doing so the names on the list might magically change. “We might get lucky.”
“Oh?”
“If FleetCom attached a roster of Marines attached to the unit, I might be able to shuffle the cadets, at least Shaw, off the Windwalker and onto one of the other ships. We would still be following orders about making sure their training mission exposes them to life on a working cruiser but also manage to keep him away from his father.”
Locke considered for a moment before nodding. Then he cocked his head to one side. Something about Weller’s response to Shaw’s presence bothered him. Weller was a Marine, but to the best of Locke’s knowledge, he’d never served with Ashlyn Shaw. So how did he know so much about her personal life, especially a part of her life she and her family had been very careful to keep out of the public eye?
“Bull, be honest. How do you know all this and is it going to be a problem for us?”
Weller didn’t answer right away. That only served to increase Locke’s sense of worry. If he needed to convince FleetCom not to send the cadets, he’d do everything he could to do just that. But he needed to know why first.
“Let’s just say I had the misfortune of serving with Grantham early into my career, about the time he and Shaw got together. He was a bastard and some of us tried warning her. She found out soon enough on her own. They split before their son was born and we all figured that would be the last she and the boy heard from that SOB. We were all wrong. After Sorkowski and the others set her and her squad up and they were courtmartialed, Grantham crawled out of the woodwork and took the boy from Shaw’s parents. They spent a year or more fighting to get him back. Fortunately for the family, Grantham was as stupid then as he had been when we served together and he made threats they managed to record, threats about keeping the boy away from them, maybe even ditching him somewhere off-planet. So while they continued to fight for his mother’s release, they were also fighting for custody. They won and even managed to terminate his parental rights. Grantham was already out of the service then and FleetCom made sure he would never be able to re-up.”
“So how the hell is he on my ship and why wasn’t I told of this little complication?”
Anger roughened his voice. He had little use for anyone who used a child like that. The fact Grantham tried to take advantage of his ex-wife’s wrongful conviction only made it worse.
“I can’t tell you about the first, but I plan to find out. As for the second, I doubt anyone in FleetCom made the connection. My guess is the contractor didn’t send out his name until the last minute. This is probably one of those mistakes that happen and no one is at fault.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to agree or like it because I don’t.”
“Neither do I, Jammer.” He gave a humorless chuckle. “I do not want to be the one to have to report to his mother that her son got into trouble because of his idiot father.”
“Shit, neither do I.” He rubbed his eyes with two fingers. “As soon as the ships arrive, I’ll issue orders for the cadets to remain where they are until we have a chance to talk with not only the ship commanders but the Marine COs as well. I also want to have a discussion with whoever is in charge of the contractor’s team.” As well as his XO who had been riding herd over them. Someone, somewhere slipped up and he wanted to make sure it wasn’t anyone on his crew.
“At least we have ten days or so to try to get this figured out, Jammer.” “If we’re lucky.”
And he wasn’t betting on it.
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