the rotating hologram a thousand-meter stare. “I am bound not only by my oath as a serving officer in Monitor Corps, but as a signatory of the Official Secrets Act.” He faced his captain, his face hardening. “I have lived with this foul lie for half my life and have a lot more to lose than you if word of what happened on Delos gets out. I’ve stuck to my story of suffering amnesia during my time as a slave. I have told no one of my past, not even my wife.” He shrugged. “Perhaps I’ll tell her everything, on the day the Pruessen Empire falls. Until then I shall keep my peace, Captain. ”
“Good. We understand one another.”
The tragic story of Bellinda ’s crew, his entire extended family, firstly being enslaved by the Pruessen Empire for four years and then dying on Delos after their escape, had been hushed up. In its place the story of Impudent ’s discovery of a lone escape pod with a single survivor onboard had been substituted. A fiction of epic proportions.
The alternative would be to tell the truth. Such a disclosure would put every bounty hunter in Tunguska onto Telford’s trail. Furthermore, Pruessen regular navy vessels had hijacked an Athenian-registered vessel operating in free space and imprisoned, tortured and killed members of her crew. If word of such an atrocity got out, the backlash of public opinion would demand a bloody response. A lack of political backbone and an abundance of military rationalization had prevailed, and the cover-up was made to order. The Republic would not go to war with Pruessen for the sake of Nathan Telford and his lost family.
“Your presence resurrects a lot of bad memories. However, Admiral Waugh has seen fit to assign you to this boat, so I shall have to make the best of things. Your arrival is one of the many burdens I have been handed. Along with the Telford curse to contend with, I’ve lost my D-O and have been saddled with a kid to replace her.” With his words echoing in his ears, Bradman wondered why he was sharing his thoughts with this young officer.
“I’ve had the opportunity to talk with Toni Reiffel over the past few days. She seems competent enough.”
“Is that your professional opinion as a seasoned officer?”
“I can spot a dick-head in a crowded room from fifty meters away.” Nathan forced a smile, obviously determined not to give ground to this disgruntled captain. “It’s a gift. Toni Reiffel doesn’t fit the mold.”
“A gift, eh?” Bradman stifled a smile. “From what the admiral tells me, that’s not the only gift you possess.”
Nathan pulled an innocent face.
“She also told me,” Bradman said, “you had more balls than brains, something I have no difficulty in believing. In any event, she suggested you may be of some use to me if I need someone to find contraband.”
“The admiral is very generous. I spent the first eleven years of my life on a freighter. I guess I had to pick up a few tricks, having spent my formative years as a slave, hiding contraband under the noses of Pruessen guards.” The slightest of shadows passed over his eyes, then disappeared in the next instant.
“Now to our mission,” Bradford said. “We will begin by patrolling the western sectors outside of the colony worlds. Then we will rendezvous with a Nihonese freighter, and escort her to Cimmeria.”
Nathan nodded.
“Cimmeria supplies trephine crystals to every member world in the League. A large military presence is on picket around the planet.”
“Protecting the most corrupt regime within League space,” Telford said.
“Such are the realities of the world,” Bradman said. “We need trephine to maintain the integrity of our reactors. The Cimmerians know it and so do the Brets.” He drew his hands wide as if to say little could be done when politics and big business hopped into the same bed. “The upshot is her space is filled with vessels from all over the League of Allied Worlds. Including those from
“Good. We understand one another.”
The tragic story of Bellinda ’s crew, his entire extended family, firstly being enslaved by the Pruessen Empire for four years and then dying on Delos after their escape, had been hushed up. In its place the story of Impudent ’s discovery of a lone escape pod with a single survivor onboard had been substituted. A fiction of epic proportions.
The alternative would be to tell the truth. Such a disclosure would put every bounty hunter in Tunguska onto Telford’s trail. Furthermore, Pruessen regular navy vessels had hijacked an Athenian-registered vessel operating in free space and imprisoned, tortured and killed members of her crew. If word of such an atrocity got out, the backlash of public opinion would demand a bloody response. A lack of political backbone and an abundance of military rationalization had prevailed, and the cover-up was made to order. The Republic would not go to war with Pruessen for the sake of Nathan Telford and his lost family.
“Your presence resurrects a lot of bad memories. However, Admiral Waugh has seen fit to assign you to this boat, so I shall have to make the best of things. Your arrival is one of the many burdens I have been handed. Along with the Telford curse to contend with, I’ve lost my D-O and have been saddled with a kid to replace her.” With his words echoing in his ears, Bradman wondered why he was sharing his thoughts with this young officer.
“I’ve had the opportunity to talk with Toni Reiffel over the past few days. She seems competent enough.”
“Is that your professional opinion as a seasoned officer?”
“I can spot a dick-head in a crowded room from fifty meters away.” Nathan forced a smile, obviously determined not to give ground to this disgruntled captain. “It’s a gift. Toni Reiffel doesn’t fit the mold.”
“A gift, eh?” Bradman stifled a smile. “From what the admiral tells me, that’s not the only gift you possess.”
Nathan pulled an innocent face.
“She also told me,” Bradman said, “you had more balls than brains, something I have no difficulty in believing. In any event, she suggested you may be of some use to me if I need someone to find contraband.”
“The admiral is very generous. I spent the first eleven years of my life on a freighter. I guess I had to pick up a few tricks, having spent my formative years as a slave, hiding contraband under the noses of Pruessen guards.” The slightest of shadows passed over his eyes, then disappeared in the next instant.
“Now to our mission,” Bradford said. “We will begin by patrolling the western sectors outside of the colony worlds. Then we will rendezvous with a Nihonese freighter, and escort her to Cimmeria.”
Nathan nodded.
“Cimmeria supplies trephine crystals to every member world in the League. A large military presence is on picket around the planet.”
“Protecting the most corrupt regime within League space,” Telford said.
“Such are the realities of the world,” Bradman said. “We need trephine to maintain the integrity of our reactors. The Cimmerians know it and so do the Brets.” He drew his hands wide as if to say little could be done when politics and big business hopped into the same bed. “The upshot is her space is filled with vessels from all over the League of Allied Worlds. Including those from
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