Convoy Duty (3 page)

“
Ah,
Commander.”

Rick stepped back, mouth open and eyes
widening as the Captain came in bearing a flimsy print-out of a
Fleet Priority One communication.

“
I thought you’d like to
have this.”

He proffered it with a grin, ignoring
Rick’s morning breath and the crust around his blinking
eyes.

Rick stood there reading as the
Captain took a quick glance around the small space, organized but
lived-in, just as his own was.

“
Congratulations. We’ll
talk later.”

Rhodes gave Rick a slap on the bicep
and turned, closing the door carefully behind him as he
went.

Rick’s knees wobbled and his pulse
raced as he read it over and over again.

Fleet was offering Rick
his own command—and asking him to leave
Nike.

End

About Louis
Shalako

Louis Shalako began writing for
community newspapers and industrial magazines. His stories appear
in publications including Perihelion Science Fiction, Bewildering
Stories, Aurora Wolf, Ennea, Wonderwaan, Algernon, Nova Fantasia,
and Danse Macabre. He lives in southern Ontario and writes full
time.

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Louis
Shalako
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