Rumors of Glory (The System States Rebellion Book 1) (17 page)

Stacker felt a wave of relief come over him. That pompous
ass was right. It had been stupid of him to try to deflect the blame to Stevens
with so many witnesses who would back Stevens up. A court-martial would find
him guilty, and he’d be disgraced in front of the entire Federation. Being
allowed to resign was a Godsend.

“I agree,” said Stacker. He heard Chenko curse under his
breath.

“I was hoping you’d try to brazen your way through a
court-martial. I’d get a lot of satisfaction seeing you disgraced,” said
Chenko.

“I’m glad I could disappoint you,” said Stacker.

Chenko picked up a different tablet, gave it a quick
glance to make sure it was the right one, and then put it in front of Stacker.

“I took the liberty of having your resignation letter
drafted up for you. All you have to do is approve it with your thumbprint and
it’ll be official.”

Stacker took a deep breath, picked up the tablet and
pressed his right thumb against the screen.

Chenko held his hand out for the tablet. When Stacker
gave it to him, he said, “You no longer have the right to wear that uniform.
I’ll give you fifteen minutes to change into civilian clothes. If you’re still
wearing it after that, my security people have orders to take it off you by
force and throw you out onto the public sidewalk naked. Now get out of my
sight.”

Stacker turned and quickly walked out of the Navy Chief’s
Office. As he headed for the main entrance, he began to smile. His Navy career
might be dead, but there were other ways to profit from a long war, and he was
certain that this was going to be a long war. The media would be looking for
people with military experience to explain the war to the public, for which
they paid well, and when he wasn’t doing that, he’d be busy writing a book
about his brilliant military career and his struggle to overcome the
incompetence of the entrenched officers who were losing this war. By the time
he was done, Admiral Chenko would be the one in disgrace.

The End of Rumors of Glory.

Author’s Final Comments:

If you’ve enjoyed this introductory novella, I would ask
that you take two minutes to post a review. They really do help. The next book
in the System States Rebellion series will be titled Rumors of Honor. It is
expected to have a minimum of 75,000 words and be available sometime during
April or May. If I decide to make it available for pre-order, I’ll notify
everyone on my mailing list. If you haven’t already joined my mailing list, you
can do so now by clicking
here
.

In terms of what you can expect in Rumors of Honor, not
only will there be more space battles but there’ll also be action on the ground
for all you fans of Space Marine-type of action. Both sides in this conflict have
now realized that this war will be a long and hard fight. Attitudes will
harden. Honorable men and women will be faced with less than honorable choices.

For those of you who have not yet read my Synchronicity
War series (and the stand alone companion ebook, The Retro War), you’ll find a
ton of space battles with some mind-blowing plot twists along the way.

Long Live Space Opera!

Dietmar Arthur Wehr