Second Earth (32 page)
Melissa’s eyes went
wide. That information alone was reason enough to get her father back onboard
the
Rhea
. With a deeper understanding
into the Kafaran language, it could help numerous ongoing covert OSI operations
in and near Kafaran space.
Krif’s eyes were as
wide as saucers. “Now wait just a moment, Admiral! I’m not about to let you
bring that…
thing
on to this ship.”
Savath seemed
unfazed by the remark, but William’s eyes lit with a fire that Shawn instantly
recognized from past encounters. Shawn shifted his weight backward,
half-expecting Graves to leap through the screen and put his considerably meaty
hands around Dick’s throat.
“Let me be
perfectly clear on this,
Captain
Krif,” William began in a low, threating tone. “You
will
afford Commodore Savath and his staff full diplomatic
courtesies in this matter. If I find that you have shirked your
responsibilities in any way, I will
personally
make sure that you regret it. Believe me on this Krif, I’m coming back with far
more authority than when I left.”
Krif’s jaw clenched as he measured the weight
of the Admiral’s words. “Yes, sir.”
Although it was
impossible to tell for certain, Shawn had the distinct impression that the
corners of Savath’s mouth twitched upwards into a sneer. If that were the case,
maybe the Kafarans weren’t so bad after all—
at
least this one, anyway
.
“We will be
departing the
Saa’krular
at exactly
1745 hours under fighter escort, Captain. I expect you to be ready for us when
we arrive at 1800. I also expect Lieutenant Commander Kestrel to be there as
well.”
“We’ll be ready,
sir,” Krif managed to say through clenched teeth.
“Good. Until then,
Captain.” With that, Graves closed the channel.
Save for the
occasional audio report sent in from one of the ship’s various departments, the
CIC was strangely silent for several moments. Shawn was the first to speak.
“Well, someone
better call down to the galley and get the shellfish off the menu.”
Down at the sensor
consoles, both Lieutenant Vincent Garcia and Specialist Fredericks stifled
their laughter while Krif turned slowly to scowl at Shawn.
“I’m serious,”
Shawn said as he held his hands up. “Unless you want an intergalactic incident
on your hands, Dick.”
“You can’t stop
them from coming,” Melissa said softly. “The best any of us can do is to make
it as seamless as possible.”
“How do we do
that?” Roslyn asked as she ran both hands through her thick, black hair. “I
mean, it’s not like anyone has ever hosted a Kafaran diplomat before.”
Melissa’s hands
wrung nervously together as she spoke. “Well, we’ll have to limit access to
anything sensitive. That means we’ll have to move all the Maelstroms and their
support equipment out of the landing bay. We’ll also need to post Marines in
all the secure areas of the ship: computer control, propulsion, CIC, the
bridge…places like that.”
“This is not a
diplomatic situation,” Krif said as he turned to face the two women. “Despite
what
Admiral
Graves has requested,
this is a major security breach, not to mention a severe breach of protocol
with regards to our relations with the Kafarans. Regardless of his rank, he has
absolutely zero ability to order us to receive these Kafarans with anything
more than suspicion, his authority be damned.”
“Captain,” Melissa
began hesitantly, “I don’t think my father—”
“Your father is not
in control of this situation, Miss Graves, and he is
certainly
not in a position to make decisions as to what happens on
my
ship. You want Marines to be
posted in the secure areas? You want to move our classified fighters off the
landing deck? Well, at least I can agree with you one hundred percent there. As
for treating this like any run-of-the-mill diplomatic situation, I vehemently
refuse to accept that. This is an unheard-of precedent, and I will not overlook
the opportunity we’ve been presented with.”
The blood in
Shawn’s veins suddenly went cold as he realized the implications of Krif’s
words. “Krif, you can’t do that!”
Melissa looked to
Shawn with confusion. “Can’t do what, Shawn?”
“You bet your sweet
bottom I can, hotshot! I have no doubt that Sector Command will back me up one
hundred percent, not to mention the OSI Director and the Unified Council.”
At the mention of
the Director, Melissa turned to face Krif. “What are you going to do?”
Richard stepped
closer to her, unfolding his arms and placing his hands on his hips. “I’m going
to do what any competent commanding officer would do in my position: I’m going
to safeguard the lives and property under my command from subversion.”
“And that means
what, exactly?”
“It means, Miss
Graves, that I am going to arrest anyone who lands in my hangar. That goes for
Sector Command admirals and Kafaran commodores alike.”
Melissa looked
incredulous as she mimicked Shawn’s words. “You can’t do that!”
“Oh, but I can, and
I will. Admiral Graves is clearly under the influence of the Kafarans, and I
don’t intend to allow a known enemy diplomatic access to this ship so it can
return to its own kind and let them know our weaknesses. It’s obvious to me
that Graves has already provided them classified information. Since we have no
formal diplomatic ties with the Kafarans as set up under Title Ten of Unified
law, then Section thirty-two Alpha of the Sector Command Code of Conduct gives
me the right to detain all officers who are suspected or confirmed to be
traitors to the Unified Collaboration of Systems.
Shawn had brief
revelation of what Roslyn had told him about Krif having a possible card up his
sleeve. This was surely it.
With lightning-fast
reflexes, Melissa reached out and neatly slapped Krif across his face. Her eyes
burned into the captain furiously. “My father is
not
a traitor. I
will
see
you hanged for this, Captain.”
Krif’s only
reaction to her outburst was a crooked smile. “Thank you for that, Miss
Graves.” He raised a hand, then flicked his fingers in Melissa’s direction. Two
armed security personnel appeared behind her, their respective sidearms drawn
and pointed into her back. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to arrest you since
you came on board. Striking a Sector Command officer is punishable by
forty-eight hours in the brig, if I recall my regulations correctly. That
should keep you out of my hair long enough to detain the Admiral and his…
guest
.”
Shawn didn’t speak.
He quickly put himself between Melissa and Krif, not sure of what he was going
to do when he got there.
“Unless you want to
accompany your girlfriend, Kestrel, I’d suggest you back away from me right
now.”
Shawn never broke
eye contract with the captain, but found himself stepping backward nonetheless.
As long as he was free to roam the ship, there would be time to plan later.
“You’re smarter
than you look,” Krif chuckled, and then looked to the Marines. “Take her to the
brig. Now.”
“How dare you,
Krif! I’m in operational command of this mission!” she spat. “When the OSI
director learns what you’ve done—”
“You’ve been
relieved of your duties, pending a formal investigation by Sector Command
security.”
The two men placed
their hands tightly around Melissa’s forearms as soon as they were within
reach.
“On what charge,
Captain?” she cried.
“Possible coercion
by enemy agents, least of all the nature of your relationship with a known
traitor to the UCS. Namely, your father.”
The armed guards
led her from the CIC without further protest from either her or Shawn. Krif
then turned to Lieutenant Clifton. “Call down to security. I want a squad of
Marines assembled on the hangar deck in ten minutes, fully armed. And get a
sniper up in the overhead.” He then pivoted to face Shawn. “You and I are going
to be there, as well. I think it’s time we welcomed home our long-lost admiral,
don’t you, Lieutenant Commander?”
Shawn tightened his
jaw, knowing that sooner or later the clenched fist at his side was going to
become a close acquaintance of Richard Krif’s face.
…to be continued.
Thank you
for taking the time to enjoy
SECOND
EARTH
…the third exhilarating
tale in the ongoing
KESTREL SAGA
.
Please take
a few moments to place a review on Amazon.com
Coming this Spring:
ORIGINS
A new series of novels based on the
KESTREL SAGA
Look for
ORIGINS - TRAITOR
WINDS
On Amazon.com in March 2014.
&
IN THE PRESENCE
OF MY
ENEMIES
Book 4 in the ongoing
KESTREL SAGA
On Amazon.com in June 2014.
Stephen Andrew Fender was born in Los
Angeles, California. The son of a second generation deputy sheriff, he spent
several hours each week after school (both grade and middle) at the local
library. In high school, he was highly active in art, sometimes taking as
many as three art classes per year. During his junior year he enrolled in
journalism, where he produced a number of articles for the Opinion page.
After high school, Stephen joined
the US Navy as a computer technology specialist, working on the west coast with
an anti-submarine and scouting squadron, and later on the east coast onboard a
guided missile cruiser as part of the Enterprise battle group, where he wrote
his first science fiction novel while on deployment to the Persian Gulf.
Afterwards, he took the skills leaned
in those exploits and produced his first published novel, The Army of Light, in
June of 2013.
When not working he divides his
time between spending time with his wife, writing, or tinkering in the garage.
You can
connect with Stephen directly at
@StephenAFender
on Twitter
Or via his
website: