Schism of Blood and Stone (The Starfield Theory Book 1) by Brian Frederico

detect the drive at all,” Drayton said and leaned back in his chair, apparently willing to take the Cassian at his word. Chris had dealt with Cassians before, even worked for one briefly. He was lucky to escape with his ship after the Cassian had tried to wrangle it from him.
    Nick shook his head vehemently. “We can't do this, Chris. We can't forsake the Commonwealth like that.”
    “We're not allied with the Commonwealth,” Drayton interjected quickly.
    “No, but we do operate in their space,” Chris reminded him.
    “What about Ian, Chris? He gave you the Cleod and you'll repay him by making his home a battlefield?” Nick hastily shot back.
    Maybe we should return the prisoners to House Evers, instead,” Chris recommended. “I'm sure we'd receive a nice reward from them.”
    Drayton leaned forward, holding up a finger. “They have nothing to give us. The Commonwealth is near bankrupt,” Drayton persisted. “There is no place for loyalty here. We are not allied with the Commonwealth so politically we have no responsibility to them whatsoever. We are not a part of their political system nor under the purview of any of their house lords. We are an independent firm and we can easily relocate our operations wherever we please. Besides, this is a humanitarian mission. If the Commonwealth catches the prisoners here, they're likely to be executed just like the Theorist today. I've seen so many executions in my years. I find them crushingly sad and I can't stand to see more of them, not when I could have stopped it.”
    “We can't turn our backs on the Commonwealth, Chris. We grew up here, went to school on Goteborg. You're friends with the heir to the ruling house,” Nick protested putting a hand on Chris' forearm before realizing he overstepped his boundaries.
    “The Commonwealth is finished. We'd be smart to make friends with Goteborg's new owners,” Drayton continued.
    Chris nodded and was silent for some time. Nick had a fair point. Returning Dominion soldiers, especially the general responsible for taking a chunk out of the Commonwealth's flank would be perfidious, but the Commonwealth was slowly collapsing. Lord General Damien's border forces had been depleted after years of fighting the Dominion. House Mercer, longtime allies of Lord Damien and the Sten family had been virtually wiped out. Lord Damien had already several worlds along the border and, powerful as they were, House Evers would not have the military might to repel the forthcoming invasion. Helping the Caephites would improve DLT's standings with them, maybe even bring in additional contracts. Maybe even the high value military contracts, shuttling supplies and troops. Maybe those ties would be strong enough for them to wield some influence in minimizing their damage to civilian infrastructure. They had an opportunity to do some good. Goteborg would fall, but maybe, just maybe, he could make the inevitable less devastating.
    “I agree,” Chris said finally. “Goteborg will likely fall to the Dominion. We can do some good, maybe act as mediators between the new Dominion government and the Commonwealth citizens on planet. Let's get the prisoners back to the Dominion so we can pull some favors later. Maybe aiding the Dominion would bring an end to the war and save some lives.”
    Nick shook his head and looked away, unwilling to meet his boss's gaze. His tattoos burned furiously.
    “Let's get back to the MacCleod and get her ready. I want to get this done with as soon as possible,” Chris said.
    “You made the right choice, son,” Drayton said happily as Chris shook his hand. Chris knew the tone to be patronizing, but choose to ignore it. Let Drayton have his little victory.
    Nick was already out the door and down the hall before Chris even left the office. He'll get over it, Chris thought as he followed at a distance. This is merely business, and we have to survive the changing times just like everyone else. I just hope it's enough.

Lord