pulling away from Maker’s cabin, then checked to make sure that the soundproof glass that separated the front and rear compartments was in place. Satisfied that the driver couldn’t hear them, he then turned to Dr. Chantrey almost angrily.
“Why did you tell him that we couldn’t get him eclipse authority?” he asked. “You should have just told him ‘yes.’ You could have ruined everything.”
The doctor didn’t even deign to look at him when she responded, preferring to stare out the window at the passing scenery. “That demand was a ruse. He didn’t care about having eclipse authority, and he already knew we couldn’t get it for him. He just wanted to see what we’d say.”
Browing was visibly confused. “Why?”
“Because, if we lied about that it would probably mean that we were lying about other things,” the general said, weighing in. “Then all three of us would have come off as idiots instead of just one of us.”
Browing gave the general a hard stare. “You don’t like me very much, do you?”
“Son, I don’t even know you well enough to dislike you,” Kroner said. “What I definitely don’t like, though, is helping you recruit Marines for missions under false pretenses, no matter how well-connected your family is. However, I was ordered to come here and enlist Gant’s services on your behalf, so that’s what I did. But it doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”
“That’s fine by me – as long as you do what you’re told,” Browing said, earning him a glare from Kroner. He turned his attention back to Dr. Chantrey. “What about his story regarding the derelict and his crazy hyperspace jump?”
“Very convincing,” the doctor replied. “But he’s definitely lying about what happened.”
Chapter 5
Maker walked off the transport shuttle, struggling to keep his emotions in check. Decked out in his service dress – dark trousers, dark three-button jacket, and service cap – he was just one of hundreds of people in uniform disembarking here on Stinger III. However, while most of his fellow shuttle passengers were returning to duty and the humdrum of their everyday routine, this was his first time setting foot on a military planet in years.
He stepped off the exit ramp and just stood there, looking around almost in wonder. High above him, a squadron of fighters zipped by, flying in unbelievably tight formation. Just outside of the shuttle landing site, a convoy of military hovercraft with a heavily armed escort went streaking through the traffic lanes, obviously hauling something of high importance. Roughly ten yards away, an argument between two other uniformed servicemen suddenly escalated into full-scale fisticuffs. Maker smiled. Damn but it felt good to be a Marine again!
People flowed around him like water around a rock in a stream, giving him odd looks as he stood there like a petrified tree. Of course, the wide berth they gave him might also have had something to do with Erlen, who waited patiently while Maker seem to adjust to his new environs.
The trip itself had been fairly uneventful. As promised, there had been a military craft, the Manley , waiting for him at the Ginsburg spaceport three days after his visitors had departed. The captain of the ship, a sour-faced man named Wilmer Han, had administered the oath of office to Maker, swearing him in as an officer of the Marine Corps. In addition, a special a courier had hand-delivered a datachip to him that provided not only secure access to the military’s personnel database, but also Maker’s itinerary and initial orders. The military vessel later dumped him off at a commercial spaceport, where he’d taken civilian transportation for the rest of his trek.
All in all, the entire journey took about a week: two days aboard the Manley , then another five aboard the civilian ship. (As broad as Gaian Space was, there was little direct interstellar transportation anywhere. Counting in layovers and
“Why did you tell him that we couldn’t get him eclipse authority?” he asked. “You should have just told him ‘yes.’ You could have ruined everything.”
The doctor didn’t even deign to look at him when she responded, preferring to stare out the window at the passing scenery. “That demand was a ruse. He didn’t care about having eclipse authority, and he already knew we couldn’t get it for him. He just wanted to see what we’d say.”
Browing was visibly confused. “Why?”
“Because, if we lied about that it would probably mean that we were lying about other things,” the general said, weighing in. “Then all three of us would have come off as idiots instead of just one of us.”
Browing gave the general a hard stare. “You don’t like me very much, do you?”
“Son, I don’t even know you well enough to dislike you,” Kroner said. “What I definitely don’t like, though, is helping you recruit Marines for missions under false pretenses, no matter how well-connected your family is. However, I was ordered to come here and enlist Gant’s services on your behalf, so that’s what I did. But it doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”
“That’s fine by me – as long as you do what you’re told,” Browing said, earning him a glare from Kroner. He turned his attention back to Dr. Chantrey. “What about his story regarding the derelict and his crazy hyperspace jump?”
“Very convincing,” the doctor replied. “But he’s definitely lying about what happened.”
Chapter 5
Maker walked off the transport shuttle, struggling to keep his emotions in check. Decked out in his service dress – dark trousers, dark three-button jacket, and service cap – he was just one of hundreds of people in uniform disembarking here on Stinger III. However, while most of his fellow shuttle passengers were returning to duty and the humdrum of their everyday routine, this was his first time setting foot on a military planet in years.
He stepped off the exit ramp and just stood there, looking around almost in wonder. High above him, a squadron of fighters zipped by, flying in unbelievably tight formation. Just outside of the shuttle landing site, a convoy of military hovercraft with a heavily armed escort went streaking through the traffic lanes, obviously hauling something of high importance. Roughly ten yards away, an argument between two other uniformed servicemen suddenly escalated into full-scale fisticuffs. Maker smiled. Damn but it felt good to be a Marine again!
People flowed around him like water around a rock in a stream, giving him odd looks as he stood there like a petrified tree. Of course, the wide berth they gave him might also have had something to do with Erlen, who waited patiently while Maker seem to adjust to his new environs.
The trip itself had been fairly uneventful. As promised, there had been a military craft, the Manley , waiting for him at the Ginsburg spaceport three days after his visitors had departed. The captain of the ship, a sour-faced man named Wilmer Han, had administered the oath of office to Maker, swearing him in as an officer of the Marine Corps. In addition, a special a courier had hand-delivered a datachip to him that provided not only secure access to the military’s personnel database, but also Maker’s itinerary and initial orders. The military vessel later dumped him off at a commercial spaceport, where he’d taken civilian transportation for the rest of his trek.
All in all, the entire journey took about a week: two days aboard the Manley , then another five aboard the civilian ship. (As broad as Gaian Space was, there was little direct interstellar transportation anywhere. Counting in layovers and
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