Badger (45 page)

Smithson snorted. “Well, I’m afraid I have to ruin that feeling with a promotion, Captain. As of now, you are Admiral Jacob Hull and will be reassigned the moment you are finished directing the recovery operations here in Tiredel.” The High Seat folded his arms over his chest. “I expect that to be finished as soon as possible, Admiral Hull. You are going to have plenty of work cut out for you in the coming weeks.”

Jacob nearly forgot to salute. “Yes sir. I will do my best sir.”

The skin around Smithson’s eyes crinkled, and he turned to Al-shira with a smile. “I’ve already pinned something on the man, so I’ll let you do the honors, Commander. Here.” He handed over a star pin, which Al-shira hurriedly added to the previous one under Jacob’s eagle. Stunned, Jacob let the process happen, and kept staring down at the second seemingly-unnatural star. Since when was he admiral material? How had he gone from fearing discharge to being given command of the remaining forces in the system?

When he looked up, he realized Smithson was still waiting in front of him. He met the man’s gaze and saw mischief, and suddenly he knew it wasn’t quite over. Jacob braced himself and asked the one question he didn’t want an answer to. “Sir, is there something else?”

Smithson nodded. “Yes, Captain—excuse me, Admiral—Hull. These new responsibilities come with a heavy price. It was one that was held and executed well by your predecessor, and I hope to see it handled well by you.” He bowed his head, and his cheery expression fell away. In its place, Jacob saw grief and pain deeper than any he would have suspected in the man. His eyes were haunted. “Were our need any less pressing, I would have waited to entrust it to you. Allow a kind of interim period, if only for his memory and what he has done for all of us. But we have no time, and I need someone I can trust to do what needs to be done. Someone I can count on when everyone and everything else falls apart. Someone like you, Jacob.”

The High Seat of the Celostian Union lifted his head, and his eyes met Jacob’s. There was no hint of merriment in them now, and his voice was firm. “Admiral Jacob Hull, as High Seat of the Celostian Union and the bearer of all the authority, honor, and responsibility which the people of the Union have entrusted in me, I now ask of you a service.”

Jacob’s mouth went dry. The words were formal, as they had been designated for only a handful of appointments under the High Seat’s power. They were a throwback to the time when the Regal High Seats had watched over the people of Celostia and had been carried over when Maxwell had founded the Union. Those words were only used for the most solemn of appointments, the ones the High Seat could only give to the most trusted individuals, such as the appointment of interim governors, or ministers, or perhaps even of a lower Seat assigned a specific task.

There was only one reason the High Seat would use them when talking to a Navy officer, and he heard Al-shira gasp softly as the realization hit home. Jacob felt his fists clench, and he dropped his gaze for a moment. Smithson paused, apparently willing to allow him to consider the consequences of what was about to be offered to him.

From this step, there was no going back. He would have to be confirmed by referendum first, but if he was confirmed, the appointment was permanent. There was no resignation waiting in a few years. The burden that had worn away and borne down on a far better man than he would be his to carry, either until his death in battle or until he found someone he could trust to take his place. He would be hounded, he knew, either by reporters or favor-seekers, Representatives or Seats, all wanting his work bent to their own ends. Countless millions would depend on him and if he failed, the fall of the entire Union would be on his watch.

It would mean his life to accept it, but he could not turn away. Not when the need was so clear. If Smithson had come to him, there was obviously no one else able to serve. His father had taught him to accept responsibility and he could not stop now.

When he brought his gaze back to the High Seat’s face, Smithson was watching him with a question clear in his expression. Jacob nodded, and the High Seat relaxed.

“I command you to serve, Jacob Hull, as High Admiral of the Celostian Navy. Yours is the burden to defend our worlds, to preserve our freedoms, and to protect our Union. It will be your solemn duty until you pass from this life to the next, or until a successor is appointed for you. May you be kept and guided in your efforts, and may peace be found under your watchful care.” Smithson paused and tilted his head to the side. The smile returned, and a sparkle came back to his eyes. “Will you answer this command, Admiral Hull?”

Jacob met his eyes and nodded. “High Seat, I will.” The Marines snapped to attention and saluted, their expressions made of stone behind their helmets. Al-shira saluted as well, her face a mixture of surprise and pride, mingled with a strange sense of loss. He saluted in turn, and they fell back to their normal stances. Smithson clapped him on the shoulder, his eyes approving.

“Then get to work, High Admiral. Our Navy has taken severe losses, and you will have a lot to do in case the Odurans decide to attack again.” His tone suggested he found the possibility remote, but Jacob shook his head.

“They will, High Seat. They came too close here.” He glanced at Al-shira, and she nodded. “But next time, I promise you we’ll be ready. And I’ll be waiting for them. You can count on it.”

About the Author

Telling stories has been a part of Kindal Debenham’s life ever since he first put down a book, looked around and asked himself ‘But what happened next?’ That question led him to write his own stories to find the answer he was looking for, and from then on he was hooked. Writing became a passion that followed him through school and led him to the writing group where he met his incredible wife-to-be, Emily. Somehow, she continues to tolerate him, and they recently had their first baby girl, born in March 2011. Writing has brought him this far, and he hopes it will continue to accompany him for the rest of his life. He’s still trying to find the answer to what happens next, and he is grateful to all those who are supporting him in his journey. Thanks for your support, and he hopes you enjoy the story!

Series By Kindal Debenham

Jacob Hull Series

Wolfhound

Ensign Jacob Hull never intended to be a hero. As a newly commissioned officer in the Celostian Navy, his goal was to serve well until the day he could retire. Then disaster strikes on his first cruise aboard the
CNS Wolfhound
, and he will have to display all the courage, skill and determination he has in order to keep the remaining crew members out of danger. Because if he does not, the only ones to tell the tale will be prisoners of war—if there are any left at all.

Badger

Captain Jacob Hull has seen better days.

The Celostian Union is under attack on all fronts by the Oduran League, now allied with the pirates of Telos. As Jacob struggles to help stem the tide of Oduran aggression, he has to face political machinations and bitter divisions at home that are as much a threat to the Union as any Oduran task force. Yet in spite of the challenges, Jacob must learn to overcome these obstacles and once again lead those under his command to victory, because if he does not, the alternative will mean death for the people he holds dear.

Eagle
—Coming Soon 2013

The Celsotian Union has stopped the Oduran League’s offensive, but only at an agonizing price. Now the leader of the Celostian Navy, Jacob Hull receives the responsibility to pick up the pieces, but even as he struggles to rally the remnants of the crippled Navy a new danger looms. Rebellion simmers on the Frontier, and on the eve of yet another Oduran invasion, the Union experiences the bitterest division in its entire existence. At the center of the storm, Jacob Hull must outwit treacherous conspiracies and merciless foes. He must win—or else the entire Celostian Union will be left in ashes.

Wayfarer Series

Iron Angels

No journey is ever easy.

For the followers of the Way, that statement rings doubly true. Isolated, persecuted and despised throughout the Known Worlds, the Wayfarers have decided to flee into the unknown. Their hope: to find some refuge among the stars where they can live in peace.

But a threat lurks in deep space. A band of mercenaries, hired to wipe out the Wayfarers, is now closing in on their last sanctuary. Only the efforts of Gabriel Miller, the son of the leader of the Wayfarers, and those of Susan Delacourt, a former Directorate officer, can lead the fleet to safety. As time is running out, they must work together to defend their home and to help the followers of the Way reach freedom—or watch their last hopes die.

Broken Halo
—Coming Soon 2013

Every journey has a cost.

The Wayfarers have escaped their former home in the Known Worlds. Their fleet, battered but unbroken, now searches the unknown regions of space for a new world to call home. Under the leadership of Susan Delacourt and Gabriel Miller, they have continued to survive despite obstacles and setbacks.

Yet their trials are not over. The Directorate of Defense, the military of the Known Worlds, has neither forgiven nor forgotten the defiance of the Wayfarers. A task force, led by the corrupt Admiral Nevlin, has followed them into the unknown with the intention of destroying their fleet and dragging them back to the Known Worlds for trial. As the two fleets race through the stars—one searching for a new beginning, the other hunting for prey—another threat waits within the darkness of unknown that could destroy them all.

Hector Kingsley Series

The True Adventures of Hector Kingsley

The year is 1860, and the world has been rocked by Change.

The discovery of the Distillation has inspired technological marvels beyond anything previously conceived—but the same crystal that drives these mechanical wonders can also change the unwary into monsters. Lives have been altered, fortunes have been won and lost, and society will never be the same.

Working in London as an investigator, at the center of this time of opportunity and danger, Hector Kingsley takes on two new mysteries. Between the attempted murder of a local lord and the threats against a school full of Changling children, he has plenty to occupy his time. He soon finds himself plunged into a dangerous web of plots which threaten his life and those of his friends.  In a city of werewolves and golems, inventions and intrigue, he must find the culprits responsible—or face the horrible consequences of their schemes.

The True Adventures of Hector Kingsley: Murders in Whitechapel
—Coming Soon 2012

Hector Kingsley must face an impossible task.

The events of his previous investigations have left Hector with a deadly enemy. His nemesis is powerful, connected, and able to frustrate every attempt to bring him to justice. Even worse, his ultimate goal remains to be seen; all Hector can be sure of is that he faces a criminal mastermind who is more than willing to kill anyone who stands in his way.

At the same time, a serial killer branded the Dollmaker is terrorizing London. His victims vanish, never to be seen again, with only a small, mutilated figurine left in their place. Patricia, drawn to the hunt, asks for Hector’s help, and he has no choice but to agree. He quickly finds himself battling for both her life and his own against crime lords and murderers, and very quickly finds himself in a race to catch a killer—one he may be too late to stop.

New Carson Series

The Social Contract
—Coming Soon 2013

Richard Locke has never known a world without order. Disease is a myth; the introduction of symbiotic nanobot life assistance has eliminated such things, rendering medicine obsolete. Civil unrest and war are also extinct, as all of society lives under the watchful eyes of Public Security and the Commission of Oversight. Aside from the fact that his nanobots will run out of juice when he turns sixty, Locke has little to worry about.

But all is not as it seems. As Richard Locke discovers, there are secrets hidden at the core of this new society—deceptions which, if uncovered, could bring civilization as he knows it to its knees. Those who would keep those secrets soon turn their attention to him, with lethal intent. While conspiracies scheme and chaos engulfs the city, Locke must race to find the answers he needs, as the lives of his friends and family hang in the balance.

Steelknife Series

Glasswitch
—Coming Soon 2013

When he retires from the front lines in disgrace, Brellan expects to find many things: boredom, isolation, and perhaps the chance for a fresh beginning in a new home. Any of those things sounds better than a life of war against an army of monsters, led by witches who can use a simple mirror to warp a man’s soul.

What he finds, however, is that his new home is nowhere near as peaceful—or isolated—as it first seemed. The evil behind the war has made its way to Stonehollow, and Brellan is the only one capable of stopping it. Yet as he again faces the terrible creatures he has fought all his life, Brellan must confront the most terrible, inhuman monster of all, the one he left the war to avoid…himself.