Clidepp Requital (43 page)

Commander Bryant occupied one of the two chairs facing the desk, so Sydnee only had one choice. She sat stiffly at first, then relaxed slightly.

"You had quite an adventure, Syd," Captain Lidden said.

"Yes, sir."

"How are your legs?"

"All healed, sir. I can run a marathon if I wish."

"That's great. And Chief Luscome?"

"He's healed as well, although the process took considerably longer with him. And the doc told him to take it easy for a few more months because of the back injury. His lung and ribs are fully healed."

"Excellent. I'd have less regret about losing Lt. Barron if the mission hadn't turned out to be for naught."

"Excuse me, sir? For naught?"

"SCI has determined that the package had nothing to do with the bombing. It was all a red herring."

"No."

"Yes. SCI originally believed the bombing was perpetrated by the rebels in order to drag the GA into their civil war. But then they received a tip that the Clidepp Empire was behind it to keep us from supporting the rebels. Now SCI is saying the rebels knew the Clidepp government would refuse our request to turn over the package and hoped we would declare war on the Empire."

"That doesn't make sense. How could they benefit by the GA declaring war, defeating the Empire, and annexing their space?"

"There's no guarantee we would annex their space," Bryant said, "We have too much territory to patrol now."

"Until we know for sure who's responsible, the GA Senate would never declare war," Lidden said. "SCI believes that by using a small DS ship, we sidestepped any invasion issues."

"I thought we did something really great and worthwhile," Sydnee said. "Learning it was all for nothing is really depressing."

"It wasn't all for nothing," Lidden said. "If our scientists can learn how to reproduce your speed improvement, it will have been worth it."

"Worth a man's life?"

"Look at all the test pilots who were lost pushing the boundaries of flight on Earth. Look at all the astronauts we lost pushing the boundaries of space. Was it worth it? I believe so."

"Yes, sir, I suppose you're right."

"And there's also the matter of a viewpad Blade recovered from the contact. SCI was able to crack the password code and gain access to the information it contained. As I understand it, it proves that Melorriat was part of the rebel operation. He was playing us all along. He didn't name any of his fellow rebels on the viewpad, but SCI got some valuable data from it. They tell me that that alone made the trip worthwhile."

"I'm glad we got something out of it."

"By the way, while we were in Nebraska for the BOI, I asked a friend to see if he could learn why you were assigned to the
Perry
."

"You did, sir?"

"Don't get me wrong. I'm delighted it happened, but it's always nagged at me that such a superb officer as yourself would have been sent to the
Perry
with no indication of the reason in your file. On other ships, it wouldn't even come up, but on the
Perry
there has always been something in the person's past that accounted for the posting."

"While I was home, my mother confessed she asked my step-father to make sure I didn't go to Region Two."

"Perhaps she did, but that wasn't the reason."

"It wasn't?"

"Perhaps your stepfather has less pull than he thinks, or perhaps other events just beat him to it. My friend dug into the files because he knew how badly I wanted to solve the mystery, and he got back to me while you were away. He discovered that you were never posted to the
Perry
."

"I wasn't?"

"No, you were posted to the
Ares
, Captain Gavin's battleship in Region Two."

"The
Ares
? I don't understand. My orders specifically said the
Perry
."

"Yes. There was a mistake when the orders were cut. The person we were supposed to receive was a Lawrence Marco. He was ranked four hundred twelve of four hundred fourteen at the Warship Command Institute. There was some issue about his possibly being involved with an instructor's wife, which could account for him being sent to the
Perry
. But someone messed up the orders at some point, and he was sent to the
Ares
while you received his posting to the
Perry
. When the roster was sorted alphabetically, Marco's name was just above your own at WCI. My friend at SHQ tells me Marco only lasted three months on the
Ares
. He was court-martialed for 'Conduct Unbecoming' and posted to a reclamation vessel. I read the court transcript and was surprised he even managed a shipboard posting."

"But my mother believes my step-father was responsible."

"It's always possible that he was. Perhaps it wasn't a simple clerical error but an intentional act made to look like an error. We may never know. I'm surprised the division officer at WCI didn't catch the posting error. Didn't you try to bring it to his attention?"

"I tried. He immediately put me on the defensive by asking if I was refusing to accept the posting."

"That was a bit harsh. Was he aware of your class ranking?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, all I can say is, personally, we're glad it happened. We rarely received top-ranked officers. But, on to new business. Sydnee, Marine Captain Blade wants you as the SC mission commander of a new assignment he's been given."

Sydnee, who had slumped a little during the conversation about her past, sat up straight. "What? Blade asked for me?"

"More than just
asked for you
. He told SCI that you are the only one he deemed acceptable for the mission."

"I don't understand. I didn't think he liked me or respected my abilities."

"Apparently that's not the case."

"When would this mission take place, sir?"

"Immediately."

"Immediately?"

"Well, after you've had a few day's rest."

"And what's the mission this time?"

"You'll be returning the package to his home on Yolongus."

Sydnee just stared at Lidden without saying anything.

"We have to bring him home, Syd. We owe it to him. It's just a quick trip in, drop him off at his home, and then return."

"The last trip was just a quick trip in, pick up the package, and then return. Except it didn't turn out that way."

"There was no way anyone could have predicted the problems with the repository hatch and the other problems that developed because of it. You won't have to enter the water this time."

"Is this a voluntary mission, sir?"

"Of course."

"Then I don't know, sir. I'll have to think about it."

"I can only give you three days to make up your mind."

"Yes, sir. I'll get back to you in that timeframe."

"That's all, Syd."

Sydnee stood up, braced to attention, then turned and left the briefing room.

As the door closed, Bryant said, "Think she'll take it?"

"Yes, I think so," Lidden said. "When she thinks about it, she'll realize the importance of the mission, and she'll also want to do what she can to make amends for what we put the package through."

After a few second's thought, Bryant said, "Did you notice that she never once used
um
?"

"Yes, I noticed. Ten months of command experience in an extremely difficult situation while dealing with a difficult officer like Blade can give you confidence in your abilities and remove minor self-doubts. I'm seeing a much more mature lieutenant(jg). I believe she's ready for a promotion. She doesn't yet have the mandatory three years in grade for a standard promotion, but she's eligible for early advancement. And in ten months she'll even be eligible for standard promotion."

~ finis ~

*** Sydnee's exciting adventures will continue ***

If you've enjoyed this novel, I hope that you'll take just a few minutes to leave a review on the website where you purchased it. As they often assist purchasing decisions, they are appreciated by other readers and authors alike.

Thank you

Watch for new books on the websites of major booksellers,

check my website -
www.deprima.com
,

or,

sign up for my free newsletter to receive email announcements about future book releases.

This chart is offered to assist readers who may be unfamiliar with military rank and the reporting structure. Newly commissioned officers begin at either ensign or second lieutenant rank.

Space Command Officer Hierarchy:

Admiral of the Fleet (5 Star)
Admiral (4 Star)
Vice-Admiral (3 Star)
Rear Admiral – Upper (2 Star)
Rear Admiral – Lower (1 Star)

Captain
Commander
Lt. Commander
Lieutenant
Lieutenant(jg) "Junior Grade"
Ensign

Space Marine Officer Hierarchy:

General (4 Star)
Lt. General (3 Star)
Major General (2 Star)
Brigadier General (1 Star)

Colonel
Lt. Colonel
Major
Captain
First Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant

The commanding officer on a ship is always referred to as Captain, regardless of his or her official military rank. Even an Ensign could be a Captain of the Ship, although that would only occur as the result of an unusual situation or emergency where no senior officers survive.

On Space Command ships and bases, time is measured according to a twenty-four clock, normally referred to as military time. For example, 8:42 PM would be referred to as 2042 hours. Chronometers are set to always agree with the date and time at Space Command Supreme Headquarters on Earth. This is known as GST, or Galactic System Time.