Edge of Redemption (A Star Too Far Book 3) Read Free Page B

amenities. It had a bare minimum of gravity systems—even the grav shield complement was low. The passages between occupied areas were zero-gravity. It was everything a warship needed to be and nothing more.
    “Here is your data packet with the crew list,” Admiral Sahji said quickly, as if eager to change the subject. “Things are a bit tight at the moment. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have another Captain to brief.”
    The pair stood and moved to the door, leading William out.
    “What’s her name?” William asked.
    “Who?” the Commander asked.
    William looked at the print on the wall. “The ship.”
    Admiral Sahji shrugged. “I’m not sure, they’re Ganges Class pocket cruisers, you’ll have to speak with the Admiral about the naming convention.”
    “Thank you, sir,” William said. The two men shook his hand and wished him well. He walked on the rough floor and scanned the tablet in his hands. The complete ship specifications was listed along with his crew manifest.
    A dozen. A dozen crew. He could hardly believe it. Barely enough to make a decent watch. The ship would have an XO, a junior officer, three maintenance personnel, three Engineers and three Marines. Sweet Jesus, he thought. A second glance showed that two of the Marines doubled as cooks. He keyed the next tab and saw his crew.
    The first bit of good news came when he saw Huron’s name, the ship’s Engineer from his last tour. When he’d last seen him, Huron was arguing physics with other Engineers on the way back. The wounds he suffered in the Bosporus system were mostly healed.
    A few of the names were filled, but most were blank. His orders were to report to the shipyard the following day and see the actual ship. The schematic he stared at was generic enough to show basic details. As he gaged the mass, he saw that it had only a small additive cell. It was as far away from self-supported as a ship could be.
    Materials would be tight. They’d also have to spread crews out for the biggest bang. The Malta , his last command, barely had the same spread of weaponry. As he saw it the ship, had the frame of a yacht with the weaponry of a frigate. They were mass producing and maximizing assets. He liked that, but it would take some getting used to.
    The mission was simple enough, an escort job there and back to the Winterthur system. The map showed it in the absolute middle of nowhere, the very edge of colonized space. He searched for more details but found nothing else. He shrugged and kept browsing the tablet.
    “Mr. Grace?” a female voice chirped.
    “Yes?” he said, startled.
    An olive-skinned female Lieutenant stood before him with a crisp smile. On one of her cheeks she wore a nanite tattoo that shifted between colors in a simulated sunset. She was stocky on the shoulders with legs like a dancer. Her brown hair was tied back into a ball tight enough to crack a window. “I’m Lieutenant Ali Shay, your XO.”
    William glanced around. “Walk with me, Lieutenant.”
    The pair moved through the passage in silence and finally exited past the pair of sentinel Marines. Neither one looked any happier, just a bit more weary. When William finally stepped into the larger corridor, he pointed to a storage area and sat down on a stout crate.
    “What the hell is going on?” William ran his fingers through his hair and looked up to Ali. “I walked into a dozen flag Admirals resigning.”
    She looked around with soft eyes and leaned against a large shipping container. “There’s been some disagreements.”
    “Disagreements be damned, I thought they’d pull out pistols and duel. What is it about?”
    “Rumor is, the UC only wants an Earth-born command staff. They were running the others into nonessential tasks.”
    William shook his head and looked down. Not this again. The time when they’d need every bit of force and expertise and there was a rift. They couldn’t afford it, not now.
    “What news from the Hun front?” William asked.
    Ali