Last of the Immortals (The Jessica Keller Chronicles Book 3) Read Free Page B

terrible threat to the Republic today does not allow us the luxury of leisure. All too soon, you will be called to battle again. To stand atop the wall and hold it against all comers. To face the darkness and, in doing so, defy it.”
    He paused, staring out at the people before him, not as a politician addressing civilians, but as the First Lord of the Fleet, first among equals, surrounded by his peers, uplifted on their shoulders. This was not a civilian ceremony.
    Civilians would not understand.
    This was The Fleet .
    He finally turned to the two civilians seated behind him in their best finery.
    “Madam and Sri Keller,” he said simply, “would you please join me?”
    Miguel and Indira rose and stepped forward. The room could not remain silent as they did, greeting them with a booming cheer. It was almost a solid noise, welcoming them to the podium next to the First Lord.
    Both civilians seemed taken aback. That didn’t surprise Jessica. They might have been intimately involved with the Fleet for their whole lives, Miguel as a shipwright, Indira as a mother to a young officer, but they were still civilians. And it wasn’t even their daughter being honored. But they were more than happy to stand in.
    The First Lord waited for the warriors below him to quiet before he spoke again.
    “Today,” he boomed, beaming in his own way, “we gather to add a new name to the ranks of those entrusted to the highest level of responsibility in the Fleet. To honor a young woman who has gone, again and again, above and beyond the call of duty for her adopted homeland. To welcome her to our ranks as an officer, a leader, an inspiration for others.”
    He paused to let the room breathe.
    “Yeoman Moirrey Kermode, citizen of Ramsey , adopted daughter of Ladaux , would you please rise and join us?”
    The noise had been intense before. It became almost painful now, every throat in the room cheering and screaming themselves hoarse with enthusiasm. Every one of these people, Jessica included, was alive today, several times over, because of this woman.
    And they loved her.
    Moirrey rose from her seat, trailed today by Jessica’s steward, Marcelle Travere.
    Even from down here, Jessica could see that the young woman was blushing clear to the tips of her ears. But her smile might have lit a star.
    Moirrey walked to the front of the stage and came to rest between Miguel and Indira, indeed in loco parentis today, with Marcelle behind her, so much taller, but not looming.
    The day was too big to overshadow Moirrey.
    Nils Kasum let the sound drag on far longer than he normally would have, understanding the value his crews placed on the young lady from Ramsey .
    When the noise finally started to recede, Jessica watched him stride back to the podium and pull out a folded parchment from his inner breast pocket, along with a pen. Carefully, he flattened it out and signed it at the bottom.
    He turned and walked three steps to stand in front of Yeoman Kermode, before holding up the paper.
    “By order of the Senate of Aquitaine, on this day signed by Senator Tadej Horvat, Premier, and Nils Kasum, First Lord of the Fleet, we declare to all that Moirrey Kermode of the planet Ramsey is hereby promoted to the rank of Centurion of the Fleet. May she exercise this responsibility with authority, intellect, and care, for she is our representative in all things.”
    He handed the paper to centurion Kermode as the room erupted again.
    Jessica found herself on her feet with the rest of the squadron, cheering, stamping, and howling.
    Indira carefully pinned the single white stripe around Moirrey’s upper right arm, crying with joy as she did.
    There were hugs all around. Even the Premier got surprised by a hugging assault from Jessica’s mother before he realized what was happening.
    Jessica smiled. This much she had insisted on.
    Now, the hard part could begin.

Chapter II
    Date of the Republic May 28, 394 Fleet HQ, Ladaux System
    Nils took a deep breath and