The Stars Down Under Read Free Page A

please. But you also married your supervisor, Lieutenant Scott, which indicates an appalling lack of decorum and brings up serious issues of fraternization.”
    â€œNo fraternization charges were filed against Lieutenant Commander Scott or myself,” Myell said, making sure Kuvik knew her current rank.
    â€œI’m not interested in whether your former captain had the balls to court-martial you for violating regulations.” Kuvik leaned forward, a muscle pulling in his cheek. “Worse than your playing house with Lieutenant Commander Scott is the fact that you’ve never undergone chief’s training.”
    Ah, Myell thought. The true crux of the problem. He and Jodenny had discussed the ramifications of his refusal, rehearsed possible scenarios, but he’d sincerely hoped the issue wouldn’t arise.
    â€œI was promoted in the field while recovering from my injuries,” Myell said. “Authorized by my captain on behalf of Team Space to wear the insignia and uniform, and receive all the ranks and privileges of a Chief Petty Officer. When we arrived here, seven other sergeants on the Aral Sea were also approved for promotion.”
    â€œAnd those seven sergeants immediately volunteered for chief’s training over at Fleet. You refused.”
    â€œBecause the training is voluntary, and has been ever since the death of that sergeant on Kookaburra.”
    Kuvik wagged a finger. “One mistake shouldn’t override hundreds of years of tradition. Initiation marks the transition from sergeant to chief. You don’t just put on the uniform. You’re expected to be a leader, and being a leader means being accepted as an equal by your peers.”
    Myell could already picture that basement office with his name posted by the door.
    â€œThat’s where we disagree, sir. A leader rises above his peers instead of hovering in the pack with them. Team Space promotes us because of who we are and what we’ve done, not so we can reinvent ourselves. You can do whatever you like with me, but you’re not going to convince me that a month of being humiliated and bullied will make me more fit to wear this uniform.”
    Myell realized his voice had risen. He clamped his mouth shut. He’d given the captain enough to hang him with already.
    Kuvik leaned back in his chair. The radio fell silent, and a cormorant cried out behind the windows as it swooped down toward the water.
    â€œThere are some people from Fleet in my conference room,” Kuvik finally said. “They want to talk to you. Something hush-hush and very important. Any idea what?”
    Myell thought instantly of the Rainbow Serpent, and of the jobs he and Jodenny had turned down in a secret underground complex back on Warramala a few months ago.
    â€œNo, sir,” he said.
    Kuvik rose from his chair. “Go talk to them, Chief. And if they offer you a transfer, you’d better take it. It’ll be a better deal than anything you’re going to get here.”

CHAPTER TWO
    The outside world was too bright, even with sunglasses shading her eyes. Jodenny Scott resisted the urge to lie down on the sidewalk for twelve hours of sleep and kept walking down Sydney Boulevard. Train, home, bed. Those were her only goals.
    She thought about pinging Myell, but he would already be at Supply School meeting his co-workers and getting settled in. The last few weeks hadn’t been easy for him. Her part, going off to work every morning, had been simple. He’d had to lease a flit, get them moved into housing, buy furniture they’d never needed before, and organize their personal lives. He had done it all without complaint, and had even arranged for a dozen long-stemmed red roses to be on her desk her first day at Fleet.
    She hadn’t been able to send him off in style, but maybe she could make his first night home special.
    â€œJo?” a woman asked from nearby. “Jo Scott?”
    Jodenny stopped.