Time Commander (The First Admiral Series) Read Free Page A

created a mirror-like surface which allowed the First Admiral to check that he was fit to be seen for duty. That’s not a pretty sight , he thought to himself catching sight of the reflection. The soft, white, downy hair that was starting to spread from behind his ears onto the rest of his face, combined with the angry, white-headed eruptions of acne made a ghastly accompaniment to the copious crop of red, random freckles. Worst of all, his head was crowned with a crop of unruly, fiery red hair- just like his mother. Despite it being cut into a regulation short military haircut, he was a ginger-nut, a carrot-top, and he hated it.
    Looking at the frighteningly honest reflection of himself one last time, Billy concluded that the Personal Environment Suit did its best to control the eruptions of acne and to regulate his body weight. However, his body was in the terrible state of flux that all young adult humans have to suffer, which is known as adolescence, and, for which, the PES was not designed to cope.
    Taking a moment to reflect on his appearance, his mind drifted out of the window to the star field flashing past as the Star Cruiser “Aquarius” sped through its designated patrol sector. Every time he looked out into space, he was still amazed at the beauty and vastness of the universe. He wondered if his classmates and friends would ever see such a sight in their lifetimes. For a moment, he caught himself smiling. Classmates , he thought to himself. He was First Admiral and Supreme Commander of The Universal Alliance Fleet; the most dynamic, powerful and rapidly expanding military and political force in the entire universe.
    With a deep, pessimistic sigh, and one last look glance at his reflection, Billy Caudwell set off briskly for the War Room. In a moment, Billy passed from the quiet, darkened tranquillity of his Private Quarters into the hustle and bustle of the harshly-lit War Room.
    In one corner of the War Room was a raised platform set against the right hand wall adjoining the First Admiral’s quarters. To reach the platform from the floor of the War Room required someone to climb a set of three stairs. On three sides of the platform were row upon row of consoles populated by hundreds of Technicians and Officers responsible for feeding data and information into the Tactical View Screens that were holographically projected from the floor of the platform, along with the First Admiral’s famous War Table.
    The War Table was a heavily illuminated three-dimensional holographic projector that could present viewers with a whole range of tactical and strategic maps, not to mention the multiple positional views. When battle was joined with an enemy, the War Table gave the First Admiral the most up to date and complex view of the battle situation as it unfolded. This gave him a massive advantage over his opponent with its immediate responsiveness to changes in the battle situation. In battles, where split-second decisions could be the difference between victory and defeat, potentially costing thousands of lives, the War Table was the most advanced piece of battle-monitoring technology in the universe.
    Billy Caudwell was the “unchallenged master of space battle”. To be more accurate, the Mind Profile of a dead Garmaurian officer that Billy Caudwell had implanted deep within his consciousness had been the master of space battle before his death. His knowledge, training, expertise and experience now flowed through the mind of the fifteen-year-old schoolboy from a distant planetary backwater called Earth. Billy Caudwell was going to need all of the skill, knowledge and expertise of the now-dead Garmaurian First Admiral Teg Skarral Portan to deal with this particular Ganthoran incursion.
    As Billy calmly sat at the War Table, the other Staff Officers were already beginning to gather for the Conference with Admiral Parbe‘an of the Third Fleet. Singly, in pairs, or small groups, the Senior Staff of the Universal Alliance