The Ashes of Worlds - Kevin J. Anderson [52]
When Reynald finished nursing, Peter took the baby from Estarra to burp him. Afterward, he held his son, looking down at the small face that had such sweet features, a blend of his own and his wife’s. Peter thought of his brothers, Carlos, Michael . . . Rory. Yes, Rory. He felt a swell of love in his chest, a clear sense of loss for his family and the simple yet endearing life he’d had — all destroyed by Basil’s schemes. Was it possible that the Chairman had saved one small piece as a human shield?
“Basil’s ploy isn’t going to work, is it, Peter?”
“No,” he answered quickly, then added in a softer voice, “At least I don’t think so.”
* * *
35
Tasia Tamblyn
When the eleven EDF battleships arrived at the Osquivel shipyards, Tasia remarked to Robb, “They’re damned lucky we’ve got a green priest to forewarn us. Otherwise, I might have opened fire the moment they showed themselves.”
“Admit it, Tamblyn — you’re happy to see them. And Admiral Willis, too.”
Tasia relaxed her stern expression. “Damn right, I am. And we sure as hell could use someone who knows more about command than either of us does.”
“So, you’ve been faking it all along?”
She clapped him on the shoulder. “Never with you, Brindle. Let’s send out the welcome wagon. With all those weapons and ships, we could go on a real bug hunt!”
When the two of them formally presented themselves aboard the Jupiter, Tasia looked around the bridge with fond nostalgia. Willis had put on her best uniform and told all her officers and crew to make themselves presentable: polished shoes, razor-edged creases, neatly combed hair. Tasia wasn’t sure why the Admiral felt the need to impress anyone, since the Confederation was in no position to turn down the offer of functional warships.
Willis returned Tasia’s salute. “I swear, I never thought I’d see you two alive again.”
Tasia dropped all pretense of formality and gave her a quick hug. “Glad to see you, too, Admiral — and doubly glad to be on the same side again.”
Robb, brought up in a more rigid military family, settled for a warm handshake. “I prefer combat duty to being held prisoner among the hydrogues, ma’am.”
“Well, I did bring the hydrogue derelict back here to deliver to Kotto Okiah, in case you have further pie-in-the-sky ideas,” Willis said.
“No thank you, ma’am. One excursion down into a gas giant was enough for me.”
Leading them into her ready room, the Admiral ran her eyes up and down their grease-smudged jumpsuits. “Your uniforms could use a bit of attention. Is this the look of the Confederation military these days?”
“Roamers and colony volunteers don’t need costumes to know which side they’re fighting on,” Tasia said, feeling defensive.
“We haven’t had time to design new uniforms,” Robb admitted. “In fact, I don’t even know what rank we should call ourselves.”
“Sounds like you need an organizational chart,” Willis said. “Though I shudder to think about imposing that kind of structure on a Roamer-based society.”
After Willis had called up coffee and a plate of sugar cookies from the Jupiter’s galley, Tasia said, “The EDF has more than its share of butt-head commanders, but you weren’t one of them, Admiral. Even back when the Eddies were preying on Roamer clans, you had second thoughts.”
Willis raised her eyebrows. “I may be slow, but I do get it eventually.” She plucked a third sugar cookie from the plate, then told the story of how she had left the EDF after General Lanyan’s crackdowns at Usk and Rhejak.
Robb was clearly sad to hear that his own father had refused to switch sides. “He’ll have his head set on staying with the EDF, no matter what.”
Tasia cleared her throat. “I’m not sure how best to integrate your ships and soldiers into the Confederation military, ma’am. Our setup is certainly different