Guardians of the Galactic Sentinel 1: The Deimos Artifact Read Online Free Page A
Author: Phillip Nolte
getting up, "At ease, Corporal. Have a seat. I'm afraid I have some bad news for you."
"Bad news, sir?"
"Yes, son. I'm sorry to be the one who has to tell you this, but your Uncle, Marvin Pangbourne, passed away just over a week ago."
Zack thought about the man who had raised him for several tumultuous years before he had enlisted in the Marines. He and his uncle had not corresponded much at all during the time that Zack had been in the military and the two of them had lost touch. Understandably somewhat shocked, he felt a sharp pang of emptiness followed closely by a not insignificant measure of guilt.
"Uncle Marv? Dead?"
"Some kind of aircar accident out on Haven," said the Commander, "I'm sorry, Lynton, I don't have any details at all. As his sole heir, they need you to go back to Haven to take care of his affairs."
"Is that going to be allowed, sir?" asked Zack.
"Already been approved," replied the Major, "It might not hurt for you to get out of here for a while and give things a little time to cool down."
"Cool down, sir?"
"Yeah, turns out this Lieutenant Dawson, the one who wrote you up for your actions last week, comes from a pretty powerful family. His old man is a Senator from the Central Planets. We're trying to get the Lieutenant to back off on you but, at least so far, he hasn't budged. We'll work on him some more while you're gone. In the meantime, things should be fairly quiet here on New Slav for a while. You've been granted thirty days family leave to take care of this."
"I...I don't know what to say. Thank you, sir."
"Yeah, I know; these things can be pretty tough."
"Yes, sir," replied Zack, "I really don't know where to begin."
"There's a shuttle leaving for the orbital station in a half hour. We've taken the liberty of booking you passage on a liner currently refueling at the station. It really is about the fastest way to get you all the way out to Haven. You should be there in less than a week. I apologize, the bean counters would only authorize a third class ticket, but you've got to remember this is the Federation Military. We all need to make sacrifices."
"As you say, sir. Thank you, sir."
"You've been in continuous combat for nearly two years, soldier. You might take some of this time to get a little R and R as well." The Major paused for a moment and added, "For what it's worth, Zack, I think you did the right thing last week even if you do get in trouble for it. Strictly off the record, you understand?"
"Thank you, sir,"
"Make the best of this opportunity, son. Dismissed."
Zack numbly got up and gave the commander another salute, "Thank you again, sir."
He left the commander's temporary headquarters and headed for the shuttle pad. His luck seemed to be holding as the next set of events came off without a hitch. Within an hour and a half after he arrived at the New Slovenia orbital station, he was safely onboard the liner and comfortably settled in his small but perfectly adequate cabin.
Chapter 3. Financial Meltdown.
Near the Haven Orbital Station, Barnard's Star System, July 3, 2676.
The gigantic starship cruiseliner " Princess of Bellerophon " had been decelerating gently but relentlessly on her way into the Haven Colony system for most of the early hours of the morning. She would be docking at Haven's orbital station in just over two hours. There she would drop off about two dozen passengers and perhaps pick up a like number before topping off on reaction mass and heading out on her way to the most remote destination on her route which was to be the posh Orbiting Casinos of Novo Reno.
Zack found himself almost alone on the dimly lit observation deck on the top side of the Princess . Most of the passengers would probably sleep through the brief, early morning stop at the backwater colony world. Things were different for him; Haven had been his home world and he hadn't returned here since he'd gone into the Marines almost four years ago. The badly-needed respite from
"Bad news, sir?"
"Yes, son. I'm sorry to be the one who has to tell you this, but your Uncle, Marvin Pangbourne, passed away just over a week ago."
Zack thought about the man who had raised him for several tumultuous years before he had enlisted in the Marines. He and his uncle had not corresponded much at all during the time that Zack had been in the military and the two of them had lost touch. Understandably somewhat shocked, he felt a sharp pang of emptiness followed closely by a not insignificant measure of guilt.
"Uncle Marv? Dead?"
"Some kind of aircar accident out on Haven," said the Commander, "I'm sorry, Lynton, I don't have any details at all. As his sole heir, they need you to go back to Haven to take care of his affairs."
"Is that going to be allowed, sir?" asked Zack.
"Already been approved," replied the Major, "It might not hurt for you to get out of here for a while and give things a little time to cool down."
"Cool down, sir?"
"Yeah, turns out this Lieutenant Dawson, the one who wrote you up for your actions last week, comes from a pretty powerful family. His old man is a Senator from the Central Planets. We're trying to get the Lieutenant to back off on you but, at least so far, he hasn't budged. We'll work on him some more while you're gone. In the meantime, things should be fairly quiet here on New Slav for a while. You've been granted thirty days family leave to take care of this."
"I...I don't know what to say. Thank you, sir."
"Yeah, I know; these things can be pretty tough."
"Yes, sir," replied Zack, "I really don't know where to begin."
"There's a shuttle leaving for the orbital station in a half hour. We've taken the liberty of booking you passage on a liner currently refueling at the station. It really is about the fastest way to get you all the way out to Haven. You should be there in less than a week. I apologize, the bean counters would only authorize a third class ticket, but you've got to remember this is the Federation Military. We all need to make sacrifices."
"As you say, sir. Thank you, sir."
"You've been in continuous combat for nearly two years, soldier. You might take some of this time to get a little R and R as well." The Major paused for a moment and added, "For what it's worth, Zack, I think you did the right thing last week even if you do get in trouble for it. Strictly off the record, you understand?"
"Thank you, sir,"
"Make the best of this opportunity, son. Dismissed."
Zack numbly got up and gave the commander another salute, "Thank you again, sir."
He left the commander's temporary headquarters and headed for the shuttle pad. His luck seemed to be holding as the next set of events came off without a hitch. Within an hour and a half after he arrived at the New Slovenia orbital station, he was safely onboard the liner and comfortably settled in his small but perfectly adequate cabin.
Chapter 3. Financial Meltdown.
Near the Haven Orbital Station, Barnard's Star System, July 3, 2676.
The gigantic starship cruiseliner " Princess of Bellerophon " had been decelerating gently but relentlessly on her way into the Haven Colony system for most of the early hours of the morning. She would be docking at Haven's orbital station in just over two hours. There she would drop off about two dozen passengers and perhaps pick up a like number before topping off on reaction mass and heading out on her way to the most remote destination on her route which was to be the posh Orbiting Casinos of Novo Reno.
Zack found himself almost alone on the dimly lit observation deck on the top side of the Princess . Most of the passengers would probably sleep through the brief, early morning stop at the backwater colony world. Things were different for him; Haven had been his home world and he hadn't returned here since he'd gone into the Marines almost four years ago. The badly-needed respite from
Readers choose
Annslee Urban
Victoria Connelly
Anna Banks
Lisa Marie Perry
Victoria Abbott
Ava Stone
Christina Henry
Catherine Hapka
Ursula Dubosarsky
Louis L'amour