Resilience (Warner's World Book 6) Read Online Free Page B

representative here with your staff.”
    Meelanda had not seen that coming. “Really?”
    “Indeed” said Julian “for political objectives drive military objectives. Don’t you agree?”
    “Yes they should” said Meelanda. “I would like to consult with my staff on that matter and get back to you.”
    “Of course.”
    “Do you have a suitable politician close at hand?” she queried.
    “Not a politician. But officers, such as myself, are from our political branch and we specialise in such appointments. A political officer has reasonably wide powers to commit to political arrangements subject to ratification from our political masters.”
    “I see and so you are proposing yourself for the position?”
    “If I may be so bold.”
    “How very unusual. Alright then shall we break for an hour?”
    “As you wish.”
    Erkum led Julian and Tola out of the meeting room and down to a lounge area several rooms down the corridor. “If you don’t mind, could you please stay here” asked Erkum. “Help yourself to some refreshments. The room is not being monitored.”
    Julian nodded and closed the door after Erkum departed. Turning to Tola he whispered in her ear “which means the room is definitely monitored.”
    Julian eyed the foodstuffs laid out on a buffet. He did not recognise anything. But he was genuinely hungry and so he picked up several items and placed them on a plate. He poured himself a beverage and sat down. When Tola followed suit he asked “Now how did you think that went?”
    She looked at him surprised and raised her eyes to the ceiling. He just looked at her expectantly. Finally she responded. “Well…it’s the first time I have ever been at such a negotiation Sir. It seemed to go OK. What did you think?”
    “You have to observe carefully” said Julian. “It’s not so much what they say but how they say it and what they don’t say. So far there’s been no mention of what form the relationship between us and them will take. The focus has so far been confined to just the immediate term. What we need to address is the longer term modus operandi. That will inform the short term. But I am sure we will get to that.”
    Tola smiled as she cottoned onto what Julian was doing. She picked up what appeared to be sweet bread, smelt it and then took a nibble. It tasted delicious so she took an even larger bite.
    “They are really good aren’t they?” said Julian just before munching on one himself.
    “Excellent” said Tola.
    “Ah, I see you are getting the hang of it Tola.”
     
     

Chapter 11. Cornucopia to Polaris 0730, 8 September
    Charles was sitting up in bed free of the head brace. His ear was still bandaged but he felt no pain. He was waiting for Doctor Li to do her rounds.
    “You’re looking a lot better this morning Commander” she said with a smile.
    “I feel a lot better…thanks to you.”
    “Our pleasure. I’ll just check that ear of yours.”
    Charles was more than pleased to have her peel away the bandage. He did wince when she touched his ear to clean away some discharge but really he didn’t mind.
    She began putting on a new dressing and said “Looks good. Good enough I reckon for you to be discharged. You’ll still have to wear the bandage for a while yet though. You’ll have to come here each day for the next week and have the dressing changed.”
    “No problems with that” said Charles. “Do I see you?”
    “One of the nurses will handle that.”
    “I’d prefer if you did it” said Charles. He had a warm smile as she studied him.
    “I can probably manage the first one” she said. “0700 tomorrow OK?”
    Charles beamed. “0700. I’ll be there.”

Chapter 12. Kiev to Q2 0800, 8 September
    Phil arrived in his office feeling tired. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep. The news from Evie and Julian had taken its toll and he had found it difficult to stop worrying about it all. There was reluctance in his action to fire up his terminal.
    Another priority