Wing Commander #07 False Color by William Forstchen (novels for students TXT) 📗

finding it hard to come to grips with the idea that not all leadership involved the direct approach he favored. But facts were facts. As Bondarevsky had commented to Richards after one of Kruger's angry tirades on the subject, "He says the president of a frontier republic doesn't have to worry about protocol or formalities or little things like running the country. But if that's the case you'd be reading history books about Thomas Jefferson taking personal command of the Intrepid the day Decatur went into Tripoli harbor to burn the Philadelphia. The man still has the mind of a destroyer skipper trapped in the body of a head of state."

Kruger was still at the top of the ramp. He touched something at the side of his neck, the control, Bondarevsky realized, for a headset microphone and amplifier system. The President's words boomed out in the hollow space of the flight deck.

"Citizen-spacers of the Free Republic Navy! I've come up from planetside to see you off in person because Independence and the squadron traveling with her have a task of potentially vital importance to carry out. On you, the brave men and women of the Landreich armed forces, on you, I say, rests the future of our small league of planets out here on the frontier. For years we've been under the threat of attack by the Cats, but our situation today, when a peace treaty supposedly protects mankind, is even more grim than it was in the bad old days before Secession. You may think that a salvage mission cannot be as important as a combat operation, but if you recover the vessel you are setting out to salvage and put it back into operation, it could very well turn the tide in our favor now and for years to come."

Kruger paused, then went on in a lower tone. "I know a lot of you think I exaggerate a mite from time to time, but this time out I'm telling it to you straight. The actions you take during this mission could determine the very future of the Landreich, maybe of all human worlds. And I know of no better body of people to entrust that responsibility to than the spacers and marines of the Free Republic Navy.

"Good luck to you all, and Godspeed."

Terran Confederation Embassy Compound, Newburg Landreich, Landreich System 1934 hours (CST)

"I wish to God I knew what that maniac Kruger was up to," Clark Williams said, taking a sip from his coffee cup and pausing for a moment to savor the Jamaica Blue Mountain blend he imported every month from far-off Terra. "You can bet it's something big, I'll tell you that much. With Geoff Tolwyn involved . . ."

"That isn't really such a surprise, now, is it, Commissioner?" Lorenzo Mancini leaned forward in his seat, looking intense. "After all, he's had contacts out here since he and Richards pulled that stunt back before the Battle of Earth, and it wasn't as if he had much of a future back home. Not after that Behemoth fiasco."

"No, this is something more than just Max Kruger lending a helping hand to some poor slob he thinks deserves a break," Williams said. He put the cup down with exaggerated care, every movement precise. "Kruger doesn't figure he owes anything to anybody. Just the opposite. He'd still like to have the Confederation government jump through hoops to thank him for 'rescuing' us at Terra."

His chair creaked a little as Williams leaned back, and he frowned. Commissioner Clark Williams was a man who loved order, efficiency, and smooth sailing. His office, the best in the Terran Embassy Compound, was furnished with the finest things he'd been able to bring in from Earth, and everything was neat and orderly. Nothing like Kruger's den in the Presidential Palace, he thought.

Mancini shrugged. "The man has a point, Commissioner," he said. "The Cats had broken through our last defensive line when Bondarevsky and the rest of Kruger's people showed up and forced them to break off."

"He's a criminal, an outlaw, and the most dangerous man in the sector."

"Precisely why the Landreich makes such a perfect staging ground for our little project," Mancini countered. He was a small man, easily overlooked, but he held the rank of Colonel in the Confederation Security Bureau, Terra's elite espionage and intelligence service."

He had other connections, too, that rendered him even more powerful, and Williams was inclined to avoid arguing with him.

"I suppose you're right," he admitted. "But with Tolwyn and Bondarevsky involved with Kruger again, I'm afraid our operation could run into trouble. Don't count Tolwyn out just because of what went on last year. The man's a tactical genius, and he very definitely does not agree with our position. The combination could spell trouble."

"You're certain Kruger has something special in mind?" Mancini was frowning. He was new to the Landreich station, and hadn't had much of a chance to get his information network working yet. Williams had heard that he was almost obsessive about not relying on any sources he didn't know personally.

"He flew up to the new escort carrier this afternoon to see the crew off in person," Williams told him. "Richards, Tolwyn, and Bondarevsky are all on board as VIP passengers. Rumor has it that the battle group normally assigned to the carrier has been augmented by a number of additional ships and several thousand personnel . . . a sizable commitment, you'll agree, for a struggling little republic like the Landreich. I say it's some mission Kruger has taken a personal interest in, and if that's the case, it could be something big."

"But you don't know what." That was a statement, flat and brusque, not a question.

"Our best guess is that Kruger wants to stir up trouble inside of Hralgkrak Province," Williams said. "On Nahaddar, for instance. The Nahad have been growing restive the last few years, and Kruger could see possibilities in stirring up a rebellion there. Richards with his