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

if and when they threw her into action . . . and the less likely the Confederation would be to get wind of the scheme and try to stop it. That was almost as important, at this stage, with Commissioner Williams still making threatening noises about Terran intervention in the event of escalating hostilities out here on the frontier.

"You're looking particularly out of it tonight, skipper," Sparks commented after the silence had gone on for a while. "You feeling okay?"

"He's just beat down by all the haggling, that's all," Tolwyn told her. "By God, I swear these Landreichers have everything backwards! Their president wants to lead fleets in action, and he's damned good at it, too . . . while the fleet officers sit and argue more than any bunch of worthless politicians who ever disgraced a parliament! Do you suppose Landreich's ruling council would make good fighters, Jason?"

He smiled without much humor. "Just look at Captain Galbraith. His family damn near controls the council back on Landreich. And he's sure waving the flag properly."

Tolwyn snorted. "Yeah, right." He looked at Sparks. "You think there's a spot for me in your techie crew on the new ship if I finally get fed up and go after the guy?"

She turned a sunny grin on him. "Why, surely, sir. Just as long as you remember to be careful of my planes."

"Oh, great," he groaned. "Somebody else who wants to take over our birds! Just what we didn't need."

"Hey, let's face it, Commander, those birds have always belonged to the techies. We just loan them out to you flyboys . . . and we don't let the spit-and-polish navy even get near them!"

"Don't tell our illustrious Captain Galbraith," Tolwyn said. "He thinks he owns the whole shooting match."

"When you figure it was probably his father's money backing Kruger when he started buying decommissioned ships from the Confederation, you can see where he might get the idea," Bondarevsky pointed out. "I always knew Max Kruger was playing things entirely too fast and loose back in the old days, but it's gotten a lot worse since then. He's let Galbraith and the other big money boys get a stranglehold on his government, and all because he couldn't be bothered with the petty details of playing president the way he was supposed to."

"You think it'll be a problem down the line, Jason?" Tolwyn asked. "I mean, some of us have burned our bridges back home, and if it falls apart out here too . . ."

"Keep your priorities in order, Kevin," Bondarevsky advised. "First we've got the Kilrathi threat to deal with. Then we've got to deal with the Confederation and whatever their silly little game is. It's only if we weather both those meteor swarms that we'll have to worry about the long-term health of Max Kruger's government. I figure the odds of it ever being a problem we'll have to cope with are long enough that we don't need to bother worrying."

"Cheery these days, isn't he, Sparks?" Tolwyn said. "You don't know the half of it, sir," she told him.

"I call them like I see them," he said. "Tell me something, Kevin. Do you have any idea what's got your uncle acting so paranoid? He was always big on secret schemes, but since I met him on the Moon I've had the feeling he's got something really big going on, something he won't tell either me or Vance Richards."

Tolwyn nodded. "I know something's up, but I couldn't tell you what. All I know for sure is that getting me to sign up out here with Kruger's gang wasn't intended to further my career. It went against everything he's ever tried to do for me before. I invested half a lifetime in a Confederation Navy career and threw it out in five minutes because Uncle Geoff suddenly thought it was important I take this deal instead."

"Why?"

Tolwyn shrugged. "Beats the hell out of me. But I had the definite feeling he was worried about my safety . . . about my physical well-being. A couple of times he let slip things that suggested he thought Terra was not a very healthy place to be a Tolwyn for the next few years."

"Bad feeling from the court-martial, maybe?" Sparks suggested.

"Maybe," Tolwyn said. "But that was a nine-day wonder at best. Nobody'll ever forget it, and he made a few more enemies before it was all done with, but I just don't see it being a raging topic of controversy that would leave him worrying about our security."

"True enough," Bondarevsky said. "Well, look, Kevin, I'm not going to ask you to spy on your uncle or anything like that. But if you pick up anything you think I should know about, please pass it on. I respect the old man's judgment in most things, but ever since Behemoth . . ."

"Yeah. Ever since Behemoth." Tolwyn shook his head. "That was a goddamned shame. Screwed up from start to finish. To think that Hobbes was the one who betrayed him, too. One of the only two Cats I ever met that I would have trusted with my life."

"Whatever happened to the other one?" Sparks asked. "Kirha . the one I met in Britain when we were getting ready for the Free Corps mission."

Bondarevsky looked down at his empty glass. "You know he was bound by oath to Hunter . . . took the strongest possible Kilrathi vow to be the loyal servant of 'Ian St. John Who Is Also Known As Hunter.' Well, Ian bought it when we were out here. You remember, Sparks?"

She nodded sadly, and so did Tolwyn. Captain Ian St. John had been one of the old band of brothers . . . and the best friend a man could have on his wing in a furball.

"Kirha was shipped off to Ian's ranch Down Under for the duration. The brass was worried that he might get wind of what we were doing with the Free Corps operation,