Free Ronin (The Pike Chronicles Book 3) by G. P. Hudson

Kemmar have tried to send scout ships past our borders, but we have intercepted and chased them off. They are testing us. Gauging our response.”
    “Is this a prelude to an attack?”
    “Not at this time. They are busy cleaning up the mess they made invading the Otan. That will keep them occupied for a long while. The border incursions are merely meant to gather information.”
    “So we have time to plan.”
    “Time will not save us. We need more ships.”
    “Understood. I’ll keep working on the other colonies.”
    “Will that be all, Sir?” said Juneau. There was something in his tone that Sallas didn’t like. It was the way he said the word ‘Sir’, with a hint of contempt in his voice. Sallas assumed it had something to do with him being a civilian. He had never served in the military, but Juneau would have to get over it. The people elected Sallas as Prime Minister. That’s all that mattered.
    “Thank you, General. That is all,” said Sallas, cutting the communication link.
    Sallas rose and walked out of his office. Directly adjoining was a larger room with several couches and large comfortable chairs. Less formal than his office, this room was for more relaxed meetings. Sitting on one of the couches was an attractive red headed woman. Sallas sat down beside her and eased back into the soft cushions.
    The woman studied him for a moment and said, “Your meeting didn’t go well, I take it?”
    He looked into the woman’s mesmerizing eyes, and had no desire to discuss his meeting. “No, but I’ll convince them.”
    “I hope so. Our encounter with the Kemmar was not pleasant.”
    “Yes, you were lucky to come out of that alive. But enough of this unpleasantness. What do you think of our medical facilities?”
    “They are impressive.”
    Sallas laughed. “You’re kind. I’m sure we are nowhere near as advanced as what you are used to.”
    “Actually, you are more advanced than us. We rely on alien medical technology for most of our needs.”
    “That’s right. What did you call your aliens again? Dukans?”
    “Diakans,” said the redhead, smiling.
    “Diakans. I’ll try and remember next time.”
    “It doesn’t matter. I don’t imagine we’ll be seeing any Diakans out here.”
    “You made it ‘out here’. You never know who will come next.”
    “My arrival here was an accident.”
    “A lucky accident,” said Sallas, smiling. “Now, Ms. Ellerbeck, I do believe you agreed to have dinner with me.”
    “I believe I did.”
    Sallas stood up and stretched out his hand. Dr. Elizabeth Ellerbeck took the hand and allowed Prime Minister Sallas to lead her out of the room.

Chapter 13
     
    “So that’s New Byzantium,” said Kevin, looking at the distant blue planet on the viewscreen. “Looks like my kind of place. Lots of water means lots of beaches.”
    Jon glanced over at the big man. “Lots of islands too,” he said. “Maybe you’ll find something like the one you grew up on.”
    Kevin smiled, taking on a far-away look, like he was lost in a memory. “Nah. That place is one of a kind.”
    “Either way it looks like a fun place. We should stick around for a bit.” Colonel Bast was standing nearby and Jon was sure he could hear their conversation. “Colonel Bast,” said Jon, waving the man over.
    “Yes, Captain?”
    “My crew hasn’t had any downtime since we left the Sol System. New Byzantium looks like a nice place. We should stick around for a while, give the crew some shore leave.”
    Bast looked confused. “Shore leave?”
    Jon shared a knowing glance with Kevin, who was already grinning at Bast’s question. “Yeah, shore leave. R and R. You know, time off to relax.”
    “But there is still a lot that needs to be done,” said Bast, in protest. “We relax when we sleep, is that not enough?”
    “Hang on a second,” said Kevin. “Are you saying that Chaanisar soldiers don’t get any time off from duties?”
    “No, why would we?”
    “You’ve never taken a