Free No Middle Ground (Spineward Sectors: Middleton's Pride) by Caleb Wachter Page A

think I can do that, Doctor,” Middleton nodded before leaning in toward the pickup as well, “but as long as you’re aboard this ship you will address me as ‘Captain,’ seeing as I am a military officer and it’s hard enough establishing discipline on this ship without a former acquaintance taking familiar liberties in public.”
    Her eyes flashed with anger and Middleton was afraid she would argue the point, but the look was fleeting and she nodded affirmatively. “Very well, Captain ,” she said icily. “Doctor Middleton, out.”
    Middleton sat back in his chair and breathed yet another sigh of relief. The truth was that dealing with tactical situations, however hazardous or gruesome they might be, was nothing compared to the constant bureaucracy and administrative duties of being in command.
    Still, he had managed to keep things pointed in more or less the right direction for his first month of command, and now it seemed he had but one task before himself: finding a planet where they could affect repairs and find some new recruits to replenish their losses.
    After nearly three hours of considering the options, he finally decided on a relatively nearby star system with a single habitable world called ‘Shèhuì Héxié’ by its inhabitants, which when translated to Confederation Standard, meant something along the lines of ‘Social Harmony.’
    With a name like that, how could we go wrong? he thought to himself sardonically.

Chapter V: Lacking Political Capital
     
     
    “As I said, Captain, we will happily provide you with whatever material assistance you require—a process which, I understand, has already begun. But regarding the recruitment of our citizens for your ship’s crew, I am afraid that my hands are tied,” the representative said.
    The representative wore an ancient style robe which was simple in its design, but clearly made of pure silk. His pale skin and sharp, angular features were quite unlike those possessed by a native Caprian like Middleton, and the man wore his hair in a high, perfectly bound topknot with a slender stick of some kind pinning it in place.
    Middleton ground his teeth as he sat back in his ready room’s chair. “Representative Rong—“ he began, but the representative stopped him with a gesture.
    “My family name is ‘Kong’,” he corrected patiently, “Rong is my given name, Captain Middleton.”
    “Fine,” Middleton bit out, having gone round and round with the representative for several hours already, “Representative Kong, the Confederation’s Multi-Sector Patrol Fleet is a recognized arm of the Confederation government—a body to which your planet has belonged for over a century—and seeing as your world is a contributory member of the MSP, you are required to provide assistance where necessary— including manpower, not just physical assets.”
    Representative Kong Rong nodded fractionally, “It is true that our planet was a member of the Confederation here in the Spineward Sectors. However, my world has determined that the signing of the Union Treaty and subsequent formation of the Confederated Empire rendered all former obligations null and void. Still,” he continued calmly in a tone that only a lifelong politician could use so expertly, “we are willing to provide material assistance in light of your ship’s recent accomplishment in liberating a gas mining facility and returning to us one of our SDF warships, both of which may prove vital in these increasingly troublesome times. But I am afraid that must be the extent of our involvement at this juncture.”
    “We did return that corvette to you,” Middleton said hotly, feeling his temper beginning to flare uncontrollably. As luck would have it, the vessel which had survived the battle at the gas mine had originally belonged to this planet—which had played no small part in Middleton’s plan to come to this world rather than another. “Not only that, but we also arrested nearly two hundred