Free The Epherium Chronicles: Embrace by T.D. Wilson Page A

into a new role: salvaging. Salvage operations had reclaimed a tremendous amount of equipment over the years, and during the war, gave the EDF access to some Cilik’ti technology as well.
    Hood knew the admiral would be traveling alone and was surprised to see such a large shuttle arrive. He understood the desire for security and protection for the admiral, but there were smaller personnel shuttles available. The Icons were the largest shuttles in the fleet and were built to carry up to ten passengers and four crew members, but Hood quickly remembered Admiral Tramp’s repeated record of grand standing. He certainly wouldn’t miss an opportunity to fly around in a huge armored shuttle as the only passenger. It would be the perfect opportunity to show off.
    After navigating through the obstructed walkway, Hood arrived at the access door to the docking bay just as the pressure door condition light changed to green, indicating re-pressurization was complete and it was safe for entry. Hood pulled down on the large metal handle that was across the door then pulled backward to open it. He could feel a quick rush of air hit his face when the door opened. Even with the bay’s re-pressurization, there was still a slight pressure difference between the bay and the corridor.
    Hood stepped through the door and noticed that the ramp of the shuttle had already lowered, and the docking bay began to echo with the sounds of footsteps. Hood caught sight of Admiral Tramp descending the metallic ramp and waited for him by the door. The admiral nearly tripped at the end of the ramp and tried to mask it with a quick jog. He approached Hood and his face was all a smile. “That was embarrassing, James. How would I explain to the grandkids that Gramps broke a hip falling off a shuttle ramp?”
    “I’m sure you could spin it into an injury in the line of duty, Admiral.” Hood laughed.
    Admiral Tramp laughed with him and handed Hood a sealed package. “True. I could spin it, but it would still hurt like hell. Here is your staffing response from Command. I thought it would be best if I came here and presented it myself. Go ahead and open it.”
    Hood gestured for the admiral to take a seat at one of the benches along the back wall of the docking bay near the cargo access doors. Both men sat down. Hood began to unseal the package then removed the data pad inside.
    “You made some real convincing arguments for your requests, James. It was difficult to find fault for any of them.” Admiral Tramp chuckled. “Raf Sanchez, your new XO, is a good fit, but I bet you ruffled your buddy Styles’ feathers by stealing away his right hand on the Cestus.”
    Hood shook his head. “I spoke with Styles beforehand and he recommended him. If Styles trained him, I’m sure he and I can work together.”
    “I’m sure you will,” Tramp said reassuringly. The admiral looked down at his feet for a moment and his pause made Hood feel a bit uneasy. “However, there are some consequences with a few of your selections, I’m afraid.”
    Hood leafed through the files on the data pad and looked back at the admiral. “What kind of consequences?”
    “Epherium ones for example. Asking for Whitaker set off a firestorm back home. It took some real wrangling, but we came to an agreement with their executives. You got him, but a team of Epherium corporate types are coming along.”
    “Why?”
    “Well they believe that the colony ships are their investment, and they should be involved on the trip. Plus, I’m certain Epherium wants to keep tabs on their ‘Golden Boy’ engineer.”
    “I figured as much. Who are they sending?”
    Tramp stretched his arms over his head and rolled his head from side to side. Hood could hear a few pops from his neck. The admiral issued a gasp of relief and sat back on the bench. “Those shuttle seats are just too uncomfortable. Anyway, Epherium says they are sending no more than four, but McCraken asked to be included.”
    “McCraken?