Free Crineal Chronicles 1: In Hera's Service by Raymond L Jennings Page A

yes. You need a
break.” Strieger knew she was out of line but she didn’t want to see Crineal
crack. From out of the shuttle two lines of men and women appeared wearing the
short toga uniforms of recreation assistants. Even from the observation deck
the two officers could see that the prisoners’ spirits had been broken. “If you
don’t do something, Sir, you’ll end up as empty as them,” she said in a quiet
but fierce tone, with a gesture to the scene in the bay. She was trying to not
let her frustrations with her commander show to the nearby security station
watch.
    Crineal
stood looking down into the bay, his hands clasped behind his back. Just as
Strieger opened her mouth to say something that would likely get her a court-martial,
or at least a serious charge of improper conduct, the general leaned forward
and stared hard at something. Strieger tried to follow his gaze to see what had
caught his attention, but all there was were the lines of prisoners exiting the
shuttle. Crineal straightened and strode over to the security console.
    The
petty officer at the desk looked up uncertainly as Crineal approached and then
stood to attention and saluted. “Sir, can I help you, General?”
    “Yes,
Petty Officer, can I borrow your station for a moment?” he nodded towards the
console.
    It
wasn’t exactly within regulations, but this was a general asking, and Crineal
at that. He decided on discretion being the better part of not being
transferred somewhere really unpleasant. “Uh, yes, Sir, certainly, if you could
make it quick so our scans aren’t interrupted?”
    “Thank
you. I’ll only be a minute.” He sat down at the console and used the controls
to turn a camera on the lines of prisoners. He found the spot in the line he
was looking for and dialed up the zoom. He stared at the screen, trying to
remember and then nodded to himself. It was her, he was sure of it. Crineal
returned the display to normal and stood up. “Much appreciated, Petty Officer. A
false alarm, though. Carry on.” He returned the petty officer’s salute and
walked back to where Strieger waited for him.
    “Everything
ok, Sir?” she asked worriedly.
    Crineal
looked down at the bay where the prisoners were disappearing out of sight
through the massive cargo doors. “Hmmm?” he said distractedly and then seemed
to focus again. “Oh yes, it was nothing. Just thought I saw something odd.”
    Strieger
looked unconvinced at the explanation but decided to leave it. “Ok, but just
think about what I said, Sir. I’d rather not have to take command of the
squadron because you’re locked up in a psych ward somewhere.”
    He
stood for a moment and then nodded at her. “You’re right, Major. I do need
something.” Strieger could hardly believe it. He was agreeing with her on this?
“I know you’re only looking out for me and believe me, if we weren’t in the
same chain of command I’d be looking to get to know you far more intimately.”
She wondered who had managed to kidnap her general in the last five minutes and
replace him with this pod person without her noticing. “I’ll give it some
thought and maybe make a visit to O-Rec,” he smiled at her conspiratorially,
“and I promise not to mention your most improper suggestion… unless I need a
favor from you. I will treasure the offer though.” At least the teasing was
more back to normal, but that was the closest he’d ever come to telling her how
much he really liked her.
    She
pulled herself together. “Thank you, Sir, that’s all I can ask.” She didn’t
think he really would go to O-Rec, but at least he appeared to be considering
options.
    “Now,
I don’t want to keep you from preparing for your leave, so I’ll let you get
your packing done. I need to go and check on a few things, including tomorrow’s
flight schedule. Have a good time, Major, and try not to get too drunk.” He
turned and gave her a backward wave before she could even salute and he was
gone from the