Free Last Measure of Devotion (TCOTU, Book 5) (This Corner of the Universe) by Britt Ringel Page B

ordering
sailors to take risks that I’m unwilling to take.”
    “Garrett…”
Vernay said softly.
    Heskan
shook his head fiercely.  “No, Stacy.  End of discussion.  I don’t care about corporate
tradition.”  He gestured between the two of them.  “We’re Brevic and we lead the
charge.”
    “Like
Hayes?” Vernay asked sarcastically.
    Heskan
looked at her sternly.  “That’s not fair.  Admiral Hayes did lead from the
front.  He was on Avenger and took the same risks as everyone on that ship.” 
He paused slightly as he sighed at the memories.  “And he didn’t run away in
Helike.  He preserved a priceless asset so it could be used again in the war
effort.”  Heskan lowered his head in thought and his voice became less certain. 
“Frankly, I wonder if Captain Gray was wrong and we should have just left the
pilots and cleared the system.”
    Shock
washed over Vernay’s face.  “You don’t mean that, Captain.  What about the
Brevic tradition of not leaving our people behind?  Gables would be dead along
with all the other pilots.”
    “I
know you’re right,” Heskan conceded.  “I guess what I meant to say is that war
never gives you easy choices and oftentimes the ones that end up saving the
most lives are the hardest ones to make.”  Real concern leaked into his voice
as he prophesized, “I think we’re both going to experience that firsthand,
Stacy.  This war with IaCom could go very badly for us.”
    Vernay
tilted her head in agreement and stepped closer to a higher-ranking officer
than she had any right to.  Her voice softened as she stared into Heskan’s
eyes.  “That’s why I wish you’d command from the C-Three ship, where it’s safe. 
The vanguard is going to get pounded, Garrett.”
    “Not going to happen,
Stacy.”  Heskan took an unconscious step back from the intimacy her proximity
had created.  “That’s final, Commander.”  He turned from her and walked habitually
toward the closet for his cover before remembering the Seshafian navy did not use
hats.  “Besides, I think the last battle proved there are no safe places in a corporate
war.”
    *  *  *
    The
center of the Saden star system shone crimson.  Like nearly three quarters of
all stars in the galaxy, it was a cool-burning, red star with a habitability
zone much closer than Sol’s.  Expanding outward from the center, nine planets
orbited the red sentinel at measured paces.  The second planet possessed the
necessary ingredients to sustain human life.  Three additional terrestrial
planets followed Sade proper but were barren, arid wastelands.  The system’s
trio of jovians came next with a tiny dwarf planet capping the major bodies of
the star system.
    Heskan
had seen systems like Sade all across the Republic.  It was non-descript space,
unremarkable except that it contained a single habitable surface for humans in
a galaxy that seemed to hold few of them.  Staring at the yacht’s wall screen, watching
the image of Sade’s crimson star was like looking at any number of Heskan’s
memories.  Skathi, Perdita… so many places I’ve seen, Heskan
reminisced.  Sade looks just like any of them.   A dread-filled
premonition passed through him.  What an ordinary system to die in.
    “I
never cared for the red ones,” McDaniel uttered next to Heskan.  Heskan assumed
the robust privateer captain’s voice was supposed to be muted but it still
carried through most of the room.  McDaniel placed a beefy hand on Heskan’s
shoulder.  “They always seem a little malevolent to me but I guess that’s just
because of the color.”
    “What’s
the color of your home star, Frank?” Heskan asked while continuing to stare
into the scarlet abyss.
    “Bes
is classified as a K-one-V star… so, technically orange, although it’s so close
to the G-class stars that its light is yellowish-white.”  The large man rumbled
out a long sigh.  “Been a long time since I’ve seen it.”  He brought a mug