Free Heart of Steel: Book II of the Jonathan Pavel Series by J.S. Hawn Page B

tobacco pipe in his mouth which was almost never lit. Still, it was hard to argue with Chung’s competence, which more than made up for his eccentricities. Khan, on the other hand, was a short, stocky black haired, dark skinned Steader.  She was an attractive woman in her mid-fifties with alert, brown eyes. She was someone of a barrack’s legend having risen to her current status from a lowly private. Across the table from Douglas sat Marika Enido the highest ranking Provo present, and Commandant of the Marine Corps. Marika’s parents had been refugees from the Xi Confederacy and her passion seemed to be bringing about the Commonwealth's ultimate destruction. In addition to being the highest ranking Provo in the Solarian Military, she was also the youngest senior officer present at forty-three. She was a short, well muscled woman with jet black hair that she wore in a bowl cut, and striking dark oriental eyes. Douglas, himself twice divorced, sometimes found himself fancying her in a highly unprofessional manner. In addition to the military heads, there was Jian Orbuckle, the overweight balding Minister of Defense, Enoch Tao, the tall, thin patrician faced Minister of Foreign Affairs, Desmond Kuat the shifty-eyed Deputy Minister for Client Affairs, and Atherton Gao the stone faced and calculating Minister of Public Safety. Gao was flanked by the Admiral-in-Chief of the Customs and Rescue Service and the Director of the National Police Interior Troops. Douglas knew their names, but in meetings he always focused on Gao. If the slimy prick spoke, you could bet both those sycophants would back him. Thankfully, Gao was seated opposite General Loretta Cain, the head of the Office of Military Intelligence. Though Douglas’s boss and Cain didn't get on personally, they at least had a working relationship. Gao and Cain, on the other hand, got along as well as alley cats got on with mangy dogs. Gao, who was a former delegate for New La Platta, was a big wheel in the right wing of the Nationalist Party, and after the Nationalist had won the election had expected to be appointed Director of OMI.  By all accounts, he had been less than thrilled when the Premier chose to promote from within. Douglas regarded Gao with complete disdain. He was a politician, not a leader. It showed in how he conducted himself.  He was one of the unique breed of Eastern Range Steaders that was financially well off enough to be nearly considered Landed. The only reason why he wasn't was the closing of the Rolls and the lack of ownership of actual land. Gao’s family had found wealth in La Platta’s high tech manufacturing and development industry as well as a great deal of offworld trading. Gao made no secret of his disdain for the Steaders who worked the farms, mines, or heavy industry, which were the beating heart of the Republic, or his dislike for the Landed who clung so sullenly to their traditions and inherited wealth. In his tenure as Minister of Public Safety, Gao had overseen a high number of flashy investigations, and a severe dip in morale among the ranks of the National Police and the CRS. Finally, the doors of The Bunker swung open and Tomas Banjour, Premier of the Republic by the ‘Will of the People’ and ‘Consent of the Senate’ entered followed closely by Benjamin Rutledge his Chief of Staff. Everyone stood until the Premier took his seat. Despite Douglas’s general disdain for puffed up political prats like Atherton Gao, Douglas rather liked the Premier both on a professional and personal level. Tomas Banjour in many ways encompassed the ideals of the Nationalist political party he headed. He was born to a Steader class family of Yeomen farmers who resided three hours from the Dressar Estate’s capital and the beating heart of Solarian Agriculture, Harvestfall. Instead of working the land as his forefathers had done, Banjour applied himself in school earning A Levels, which guaranteed entry to a Polytechnic University. Rather