Free Forged by Battle (WarVerse Book 1) by Patrick J. Loller

to hurt himself, as he wouldn't even feel a broken bone. The rest of his crew was forbidden from having such powerful medication on hand, but he was the captain, and he couldn't afford to be anything other than one hundred percent.
    He keyed the mental command to open the door.
    "Enter."
    Belford blustered in, and Johnston was immediately thankful he had taken the pain suppressor. He was not going to enjoy this conversation.
    "William, I need to, uh..." Belford started, but Johnston nipped that in the bud.
    " Captain will be fine," he interrupted.
    "Uh, right, Captain, sir." Belford's train had been derailed. Johnston hoped he would make it short.
    "The article fifteen I submitted for Barkhorn was pushed back." It seemed he had found his track again. "I have submitted it twice. Why are you, uh, pushing back? Sir?"
    Johnston rubbed at the spot behind his eyes. He could have sworn he still felt the pressure. Perhaps he had discovered the cause of his stress.
    "Commander, your pilot’s actions not only saved the lives of every civilian aboard that shuttle, but exposed a dangerous weapon without taking casualties. He then managed to land a heavily damaged fighter and rescue another civilian, and you want permission to discipline him?" Johnston had long ago mastered the technique of monotone delivery. He would let Belford string out his own rope.
    "He left his post. He disobeyed orders!"
    "The com recordings show you ordering him not to protect the civilians or intercept the enemy bombers?" The captain was swiftly regretting his decision to open the door, and he gave Belford a disapproving look while he activated his AMI and contacted McKinley.
     he sent.
    "That flyboy is going to get someone killed. He didn't even destroy any of the enemy, okay?"
    "Lieutenant Barkhorn is the only squadron leader who brought back all his pilots and ships. And their flight logs clearly show they had several confirmed kills. I fail to see how that is criteria for discipline."
    "They must have altered the logs. He's always toying with the ships."
    "Assisting the overworked repair crews with the complicated prototype fighters?" Johnston corrected.
    "You don't understand, um, he's a dangerous..."
    "Commander, that is enough. We will not diminish this ship’s morale with an investigation or discipline. Am I clear on this?"
    "Sir, he is already ruining the morale of the troops. His squadron is full of wildcard pilots who don't follow orders. He used a, uh, command override during the battle."
    Now that was interesting. Johnston knew the lieutenant was against tech reliance. He was the only officer aboard the ship who wore an actual cloth uniform, not just the more convenient holocammies like the rest of the fleet. Not to mention his “dog,” which the admiral had turned a blind eye to.
    He would have to look into that; it was out of character for the lieutenant. Still, Johnston wondered why McKinley hadn't summoned him yet and broken up the unwanted conversation. His XO was the only person on the ship he could lean on, and he knew all too well the problems Belford created.
    "Captain to the bridge, captain to the bridge."
    Finally , Johnston thought. "This conversation is over,” he said to Belford. “You will take no action against the lieutenant." Johnston stood, forcing the commander to do the same, and left his ready room. The bridge was a short walk down the corridor and had an emergency bulkhead door that would only permit one person through at a time, thus preventing the commander from continuing his conversation without talking to the captain’s back.
    Johnston stepped through the hatch onto his bridge, and was pleased to see none of the chaos he had walked into hours before. Though he had not expected more difficulties, it was always a relief to see the calm and conserved bridge crew going about their tasks to keep the ship operational.
    McKinley was standing at his own command