by Terry Mixon
Kelsey considered explaining her Imperial heritage, but decided that might get a hostile reception. It would be best if they thought Kelsey and her people came from the Rebel Empire for as long as possible. “My name is Kelsey Bandar and these men are under my command. I’ve come to recover our people. The AI controlled ships brought them here a short while ago. If you know where they are, it would behoove you to tell me.”
“They were taken off this island at the AI’s command, under threat of retaliation. If you want to get them back, I demand to speak with your senior officer. I will return to my ship to await his or her presence.”
The woman turned on her heel and swept back to the ship. Her people fell in behind her.
Kelsey returned to Talbot. “Well, that could have gone better. It might save time and effort to have Jared come down and deal with her.”
“That should give us time to complete our search of the facility. It seems like our people aren’t here. She might be telling the truth about having them.”
“Then she’d better get used to the idea of handing them over,” Kelsey said grimly.
Kelsey put in a call to Jared. His image appeared in her mind’s eye. He was back on the flag bridge. They must’ve restored its control systems. She gave him a summary of her encounter and decision not to declare themselves the true Terran Empire.
“That’s probably for the best. You can’t unsay something like that. She can talk to me from here. Have Talbot send her a communications unit.”
“I’ll take it myself.” She returned to her pinnace, grabbed a tablet off the rack, and headed back to the dock. Her armor would be close enough to the pinnace to act as a link. And she wanted to be there when the two of them spoke.
A group of muscular men met her on the dock. She stopped short of them and displayed the tablet. “I have our commanding officer on the line. He’s prepared to speak with your leader.”
They had a brief discussion and one of them went to get the woman. She looked displeased at having Kelsey summon her.
“The communications device could have come to me on my ship.”
“My armor is acting as a relay. I prefer to stay on the dock. Who are you?”
The woman sniffed. “That is between me and your commanding officer.”
Kelsey smiled. “I see. Well, let’s get this going, then.”
She initiated a vid call to Invincible. Jared appeared on the display. The view was set widely enough that Kelsey could see every station was manned. Hardly necessary, but he probably wanted to make an impression.
The woman took the tablet when Kelsey handed it to her. She stared into the vid with a condescending expression. “Who am I addressing?”
Jared frowned and leaned forward. “The man with a fleet in orbit around your planet.”
The two of them stared at one another for a moment before the woman backed down. “I am Undercoordinator Abigail King, a regional leader on Harrison’s World. I am authorized to speak on behalf of Coordinator Olivia West. We’ve taken possession of your crewmen and wish to discuss their repatriation and other matters of state, Admiral…”
“Admiral Jared Mertz. I’ve taken control of this system and your orbital space. I’m willing to discuss whatever you like, but not while you have my personnel held hostage.”
“Then we’re at an impasse. You will not locate your people without our cooperation. I will allow you a day to consider how to respond. Good day.” She handed the tablet to Kelsey and swept back onto the ship with her people.
“Back up,” Talbot shouted.
Kelsey fell back as the marines assumed a defensive posture. The ship pulled away from the dock with no hostile actions.
She shook her head as she watched it head toward the harbor entrance. “How the hell do we get our people back now?”
Talbot shrugged. “The hard way. Diplomacy. I hope you can talk them down because I’m not looking forward to taking on a whole planet with a hundred men.”
She nodded. What should’ve been the easiest part of this mission had just become the hardest. And she could bet, based on the woman’s reaction, that it wouldn’t get any easier from here. This was going to take a lot of work and more time than she’d imagined.
“Secure this facility and get more weapons down from the ship,” she finally said. “I want a bridgehead on this planet that they can’t take away from us. From this moment on, this island is the embassy of the Terran Empire. And bring everything you need for a long stay. We’ll be here a while.”
Works by Terry Mixon
The Empire of Bones Saga
Empire of Bones
Veil of Shadows
Command Decisions
The Mankind Unchained Series
Liberty Station (forthcoming)
Anthologies Terry Has Work In
Dirty Magick: Los Angeles
Dirty Magick: New Orleans (forthcoming)
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About Terry
Terry Mixon, co-host of the Parsec Award finalist writing podcast The Dead Robots’ Society, is the author of The Empire of Bones Saga.
A former non-commissioned officer with the United States Army 101st Airborne Division, he also dedicated sixteen years to providing direct computer support to the flight controllers in the Mission Control Center at the NASA Johnson Space Center supporting the Space Shuttle program, the International Space Station and other spaceflight projects.
Table of Contents
Works By Terry Mixon
Copyright Notices
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Table of Contents
Works By Terry Mixon
Copyright Notices
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Command Decisions (Book 3 of The Empire of Bones Saga)
