"Throwing me to the wolves, Dave?"
"Coming from you, Heavywolf, that sounds almost funny," Dave remarked.
Wolfie replied, "I meant to say throwing me to the cubs and, yes, I was trying for a joke."
Dave laughed and was joined in his laughter by Derek.
Minutes later Admiral Heavywolf was giving the refresher course information to one of the cadet leaders. "Be certain that the cadets who work on it are ruthless in their evaluation and thorough in their recommendations."
She replied, "Yes, sir. I'll emphasize that to them."
***
Three days later a delegation entered Fleet Admiral Oden's office. They introduced themselves, though Dave knew most of them already. He could tell by their formality that something was up.
Ivan said, "Dave, you know that elections are coming up next year. Both Beulah's and Edun's representatives can't run for Congress again because of term limits. Since we're out here almost on our own at times, we tend to be somewhat clannish as you know."
Garin said, "Get to the point, Ivan."
"I am, Garin. Anyway, Dave, we'd like to know if you would consider making an official announcement placing your name into the running for one of those seats," Ivan said.
"Me? Run for office?" asked Dave. He shook his head. "I haven't even given the idea of me running for office any thoughts. I think I do more service for the Union where I'm at right now. This may not seem like much, but it's important to the whole Union and to me. No, I'm not making any announcement to throw my name into the running."
Garin asked, "Will you consider a draft?"
Dave looked pensively at Garin and pondered the question for a moment. "I don't know. It would depend on circumstances. I happen to know that there are qualified people on both Edun and Beulah to run for office. Any of them would do well for their worlds."
"Then you're not ruling out a draft?" asked Ivan.
"I guess I'm not," Dave admitted. "However, how could Edun or Beulah possibly draft me since I'm not a citizen of either of their worlds?"
Garin said, "Because you're military. Until you leave the service, you can claim planetary citizenship on any world and change it as often as you like. Didn't you know that?"
"I guess I forgot about that," Dave lied.
Stella said, "Besides, you would be one of the first Earth-born representatives for either planet in a long time. As such, you would have the capability to coordinate with the other members of Congress somewhat beyond what we can normally achieve. That would guarantee some trust among the other representatives who think we want all the military bases and government projects out here. Whatever you voted on would be for the common good of all. The other members of Congress know you for that. We know you for that, too."
"Edun wouldn't even ask you to vote any other way," said Garin.
"Nor would Beulah," said Bart.
"And you'd have the full support and cooperation of the rest of us out here on the edge," said Stella. "With the seven of us out here, you could always place anything you wanted before Congress for a fair vote."
Dave said, "Okay, I won't rule out a draft completely. Still, it's going to depend on circumstances. After all, you're asking me to give up a lot if I accept."
***
The draft movements on Edun and Beulah took little time to be noticed by the rest of the Union. Likewise, some portions of the press began looking at what was already being published by other parts of the press about Admiral Oden. Both the good and the bad were repeated and distorted even further. Some press institutions sent reporters to Beulah to follow Dave around, even on the Academy grounds. After all, he was once more the hottest news in the Union, except for some occasional pirate attacks on shipping in space. Also, the Academy was an open institution when it came to public inspection.
Dave went back to his plans for the two-month space training and revised those to include new passengers he knew would now be coming along in the form of press members. If nothing else, Dave was glad that he had enough time to make the changes smoothly. At least, he knew that he could limit how many reporters went along due to actual limitations of available living quarters aboard the ships, in particular the Dust Bunny.
The press, when it chose to go on board a Navy ship, was well aware that a pool was always required. The ship's mission couldn't be jeopardized by removing crew members to make room for them. It would be up to the press to select its own pool members. Dave was thankful for that. The last thing he wanted to do was have someone accuse him of rigging the news coverage by selecting the reporters himself. However, he did hope that the Daily Bread's journalist wasn't among them. It would be more than difficult to avoid that man on board what would quickly feel like a very small ship. Dave could see already that he would be glad, if not eager, to go on board some of the other ships during the voyage if only to avoid the press for a short while.
***
Outside Dave's office, John Christiansen waited for the admiral to walk out. He approached Admiral Oden as he stepped out of his office. Several military personnel around them took notice of the sudden confrontation.
John said, "I understand you've thrown your hat in the ring for Congress."
Dave answered, "I've done no such thing."
"Liar. People on Beulah and Edun are both trying to get you elected," Christiansen said.
Admiral Oden stopped and looked at the man. He knew he could probably goad the man into attacking him to make up for the insult. Regardless, it still didn't look good to harm a member of the press, even when they swung on you. "I understand that people on those worlds are trying to draft me as their candidate. That does not mean that I have thrown my hat in the ring as you stated. I suggest you get your facts straight," said Dave.
"A draft is the same thing as throwing your hat in. They're not doing it without your approval," said Christiansen.
"Mr. Christiansen, I suggest you check with them to find out if I approved. Perhaps you'll believe them since you are determined to disbelieve what I say and make me out to be a liar. You might also check with military personnel and discover for yourself that I am still on active duty. I have not requested inactivation nor early retirement, one of which is still necessary for me to be eligible for public office. Now unless you have something important to ask, I would like to be on my way."
Sergeant Pettibone walked over to them and handed a note to the admiral. She stood beside the reporter and waited as the admiral read the note.
Dave read the note and then turned to his left without saying another word. He walked away, leaving the reporter unable to follow without walking through the sergeant. Even as Dave passed her, another sergeant walked over and stood blocking the part of the aisle that Dave just used.
"I'm with the press. Would you mind letting me through?" John said.
"Military business. Sorry, but you'll have to go around. You know our work takes precedence here," Sergeant Pettibone replied without budging an inch. Then she turned to the other sergeant and spoke in military slang that Christiansen wouldn't likely understand, much less realize was actually totally meaningless.
The reporter started to move around the desks to catch up to the admiral, but other sergeants and specialists were also standing in key aisle intersections conducting business of one sort or another. Not until the admiral was out the door did a passageway suddenly clear for the reporter to use. By the time Christiansen reached the front door, Admiral Oden was leaving in his hover. Before Christiansen could reach his hover, another news team, coincidentally from Beulah, set up a news take just behind Christiansen's hover. Their news angle was a lot more favorable towards the admiral than his own. Christiansen couldn't interrupt them, either. If not out of professional courtesy, he did so because the same law protected them that protected him. There were far too many recorders about for him to take a chance on skirting the law. He still couldn't follow once the other news team was out of his way, since the admiral was out of sight. Without knowing
Admiral Oden's destination, there was little that Christiansen could do.
***
Admiral Oden lit a cigarette and relaxed once his hover was out of sight of headquarters. Then he burned the note given him by the sergeant that stated simply, 'Run for it, we'll block.' Dave was made aware again, probably for the thousandth time, that it was always best to know your people well and see to their needs. One never knew when it would be their turn to come to the rescue as his did earlier.
After all, one didn't become an admiral without having a certain amount of natural aggression in the psyche. Dave could have easily goaded Christiansen into taking a swing at him in front of the other reporters. About the only thing that kept Dave from setting up and then retaliating against that reporter was his greater concern for the Navy and the Union.
Dave wasn't at all concerned about his own career. He had enough credit saved over the years and wisely invested to live well the rest of his life, whether he had a job or not. Even if he left the Navy, he could always rely on a job with Pennywaite Shipping. He was still on an official unpaid absence from them. Dave also owned part of the company, a fact that further insulated himself and his family from financial harm. If that wasn't enough, his wife, Annie, owned significant properties herself.
As the hover bearing him to his home crossed over onto his and Annie's property, he felt more comfortable knowing that it was one place where Christiansen wouldn't follow him, unless the man was desperate to get information. Without being able to follow and learn where Dave lived, Christiansen was stymied. He wouldn't be able to find a reference to it, either, since Admiral Oden's address was listed as being on the Academy grounds. There wasn't any reference to his family or holdings in public records for their own safety. Dave felt sure that Christiansen was probably sitting out near his quarters waiting for him to return and wondering where he was or what could be taking him so long.
***
Cadet Ensign Reese Harder pressed up nearer to the board with the ship assignments on it. A number of cadets had already expressed their amazement at their assignments, almost all of which seemed to be in areas where they needed more effort. His own first assignment was in the fighter hangar on board the cruiser.
***
Admiral Oden stepped out of his hover to enter the headquarters building. A disheveled reporter waited at the front door. Dave could see there was no way of avoiding John Christiansen again. He would have to be content with the hours he had that the man wasn't in his face for now.
"The Daily Bread wants to know what you're doing about the pirate scourge?" John asked.
"Mr. Christiansen, you know very well that the Academy is not responsible for chasing pirates. Reports of one pirate incident so far this year don't exactly qualify as a scourge," Dave answered.
"I didn't ask about the Academy. I asked about you. You're still in the Navy, are you not?" John asked.
"I am still on active duty with the Navy. However, I am assigned to training. A good officer knows when to apply himself to the right tasks. That way other good officers can do their work without finding themselves tripping over good intentions sown by others who don't have the assignment. I try to be a good officer. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have military work to do and that takes precedence over your interview. Good day, Mr. Christiansen," Dave said with just enough coldness in his voice to instill a shiver down John's back.
***
Within an hour, part of Dave's impromptu interview was on the net, badly misquoted and misleading as usual since it was being reported by the Daily Bread. Within a few minutes of that, Admiral of the Navy Reason was in contact with Dave to find out the truth of the matter.
"Dave, what was the conversation really like?" Bill asked.
Dave answered, "His usual line of bull. He wanted to know what I was going to do about the pirate scourge. I told him that I was assigned to training and not to catching pirates. I do my job and stay out of the way of those whose job it is to catch them. I also told him that one incident in a year hardly constituted a scourge of pirates. You want a recording of the conversation?"
Bill replied, "Not really, but hang on to those recordings. Did you get that message off to Admiral Ray?"
Dave answered, "Yes. I kept it simple and harmless so that if any of the wrong people picked it up, they couldn't do much with it."
"Fine. Give my best to Annie and the kids," Bill replied.
***
Within an hour after the Daily Bread story, another news syndicate carried the entire conversation, though working from a copy of Dave's recording. John Christiansen came barging into the admiral's office shortly after he learned of it.
"You son-of-a-bitch! You recorded my interview with you!" Christiansen almost shouted.
Dave said, "Perfectly within my rights as a citizen. You know that. You decided to misquote me. I corrected your story without so much as suing you or your news organization. A court would have found in my favor. You know that, too. I merely settled for an immediate correction instead of financial damages and having your group forced to disseminate the correct and full quotes later at their expense. However, if you feel guilty, I'll gladly accept a contribution on your part to a charity service as sincere atonement."
John Christiansen looked at Admiral Oden with hatred in his face. He was almost about to speak.
Dave added, "And yes, I am recording you, again. You fail to understand that you've just interrupted military business to express your outrage over being legally recorded. I suggest you leave now while I'm still feeling charitable. I can still bar you personally from the grounds on that basis and let your news organization shuffle someone else over to Beulah to take your place. It won't be an infringement on the rights of the press in the least. There're still several other press organizations represented here at the present, so nothing is being hidden from the public. Even the public is permitted to visit, so long as they behave. Now either leave or apologize, if that's what you came in here for. Either way, make it fast so that I can get back to work."
John Christiansen left quickly, determined not to disappoint his boss by getting himself knocked off the task he was really supposed to accomplish. John knew he'd have other opportunities to get at the admiral. He knew that no one could successfully dodge every shot aimed at him. Sooner or later Oden would get hit by one of John's shots. Once wounded, Oden would become an easier target for more shots.
***
Late that same day, pirates made an unsuccessful attack on a freighter. It was a rarity for any freighter in space to be empty, but the one they chose was without a cargo and returning from making a special delivery run. There was nothing for the pirates to gain by seizing an empty ship, so they allowed it to continue on its journey. They had nothing to gain by forcing the crew out into space to await pickup. They had too much to lose since the crew had already sent out a distress call about the attack. The crew then sent another message letting the Navy know that they were still on their freighter and safe. It gave the Navy a few extra moments to chase after the pirates since they didn't have to delay in order to conduct a search and rescue of a drifting crew.
***
John Christiansen waited in front of the headquarters building for Admiral Oden to arrive for work. He watched as the admiral's hover came into view and settled down in front of him.
"Admiral Oden, it seems to me that there is a scourge of piracy going on!" he said.
"The Navy is doing what it can, to my understanding of the matter, at this very moment. You may continue to think of it as a scourge of piracy, but those pirates seemed to be rather inept compared to the pirates I've fought before. Rest assured the Navy will deal with those pirates, inept or not, and bring them to justice. Now please stand back so I may go to work," Dave replied.
"If you're so successful at fighting pirates, why hasn't the Navy assigned you to the job?" John asked.
"Ask someone higher up in the Navy about that. I'm not privy to their thoughts on that matter," Dave s
aid.
***
Two days later, the pirates struck again. Unlike normal pirate attacks where the crew was spared to keep them from resisting during later raids, the pirates tossed them out into space without their space suits to be found dead later by Navy rescue ships.
The shock of the needless murder of ten men and women hit the top of the news reported by practically every news organization in the Union. The Daily Bread prefaced its story with the interview two days earlier between John Christiansen and Admiral Oden. Their headline read, 'Inept Pirates Kill Ten, Steal Ship'. It finally appeared as if they had hit Admiral Oden with one of their shots.
***
"Dave," said Admiral Reason, "I'm glad you'll be going with the cadets on a two-month training mission fairly soon. Perhaps that will give things a chance to cool down."
"I hope so, Bill. Is Operation Q on schedule?" asked Dave.
"Completely on schedule. We'll be sending it out on the freighter routes by itself with ordinary looking crew members," Bill replied.
"Good to hear that," Dave said, "I think that there's a connection between these attacks and Christiansen's obsession with them and me. No one else was overly concerned about these particular pirates when they first struck. The Daily Bread hasn't paid much attention to pirates in the past, either. The only exception was when one of their people was on board an attacked ship. Even then, it hardly rated much coverage from them."
"That's going to be tough to prove," said Bill.
Dave said, "Doesn't matter if we prove it or not. What's important is that we stop the piracy. Operation Q should do just that. I hardly think that they'll be able to just go out and hire another pirate crew to create headlines when this one is dealt with by the Navy. When we do that, they'll have to come up with something else for an issue. Frankly, I don't think they're ready with anything else yet."
Bill replied, "Well, it's still going to be tough finding them in that much space. We've only got one Q-ship. We're still waiting for others to come out of the shipyards."
Dave said, "That shouldn't be a problem, Bill. Smuggle some Space Marines aboard some of the legitimate freighters that operate in small convoys. Then escort some of the freighters that operate alone with Navy ships around the areas where those pirates are operating. That should keep the pirates operating in a more limited area where you'll have a better chance of getting them with the Q-ship. Also, make sure that the Q-ship has an important cargo announced for its maiden voyage."
Paravoid (Rust Bucket Universe) Page 2
