The Honour of the Knights (First Edition) (14 page)

“
I received word that the
Knights
arrived at
Spirit early this afternoon, local time. They will begin routine
patrols and counter piracy measures within the next few days.” He
decided not to bother Turner with the details of the little
incident with Chaz at the time he had informed the group of their
new duty. He was sure that it would not have surprised the admiral
in the slightest. It could be put into a report for his perusal at
a later date.

“
Under Aiden and Anthony?”

“
Just Captain Meyers, but the commodore will also be around as
needed.”

Turner nodded. “They will be in good hands with Aiden.
He
’
s a good man,
if a bit soft. He seems to prefer the carrot to the stick nine
times out of ten, which may be the reason he’s passed over for
promotion so often.” Turner drained his glass. “And the
Red Devils
?” He poured
himself another small measure of whiskey.

Parks declined the offer of a top up, but noticed that Turner
eyed him closely, as if suggesting the drink were needed.
“The
Red Devils
will begin hands-on ATAF training operations in the
pre-arranged location against some holographic units. After that,
they will participate in simulated combat training against real
pilots.”

“
Just so long as they
don
’
t kill
anyone,” Turner remarked. “I don
’
t expect those other pilots quite
know what they
’
re
in for, facing off against those fighters. They
’
re in for one hell of a
shock.”

Turner
drank again from his glass and Parks looked down into what remained
of his own whiskey. He had decided that he really was not very fond
of it and in future he would only drink it out of good
grace.

Turner cleared his throat and set his glass down on the
table. “Now, Elliott, I have to confess I didn
’
t just ask you here to share a
celebratory glass of whiskey. You may be aware that I have been in
the service of the CSN for most of my life, something the suits in
Office have come to realise, too. So, it is with some regret that I
have to inform you that in just over six weeks
’
time I will be retiring from
service.”

“
What?
”
Parks almost dropped his glass in shock.

“
I know you believed that I was going to be around until the
very end, but that hasn’t been the case for quite some time. Sorry
for the deception.”

Parks
was stunned. Everything now seemed quite urgent and the situation
he found himself in threatened to overwhelm him. He pulled back his
sleeve to look at his watch. He had lost all sense of time and was
wishing that six weeks meant six months.

“
But… sir, that
’
s impossible…
it
’
s… surely
it
’
s a mistake?”
Parks spluttered as he fought to control the mild terror that was
rising within him.

Over the
past few years Parks and Turner had worked very close together to
ensure that the ATAF project would run smoothly. In the grand
scheme of things they hadn’t even completed the first phase of the
project, the most important aspects were yet to come. Parks now
felt it all to be for naught as the admiral passed all future
responsibility on him.

Out of
the window before him, Parks found that the darkening skies, and
layers and layers of thick grey clouds, seemed very poignant at
that precise moment in time. The man felt as though he had been
left holding the baby, leaving him without any means of support or
food, and bleak future prospects.

“
I
’
m sorry, Elliott, and I wish there
was more that I could do, but unfortunately my retirement has been
forced upon me,” the old admiral said in regretful tones. “I have
already deferred it by more than two years, so I am unable to play
that card.” He rose from his chair and paced slowly back and forth
in front of the window, looking again out at the beautiful
cityscape. “The suits want me out. They
’
re afraid that a man of my age will
start to make mistakes and could then jeopardise the project. Ha! I
may be old, but I
’
m not senile just yet. Whiskey?”

Parks
became aware of the admiral hovering over him. He had disappeared
into his own thoughts as he had attempted to digest the news that
had hit him like a sledgehammer. He only nodded, seeing the whiskey
as a buffer and immediate comforter. Turner topped up his
glass.

“
What
’
s going to happen?” Parks asked
after taking a good drink.

“
You
’
re going to finish what we started,
Commodore. You
’
re
not going to give up or wind things down a notch just because I’m
no longer able to participate in the project. What would you do if,
for example, I were killed while in transit?”

The point was well made. Parks reflected that people often
forgot that responsibility was often passed to them without fair
warning. He would be able to make use of Turner
’
s knowledge for the next six
weeks.

“
We still have until the end of June, Elliott,” Turner added.
“There is plenty of time to ensure the transition. You know most of
it anyway.”

Parks
studied Turner as he spoke and for the first time he became aware
that the admiral looked old and tired. His eyes betrayed a sense of
weariness unusual in such a strong minded man. But with the
revelation of his impending retirement his other features, the
greyed and thinned hair, his thin face and wrinkles, no longer said
“experienced”.

“
Everything is changing, Elliott,” Turner
said, a touch sadly. “We
’
re becoming more and more like a
federation every day. Current events are forcing us all to work
much closer together than ever before and the government is only
getting stronger for it. We
’
re more tightly coupled now than at
any time in the last century.” He was sitting once more in his
chair and was leaning back, staring up at the ceiling again. Parks
studied him as he did so, trying to see into his mind, to hear what
the man might be thinking. “And whether the independent nations
like it or not, with the gradual unifications of their governments
and military forces they’re making steps towards becoming a
confederate state. Whether or not any of these things are good,
only time will tell. Whatever happens, the galaxy will be a very
different place in the next five or six years.”

The two
men sat in silence for a time.

“
Do you have any plans? For your retirement, I mean?” Parks
asked. He was not very good at small talk, but felt that it could
only serve to calm them both.

“
Actually, yes!” Turner sat forward and smiled, now quite
jubilant. “I’ll be returning to Earth to see my new granddaughter.
You may remember that my daughter was supposedly barren? As it
happens she gave birth to a naturally conceived healthy young girl
a few days ago, and I plan on being there with my family.” He took
another drink; he was close to finishing his second glass. “To tell
the truth I’ll be grateful to spend as much time with them as
possible. Should none of this work out in the end then I will
prefer to have spent the time left with my family, rather than in
some stellar graveyard. I hope you do not think that cowardly of
me?”

“
No, sir.”

“
Good. Despite our duties some of us did find time to start a
family,” Turner muttered, looking into the bottom of his glass as
he spoke.

“
Some of us just
don
’
t seem
to be able to get started,” Parks muttered back. For all his time
in the Navy, Parks had never found time for romance or
relationships and he knew Turner could tell that he had all but
given up, more important things now driving him onwards.

“
Strength to carry on, Commodore.
We
’
re only
human after all.” Turner set his glass down on the desk, having
drained it. “Admiral Jenkins will be taking over my duties
following my departure. She is already aware of my situation and
the status of the project. I suggest that before the end of the
month the three of us take some time to get together and become
more familiar with each other
’
s core responsibilities and
assignments. That should help to ensure that there are no shocks in
store come the beginning of July. Until that time I will continue
to retain full command over the CSN.”

Parks
nodded an acknowledgement, taking another sip of
whiskey.

“
Now, I expect you have a lot to think about and do, so I will
not take up any more of your time,” Turner said.

Parks
rose and saluted, taking the hint. “Thank you for the drink,
sir.”

“
Funny how a bit of bad news can take away the taste of bad
whiskey,” Turner chuckled.

Parks
was under the impression that he had hidden his revulsion well. He
made a mental note never to play poker against the
admiral.

Turner,
too, stood and saluted. “Safe journey. I have the utmost faith in
you to see this through, Elliott. Remember that.”

* * *

Returning to his transport, Parks paused to take in the view
once more. The high landing jetty provided a view of almost equal
beauty to that of Turner
’
s office. There he stood for a
while at the cliff edge, feeling the cool breeze of the evening
wind upon his hands and face, looking out at the cityscape and the
light reflecting off twin moons, shimmering across the gentle waves
of the calm ocean all about it.

He had
seen more stunning sights during his lifetime, but tonight, at that
particular moment, this was at the same time the most beautiful and
most frightening sight he had ever seen: for it was a testament to
the power of the human spirit, from their humble beginnings on
Earth to a space faring race, spanning dozens of star systems
across the galaxy; and with that a stark reminder of the penalty
for failure.

VII

—
Where the Action Is —

After many hours in flight, the Knights’ transport at last
docked with Spirit Orbital and the ever-chipper voice of the
transport
’
s
captain informed the pilots that it was safe for them to disembark.
There were grumbles from Estelle as they stepped out onto the
flight deck, the initial impressions of the station itself no less
than what any of them had expected. From the moment he stepped out
of the transport Dodds at once noticed that the station presented
an air of being run down, neglected and somehow trapped in the
past.

“
White Knights
?” a deck attendant enquired. Estelle begrudgingly confirmed
their identity. “Follow me. There is a shuttle waiting to take you
down to the surface.”

Dodds started after the man with the others, catching the
sound of chuckling as he did so. He looked around to see a group of
service men and women, engineers and various other deckhands
watched as he traipsed by, heads turning and grinning to one
another. Dodds figured that the
Knights
were far from the first to
feel somewhat repulsed by their new surroundings, and it must have
been a great source of amusement for the current residents to see
the reactions each time a new set of faces turned up.

Reaching
the shuttle, Dodds slung his meagre bag of possessions inside
before slumping down onto one of the steel benches that ran the
length of the cramped interior. Though he tried to remain upbeat,
something about his new surroundings was already attempting to
break his spirit.

* * *

Touching down on the planet
’
s surface, Dodds needed no further
confirmation that their special treatment was well and truly over.
Arriving at their mixed quarters, he and Enrique were dismayed to
find they were crammed in with fifteen others. Their appearance at
the doorway was greeted by cheers and whistles from their new bunk
mates.

“
Hey! It’s the new guys!” came a cry from across the
quarters.

“
We’ve got ourselves a full house, boys!”

“
Welcome to Action Central!”

“
Hey, you! Think fast!” A ball was thrown towards Dodds. He
fumbled the catch, letting it roll out of his hands and bounce
around on the floor for a time, before its path was halted by the
clutter it encountered there. It looked as though the base - or at
least these quarters - was not big on discipline, with clothes and
personal belongs scattered all about. It looked like a holiday camp
for rowdy teenagers. Kelly poked her head between Enrique and
Dodds, who had halted in the doorway. Estelle squeezed past all
three and scanned the room.