The Dead Sun(Star Force Series #9)

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It wasn’t my first defrocking, but I wondered seriously if it would be my last.

“Crew,” I said, looking around at everyone.

They all looked back with worried faces.

“There has been some kind of misunderstanding at Earth Command,” I said calmly. “I’m looking into it, and there will be an announcement made soon.”

For some reason, this calmed the staffers. They liked the idea of a quiet resolution. I couldn’t promise them that, but I had to play for time now.

“In the meantime,” I said, “carry on with your battle plans. The Macros are coming. No matter what else happens, they must be stopped.”

That played well. Now they had a goal and a platitude. They went back to work, and soon their screens were humming again. Certainly, they were wondering who their real commander was at this point, but they weren’t obsessed with the topic.

Star Force people are a tough breed. We have to be. We compartmentalize and function even in a chaotic environment. The people present had heard Crow and their own governments denounce me in the past. In every case, Kyle Riggs had won through in the end. That was good enough for them today.

But it wasn’t for me. I left the bridge, headed to my quarters, stretched out on my bunk and had a beer. Then I poured a shot of whiskey into my second bottle, and I drank that, too.

When I’d finished my third round, I was feeling pretty good. A tapping came at the door followed by a tweedling sound I hated. It was a chime the doors were programmed to make. I ignored all of it.

Finally, the door melted open. Jasmine was standing there looking concerned. She saw the drink and the look on my face.

“So that’s your answer? To go back to your room and get drunk?”

“Seemed like a pretty good idea at the time,” I said. I took another sip. “Still does.”

“This isn’t like you, Kyle.”

“They made their choice, honey,” I said, patting the bunk next to me.

She didn’t move from the doorway.

“I can’t believe you’re quitting.”

“This might be the best way,” I said. “Think about it: either I was going to rule the cosmos, or they were going to kill me. This way, I just retire. If the Macros win, well, I won’t have to stress about it. If we win, life will be fine. Did I ever tell you that I used to have a farm? I loved that place.”


Jasmine finally stepped into the room, and the nanites closed the hatch behind her. She came over and sat on the bunk beside me.

“It has to be Miklos,” she said. “He engineered it.”

I shook my head. “Maybe, but it doesn’t matter. He can run the battle that’s coming if he wants to.”

“Kyle,” she said, taking my hand. “Do you feel this?”

She put my hand on her belly. There was a bump there now. Not a big one, but she was thin, and it showed more than it might have on other women.

I smiled. “Yeah, that’s great. Let’s hope for the best. I’d like to be a father again.”

“Then you can’t screw this up. Get off that bunk and go kill the machines for me—for our child.”

I heaved a sigh.

“Aw, come on,” I said. “Do you really think—”

“Kyle,” she said, “is Miklos as good of a commander as you are?”

“Well, probably not in an all-out fight. But he’s good.”

“Is he half as good as you are?”

“Sure.”

“Is he ninety percent as good as you are?”

“Um, I’d give him a seventy,” I said, grinning and taking another swallow of my beverage.

“Right, well, I want the other thirty percent. I want that extra chance for my baby to live. Are you willing to help save our kid?”

She struck a chord with me then. Sure, she was being manipulative, but she meant what she was saying. I could see it in her eyes. She was calling me to duty. It was a call I didn’t want to hear right now.

“Look,” I said, “how about we make love right here and right now. We’ll worry about the end of the species afterward.”

“No,” she said firmly. “That’s not happening. Not unless you promise to kick Miklos down the steps of the parliament building.”

I considered it, I honestly did. I figured I had a fair chance of success, and sex right now was pretty firmly in my mind. The drinks and her presence after a long, stressful voyage had me in the zone.

“Kyle, there’s something else,” she said. “I didn’t put it all together before, but I investigated that bombing at your office.”

“You did?”

“Yes, on the side. They never found the bomber, you remember?”

“Yeah, well, I have a lot of enemies.”

“Didn’t you say the Turks had given you that golden head thing?” she asked.

“That’s right.”

“They denied it. They said they didn’t give you anything at all on that trip. At first, I didn’t believe them. I don’t think anyone did. They just didn’t want to be blamed. But now, I’m not so sure. Who told you about the gift? Who presented it to you personally?”

I blinked and frowned trying to remember.

“The only guy who was there that day…” I said then my face darkened. “Miklos did it.”

“Yes,” she said, “that’s what I thought.”

She moved to stand up, but I ran my arm around her and pulled her back down. I kissed her.

She pushed at me, and I smiled.

“I said no,” she complained.

“You said yes—if I agreed to kick Miklos’ ass down the parliament steps. Remember?”

“Oh…that’s right.”

She smiled, and we got busy.