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Authors: Timothy Ellis
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not
so badly damaged Talons from this morning."
"Nice. Thank you. Send them over to
the station as they're completed. What about the station's damage?"
"Should be completed by mid-morning.
Some of the turrets need work, as well as the hull breach."
"That should work. By the time it gets
back to the jump point, we should have the other side secured. By the way, how
did you come up with so many Battleship turrets?"
He laughed.
"Well, several years ago the Sci-Fi Military
requisitioned three new Battleships. But after the turrets were manufactured,
including spares for the class, but before the hulls were laid, they were
cancelled by a new government. I've been trying to offload them ever since. So you've
my thanks for freeing up a great deal of storage space."
We both laughed.
George was standing close by. He took the
empty glass out of my hand and replaced it with a full one. I looked at it,
wondering how I'd come to have a glass in my hand at all.
George started chuckling.
"What's up chuckles?" I asked
him.
"That’s your third drink Jon."
McLauchlan cracked up. So did George. I
joined in, with slightly more than a chuckle, which was all I could manage
without more pain. Alison stared at us with the look which said 'What are you
laughing for?'
"Alison, the way I feel, if I don’t
laugh, I'll cry."
She nodded. I think she felt the same, but
laughing still hurt her too much. On the outside, we probably had the same sort
of bruises. But internally, she'd taken damage as well. Hers wasn’t just the
hurt of a bruise. By rights, she should still be in a hospital bed.
"Can I have everyone's attention
please?"
Silence rippled around the room. At one
end, I saw Vonda with the Prime Minister I'd met when I first arrived. They
were on a raised podium with several other people. Prime Minister Vantigo, if I
remembered her name correctly, stepped up to the vid position. Her image
appeared on screens around the room.
"Thank you all for coming this
evening. We're here to celebrate our deliverance from an invader. We celebrate
the safe defense of this system, this planet, and our Orbital facilities.
Please raise your glasses."
Everyone in the room raised a glass of some
sort.
"The victorious dead."
"The victorious dead," everyone
repeated, and drank.
"We thank the military personnel who
pulled out such a magnificent victory this morning, from what looked like
certain defeat. The enemy threw twice the force we expected at us, and our
defenses held. They threw a second force at us, and through the courage and brilliance
of one man, our defenses held again. The last enemy force was soundly thrashed
by his new fleet. I give you, Admiral Jonathon Hunter."
The room went crazy, and many heads turned in
my direction. I let it wash over me without really feeling anything. I was
numb, I suddenly realized. Well, not completely numb. I ached in a lot of
places, mainly down my left side. But emotionally, nothing.
The Prime Minister looked at me, with a
gesture to join her on the podium. I shook my head, gently and sadly.
My gaze was drawn to an older man to the
edge of my sightline, as I looked at the podium area. He was leaning on an
antique walking stick, and staring at me. We made eye contact for a moment, before
he looked away. I shivered.
Vonda stepped up to the vid position.
"Admiral Hunter won't be saying a few
words. For those who aren't aware, he was the target of an assassination
attempt this evening." Shock rippled through the crowd. "On his
behalf, I thank you for the sentiments expressed here tonight, but he would
remind you that without the full support of everyone here, the victory would
not have been ours. This was a team effort. The military did the hard work, but
the Shipyards and munitions factories gave us what we needed to do the job.
Every single person here contributed in some way. You should all be
congratulated."
The room cheered and clapped. The party
went back into full swing. George took my empty
so badly damaged Talons from this morning."
"Nice. Thank you. Send them over to
the station as they're completed. What about the station's damage?"
"Should be completed by mid-morning.
Some of the turrets need work, as well as the hull breach."
"That should work. By the time it gets
back to the jump point, we should have the other side secured. By the way, how
did you come up with so many Battleship turrets?"
He laughed.
"Well, several years ago the Sci-Fi Military
requisitioned three new Battleships. But after the turrets were manufactured,
including spares for the class, but before the hulls were laid, they were
cancelled by a new government. I've been trying to offload them ever since. So you've
my thanks for freeing up a great deal of storage space."
We both laughed.
George was standing close by. He took the
empty glass out of my hand and replaced it with a full one. I looked at it,
wondering how I'd come to have a glass in my hand at all.
George started chuckling.
"What's up chuckles?" I asked
him.
"That’s your third drink Jon."
McLauchlan cracked up. So did George. I
joined in, with slightly more than a chuckle, which was all I could manage
without more pain. Alison stared at us with the look which said 'What are you
laughing for?'
"Alison, the way I feel, if I don’t
laugh, I'll cry."
She nodded. I think she felt the same, but
laughing still hurt her too much. On the outside, we probably had the same sort
of bruises. But internally, she'd taken damage as well. Hers wasn’t just the
hurt of a bruise. By rights, she should still be in a hospital bed.
"Can I have everyone's attention
please?"
Silence rippled around the room. At one
end, I saw Vonda with the Prime Minister I'd met when I first arrived. They
were on a raised podium with several other people. Prime Minister Vantigo, if I
remembered her name correctly, stepped up to the vid position. Her image
appeared on screens around the room.
"Thank you all for coming this
evening. We're here to celebrate our deliverance from an invader. We celebrate
the safe defense of this system, this planet, and our Orbital facilities.
Please raise your glasses."
Everyone in the room raised a glass of some
sort.
"The victorious dead."
"The victorious dead," everyone
repeated, and drank.
"We thank the military personnel who
pulled out such a magnificent victory this morning, from what looked like
certain defeat. The enemy threw twice the force we expected at us, and our
defenses held. They threw a second force at us, and through the courage and brilliance
of one man, our defenses held again. The last enemy force was soundly thrashed
by his new fleet. I give you, Admiral Jonathon Hunter."
The room went crazy, and many heads turned in
my direction. I let it wash over me without really feeling anything. I was
numb, I suddenly realized. Well, not completely numb. I ached in a lot of
places, mainly down my left side. But emotionally, nothing.
The Prime Minister looked at me, with a
gesture to join her on the podium. I shook my head, gently and sadly.
My gaze was drawn to an older man to the
edge of my sightline, as I looked at the podium area. He was leaning on an
antique walking stick, and staring at me. We made eye contact for a moment, before
he looked away. I shivered.
Vonda stepped up to the vid position.
"Admiral Hunter won't be saying a few
words. For those who aren't aware, he was the target of an assassination
attempt this evening." Shock rippled through the crowd. "On his
behalf, I thank you for the sentiments expressed here tonight, but he would
remind you that without the full support of everyone here, the victory would
not have been ours. This was a team effort. The military did the hard work, but
the Shipyards and munitions factories gave us what we needed to do the job.
Every single person here contributed in some way. You should all be
congratulated."
The room cheered and clapped. The party
went back into full swing. George took my empty
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