Read Online 03 - The First Amendment by Ashley McConnell - (ebook by Undead) - Free Book Online
Authors: Ashley McConnell - (ebook by Undead)
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defeated by an invincible enemy, she
thought. If failure was inevitable, there wasn’t any shame in failing.
“I know there are people who agree with you, Major. Politicians—”
“Like Kinsey. He had the right idea. Shut the damn thing down.”
“Nonetheless,” she said firmly, “I expect you in my office in the next twenty
minutes, Major. I understand that this mission was a terrible blow, but you haven’t had time to build any kind of perspective about it. All I want to do
is give you a head start on objectivity.”
“Objectivity,” he repeated, with a hollow chuckle. “How many casualties does
it take to be objective?”
“Twenty minutes, Major.” She made a point of checking the time on her
wristwatch, glanced once more at him, and then made her way out of the room.
Morley’s behavior, while more extreme than some, was certainly
understandable, she thought. He was a good man, a poor leader, and had severely
bad luck. None of that was his fault.
She hoped he really would show up down in Medical; she had an antidepressant
in mind that would do wonders for him for the time being. Meanwhile, she’d look
in on the casualties and make sure there weren’t any changes on that front.
He’d set foot on an alien world, felt the light of an alien star, and didn’t
even appreciate it. Life, she concluded, wasn’t fair.
Normally George Hammond was cool, calm, and self-possessed. He prided himself
on his ability to remain calm under fire.
There were some things, however, that would make him go up like a Titan
rocket, and that name was one of them.
“Who?” he roared, launching himself out of his chair and slamming his
palms down on Pace’s maple guest table. The tea tray bounced and clattered. He
wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t hear, behind him, the sudden stillness
coming from Cassidy; it was enough to let him catch hold of himself before the
second stage of his temper ignited.
“Samuels. Bert Samuels. Used to be your aide, assigned here, if I’m not
mistaken.” Pace wasn’t about to be pushed around. “Sit down,
dammit, George, you’re going to give yourself a heart attack. What’s the big deal about
Samuels, anyway?”
“That little—” Hammond caught himself abruptly. It would be poor
politics—poor tactics —to admit that Samuels, who, after all, had more
intimate knowledge of Project Blue Book—as the Stargate project was now known
outside its own confines—than either of the other two men in the room, was a
conniving little-He sat back down and composed himself.
“Let’s just say that Samuels isn’t the person I would have chosen for the
job,” he said icily. “But it doesn’t surprise me in the least. He’s been
associated with the senator. It makes sense that he’d volunteer to escort the
son. You’re going to find yourselves on the front page of the Washington
Observer, you know.”
“While you and Blue Book hide discreetly behind our skirts.”
Hammond looked Pace in the eye. “You’re damned right.”
Pace sat back in his chair and said nothing.
Hammond took a deep breath. “All right. I don’t want him anywhere near my
project, but we all understand that. I don’t like Samuels escorting him, but
that’s out of our hands. How long is he supposed to be here?”
“Three hours,” Cassidy responded. The Canadian brigadier had taken the
opportunity, while Hammond and Pace spoke, to review the schedule for the day.
“The regular briefing in the Visitors Center, a few minutes to clear the area,
and then Samuels will bring him inside. We’ll meet with him and give him the old
God-Save-the-Queen, er, Republic, speeches. He should be in our actual hair for
only an hour or so, from about 1300 to 1400, and shouldn’t have anything to do
with you lot at all.”
Hammond nodded sharply in approval. “All right then. We’ll take the appropriate actions.” He was still seething; every time
that name came up—either name in fact, Kinsey or
thought. If failure was inevitable, there wasn’t any shame in failing.
“I know there are people who agree with you, Major. Politicians—”
“Like Kinsey. He had the right idea. Shut the damn thing down.”
“Nonetheless,” she said firmly, “I expect you in my office in the next twenty
minutes, Major. I understand that this mission was a terrible blow, but you haven’t had time to build any kind of perspective about it. All I want to do
is give you a head start on objectivity.”
“Objectivity,” he repeated, with a hollow chuckle. “How many casualties does
it take to be objective?”
“Twenty minutes, Major.” She made a point of checking the time on her
wristwatch, glanced once more at him, and then made her way out of the room.
Morley’s behavior, while more extreme than some, was certainly
understandable, she thought. He was a good man, a poor leader, and had severely
bad luck. None of that was his fault.
She hoped he really would show up down in Medical; she had an antidepressant
in mind that would do wonders for him for the time being. Meanwhile, she’d look
in on the casualties and make sure there weren’t any changes on that front.
He’d set foot on an alien world, felt the light of an alien star, and didn’t
even appreciate it. Life, she concluded, wasn’t fair.
Normally George Hammond was cool, calm, and self-possessed. He prided himself
on his ability to remain calm under fire.
There were some things, however, that would make him go up like a Titan
rocket, and that name was one of them.
“Who?” he roared, launching himself out of his chair and slamming his
palms down on Pace’s maple guest table. The tea tray bounced and clattered. He
wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t hear, behind him, the sudden stillness
coming from Cassidy; it was enough to let him catch hold of himself before the
second stage of his temper ignited.
“Samuels. Bert Samuels. Used to be your aide, assigned here, if I’m not
mistaken.” Pace wasn’t about to be pushed around. “Sit down,
dammit, George, you’re going to give yourself a heart attack. What’s the big deal about
Samuels, anyway?”
“That little—” Hammond caught himself abruptly. It would be poor
politics—poor tactics —to admit that Samuels, who, after all, had more
intimate knowledge of Project Blue Book—as the Stargate project was now known
outside its own confines—than either of the other two men in the room, was a
conniving little-He sat back down and composed himself.
“Let’s just say that Samuels isn’t the person I would have chosen for the
job,” he said icily. “But it doesn’t surprise me in the least. He’s been
associated with the senator. It makes sense that he’d volunteer to escort the
son. You’re going to find yourselves on the front page of the Washington
Observer, you know.”
“While you and Blue Book hide discreetly behind our skirts.”
Hammond looked Pace in the eye. “You’re damned right.”
Pace sat back in his chair and said nothing.
Hammond took a deep breath. “All right. I don’t want him anywhere near my
project, but we all understand that. I don’t like Samuels escorting him, but
that’s out of our hands. How long is he supposed to be here?”
“Three hours,” Cassidy responded. The Canadian brigadier had taken the
opportunity, while Hammond and Pace spoke, to review the schedule for the day.
“The regular briefing in the Visitors Center, a few minutes to clear the area,
and then Samuels will bring him inside. We’ll meet with him and give him the old
God-Save-the-Queen, er, Republic, speeches. He should be in our actual hair for
only an hour or so, from about 1300 to 1400, and shouldn’t have anything to do
with you lot at all.”
Hammond nodded sharply in approval. “All right then. We’ll take the appropriate actions.” He was still seething; every time
that name came up—either name in fact, Kinsey or
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