When
Poulle had thwarted him, he'd filed a formal protest with the Admiralty . His protest was well worded and thought out,
without ever mentioning the girl’s father or favored existence in
the Force. It was also a tremendous waste of time.
Beckett looked down at her. He stood a head
taller than she, which didn't intimidate her one bit. That was
fine. The longer Tedesco maintained the attitude, the longer
Beckett would be able to justify his position.
"Lieutenant?"
"What?" Still frustrated. Good.
"Didn't they ever teach you how to address a
superior officer?"
"A superior officer, yes."
Beckett clamped down hard against the
retort. Technically, he could already have her chained up but that
would just create a whole new set of problems. No, it was better to
keep this between the two of them.
"Maybe when you learn your place, you'll get
your answers." Beckett stepped around her. A crewman, Barnes, was
walking by the open door and, startled out of a private reverie,
gave the captain a half salute.
"Permission to speak freely?" Tedesco asked
and then added, " Sir ."
Against his better judgment, Beckett closed
the door.
The lieutenant continued. "I know why you
wrote this report. You're jealous."
This time, the jackal let out a bark before
being restrained but it was a just simple bark of laughter. There
was only a little venom in it.
"Don't laugh at me. You're jealous because
I'll outrank you before you know it and you'll never be anything
but what you are now. How long have you been a captain?"
And this time, the jackal broke free
entirely. Beckett turned on Tedesco with such ferocity that the
smaller girl shrank away from his anger. "You listen to me, Lara.
I'm still here because I'm the best damned captain the UESF has
ever seen. If you really want to know why I wrote that report it
has everything to do with the fact that I think you're incompetent.
In fact, every instructor you've ever had has labeled you
incompetent behind your back."
"Then how did I get all the way up to
lieutenant?"
"Don't insult my intelligence, kid. You're
riding on your dad's coat tails but that doesn't fly here. Your
attitude is shit and your skill set is a bucket of shit.
Don't think for one second that I'm going to play along with the
game that got you onto my ship. Believe me, you'll wish you'd never
been assigned to me."
"My father will bust you…"
"Don't threaten me. Part of having nothing
to gain in this career is also having nothing to lose."
Tedesco relaxed her shoulders a bit, thought
for a minute. "So you're going to shut me out of everything, treat
me like a rookie?"
And now Beckett flashed an unsettling grin
in the other's direction. The prospect seemed to cow her more than
anything else. For the first time, he saw a glimmer of a person who
was trapped in the shadow of her father rather than someone
who was desperately trying to hide in its shade. Beckett had no
sympathy. "No way. You wanted to be an officer, and now you are. I
fully intend to run you as hard as regulations allow. I want to
give you every opportunity to fuck up and when you do, I'm going to
crucify you. My seal of approval doesn't come with daddy's
initials. Now get your ass out of my stateroom and the next time I
see you, you’d better attach sir to the end of every
sentence or I'm going to bust you for insubordination.
"Dismissed."
"But…"
" Dismissed!"
A Ghost in the Dark
The control room of the Valor ,
commonly referred to as Control, was as proportionately small, as
compared to other ships, as the rest of it. It was situated toward
the bottom of the ship and the only normal approach was from an
access ladder that led down from above. In an emergency, there was
a tube that ran the length of the bottom of the ship and up through
the hull. The tube itself was part of a whole system of emergency
accessways, commonly referred to as the Habitrail. The Habitrail
connected the entire ship through its outer shell and underbelly.
It was a less than
Poulle had thwarted him, he'd filed a formal protest with the Admiralty . His protest was well worded and thought out,
without ever mentioning the girl’s father or favored existence in
the Force. It was also a tremendous waste of time.
Beckett looked down at her. He stood a head
taller than she, which didn't intimidate her one bit. That was
fine. The longer Tedesco maintained the attitude, the longer
Beckett would be able to justify his position.
"Lieutenant?"
"What?" Still frustrated. Good.
"Didn't they ever teach you how to address a
superior officer?"
"A superior officer, yes."
Beckett clamped down hard against the
retort. Technically, he could already have her chained up but that
would just create a whole new set of problems. No, it was better to
keep this between the two of them.
"Maybe when you learn your place, you'll get
your answers." Beckett stepped around her. A crewman, Barnes, was
walking by the open door and, startled out of a private reverie,
gave the captain a half salute.
"Permission to speak freely?" Tedesco asked
and then added, " Sir ."
Against his better judgment, Beckett closed
the door.
The lieutenant continued. "I know why you
wrote this report. You're jealous."
This time, the jackal let out a bark before
being restrained but it was a just simple bark of laughter. There
was only a little venom in it.
"Don't laugh at me. You're jealous because
I'll outrank you before you know it and you'll never be anything
but what you are now. How long have you been a captain?"
And this time, the jackal broke free
entirely. Beckett turned on Tedesco with such ferocity that the
smaller girl shrank away from his anger. "You listen to me, Lara.
I'm still here because I'm the best damned captain the UESF has
ever seen. If you really want to know why I wrote that report it
has everything to do with the fact that I think you're incompetent.
In fact, every instructor you've ever had has labeled you
incompetent behind your back."
"Then how did I get all the way up to
lieutenant?"
"Don't insult my intelligence, kid. You're
riding on your dad's coat tails but that doesn't fly here. Your
attitude is shit and your skill set is a bucket of shit.
Don't think for one second that I'm going to play along with the
game that got you onto my ship. Believe me, you'll wish you'd never
been assigned to me."
"My father will bust you…"
"Don't threaten me. Part of having nothing
to gain in this career is also having nothing to lose."
Tedesco relaxed her shoulders a bit, thought
for a minute. "So you're going to shut me out of everything, treat
me like a rookie?"
And now Beckett flashed an unsettling grin
in the other's direction. The prospect seemed to cow her more than
anything else. For the first time, he saw a glimmer of a person who
was trapped in the shadow of her father rather than someone
who was desperately trying to hide in its shade. Beckett had no
sympathy. "No way. You wanted to be an officer, and now you are. I
fully intend to run you as hard as regulations allow. I want to
give you every opportunity to fuck up and when you do, I'm going to
crucify you. My seal of approval doesn't come with daddy's
initials. Now get your ass out of my stateroom and the next time I
see you, you’d better attach sir to the end of every
sentence or I'm going to bust you for insubordination.
"Dismissed."
"But…"
" Dismissed!"
A Ghost in the Dark
The control room of the Valor ,
commonly referred to as Control, was as proportionately small, as
compared to other ships, as the rest of it. It was situated toward
the bottom of the ship and the only normal approach was from an
access ladder that led down from above. In an emergency, there was
a tube that ran the length of the bottom of the ship and up through
the hull. The tube itself was part of a whole system of emergency
accessways, commonly referred to as the Habitrail. The Habitrail
connected the entire ship through its outer shell and underbelly.
It was a less than
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