Read Online Dark Space: The Invisible War by Jasper T. Scott - Free Book Online Page B

eight months. Yet another luxury afforded to the supreme overlord. Ethan applied the gel and let it sit for the required thirty seconds before washing it off, along with all his stubble. After that, Ethan went for a quick vaccucleanse and then got dressed in his new uniform—the flashy white with gold trim of the supreme overlord. Just as Ethan fit his comm piece inside his ear, it began to beep with an incoming transmission, and then he heard a computerized voice say, “Lieutenant Adan Reese calling.”
    Ethan touched his ear to receive the comm. “Hello?”
    “You’re awake. Good.” It was not his son’s voice that Ethan heard, but rather that of the Lieutenant Adan Reese. Last night after the operation to switch identichips, they’d had to switch vocal synthesizers, too. “We need to meet,” Atton said. “I’ll be at your office in five. You can have breakfast sent up there for us.”
    “Sure, see you soon,” Ethan replied, already on his way out. He passed through the doors a moment later and walked past the pair of security guards stationed there. The guards peeled off from the wall and followed him at a distance. They hadn’t actually been trained as sentinels, but rather they were low-ranking corpsmen who couldn’t serve any more useful roles aboard the Defiant .
    When Ethan reached his office, Atton was already waiting to get in. The guards stopped outside the doors and Ethan turned to one of them, almost as an afterthought, to suggest that he fetch them breakfast from the mess hall. The guard looked at Ethan strangely, but then saluted and said, “Yes, sir,” before hurrying off. Atton also shot Ethan a strange look as they walked inside the office.
    The doors swished shut behind them, and Atton sighed. “You shouldn’t be sending your bodyguards to get you breakfast,” he said.
    “All right, who should I send then?” Ethan asked as he rounded his dark-lacquered wooden desk and sat down in the high-backed black chair.
    “You can call the mess hall directly and request what you want. They’ll have someone bring it up to you. We’re undermanned, but you’re the overlord , so they’ll make it happen.”
    “Right. This takes a bit of getting used to, Atton.”
    “I know, which is why I’d like to suggest that you promote me and assign me as your XO aboard the Defiant . That way I’ll be able to help you act the part of the overlord. Once you’re more comfortable with the role you can assign me wherever you feel’s best.”
    Ethan nodded. “Consider it done. Who’s the current XO?”
    “Caldin.”
    Ethan’s eyes lit with recognition. “I know her. She was also my XO in the Rokan Defense sim run. She was the one who recommended me—well, Adan Reese—for command training.”
    “I’m sure she’ll be surprised to find that her suggestion was taken so seriously.”
    “And perhaps a bit resentful that he’s being given her rank and position aboard the Defiant ,” Ethan added.
    “There’s not much we can do about that, but you don’t have to demote her. You can assign her as your tactical adviser if you wish. I’ve found she has some good insights.”
    “I agree,” Ethan replied.
    A few minutes later breakfast arrived with a knock at the doors. Ethan spoke a verbal command to open the doors, and one of his guards walked in balancing a tray loaded with pancakes, juice, and a steaming pot of caf.
    Ethan caught a whiff of the caf and pancakes and he felt a strong answering stir in his belly. Suddenly he realized that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d ate. It had to have been more than 24 hours ago. As for the caf, it had been years since he’d had a cup of caf. Ethan watched the tray approach with eager anticipation, and he dug in before the guard had even poured his coffee. By the time the guard left, Ethan was already finished half his stack of pancakes. The office door slid shut with a swish . Atton cleared his throat. Ethan looked up from cutting another giant wedge