Read Online Morgan Selwood 3: A Victory Celebration by Greta van Der Rol - Free Book Online
Authors: Greta van Der Rol
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A VICTORY CELEBRATION
"I'm not going," said Morgan.
Ravindra’s holographic image, transmitted from
the presidential palace on the planet the battle cruiser orbited, frowned. "I
would like you to be there. Without your assistance this war would still be
tearing the planet apart."
"Look, I just tweaked a few gadgets,
improved your technology. It's my job, what I was…"
'Designed' .
Damn, she hated that word. Even if it was
true. "It's what I do. Your troops did the job."
He still glowered at her. Not happy, not at
all. "But you provided the answer. Without your 'gadgets', we'd still be
looking for the rebels." He used his fingers to put the inverted commas
around the word.
"I just did my job." She shrugged.
"Admiral, this is your job, not mine. You know me; I don’t like crowds and
pompous presidential speeches. I’ll probably offend somebody."
Quirking his lips he nodded. "All right."
Yes . She’d won that round.
His eyes narrowed and his chin lifted. "I
shall expect you to attend the ball tomorrow night, though."
"Fine." She'd cross that bridge
when she reached it.
"So you will stay on Vidhvansaka ?"
His eyes searched her face.
"Of course. I thought I'd get back to
working on the experimental shift drive."
"Ah." His head jerked up. "The
tests were successful?"
I wish . "No. The model never
arrived at its destination. My guess is whatever happened to Curlew also
happened to it."
"What makes you so sure?"
She raised a shoulder. "Proven engine
design. The model made the distance with a standard drive. This time it disappeared.
I think I'll crawl all over the model one more time. I'm sure I can make this
work."
She met his gaze, those fierce amber eyes
reflective as he tapped the tops of his fingers together. He wanted that shift
drive, a design capable of slashing the time taken to travel from one system to
another.
He gazed at her for a moment longer, then
blew out a breath. "I’ll see you tomorrow."
"I’m looking forward to it. You enjoy
yourself." She flicked him a kiss with her fingertips and turned off the
transmission.
Morgan dropped onto the couch. All of a
sudden her state room on the battle cruiser seemed empty and lonely. She'd won
too easily. Maybe he was getting tired of her? Sure, she and Ravindra shared
her bed or his most nights when they were together, but they didn't advertise
their relationship. An alien and a Fleet admiral? She knew, much as she loved
him, that the day would come when he'd agree to one of these arranged marriages
with some daughter of another Fleet admiral.
As for tonight… she'd heard about these
victory celebrations. The hosts provided ‘entertainment’ to all senior
officers, take your pick of nubile wenches. She'd heard stories of Ravindra's
prowess when they thought she couldn't hear. One girl wasn't always enough, it
seemed. Mind you, that was before she and Ravindra had come to an understanding,
but then again, she hadn't seen much of him the past few weeks. She had no
illusions about men, especially senior officers. For the first time in an age
she wished she was twenty-five again. She should have stuck to hot-shot pilots
like Coreb, not fall in love.
What the hell. She hadn't thought about
Coreb in an age. He'd been fun, a good dancer, not bad in bed. But not like
Ravindra.
Oh, for pity's sake . She jumped off
the sofa. The best thing she could do was go and work.
The battle cruiser felt like a ghost ship.
She rattled around corridors normally busy with people coming and going. Only
once did she encounter a group of fleeters in dress uniform, laughing and
joking as they made their way down to the hangar bays where the transports
ferried the crew down to the surface. She glanced over her shoulder at them as
they filled the lift she'd just left. They looked like a bunch of college kids.
She grinned. It wasn't a bad analogy; the ship was like a college during the
summer vacation.
She strode on, her footfalls loud in the
quiet. Down in
"I'm not going," said Morgan.
Ravindra’s holographic image, transmitted from
the presidential palace on the planet the battle cruiser orbited, frowned. "I
would like you to be there. Without your assistance this war would still be
tearing the planet apart."
"Look, I just tweaked a few gadgets,
improved your technology. It's my job, what I was…"
'Designed' .
Damn, she hated that word. Even if it was
true. "It's what I do. Your troops did the job."
He still glowered at her. Not happy, not at
all. "But you provided the answer. Without your 'gadgets', we'd still be
looking for the rebels." He used his fingers to put the inverted commas
around the word.
"I just did my job." She shrugged.
"Admiral, this is your job, not mine. You know me; I don’t like crowds and
pompous presidential speeches. I’ll probably offend somebody."
Quirking his lips he nodded. "All right."
Yes . She’d won that round.
His eyes narrowed and his chin lifted. "I
shall expect you to attend the ball tomorrow night, though."
"Fine." She'd cross that bridge
when she reached it.
"So you will stay on Vidhvansaka ?"
His eyes searched her face.
"Of course. I thought I'd get back to
working on the experimental shift drive."
"Ah." His head jerked up. "The
tests were successful?"
I wish . "No. The model never
arrived at its destination. My guess is whatever happened to Curlew also
happened to it."
"What makes you so sure?"
She raised a shoulder. "Proven engine
design. The model made the distance with a standard drive. This time it disappeared.
I think I'll crawl all over the model one more time. I'm sure I can make this
work."
She met his gaze, those fierce amber eyes
reflective as he tapped the tops of his fingers together. He wanted that shift
drive, a design capable of slashing the time taken to travel from one system to
another.
He gazed at her for a moment longer, then
blew out a breath. "I’ll see you tomorrow."
"I’m looking forward to it. You enjoy
yourself." She flicked him a kiss with her fingertips and turned off the
transmission.
Morgan dropped onto the couch. All of a
sudden her state room on the battle cruiser seemed empty and lonely. She'd won
too easily. Maybe he was getting tired of her? Sure, she and Ravindra shared
her bed or his most nights when they were together, but they didn't advertise
their relationship. An alien and a Fleet admiral? She knew, much as she loved
him, that the day would come when he'd agree to one of these arranged marriages
with some daughter of another Fleet admiral.
As for tonight… she'd heard about these
victory celebrations. The hosts provided ‘entertainment’ to all senior
officers, take your pick of nubile wenches. She'd heard stories of Ravindra's
prowess when they thought she couldn't hear. One girl wasn't always enough, it
seemed. Mind you, that was before she and Ravindra had come to an understanding,
but then again, she hadn't seen much of him the past few weeks. She had no
illusions about men, especially senior officers. For the first time in an age
she wished she was twenty-five again. She should have stuck to hot-shot pilots
like Coreb, not fall in love.
What the hell. She hadn't thought about
Coreb in an age. He'd been fun, a good dancer, not bad in bed. But not like
Ravindra.
Oh, for pity's sake . She jumped off
the sofa. The best thing she could do was go and work.
The battle cruiser felt like a ghost ship.
She rattled around corridors normally busy with people coming and going. Only
once did she encounter a group of fleeters in dress uniform, laughing and
joking as they made their way down to the hangar bays where the transports
ferried the crew down to the surface. She glanced over her shoulder at them as
they filled the lift she'd just left. They looked like a bunch of college kids.
She grinned. It wasn't a bad analogy; the ship was like a college during the
summer vacation.
She strode on, her footfalls loud in the
quiet. Down in
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