Islands of Rage and Hope (eARC) by John Ringo Page A

know Shelley survived.
    "Shelley and Under Secretary Galloway are onboard with me just cruising for now. There are many reasons. Your father has things under control. As much as it is possible given the conditions. He has the, the term is 'social capital,' to pull this off. The majority of this squadron is not made up of professionals, and long-term social bonding items are in disarray. Your father and your family act as a social bond for this squadron, which is much more post-apocalyptic gypsy tribe than a professional military force.
    "I could probably take more useful roles than being a deckhand on a boat. However, the addition of my expertise would be relatively minimal and I'm enjoying what we do. I also enjoy training bright young officers. A point of which General Brice is fully aware. So absent objections from yourself or Squadron, or your da, here I remain. Unless things change and my former position becomes necessary."
    "Now I'm going to have a hard time not calling you 'sir,'" Sophia said, her brow furrowing.
    "You've always been polite, Ensign," Walker said. "Mr. Walker more than suffices. Tom is fine. Neither is my real name. Calling me 'Walker' works best. It was part of my handle."
    "What was your handle?" Sophia asked. "If I may ask."
    "Skaeling, actually," Walker said. "It means Night Walker."
    "More like 'Boogie man,'" Sophia said pointedly. "Those who walk in the dark. Things that go bump in the night. The Native American tribe that drove out the Vikings from Newfoundland."
    "And in Dari it turned out to translate as prostitute or street walker," Walker said, grinning. "Caused a bit of an issue at one point."
    "Dari?" Sophia said.
    "One of two dialects of Persian used in Afghanistan," Walker said. "The other being Tajik which has the same translation. General Kamal of the Northern Alliance found it quite amusing to call me by my handle. I should probably go see if anyone wants to come back to the boat, ma'am."

    Steve tapped his fingers on his desk in thought, then hit the connection to The Hole.
    "Duty officer," Lieutenant Colonel Justin Pierre said. "Good...evening your time, Captain."
    "Good evening, Colonel," Steve said. "I have an unusual request."
    "Glad to be of service if I can, Captain," Colonel Pierre said.
    "The service record extracts you have," Steve said. "Do they include aliases or handles?"
    "In some cases, Captain," Colonel Pierre said, his brow furrowing. "Do you need me to run a name?"
    "Yes," Steve said. "Thomas Walker."
    The colonel had leaned forward into his keyboard, hands set to type and now leaned back, raising his hands and folding them.
    "Could I get back to you on that, Captain?" the colonel said. "Something's come up."
    "Certainly," Steve said blandly. "Hope things are okay."
    "Fine, just...something's come up. Be back if not tonight than tomorrow early."
    "All right," Steve said. "Have a good rest of your shift."
    He tapped his fingers on his desk again, then sighed.
    "Something is fishy in Omaha...."

    Steve was just out of the shower, drying his hair and contemplating the fact that Stacey had been rummaging in her lingerie drawer when the phone in his quarters rang. Since that invariably meant some sort of emergency had occurred, he was not in the best of moods when Stacey, wearing not much more than a lacey bra and panties, handed him the phone.
    "General Brice," she said, her hand over the mike.
    "General," Steve said. "You rang?"
    "Sorry to call you so late, Steve," Brice said. "But I didn't want to leave you hanging on the call you made to us. Thomas Walker."
    "I'd wondered, when the colonel so abruptly changed the subject, ma'am," Steve said. "I don't mind having the pros back-channel, ma'am. Considering everything, it's necessary. But putting someone on my daughter's boat was sort of..."
    " That I didn't do," Brice said. "It was more happy coincidence. Happy because you couldn't get a better guy to be on your daughter's boat. At least not alive and in contact. I'll give