Stars of Blood and Glory by Joe Vasicek Page A

our mothers and sisters and
exiled us from our homeworld? If we’re ever going to have a chance
to avenge ourselves, this is it.”
    “ Vengeance makes for poor
business,” said Roman, his voice low. He narrowed his eyes. “Or
have you forgotten who is in command of this ship?”
    Lieutenant Avanadze drew in a deep breath as
his wife quietly urged him to back down. For a second, he looked as
if he would lash out again, but the anger slowly deflated out of
him and he sat back in his seat, shoulders slumped.
    “ All right,” he muttered, “but
still, I think we should—”
    “ As the sergeant has made clear,
this decision is not up for debate,” said Danica, her voice sharp.
“If you would rather enlist with the Federation, then you may go
with my blessing.”
    “ We’re fine,” Maia interjected
before her husband could say anything. “Yuri is just a little
overzealous, that’s all.”
    Just like all of you young
upstarts, Roman thought to himself. Your memories are too short to remember
who conquered our homeland first.
    “ I have no doubt that we will all
see a great deal of action quite soon enough,” said Danica. “If the
Federation campaign keeps going as well as it has been, I’m sure
the Hameji will see to that.”
    The older officers chuckled, including Roman.
Yuri and Maia did not, while in the back of the room, the girl from
Gaia Nova looked on in silence. Danica keyed her wrist console, and
the holographic projection shifted to a starmap of the local
sector, with the New Vela and New Rigel systems in the center.
    “ The princess is traveling on at
least two stolen passports. Fortunately, the palace guard has
tracked down most of the ones she’s using. Our intelligence
indicates that she left the main station just yesterday, on a
third-class passenger liner headed for New Vela. Flight schedules
indicate that she should arrive at the seventh planet in a little
over an hour.”
    “ If she’s still traveling under
that name,” Zura muttered. “What’s to stop her from leaving on one
passport and jump ship before she arrives on another?”
    “ Unfortunately, not very much,”
said Danica. “For that reason, we need to move out as soon as
possible. The palace guard has given us all the clearances we need,
so once we arrive, our task should be pretty straightforward.
Roman?”
    “ All soldiers are either on board
or en route to ship,” said Roman, already connected to the network
through the datalink implants in his head. “The last ferry shuttle
should arrive at station in less than forty-five
minutes.”
    Danica nodded. “Very good. Let me know as
soon as they’re all on board.”
    “ Pardon me, Captain,” said
Mikhail, “but suppose this girl trades her passport for a less
traceable mode of transport?”
    “ The palace guard gave me a
detailed profile on this girl,” said Danica. “I haven’t had a
chance to read it extensively, but from what I can tell, she’s far
too sheltered to get very far on her own. It’s possible, of course,
that someone might kidnap her, but there’s not much we can do to
prevent that at this point. For now, we must assume that she’s
traveling under one of the fake names and has obtained passage to
New Vela. If the situation changes, we’ll change with it.” She
paused to survey the room. “Any other questions?”
    Corporal Tajjashvili raised his old,
calloused hand.
    “ What kind of payment can we
expect for this job?” he asked, leaning back in his chair as he
folded his arms.
    “ Standard rate, plus a bonus of
eighty thousand Rigelan Yen per person upon the princess’s safe
return.”
    The shift in enthusiasm was like the flare
from a supernova. Several of the officers whistled or slapped their
knees. “These Rigelans must be desperate,” Mikhail said to no one
in particular, grinning from ear to ear.
    Danica waited patiently for the chatter to
die back down. “We don’t usually take jobs of this type, but the
terms for this one were