All My Sins Remembered by Brian Wetherell Read Free Book Online Page A

onto ship.” Tasha jumped from her seat as if it were on fire, and spun to face the speaker.  She was unsure if she should have been accessing anything on the bridge, and suddenly felt embarrassed at having so presumptuously done so.  A tall man stood at the door to the bridge with a neatly trimmed black beard that was streaked with gray, and a large scar running around his right eye.  He waved Tasha away dismissively.
    “You’re fine, girl.  I just came to see who all the fuss was about.  The Colonel told me he signed you.” The man said. “I’m Commander Nathan Schultz.” Looking around the bridge, Commander Schultz showed a ghost of a smile that Tasha thought looked a little feral.
    “You like her?” The Commander asked , indicating the bridge around them. “She’s got big, sharp teeth.” Tasha looked around the bridge once more, taking it in.  She never understood why a vessel was always referred to as being female.
    “It’s impressive, Commander.” Tasha replied. “I am surprised by how cutting edge your systems seem to be.”  Nathan snorted, which Tasha took to be somewhere between a laugh and a dismissive gesture.
    “The better equipment we have, the more likely it is that more of us will survive.” Nathan replied gruffly.  Stepping onto the dais where the Captain’s chair sat, his eyes became unfocused as they seemed to stare beyond the confines of the ship’s bridge, and into distant memories.
    “Too many of us have not come home.” he whispered.  Then, as if realizing what he said, he blinked his eyes a couple of times and fixed Tasha with a cold stare.  Twinkling blue eyes met brown for a few silent moments before Tasha shifted her gaze to stare slightly above the Commander’s head.  Perhaps unconsciously, Tasha felt her stance stiffen into something close to attention, unsure of whether or not she should have heard his whispered words.  So she did the only thing she knew to do, acted as if her superior officer had said nothing at all.
    Sensing her growing discomfort, Nathan rumbled, “As you were.” and abruptly left the bridge.  Tasha’s stance relaxed as she stared at the door the Commander had exited through for a few long moments, and then slowly walked towards the exit while letting a lingering hand slide across the top of the coms station of the bridge with a sad look on her face as memories filler her mind.
    “I just wished some of us could have come home.” She whispered sadly.  Bowing her head a moment, a tear coursed unbidden down her cheek before she could stop it.  Taking a deep, shaky breath and wiping away her tear, she squared her shoulders and purposefully left the bridge to tour the rest of the ship.
    ***
    Hawke leaned back in his chair at the head of the briefing table with his feet propped up on it as he puffed on a Domidor, one of the finest cigars money could buy in this part of the Republic.  Not that he was given to smoking, but once in a while he indulged himself, maybe to the grand total of three or four times a standard year.  Given recent events, Hawke felt the need to kick back and relax a few moments while he waited for his officers to arrive.  The frantic pace of the last few hours found him a little tired.  Maybe he was getting a little old, he thought.  But no, he was only fifty-eight years old, which made him a little less than middle aged thanks to the wonders of modern medical technology.  If he was lucky, he would live until the ripe old age of 160, or 170, maybe even longer.  It depends on whether or not he could keep from getting shot.  Hawke was savoring a particularly long draw on his cigar when the door to the briefing room swung open on squeaky hinges as the ship’s senior officers made their way in.  Like Hawke, they weren’t too happy about being strong armed into another mission either, but every member of the Talons were professionals, and knew to keep their sentiments to themselves.
    First to enter was Hawke’s